The Girls' Trip: A page-turning holiday read filled with dark secrets and addictive twists

by Zoe Miller

It was a holiday she would never let them forget ...

'She had it coming. So had the others.'

In 2007, four friends returned home from a week in Ibiza with secrets to keep. When they agreed never to contact each other again, all traces of their holiday were erased. Or so they thought.

Now, almost seventeen years after that trip, Anna's sister Kim is still picking up the pieces after Anna abandoned her life without warning. Kim is sure that Anna's unexplained departure had something to do with her visit to Ibiza. And when a photo from the trip surfaces unexpectedly, she finally has some clues to start looking into what happened to her sister.

Julia, Cora and Faye are forced to come together when they realise someone might be looking into the past. But how far will they go to bury the truth? And what's to stop one of them from letting a 'friend' take the fall, in order to save herself?

What readers are saying about The Girls' Trip:

'If you love gripping psychological thrillers with eerie atmospheres and complex female friendships, The Girls' Trip is a must-read. It's a book that will keep you up late, racing through the pages to uncover the truth' 5-star Netgalley review

'I binged this book ... I couldn't have predicted most of the twists and turns of the story which makes it a great thriller' 5-star Netgalley review

'Loved this one, I was hooked from the start, and couldn't predict the end. A must on your TBR' 5-star Netgalley review

'Brilliant, it packed such a punch ... a top tier thriller' 5-star Netgalley review

'A super gripping psychological thriller, a bit racy, extremely suspenseful and just insanely good!!' 5-star Netgalley review

346 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2025

Reviews

[Zoe Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the lives of four young women collide and they all end up having a wild time in Ibiza they think they are living their best lives. Back home in Dublin things take a dramatic turn and it soon becomes apparent that one of the women, Anna went missing not long after the trip. Fifteen years on Anna’s sister Kim is still looking for answers and when a clue is posted on Facebook with a picture from Ibiza, Kim finally has a clue to start digging into her sisters past.

This is a part destination, mystery read and explores the journey of four young women some who want the truth and others who regret their past decisions. With hidden secrets they do not want to surface and with the net closing in, the three remaining women will do anything to make sure the past stays buried.

Enjoyable read but for me the sexual references had me eye rolling, it’s just not my vibe but if it’s yours then this will be great for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Chloe Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, I always love a book like this where there’s a bit of a destination based mystery involved!

It’s been over a decade since Anna went on holiday to Ibiza and came back a changed woman. Not long after her holiday there, she upped and left her life. Leaving behind her sister Kim who cared for her so much, and her four year old son. Nobody has heard from Anna since, apart from the odd Christmas card sent to Kim. Kim has never really got over Anna’s disappearance, so when a chance Facebook post catches her eye, it leads Kim back to the events of that fateful holiday. As things begin to unravel, we learn just what led up to Anna’s disappearance.

The chapters alternate from the POVs of Kim, and the three women involved in Anna’s life at the time of the Ibiza trip - Julia, Cora and Faye. They’ve all moved on with their lives and are doing pretty well for themselves, but it becomes clear that they are hiding huge secrets. These three women are particularly unlikeable, especially Cora! But this did make for good reading as I was really on the side of Kim and rooting for her to get the bottom of what happened.

Lots of intrigue and mystery, an exploration into female ‘friendships’ and just how toxic they can sometimes become. Some darker moments that added to the tension and overall eeriness surrounding Anna’s disappearance. I couldn’t work out what was going on/had happened, and I think that is always a good sign for a thriller/mystery. The book kept me on my toes and I found myself wanting to keep reading and reading to get the bottom of everything.

I would definitely recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more by this author!

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark Irish mystery about a young woman who disappears, supposedly relocating to London and the quest of her sister to find her and work out what has happened.
One day Anna leaves her sister, Kim and her young son Sean, in order to start a new life in London. All Kim ever gets is the odd Christmas card, no phone calls or visits. Sean misses his mother terribly and Kim has to bring him up alone as they have no other family.
15 years go by and Kim sees a clue to Anna’s whereabouts online. She disappeared after a holiday to Ibiza when something dreadful happened, something that she would never talk about and there is a reference to that period on Facebook when someone posts a photo.
Trying to track down Anna’s friends from that holiday proves very difficult and it soon becomes clear they don’t want to be found.
This is a dark mystery and not a light hearted chicklit ’ holiday story. No one is as they seem and to be frank most of the characters are pretty unpleasant apart from Kim, Sean and Daniel.
Cora seems to be the worst, followed by Faye and Julia. All three have something to hide and this is gradually revealed as the book progresses.
I found the novel quite dark although it was definitely gripping and made me want to turn the pages to find out how it all would end.
It is definitely a book I would recommend to lovers of psychological noir fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

[Amanda Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley, I was privileged to be an ARC reader for this book and am giving my honest review in exchange for the advanced copy

The Girls Trip is a dark Irish thriller that takes you on the journey of a missing woman, a trip to Ibiza in 2007, unrequited love, and a wedding gone wrong. Dark secrets from a trip in Ibiza lead to a girl cutting all ties with the other girls from the trip and her family when she gets back. 15 years go by without the girl coming home, but sending cards every Christmas. After a picture from that Ibiza trip is found in an online obituary, the older sister of the missing girl decides to dig into what actually happened in Ibiza that made her sister cut all ties and leave her son behind. What Kim finds is a dark web of lies and secrets that she couldn’t have ever imagined.

I binged this book over the weekend and couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t have predicted most of the twists and turns of the story which makes it a great thriller. I loved that all of the characters from Ibiza were morally gray so you couldn’t really root for anyone but at the same time you wanted to find everything out and get closure. I think if a book is written well (which this one definitely was), it can make you feel something for even the worst situation and worst characters.

[Tiyasha Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the premise and the mystery where you don't know what's going on but are completely gripped.

It's a thriller but has family, love, friendship, loss and grief at its core which makes this different. I loved how the book made me feel and associate emotions with the characters.

The multiple perspectives work really well for the book. I liked the twists and the main and supporting characters. The girls trip in the past and the story in the present and a sister's quest is brilliantly written to reel in a writer. Definitely recommend!

Thank you Hachette Books Ireland and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

[Jana :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Morag Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

The girls trip’ is a super gripping psychological thriller, a bit racy, extremely suspenseful and just insanely good!!

For sure it took a couple of chapters to get me hooked, but thereafter I really couldn’t put it down.

The story starts with a woman, Kim, searching for her sister, Anna, who, in a move that was wholly out of character, took off for London 15years previously with only the occasional Christmas card to maintain contact. Kim is keen for contact and her pursuit of Anna leads her to track down a group of friends Anna met on holiday before her departure, feeling Anna’s relocation was related to this holiday in some way.

As the story progresses we discover the salacious details of what went down on the fated holidays as well as some pretty crazy repercussions!

Well written, really interesting characters and with a plot that is utterly mind blowing this is one book that I can’t recommend highly enough!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

[Manju Bhatia · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2007, four friends returned home from a week in Ibiza with secrets to keep. When they agreed never to contact each other again, all traces of their holiday were erased. Or so they thought. Now, almost seventeen years after that trip, Anna's sister Kim is still picking up the pieces after Anna abandoned her life without warning. Kim is sure that Anna's unexplained departure had something to do with her visit to Ibiza. And when a photo from the trip surfaces unexpectedly, she finally has some clues to start looking into what happened to her sister. Julia, Cora and Faye are forced to come together when they realise someone might be looking into the past. But how far will they go to bury the truth? And what's to stop one of them from letting a 'friend' take the fall, in order to save herself?
I loved it.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book that sounded like one I was going to really get in to and enjoy reading. I unfortunately found it slow and boring. I wanted to be pulled in and held into the book as I was reading. I was looking for more twists and turns and to be kept guessing what was going to happen. I also wanted to connect with the characters a bit more.
I am positive there are many readers who will devour this book.
Thank you NetGalley, Zoe Miller and Hachette Books for the ARC of
The Girls’ Trip. This is my personal review

[Megan Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I found this book to be far too slow and I ended up bored. There could have been some tension and oomph in the plot but the lack of pace ruined it for me and the whole thing felt quite lacklustre. The characters are okay, not particularly likeable though and I struggled to connect to them. There are some twists but again they were quite weak and did not add enjoyment to the read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Books Ireland for an advance copy.

[Cora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark, twisty thriller with an interesting cast of characters. Starts with a murder but as the plot evolves we realise that isn't the main plot...what did happen to Anna and how is it all linked?

Very well written and tied up in the end.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

[Emily Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a weird book. The first 1/2-3/4 of it are incredibly slow. When you finally "find out" what happened in Ibiza, it seems kind of low stakes and the fall out doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The ending is completely out of left field (not in a good way) and ultimately unsatisfying.

[Jennie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out really good but how it wrapped things up in the end made me rate it 3 stars instead of 4.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ guessed much of it, feel the synopsis was incorrect was wanting more about the Ibiza parts.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

As chick lit goes it was pretty dire - slow start then completely odd ball ending . Completely unrealistic no characters of description .