The Cruise

by Naima Brown

The revenge fantasy novel that every woman secretly wishes for: that her closest, most loyal group of female friends would do anything to take down the man who hurt her.

'A novel for our times.'

Jane Caro, author of Lyrebird

'Thrilling, furious and deliciously satisfying.'

Anna Downes, author of Red River Road

'The revenge fantasy all women secretly yearn for.'

Candice Fox, author of Redbelly Crossing

I HAVE A MISSION.

They're the four words every member of the Squad has pledged never to ignore. Bonded by a bone-deep understanding that healing from trauma takes more than meditation and positive self-talk, this group of ride-or-die sisters-for-life survivors will stop at nothing to secure justice for one of their own.

It's thanks to the Squad that Bailey Collins is not defined by what Eli Murphy did to her in high school. Ten years on, she's changed her name and overhauled her appearance, and she's just been promoted to senior producer for the reality TV show The Cruise.

When Eli's audition tape lands in Bailey's inbox, it's an opportunity too good to miss. She's perfectly positioned to cast him and her undercover Squad sisters as contestants on the show.

As the new season of The Cruise sets sail, Bailey plays her own game for the ultimate prize: revenge.

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 29, 2026

Reviews

[Stacey]

Sharks don't always remember every fish they have devoured.

Bailey Collins is so thrilled when she is promoted to senior producer of the hit reality television show called "The Cruise." As she is filtering through videos of possible contestants for the next season, a familiar face fills her screen. Eli Murphey is not a name that Bailey has heard in a long time, but one that brings up raw emotions that she has suppressed for years. For in this name, Bailey is brought back to her high school years, where Eli did something terrible to her that completely changed the trajectory of her life. Baliey knows there is only one thing to do. She needs "the squad"(a group of friends who have been wronged in the past) to come together to make things right and take Eli down for good. As the new season begins, Bailey and the Squad plan a revenge game of their own that will make headlines for years to come.

**Wonderful story and production! Loved it!** 💙⛴️🌊

Audible Original
Duration: 8 hours and 43 minutes
Full Cast Narration

[Sherwood Smith]

I listened to this while doing my daily steps. I will say that it really got me going, though when I finished I felt a bit depressed and maybe a bit guilty, as though I'd stood by at a lynching. Strong words, I realize, but this is such an angry book, though on the surface it's a revenge fantasy against the predators who ruin women's lives, via the vehicle of a popular reality TV show. Its best aspect is that it also fosters female friendship through an off-book, very very secret, support circle called The Squad.

But mostly this book is angry. The key women's backstories are woven in, set in separate chapters interspersed through the ongoing plot. These followed the same exact emotional arc: normal life, introduce predator (from crazy stalker to school shooter to groomer and predator on teenagers), angry results and finding one another in the Squad, reinforcing one another's rage. These are repeated high-emotional notes that justify lethal anger without really examining it and its consequences. Even in the chapter where our first person narrator joins a couple of her friends in The Squad to murder a coach who grooms and seduces teenage girls. Nothing ever comes of that..

The reality TV plot was interesting (and reinforces my wish to stay away from that particular form of entertainment), the writing sharp and vivid. Dynamic interactions outside of the main revenge thrust.

It also has the ring of truth, right down to the migraines; this narrator is a broken person, consumed by toxic anger, and though achieving the goal, after which we're told everything is fine, great-- there's even a totally unexpected romance that gets two lines of "tell"--we end up without any insight or acknowledgment of what anger does to human beings. What focused group anger does to civilization. Reading that especially now was . . . disturbing. And though the ending was upbeat on the surface, I was left wondering when this ticking time bomb of a narrator would explode, taking out all around her in the name of totally justified female rage.

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers)]

This would have been perfect if not for the Scooby Doo-esque ending.

Top tier narration, actual execution of promised revenge —no come to Jesus moment where the protagonist decides the best revenge is living well🙄, compelling side characters, you name it.

Loved watching the protagonist lose her marbles in real time. If you promise revenge, GIVE ME IT. This? Watching her so hyperfocused on it that she's willing to ruin her life if it means he goes down?

Exactly what I went into this hoping for.

Everything was going great until the villain's comeuppance scene. It felt a little too contrived? Too neat?

If not for the collateral damage, would have preferred the jet ski(?) plan.

And what the hell happened to Lauren? Sigh. This is why we don't commit murder for our friends, people. I want to be understanding of her traumatic past but I'm really not. Everyone there had trauma. GET. WITH. THE. PROGRAM.

Geez.

[♤Tonya Johnson♡]

Free listen on Audible that ended up being good!! A full cast of narrators made it even better.

[Vanya]

TW: SA, a lot of it!

The premise seemed very similar to Heather Gudenkauf’s Every One is Watching which I finished a couple weeks back. I thought I knew which way it was going, but I was surprised. This book is so much better. The narration with a full cast was excellent and the reality TV part felt familiar to a lot of Netflix reality shows.

My one major complain is the mention of migraines in so much detail. As a chronic migraine sufferer, it sucks to hear about how the migraine is building up and how the pain feels as it sometimes lead to migraine itself. I see this pattern that FMC has a migraine in all recent thrillers I’ve listened as a part of audible plus. It’s exhausting to live through migraines and hear about it too.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending as it wasn’t as clever as the rest of the book. Overall, it was good for a freebie.

[Lois]

4.5 Stars Rounded Up

This was considerably better than I expected. This had a ton of narrators and background noises, sort of similar to enhanced audio. I found it distracting but still enjoyed this very much.

[Joscelyn]

Let's go girls

[Rebecca]

A revenge story set amongst an isolated reality TV show setting onboard a cruise ship. Ummm yes please!

I must admit, I was rooting for Bailey and her friends, and I found the story satisfying. Sometimes we just want the bad guys to feel how we felt 🤷🏼‍♀️

Full cast narration made this story extra immersive.

TW: SA

[Dixie]

This book was not bad. It just needs a one giant trigger warning. Like the entire freaking thing.

[Brandon Gilbert]

I’ve never read a book like this. I really enjoyed. Five stars wasn’t enough.

[Chloe Frisby]

As a reality TV lover I ATE THIS UP. As a reality lover, I also acknowledge this could never happen. That’s why it’s fiction, and I loved it.

[Hayley Calvert]

I got fed up hearing of the 'squad' and the 'missions'. The Cruise would have been the most boring reality TV show and the characters apart from wanting revenge had no personality.

[Noa]

This book was written by an author who doesn’t know the difference between a headache and a migraine. The concept was interesting but the plot was a little boring, every point of tension seemed to magically go the narrators way in convenient but unrealistic ways. Idk if it’s because I listened as an audiobook but I found the accent changes confusing

[Erika Miller]

This was really good...included with an audible subscription. I enjoyed the full cast.

[Anne]

I see Kim is liking my updates right this second so I gotta update that I finished this book and it was good but could’ve been better 🫡 HI KIM LOVE YOU

[Abby]

2.25: if I hear “the squad” one more time I’m going to explode

[Kell 5wordsorlessbooks]

Woowzers, this has to be one of the most satisfying books I have read in a long time!

At face value, this book intrigued me straight away. A reality TV show, a squad of strong women and the word revenge? I was all in. Sign me up...and who doesn’t love a bit of revenge (fictional, obviously)?

But aside from being an utterly addicting and suspenseful read, this book goes so much deeper. It takes an intimate look at women’s experiences at the hands of bad men, and the ways those experiences impact lives.

As Naima says, this book is “a quilted mosaic of the experiences of far too many women that I know and love, and elements of my own life and of the stories we hear at an unacceptable frequency.” And I think that really sums up what made this book hit the way it did.

We get to know our squad and the trauma they have faced while they cook up their plot of revenge, and I was locked in and seated the entire way through. I loved getting to know these women and seeing the relationships and friendships between them develop, but the book also looks at abuse of power and what feels like such a universal experience for women who have, in one way or another, dealt with bad men.

There was something almost liberating about reading this. Watching these women take all of those experiences and turn them into something of their own felt like one big F you to the men out there that so many of us women have faced in various degrees.

This was satisfying, infuriating, empowering and, honestly, just SO good. I cannot wait to see what is next! Thank you to Allen & Unwin, and Naima Brown for sending me a physical ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Just D]

Intriguing. Kept me until the end but didn't go where expected. Check your triggers.

[Jay Ward A.K.A. Chris Chambers]

I just wrapped this book and up until the final 1/2hr of it I was all aboard. The story was simple, engaging enough, and I was waiting for the big twist. Well the big twist sure came! It just wasn’t in the form of how I was expecting a novel to twist on me…y’know, I’m a story-altering, surprise, that leaves you dating “no way!” Turns out the ending was about as interesting as a bologna sandwich on Wonder Bread. The twist was that there WAS NO TWIST! The ending just rolled thru across the finish line like a bicycle with nobody sitting on it. Just wobbling along, coasting towards its inevitable end as you stand by amazed that it’s even still up.
THAT was right about the time the TSUNAMI washed over me! It went from “novel” to an after school special called “Girl Power!” Oh my stars! (As Nancy Grace would say!) it was just an unbearable “c’mon girls, let’s hold each other up, find everything that’s ever bothered us about men, and stick to the plan!” celebration that carried on for a full 45mins until the final bell. Just SO corny. Of course EVERYTHING worked out to perfection for the ladies plans, nobody was even held in the least suspicious of any wrongdoing, and there HAD to be the eyeroll serving of icing on the cake as EVERYONE’S life magically improved 3-fold while the band stuck together tighter than the Blues Brothers regardless of all the brand new perfect boyfriends they all naturally ended up with as the sunset over the whole chick-fest.
It’s actually too bad because as this book was coming to a close I was looking forward to a great ending to a pretty good story. Instead I was frantically looking over my shoulder at every woman I passed by assuming she hated me just for being a guy. I’m looking forward to the book being written someday by a man talking about ALL the ways women do us wrong over the course of a lifetime! But it will never come because a greater percentage of men are stronger than most women which results in a whole lot of pointing fingers, sensitivity to the littlest things, and long conversations about what is called “abuse” way too often. Insert eyeroll. There’s abuse…and then there’s ABUSE. Tsunamis like this one only makes the rest of us a little bit more desensitized to claims when they’re made. It’s way too over the top. What happened to women like my Grandmother, Mother, and my old Aunts? Life is hard. Strap on the helmet ladies.
Obviously I’m not disregarding the terrible things that do happen, and probably more often than we hear about. I’m not heartless, dumb, or lack empathy at all! Yall know what I’m talking about and who I’m talking about…the types that look for an identity sometimes in the slightest instances. They adopt it for so many different reasons too. This ending just washed over me with all of that and had me to the point of saying out loud…”you have to be kidding me!”

[ChickLiterally]

This whole audiobook is a trigger.

mild spoiler, but also kinda not really:

if you're sensitive to all sorts of violence against women, even if women get the last laugh, put this on your tbr for later.

I enjoyed it, but it makes me a bit heated, and frustrated by feeling heated.... I think I need to physically shake some energy off.

Take care of yourselves.

I haven't been feeling like giving things actual ratings lately, but I thought it was good, even if I'm less able to handle stress atm.

[Shelley Amar]

I 100% did not expect this to go where it did. I admit I didn’t read the blurb, just liked the cover and Naima’s latest book is high on my TBR list so I thought why not. Since I’m a psycho and listen to books on 1.7 speed I tore through this. It was riveting with the full cast and the sound effects and a piece of true audio theatre. It was funny, full on, entertaining and I enjoyed it..

[Melissa L]

This book was good. Not great. Not terrible. Very predictable. Listening to it was good because it had some fun sounds and voices, but it was a quick read. There should be trigger warnings for those who have suffered trauma. I haven’t had past trauma and some of the stuff was hard to listen to. So just an FYI.

[Caitlin]

The feminine rage and the audacity of men.

This book tackled a lot of complex topics in a way that I found satisfying and rage inducing. It showed trauma responses and shame and pure rage in a way that ripped out my own traumatised heart and held it out on a platter.

The ending was incredibly unrealistic but THE DREAM SO IM GOING TO IGNORE THAT PART

[Maura]

Rating is for the audible book because the amazing performance by the narrators and production really elevated this story from a 4ish star up to 5 for me.
I think if I had read an actual book for this story, it would not have been near as entertaining or un-put-downable.

[Vanessa Astle]

I could have gone without some graphic details but I’m also glad that this book showed the different types of abuse that people (specifically women in this book) go through and the fight it is to be believed, even by those closest to you.

[Morgan]

Bailey Collins believed she had outrun what Eli Murphy did to her in high school. Ten years and thousands of miles away from the scene of the crime, Bailey is laser-focused on her career. She's a rising star at her TV network, newly promoted as senior producer for the reality show, The Cruise. Things are on the up. And then Eli Murphy applies to be a contestant on The Cruise.

It’s taken a lot for Bailey to make something of her life and to heal from her adolescent trauma. She's changed her name and chopped her hair into a severe blonde pixie. But what she really owes her new life to is The Squad, the group of ride-or-die sisters-for-life survivors who have bonded over group therapy and stayed closely linked. They're always ready to assist one of their own in seeking the justice so often denied them.

Being stuck incognito on a luxury yacht with Eli might actually provide the opportunity for closure that Bailey has been waiting a decade for. As senior producer, she's in the perfect position to cast him and five members of The Squad as the female contestants on the show. As an all-new season of The Cruise sets sail, Bailey and her secret squad begin their own game for the ultimate prize: revenge.

This book was quite entertaining. I enjoyed the plot of getting revenge on a man who had wronged someone no matter how many years it has been. This book laid out clearly and concisely how traumatic something can be, whether it be attempted or fully followed through and accomplished on the villians side. I honestly had no idea how much rape/SA was going to be brought up and discussed in this book, so I will definitely say to anyone wanting to listen to this audiobook that is triggered by rape/SA to please not listen unless you know you will be ok and have a good mental stability. I have read about so much different stuff, stuff that would have someone question your mentality 😅, but even for me rape/SA are really hard to hear or read about. Now, again the plot was good and I liked the feeling that the game show gave vibes of Big Brother. I did find myself caught between crossroads however on this book as even though the plot was there and it kept me entertained and enthralled, I found Bailey to be very contradictory. Her being a producer means that she doesn't mind the drama and finding things out and exposing some weaknesses of contestants, but since her girls were on board she didn't want to do any of that to them but if it were anyone else she didn't care and she brings this up within the book. As time went on she also got very messy with her revenge plan, she could've already lost her job with all the stuff she pulled and lies she told. She had to almost lose one of her girls forever to wake up and realize that she needed to calm down and talk to the squad about these things and talk out ideas or plans for her revenge. The revenge scene also seemed anticlimactic unfortunately. I almost wished for more to have happened as it felt like it was done and over with quickly but yet it took us so long to get to that very point. Now, dont get me wrong the revenge still left plenty satisfied but I just personally expected more. Unfortunately these few things had me rating the book 3.5 stars but I will say that it was plenty entertaining and kept my full attention the whole time. I was kept on the edge of my seat with anxiety for Bailey and her girls hoping that they would be successful. Im happy with the ending and the happy ending for Bailey. I would honestly like to see more books that branch off from this book that revolve around the other girls, maybe and hopefully the author is thinking about writing about the girls as well.

[I’m reading]

This was a really good read that touches a lot of deep traumatic situations for many women.
TRIGGER WARNERS : SA, attempted rape, rape, grooming, domestic abuse, and school shooting.



POSSIBLE SPOILERS……..:.::.. POSSIBLE SPOILERS






This is the classic truth of people in position and people in power taking advantage of those without power/position. Women not being believed and those not being held accountable.

“The Squad” comes to play in this book. It consists of 6 women who were taking advantage of and one survivor of school shooting. They get their revenge.

From book summery ;

Bailey Collins believed she had outrun what Eli Murphy did to her in high school. Ten years and thousands of miles away from the scene of the crime, Bailey is laser-focused on her career. Shes a rising star at her TV network, newly promoted as senior producer for the reality show, The Cruise.

Things are on the up. And then Eli Murphy applies to be a contestant on The Cruise.
It's taken a lot for Bailey to make something of her life and to heal from her adolescent trauma. She's changed her name and chopped her hair into a severe blonde pixie.

But what she really owes her new life to is The Squad, the group of ride-or-die sisters-for-life survivors who have bonded over group therapy and stayed closely linked.
They're always ready to assist one of their own in seeking the justice so often denied them.

Being stuck incognito on a luxury yacht with Eli might actually provide the opportunity for closure that Bailey has been waiting a decade for. As senior producer, shes in the perfect position to cast him and five members of “The Squad” as the female contestants on the show.

As an all-new season of The Cruise sets sail, Bailey and her secret squad begin their own game for the ultimate prize: revenge.
The complete list of narrators includes:
Catherine Văn-Davies, Mitchell Bourke, Genevieve Hegney, Lola Bond, Chika Ikogwe, Andrea Solonge, Ayeesha Ash, Chloe Tobin, Alpha Sylla, Nic English, Cam Ralph, Ben Chapple, Emma Jones, Rowan Witt, Katherine Beck, and Jayden Koulizakis.

[Tiahne Taylor]

4.5 ⭐️ Reality TV, feminine rage, female friendships that take girl code VERY seriously, and the absolute audacity of men. Honestly, what more could you want?

This book was so much more than I expected it to be, and I loved it. I also devoured it in a matter of hours.

Going in, I was expecting a fun, dramatic read with a reality TV setting, but The Cruise had so much more depth than that. There are some really heavy topics explored throughout the story, but I thought they were handled incredibly well. It never felt like the book was using them purely for shock value. Instead, they added so much weight to the characters, their relationships, and everything that unfolded.

But the real highlight for me was the women. The friendships, the loyalty, the way they showed up for one another, and the sheer amount of feminine rage running through this book had me completely invested.

And THE MEN. The absolute audacity. I spent a good portion of this book furious on behalf of these women, which only made it more satisfying when things started coming together.

By the end, I wasn’t just invested. I was absolutely cheering for justice.

Such an unexpected read for me, in the best possible way.
Thank you to Penguin Random House for a copy of this book.

[Kianna Ford]

There were certain elements of this story that I loved, but other parts gave adult Disney channel vibes. I liked the squad’s background stories because it helped me understand their motivations and gave women who were victims a powerful voice. As a reality TV watcher, I also liked how this took place on a competition show. I felt like I could easily see how this would be a set up for a great ending.

The book started losing steam for me when the poor decision-making from the main character was always magically excused and the love story that threw a wrench in the plan made me gag. It went from a hip, female-rage revenge story to a corny quickly. The problems the main character had to navigate felt so manufactured, as if they’re only there because they HAD to be. She didn’t learn anything new or think strategically at all. I didn’t love the ending either. The way the mission was completed and the explanation of what happened after made me roll my eyes so hard. Everything was so unbelievable, which in fiction is fine, but this book didn’t start off that way in my opinion.

The volcano story sent me over the edge LOL.

Two stars for girl power though 🩷

[Evelyn Wambui]

I did the audio for this one and wow! That was a piece of audio theatre - 17 actors performed this audio book it was an audio book performance! I’m not sure I’d have read read it if that was the option but boy I’m I glad I listened to this one!

I also loved the storyline…the story went exactly where it was meant to, no twists or turns…for someone who is used to major twists, I kept looking for them but in the end appreciated that they made no effort to…

Also, doesn’t everyone need a ‘squad’! It was great to hear its premise and all the backstories that made the ladies part of the squad.

As for Laura…hmmm. I know they said it was a trauma reaction but giiiiirrrrlll!!! Considering everything Bailey did when she called for her mission???!!! Girl stepped out baaad!!!!! Would have wanted to hear more about her in the end but understood why she had to step out after losing track of the mission’s focus!

An overall 4 star for me!