From Sandie Jones, the bestselling author of THE OTHER WOMAN and THE HALF SISTER, comes THE GUILT TRIP, a riveting “locked-door” mystery sure to find its way into every beach bag this summer.

Rachel and her husband, Jack, have been best friends with Paige and Noah for almost two decades, their various milestones --- children, promotions and the woes of age --- marking the time they have spent together and solidifying their friendships. But Rachel and Noah were friends first, ever since university, and no one can deny that their bond is one of the stronger ones in the group. Now in their 40s, Rachel, Jack, Paige and Noah are enjoying being empty-nesters and rekindling their romances now that their children, Josh and Chloe, are off beginning their own education adventures. First up in their new lives is Jack’s brother Will’s wedding to Ali, a blonde-haired, curvy and salacious drama queen.

"An instant beach-read classic with plenty of room for discussions on infidelity, friendship and marriage, THE GUILT TRIP is a twisted and endlessly entertaining thriller from an excellent author."

Things are already off to a rocky start as Ali nearly derails the couples’ flight to Portugal when she “loses” her passport somewhere between the car and the security checkpoint. Rachel tries to be sympathetic, knowing how frantic any bride would be when jetting off to her fancy destination wedding, but Jack and Paige make it clear that they have had it with her antics. Not only is Ali always the most gorgeous woman in the room, which annoys Rachel and Paige, she always has to be the most bombastic storyteller, the girl who gets right up and does a final dance with the performers of a musical and saves a man from dying by suicide on her way to the doctor...allegedly.

At least in Portugal, the couples have an idyllic setting in a gorgeous villa to distract them from Ali’s shenanigans. Still, Rachel cannot help but wonder why Jack seems to hate Ali so much, despite their background as coworkers. Nor can she ignore the obvious tension between her and Noah, her best friend and secret one-time lover. All the while, Ali continues to stir up drama, giggling incessantly at nothing and bouncing around like a first-class bimbo. Needless to say, her wedding to Will is sure to be unforgettable.

Shortly before the cermony, Jack lets it slip why he doesn’t like Ali: He claims to know a man who was seeing her while she was also dating his brother, now soon-to-be husband. Rachel, Paige and Noah agree that no good can come from derailing Will’s wedding --- for better or for worse, no one thanks the person who ruins the big day --- but the idea of infidelity seems to stick to the forefront of their minds. As Ali alludes to having a former married lover, and Jack’s behavior starts to reek of hypocrisy, Rachel must wonder: Has Ali slept with her husband, too? And if so, does their crime of passion outweigh, or excuse, the single night she spent with Noah early in her relationship with Jack? With each member of the wedding party seeming to hide something, the couples’ marriages and friendships start to unravel, one broken secret at a time.

Sandie Jones has penned another serious suspense story, with plenty of conclusion-jumping, red herrings, lies and misdirection. While the idyllic Portuguese villa makes this novel scream “beach read!” the plotline is no less serious or devious than her previous works. After kicking off with a murder scene and working backward, Jones expertly wields her characters’ deepest fears and then throws them into a pressure cooker of suspense until each one has something precious to lose --- and to fight for. Add to that some decidedly gray-area friendships, and you have a guaranteed implosion...and an incredibly fun, riveting journey on the way there.

Jones is a master at playing with cookie-cutter relationships --- husband, wife, best friend, brother --- and alerting her readers to something sinister just beneath the surface. At one point, Rachel notes, “They all got something from each other’s spouses that they didn’t get from their own.” While there’s no harm in this gray area, Jones pushes it to its limit, asking just how much our spouses can ever complete us, and whether or not it is ever truly acceptable, or honest, to find these missing pieces in others. Even if it is, she reminds us, it does not mean that there will never be jealousy, rage or competition, and her characters run the gamut of these emotions in the action-packed weekend that makes up the book.

An instant beach-read classic with plenty of room for discussions on infidelity, friendship and marriage, THE GUILT TRIP is a twisted and endlessly entertaining thriller from an excellent author.