Ahoy, book clubbers and welcome to this month’s stupendous review!

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I am delighted to report that we are stepping aboard The Cruise by Naïma Brown, a book that is a brilliant new addition to a category I would call my all-time favourite not-guilty pleasure: Revenge Fantasy. Featuring a bad-ass group of women who are ride-or-die friends and the strongest emotional support system for each other that I have ever beheld.

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They are Angels without the Charlie (and the Bosley) in having each other’s backs and absolutely kickassery in taking down monsters before they can strike again.

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THIS is how justice should work.*

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While I may sound biased, let the facts be known: this book is darkly compelling and razor sharp with suspense that you may need to set an alarm if you have any other plans for that day (or week) when starting this addictive thriller with a moral center.

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Cue Bailey Collins, a total boss and newly promoted senior producer of hit reality TV show The Cruise – a one-winner takes all competition on a (you guessed it) cruise ship filled with swimsuit-clad hotties who may also find romance. It’s Below Deck meets Survivor meets Love Island, but the REAL story is behind-the-scenes of course.

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When an old face re-surfaces in one of the audition tapes for the upcoming season, Bailey is confronted with the person who traumatized her years ago as a teenager, forcing her to leave school and change her name and appearance, and hurt her ability to trust any man with her heart again.

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Bailey has two choices: discard the tape, forget it happened and move on. Or… concoct a brilliant scheme to expose this monster for what he is, on television, by recruiting the close circle friends who have had her back for years and will stop at nothing to secure justice for one of their own.

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Enter the Squad: a tight-knit league of ruthless, cunning and extraordinary women who have been to hell and back and show no fear in the face of evil.

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As each day unfolds, Bailey meticulously plans each step but the possible dangers lying in wait take their toll and her focus threatens to slip into obsession.

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With the safety of her friends, her job and all that she has achieved are all on the line, Bailey knows that one misstep could be the undoing of it all.

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In The Cruise, Naïma Brown delivers an incredible story of revenge, friendship, inner strength and mental healing with a cast of engaging, complex characters who refuse to let their trauma define them and hold the people who have hurt them accountable.

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A welcome summer read with depth, I cannot wait for the next gripping installment of the Squad.

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Five out of five spicy margs.

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*Sorry but not absolutely at all sorry.

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