The Vacation

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The narration was excellent, like listening to an actual play. Saying that John, this would go on stage beautifully. Same thing with film if done properly. The One has been translated into 30 different languages and is to be turned into an eight-part Netflix series starting in autumn 2020. Welcome to Venice Beach, Los Angeles. Home of Muscle Beach and the Venice Beach International Hostel. 8 strangers from around the world, all hiding secrets and wanting a fresh start are all guests at the hostel. They are all trying to escape from their past and at first glance are so different. As we get t

John Marrs | Goodreads Welcome To Wherever You Are by John Marrs | Goodreads

The Vacation by John Marrs is a difficult book to write about. It’s certainly an addictive read as I was desperate to see how it ended – or more accurately – how our characters all fared. Peter James, author of Picture You Dead Another savagely clever near-future thriller. Provocative, terrifying and compulsive. If you loved The One, you'll love this! The Vacation" is a testament to the power of unique storytelling. While it may not offer an easy, straightforward read, it leaves an indelible impression. If you're up for a challenge and seek something refreshingly different in your reading, this book offers a compelling exploration of complex characters and innovative storytelling. THE AUTHOR: After working as a journalist for 25-years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines, John Marrs is now a full-time writer. I found it a little disconcerting that some of the timeframe changes occurred mid chapter which I wasn’t used to experiencing. Similarly on a few occasions there was some head hopping. We were in the head of one character and then privy to another’s thoughts, though thankfully for the most part it’s clear.Amazing. Bloody brilliant. Clever, twisted and dark as mighty hell." —Lisa Jewell on Keep It in the Family Savannah - has a famous father who is a TV Reverend in Alabama. She decided to move to LA. Why is she always looking over her shoulder? Wow there are so many unexpected surprises, twists and deranged characters. Most of these guests are running away from something in their lives. A terrific novel that should appeal to anyone who enjoys complex, character-driven, suspense novels.' Those who have entered the doors of this hostile come from all across the globe. Australia, England, Ireland and even one from the Deep South. Visitors hoping to meet their Hollywood idols. Some running from their families. Others looking for their piece of the golden pie.

The Vacation by John Marrs - Pan Macmillan

It’s a large cast of characters but at no time did I have any difficulty keeping them and their storylines apart. And of course, how they all eventually intersect. Brilliantly done! I would actually love to see this on the screen and I know that one of Marrs’s previous books The One was made into a Netflix series. In fact I can’t help but wonder if this book would fare better with episodic fast-paced visual treatment than it does in written form. What sets this book apart is the author's daring creativity. The plot, though intricate and occasionally challenging, showcases Marrs' readiness to explore uncharted territory in storytelling. It's a puzzle, a maze of twists and turns that will test your comprehension and intrigue you, pushing the boundaries of the literary experience. I am normally not someone who likes stories with too many twists but with this author I always make an exception. So (in some ways) there is a deeper theme on offer (in addition to the whole twist of fate thing), akin to the Wizard of Oz’s ‘You’ve had the power all along.’

In some ways it’s a bit like a Woody Allen-esque movie featuring a series of vignettes with an array of characters, all with their own stories that come together in some unbelievably coincidental way at the end. The Vacation

The Vacation by John Marrs, Peter Noble | 2940171597849 The Vacation by John Marrs, Peter Noble | 2940171597849

It took me a while to get into it, and for the first quarter of it I didn't even think I'd finish it... But then... it just swept me off my feet! Unputdownable roller coaster, where everything you know turns out to be nothing like you could have possibly imagined! The pace is steady and it's told in the past and present day format. The plotline is multi-layered but easy to follow. We are told how each well developed character got in to the situation they were in. This is an intriguing read. Overall, I don’t think this is John Marrs best book but it is a fun read and it keeps you absorbed. I like the Breaking Bad references!

The plot is compelling and seemingly unrelated characters come together to form cleverly woven threads, you just cannot put this book down! Nicole & Eric - friends and work colleagues from the UK. What are they searching for and do they have an agenda? A group of strangers all arrive at a hostel on Venice Beach, all of them are running away from something. They all have secrets and want a new identity. Rerelease of ‘Welcome to whoever you are’ which I enjoy much more second time around - go figure!!! The novel has a good premise with a disparate bunch of people from various corners of the world ‘washing up’ at a rundown hostel in Venice Beach. Every single one of them is faking in in some way shape or form, most are running or hiding from something which is often huge. At the Venice Beach International Hostel eight of those people congregate. They’re all different and all have their own stories to tell. They all have their own secrets too, but as we all know, secrets have a nasty habit of emerging when you least want them to…

The Vacation - John Marrs - Google Books

I found this book – at various times – to be annoying, obvious, frustrating and alluring. And weirdly I’d recommend it for all of those reasons. Originally published under the title Welcome to Wherever You Are in 2015, this book is quite different from what ‘we’ are used to read from John Marrs lately. It’s not SF, it’s not a travel guide (although it sometimes reads like on) and its not a thriller or a romance story. It has little pieces of everything and of course, the writing is such that it’s hard to put the book down. Everything is neatly tied up in the end, I suppose, but despite that, the story still seemed somehow unfinished to me. I will say, though, I was impressed by the way all the puzzle pieces eventually came together. It takes a skillful author to make all the connections work, without becoming cheesy and/or implausible. But... what was the deal with Peyk? Where did he go at the end? How did he know everything? I normally get the kindle version of a book, along with the audiobook so that I can listen at work, and read at night. That was almost impossible to do with this book because the audiobook and the kindle book were different from one another, which was very frustrating. Given the fact that I was already invested, I ended up still trying to do both because I was curious about the differences, so I feel like I actually read this book twice. The Vacation is a compulsive, holiday-set thriller from John Marrs, the author of The One, now a Netflix Original Series.

But for eight strangers at the beachfront hostel, there is far more on their minds than an extended vacation.