The Vacation House

Told in alternating points of view to correspond with the dual timelines, Shemilt’s latest (after All Her Secrets) finds its rhythm in the second act and never looks back. In 2003, everything changes for 13-year-old Sofie when she is violently assaulted by some guests of the Greek island home she cares for with her family. Nineteen-year-old Julia’s father owns the house, but Julia had left her family and guests early and didn’t know what happened to the shy young girl. In 2023, Julia is living in London with a husband she doesn’t love, but he provides for her and her daughter. Increasingly dissatisfied with her situation, she begins confiding in a therapist. Julia’s seeing positive personal results and returns to visit the Greek house, where she discovers what happened 20 years ago. That truth collides with her present in a gripping race that jeopardizes the life she thought she had. While the reveals are easily guessed, the finale is surprising and ultimately satisfying, if a little too neat.