T. M. Logan
Author of Lies
About the Author
Image credit: T.M. Logan
Works by T. M. Logan
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- journalist
- Agent
- Camilla Bolton
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Berkshire, England, UK
- Map Location
- England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
If this is the perfect vacation, maybe I’ll just stay home. What a marvelous story. It started out a little slowly and I was afraid I might be disappointed, but suddenly the plot took off and it was another thrill ride full of surprises we have come to expect from author T. M. Logan.
Kate, Rowan, Jennifer and Izzy have been best friends forever. But that doesn’t mean their families, from partners to kids, will instantly mesh and become besties too. Or that forever isn’t really in the show more past now because people change. And sometimes old hurts and injustices and secrets pop up again. Or maybe new secrets?
These women may have been closer than ever in the past, but it sure doesn’t seem that way now. And each of them seems to have tensions in their relationships or tension because of lack of a relationship, and perfect children really only look perfect to parents. Maybe this luxurious holiday in a villa in the south of France wasn’t such a great idea after all.
The story focuses mostly on Kate, whose husband Sean seems distant and secretive, and if the text messages Kate finds on his phone are to be believed he’s having an affair – with one of her forever friends. She can’t think, sleep, eat and ends up confiding her fears in everyone one way or another. She suspects everybody and everything and realizes she’s wronged each of these women in the past and any of them could be looking for revenge. And while this is going on there is an undercurrent of something sinister and unknown that is slowly building almost without the reader noticing. There’s a strange dynamic among all the children. There’s a strange dynamic between Sean and each of the women. The husbands wouldn’t have been friends but for the women. Everyone is hiding something or sneaking in or out of somewhere. Tension builds and builds and builds and just when something unexpected happens and you sigh with relief at no tension, something even more shocking and scary happens, again and again.
I didn’t like most of these people, I wondered how this forever friendship could have survived as long as it has, and I didn’t trust anyone because they all seem to have secrets and hidden motives, and someone, or more than one, seems to be just a bit unhinged. But who? And at the same time I wanted happily-ever-afters for all the couples, happy, well-adjusted children, the perfect vacation just as planned.
T. M. Logan has done an amazing job with The Vacation. Although not always likeable, these are interesting characters, even the children. The plot rolls smoothly along, making your fear rise and your mistrust of seemingly innocent statements and actions grow bit by bit until you can hardly stand it anymore. And you most definitely cannot stop turning pages until you find out what’s really happening in this not-so-idyllic corner of the world.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Publishing Group for providing an advance copy of The Vacation via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. All opinions are my own. This was a thrilling read that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend without hesitation. show less
Kate, Rowan, Jennifer and Izzy have been best friends forever. But that doesn’t mean their families, from partners to kids, will instantly mesh and become besties too. Or that forever isn’t really in the show more past now because people change. And sometimes old hurts and injustices and secrets pop up again. Or maybe new secrets?
These women may have been closer than ever in the past, but it sure doesn’t seem that way now. And each of them seems to have tensions in their relationships or tension because of lack of a relationship, and perfect children really only look perfect to parents. Maybe this luxurious holiday in a villa in the south of France wasn’t such a great idea after all.
The story focuses mostly on Kate, whose husband Sean seems distant and secretive, and if the text messages Kate finds on his phone are to be believed he’s having an affair – with one of her forever friends. She can’t think, sleep, eat and ends up confiding her fears in everyone one way or another. She suspects everybody and everything and realizes she’s wronged each of these women in the past and any of them could be looking for revenge. And while this is going on there is an undercurrent of something sinister and unknown that is slowly building almost without the reader noticing. There’s a strange dynamic among all the children. There’s a strange dynamic between Sean and each of the women. The husbands wouldn’t have been friends but for the women. Everyone is hiding something or sneaking in or out of somewhere. Tension builds and builds and builds and just when something unexpected happens and you sigh with relief at no tension, something even more shocking and scary happens, again and again.
I didn’t like most of these people, I wondered how this forever friendship could have survived as long as it has, and I didn’t trust anyone because they all seem to have secrets and hidden motives, and someone, or more than one, seems to be just a bit unhinged. But who? And at the same time I wanted happily-ever-afters for all the couples, happy, well-adjusted children, the perfect vacation just as planned.
T. M. Logan has done an amazing job with The Vacation. Although not always likeable, these are interesting characters, even the children. The plot rolls smoothly along, making your fear rise and your mistrust of seemingly innocent statements and actions grow bit by bit until you can hardly stand it anymore. And you most definitely cannot stop turning pages until you find out what’s really happening in this not-so-idyllic corner of the world.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Publishing Group for providing an advance copy of The Vacation via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest review. All opinions are my own. This was a thrilling read that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend without hesitation. show less
Alan Hawthorne is a college professor, television personality...and a reprehensible human being. He
treats the female professors he works with abominably. Sexual harassment is just the tip of the ice
berg. It makes Sarah's job a living hell....but she has to endure it or face annihilation of her career. One afternoon she sees a little girl in danger and takes action to protect her. Turns out the little girl is the daughter of a very dangerous man. That man offers her a burner phone and 72 show more hours to think things over. Then she can pick one person. And he will make them disappear. Forever. Poof. Gone.
Just a few seconds. One decision that could change her whole life......and would definitely change the life of whoever she chooses. Yes......or no.
Holy crap this book was one hell of a ride! I've read one other book by T. M. Logan, so I expected this to be suspenseful and twisted. And I was right! The story sucked me in from the start. I cannot even imagine working for the pig that Sarah had to put up with day in and day out.....but on the other hand, I couldn't imagine facing the choice that Sarah has thrust in her lap either. And she only has 72 hours to decide if she accepts the offer.....or declines.
I thought I had things figured out.....and then the ending hit me upside the head. Nicely done! I love it when a story has a fun last snap or two!
Another great read from T. M. Logan! Lies was good.....29 Seconds, in my opinion, is even better!
I'm definitely looking forward to more by this author!
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less
treats the female professors he works with abominably. Sexual harassment is just the tip of the ice
berg. It makes Sarah's job a living hell....but she has to endure it or face annihilation of her career. One afternoon she sees a little girl in danger and takes action to protect her. Turns out the little girl is the daughter of a very dangerous man. That man offers her a burner phone and 72 show more hours to think things over. Then she can pick one person. And he will make them disappear. Forever. Poof. Gone.
Just a few seconds. One decision that could change her whole life......and would definitely change the life of whoever she chooses. Yes......or no.
Holy crap this book was one hell of a ride! I've read one other book by T. M. Logan, so I expected this to be suspenseful and twisted. And I was right! The story sucked me in from the start. I cannot even imagine working for the pig that Sarah had to put up with day in and day out.....but on the other hand, I couldn't imagine facing the choice that Sarah has thrust in her lap either. And she only has 72 hours to decide if she accepts the offer.....or declines.
I thought I had things figured out.....and then the ending hit me upside the head. Nicely done! I love it when a story has a fun last snap or two!
Another great read from T. M. Logan! Lies was good.....29 Seconds, in my opinion, is even better!
I'm definitely looking forward to more by this author!
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less
This was quite the page turner and has so many lies going on by so many characters that I found the one character who wasn't lying, was a bit pale in comparison.
I don't want to give away the major twists here but I can say that I found two of the main characters lying to be so extreme in their personalities and plight, that they verged into caricatures. Perhaps for me it was that even before their plot and involvement were revealed, they hadn't been rendered in such a remote and removed way show more that neither ever felt real. This is the saving grace of the compulsive page turner but in the final analysis, it left me a bit unsatisfied.
I also found that instead of feeling terribly sorry for our narrator, Joe, I was a bit annoyed by his not catching on to things sooner and being so easily led. In fairness, I allowed for some of it because it did make sense that one wants to believe the person closest to them but the extent to which this was taken with Joe was too far for me. There's a line between wide-eyed sap and willful fool turned tool. Joe's on the wrong side of that line for much of this story. I felt for him but I also disliked him for falling for so much and it felt to me that per the writing, I should root for and like him. On balance, he was the most likable of all but that's, to me, down to a lack of options by default not because it was earned.
I very much liked the takes on society's current relationship with social media and the technology used (and misused) to various ends (intended and unintended) that was covered here. I actually think that's where the story's overall strength really exists. I found that the things I most highlighted were in relation to Joe's revelations over time and in the end about this aspect of modern life. The point made about the value of face to face interactions and the importance of meaningful connections in the real world was well done and not rendered in a Luddite's fever. I loved what this book had to say about the convergence of what's real and what's manufactured for consumption and how it can not only be hurtful but worse, dangerous. While the shifting relationships and lies are the initial draw for the story, the cautionary tale lies in this secondary theme. This is the bit of the story that will remain with me.
While this was a bit of domestic thriller (per the book blurb/summary), it did feel a bit like something else in addition that I can't quite put my finger on (psychological social media thriller?). Recommended for users of social media everywhere. To the aware and judicious users who won't be shocked and shaken and to the users who just may stop and read those ToS for real next time before blithely clicking "Accept".
Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. show less
I don't want to give away the major twists here but I can say that I found two of the main characters lying to be so extreme in their personalities and plight, that they verged into caricatures. Perhaps for me it was that even before their plot and involvement were revealed, they hadn't been rendered in such a remote and removed way show more that neither ever felt real. This is the saving grace of the compulsive page turner but in the final analysis, it left me a bit unsatisfied.
I also found that instead of feeling terribly sorry for our narrator, Joe, I was a bit annoyed by his not catching on to things sooner and being so easily led. In fairness, I allowed for some of it because it did make sense that one wants to believe the person closest to them but the extent to which this was taken with Joe was too far for me. There's a line between wide-eyed sap and willful fool turned tool. Joe's on the wrong side of that line for much of this story. I felt for him but I also disliked him for falling for so much and it felt to me that per the writing, I should root for and like him. On balance, he was the most likable of all but that's, to me, down to a lack of options by default not because it was earned.
I very much liked the takes on society's current relationship with social media and the technology used (and misused) to various ends (intended and unintended) that was covered here. I actually think that's where the story's overall strength really exists. I found that the things I most highlighted were in relation to Joe's revelations over time and in the end about this aspect of modern life. The point made about the value of face to face interactions and the importance of meaningful connections in the real world was well done and not rendered in a Luddite's fever. I loved what this book had to say about the convergence of what's real and what's manufactured for consumption and how it can not only be hurtful but worse, dangerous. While the shifting relationships and lies are the initial draw for the story, the cautionary tale lies in this secondary theme. This is the bit of the story that will remain with me.
While this was a bit of domestic thriller (per the book blurb/summary), it did feel a bit like something else in addition that I can't quite put my finger on (psychological social media thriller?). Recommended for users of social media everywhere. To the aware and judicious users who won't be shocked and shaken and to the users who just may stop and read those ToS for real next time before blithely clicking "Accept".
Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. show less
(I listened to this on audio so quotes and punctuation will not be exact)
(Head of Department and Staff Member)
Did that make your blood boil? Well, it did mine and it made my blood boil in the half-dozen other times in the novel that Professor Alan Hawthorne, Captain of the Old Boys Club and Head of the English Department at a prestigious University, cornered his prey. TML succeeded in creating a high-profile Teflon coated predator with plenty of victims that was so thoroughly slimy I could feel the bile rising inside me every time he opened his mouth to speak.
Then you have Sarah with her PhD, the innocent lamb, bidding for tenure in Hawthorne’s department, and who has to be the absolutely hugest literary dimwit that I have encountered in a long time. Sarah has a husband who has currently left her for his latest squeeze (not for the first time) and still she moons about waiting for his call telling her he is coming home. She should have a brilliant career in front of her – if only she wasn’t under the thumb of a complete douchebag (Dita’s apt description of Hawthorne which I adopt whole-heartedly) who makes sport of dangling fictitious promotions in front of his female staff, in exchange for their indentured sexual servitude (I assure you no one sees a farthing for their efforts). Time after time she keeps stepping up for slaughter, believing against all odds that she will get her promotion and respect due her based on her work performance. Each time, when she resists Hawthorne’s overtures, he applies more and more pressure, passing her up for the tenure spot for the second year in a row, telling her she will be made redundant during proposed budget cuts, informing her that if she tries to complain to HR she will be facing a counter-claim that she has been coming on to him. He is always one step ahead of her, closing in, smacking his lips. The more she resists the more fervent and blatant his threats. Every time he offers her a drink (it seems that all these people do is drink) I’m convinced that it has been spiked with Rohypnol (HUGE irony).
Enter, Kingpin Mafioso, whose daughter Sarah saved in an heroic action. KM doesn’t like to be beholden to anyone and offers to erase the person of her choice from the face of the earth. Things spiral out of control and get even worse – lots of twisty suspense and furious page flipping ensue (I don’t want to spoil) until a perfectly satisfactory and just ending is reached – at least for one of the characters.
The fact that I loathed both of the main characters is a credit to the author. It’s not easy to create such thoroughly unlikable characters – I enjoyed this novel immensely! show less
(Head of Department and Staff Member)
“….she tried to edge further away but she was already hard up against the door…the door handle was digging into her thigh. The inside of the taxi was intensely claustrophobic, a temporary prison she couldn’t escape…he shifted up a little closer…[They’re on their way they’re in a taxi behind us.] But we shall be there first. Just the two of us and I’ve got a surpriseshow more
for you. He tapped her leg just above her knee letting it rest there. His fingers felt heavy on her thigh. I do like these stockings. You should wear skirts more often. Your legs are fabulous. Please, don’t do that, she said in a small voice, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. Do, what? Touch my leg. Oh? I thought you liked it. No, I’d pefer it if you didn’t. I love you playing hard to get. You’re such a tease Sarah. He pressed himself closer again. ... He moved his fingers a few inches higher, stroking her thigh. Carefully and deliberately she lifted his hand up with hers and moved it away aware of her heart thudding painfully in her chest. Then he was stroking the back of her head caressing her long dark hair. She flinched away sitting forward against the seatbelt and shooting him a look. He ignored her, cupping his right hand around his nose. Eyelids fluttering closed for a second. I love your smell Sarah. You’re intoxicating. Do you wear that perfume just for me. Her skin crawling, she tried desperately to think of a way to stop this happening again…..I am nice to you aren’t I? he said again. You can be nice to me too. Once in a while at least. Why don’t you try it? …Now I’m going to treat you to a very special nightcap. Don’t you dare go anywhere…”
Did that make your blood boil? Well, it did mine and it made my blood boil in the half-dozen other times in the novel that Professor Alan Hawthorne, Captain of the Old Boys Club and Head of the English Department at a prestigious University, cornered his prey. TML succeeded in creating a high-profile Teflon coated predator with plenty of victims that was so thoroughly slimy I could feel the bile rising inside me every time he opened his mouth to speak.
Then you have Sarah with her PhD, the innocent lamb, bidding for tenure in Hawthorne’s department, and who has to be the absolutely hugest literary dimwit that I have encountered in a long time. Sarah has a husband who has currently left her for his latest squeeze (not for the first time) and still she moons about waiting for his call telling her he is coming home. She should have a brilliant career in front of her – if only she wasn’t under the thumb of a complete douchebag (Dita’s apt description of Hawthorne which I adopt whole-heartedly) who makes sport of dangling fictitious promotions in front of his female staff, in exchange for their indentured sexual servitude (I assure you no one sees a farthing for their efforts). Time after time she keeps stepping up for slaughter, believing against all odds that she will get her promotion and respect due her based on her work performance. Each time, when she resists Hawthorne’s overtures, he applies more and more pressure, passing her up for the tenure spot for the second year in a row, telling her she will be made redundant during proposed budget cuts, informing her that if she tries to complain to HR she will be facing a counter-claim that she has been coming on to him. He is always one step ahead of her, closing in, smacking his lips. The more she resists the more fervent and blatant his threats. Every time he offers her a drink (it seems that all these people do is drink) I’m convinced that it has been spiked with Rohypnol (HUGE irony).
“It's just not your time Sarah. You’re not quite ready yet. Almost, but not quite…..believe me when I say this is not easy for me either. It wouldn’t be in your best interest to put you up for a permanent post at this stage. I know it’s tough now but in the long run you’ll thank me……I know you really want this but you need to commit yourself to the discipline. You’ve already got two little children…how do I know you’re not going to be disappearing after, popping out more babies as soon as you get that permanent contract, leaving your colleagues in a lurch while you go on for a nice maternity holiday and we don’t see you for another year. He gave her a lascivious smile. More to the point. I don’t see you for a year. …I do love to see you angry Sarah… You’re so sexy when you’re angry. Why do you think you can say that? Why do you think it’s okay? He shrugged. It’s true you are…[she went to leave] but he was blocking her way, leaning against the door with his hands crossed…Let me out. It doesn’t have to be like this. You can still make the promotions list. You just have to show me your commitment to this department…. So show me. His eyes flickered. Show me how committed you are. No, Sarah said quietly. He moved toward her dropping his hands to his sides. Show me….”
Enter, Kingpin Mafioso, whose daughter Sarah saved in an heroic action. KM doesn’t like to be beholden to anyone and offers to erase the person of her choice from the face of the earth. Things spiral out of control and get even worse – lots of twisty suspense and furious page flipping ensue (I don’t want to spoil) until a perfectly satisfactory and just ending is reached – at least for one of the characters.
The fact that I loathed both of the main characters is a credit to the author. It’s not easy to create such thoroughly unlikable characters – I enjoyed this novel immensely! show less
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