Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Please Enjoy Your Stay follows Mia, who lost her beloved cousin, Tristan, quite tragically when they were both teens. She was the last one to see him alive, and that night has been seared in her brain ever since.
Tristan was murdered at an infamous castle in the Austrian Alps, and young Mia’s testimony helped to put the accused murderer behind bars. Now, many years later, the murderer is appealing his conviction and a popular True Crime podcast has started covering the case.
Mia’s Aunt Iris, Tristan’s Mom, is a famous author, who also focused on True Crime. In fact, that’s why they were in Austria at the time of his death. She was researching the history of the family whose castle they were staying at.
Because of Iris’s interest and focus on violent crimes, there were many who thought she played a hand in Tristan’s death. Was it possibly done to create content for the ultimate True Crime novel?
Mia knows her Aunt had nothing to do with her cousin’s death. The thought is preposterous, but this podcast is stirring the pot and bringing old suspicions to the surface. In an effort to protect her Aunt, Mia returns to Austria.
The castle that they were staying at is now being refurbished and is soon reopening its doors as a luxury hotel. Mia secures a job as a nanny for the new owner, and infiltrates the castle under that guise as she tries to find evidence to clear her Aunt’s name once and for all.
It’s bizarre for Mia to be back at the castle, and she’s just hoping not to be recognized by anyone who may have known her when she was young. She takes to being a nanny fairly well, but it’s not long before some creepy things start happening around the castle, including a disappearance.
When sinister new evidence emerges regarding her cousin’s death, Mia realizes she may actually have ratted out the wrong man. If that’s the case though, that means the real killer is still at large, and Mia may be in more danger now than ever.
I really enjoyed this story. It did its job. I was intrigued and entertained. I loved the setting of the Austrian castle and the overriding mystery was compelling. I feel the author plotted out the reveals very well, keeping me on my toes.
This is the first I’ve read from Goedjen, but I’m looking forward to more. This had a bit of that is it paranormal, is it not paranormal vibe that I tend to enjoy in this kind of Thriller and I was stoked to see that.
It was reminiscent of the works of Simone St. James, or Jennifer McMahon, so if you enjoy their works, you may really enjoy this as well.
I also like the back-and-forth that we got between Mia in the present timeline, and the past timeline of the events leading up to the death of her cousin. As the mystery of the past began to fill out, the dangers of the present became even more evident. The stakes were high.
I really enjoyed Mia as a main character as well. I felt for her. She had been through so much, and it was a lot to face by herself and try to figure out. She was doing it for her Aunt, but in a way, she was also just doing it for herself. I feel like she really needed some closure for the events of the night that Tristan died, and I was just hoping she wouldn’t be too devastated by whatever she found.
I thought the author did a great job of using the setting to increase the tension. The isolation of the castle and it’s dark history definitely added a lot to the story, it also contributed to Mia’s paranoia. It was hard to tell if anyone could be trusted and she even began to question her own memories.
I would definitely recommend this to Thriller Readers who like atmospheric stories told via the past and present. The Austrian setting was refreshing and the creepy castle vibes are top notch. This was really fun.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to more from this author. I hope she writes more novels along this same line in the future.