The Trip
Then: Twenty years ago, a rafting accident destroyed a tight-knit group of five friends. Courtney vanished into the water, her body never found.
Now: Palmer, Beth, Emma, and influencer Gigi reunite for a luxury sailing trip to mend fences. But the past refuses to stay buried.
When a violent storm hits, the captain disappears, the radio fails, and Gigi is swept away in a terrifying reenactment of their senior year tragedy. Stranded in the Pacific with an inexperienced first officer, Palmer realizes this is no accident. Someone is hunting them, and the only way to survive the present is to finally confront the truth about what really happened on the river all those years ago.
- Beth - University president
- Emma - House flipper
- Gigi - Influencer
- Palmer - Nurse
- Courtney - Beth, Emma, Gigi and Palmer’s high school friend
- Adam (Real name: Russell) - First officer of the sailboat, Courtney’s brother
- Captain Nojan - Captain of the sailboat
- Matt - Palmer’s husband
- Sydney - Matt’s mistress
- Prologue: Memorial Day Weekend 2005: Emma, Gigi, Palmer and Beth are lost in the woods.
- They find their way out of the woods and call 911 to report that Courtney went missing after falling into the water while rafting.
- Present: Matt cheated on Palmer and they are divorcing. He is moving in with Sydney, whom he met in another state while on business.
- Gigi invites Beth, Emma and Palmer on a two week sailing trip to mark the twentieth anniversary of Courtney’s death.
- September 2004: Courtney is generous but also cruel and manipulative, even towards her friends.
- Present: Day one at sea: Captain Nojan tells everyone they must wear life vests and stay tethered while on deck.
- October 2004: Courtney squirts soap on the locker room floor while Emma is showering, causing Emma to slip and break her ankle.
- Courtney claims she saw boys running out of the locker room laughing and Palmer backs up her story.
- Emma has ankle surgery and cannot play in the volleyball tournament where she hoped to be seen by a scout.
- Day three at sea: Emma tells Palmer and Beth she saw Adam make a rookie sailing mistake despite his supposed years of experience.
- October 2004: Palmer reads an entry in Courtney’s diary where she says a friend has been talking about her behind her back and Courtney has a plan to get back at her.
- Day four at sea: Gigi finds a note in her bathroom that says, ‘I know who killed me.’ XO Courtney.
- The girls start getting whiffs of Courtney's perfume around the sailboat.
- They sail into a huge storm.
- Memorial Day weekend 2005: Courtney gives each girl a pocket knife engraved with their names.
- Day five at sea: Captain Nojan goes missing in the middle of the night and they find his tether cut.
- Beth says she saw Gigi let Courtney fall off the raft that day.
- Everyone goes inside the ship when they see a huge wave moving towards them.
- After it passes they realize Gigi is missing.
- They find Gigi in the water and pull her back onto the boat by her tether but she’s already dead.
- Beth and Palmer find Adam’s ID on Gigi’s body. Adam is really Russell, Courtney’s brother.
- They confront him immediately and he says he got on the trip to try and find out the truth about what happened to Courtney.
- He recently read Courtney’s diary and knew how cruel she had been to all of them.
- Palmer admits she and Courtney put the soap on the floor all those years ago.
- Palmer snoops through Russell’s belongings, finds a gun, and takes it.
- Palmer sees messages on Beth’s phone to Matt. Beth has been catfishing Matt, pretending to be Sydney.
- Beth says she did it to prove Matt wanted to leave, he just needed a reason and she gave it to him.
- Memorial Day weekend 2005: The girls split up to search along the river for Courtney.
- Palmer spots her and they argue because Courtney is angry no one jumped in after her.
- Palmer tells Courtney to find her own way back and walks away, coming face-to-face with a cougar.
- She makes a lot of noise to scare the cougar away, but Courtney screams back at Palmer, drawing the cougar’s attention.
- Palmer yells that there is a cougar, but Courtney doesn’t believe her. Palmer runs away instead of trying to help Courtney.
- Present: Day five at sea: Someone poisons Emma but Palmer is able to help her.
- Palmer tells Emma and Russell the truth about Courtney and the cougar.
- Russell tells the girls Courtney did something to Beth senior year, revealed in some diary pages that were since torn out.
- Courtney catfished Beth, pretending to be Russell. The prank went on for a long time and Courtney eventually told Beth the truth.
- Russell and Palmer find blood on the deck and realize Beth is missing.
- Palmer and Emma see a ship in the distance.
- Beth appears and shoots Emma.
- Beth admits she found Courtney that day on the rating trip after Palmer left her with the cougar.
- Courtney taunted Beth for thinking Russell could be in love with her, so Beth stabbed her several times, and they both fell into the water.
- Beth recognized Russell immediately when they boarded the sailboat.
- She killed Captain Nojan because she thought he was Russell, left Gigi on the deck to die during the storm after realizing Gigi had figured out who Russell was, and drugged Emma after seeing she had Courtney’s diary.
- Palmer shoots Beth with a flare gun.
- Russell and Beth go overboard.
- Russell and Palmer are saved but Beth cannot be found.
- Epilogue: Three months later: Russell admitted to writing the note from 'Courtney' and spraying her perfume around the boat.
- Emma, Russell and Palmer put up a trail marker post in memory of Courtney.
- Russell asks Palmer out on a date.
This story is told entirely from Palmer’s POV but alternates between the past (a rafting trip) and the present (a sailing trip). The parallel between the two isolated water settings felt purposeful and really ratcheted up the tension.
I didn't necessarily root for any of the characters, but I was desperate to know their secrets. The suspense regarding what happened on the river was enough to keep me hooked without needing an emotional connection.
I wasn't blindsided by the twist, but only because everyone had such a valid reason for murder. The story does a great job showing there is a fine line between friendship and rivalry.
Overall this is a great book for anyone who loves an isolated setting and characters who are full of secrets. I will definitely keep reading book by Audrey J. Cole.
- Gigi - Dead - Drowned during the storm
- Captain Nojan - Dead - Pushed overboard by Beth
- Beth - Dead - Drowned
- Emma - Alive - Healed from being shot and successful after starting to film her house flipping projects for YouTube
- Russell - Alive - Finally at peace knowing the truth about Courtney
- Palmer - Alive - Returned to work as a nurse in the ER, finding purpose after the ordeal on the sailboat
- Courtney - Dead - Stabbed by Beth
- Murder
- Gun violence
- Infidelity
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ISBN: 9781662520730
Publication Date: January 6, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
