Indian Ocean Secrets

The novel opens with a chilling image: a corpse drifting in the Indian Ocean, its beauty and horror intertwined. This sets the tone for a story where death and secrets lurk beneath paradise's surface. The narrative voice relishes the drama of hidden violence, foreshadowing the darkness to come.

Nightmares in Dover

Flashback to 2001, Dover, England: a young woman narrowly survives a horrific guesthouse massacre, where six are murdered by a man at reception. The trauma leaves her forever changed, the only survivor of a crime overshadowed by 9/11. The killer lets her live, a decision that will echo for decades.

Divorce Trip Departure

Twenty-two years later, Darcy, recently divorced and struggling with motherhood and identity, plans a luxury Maldives trip with friends Camilla and Kate. Each woman carries her own baggage: Darcy's guilt and loss, Camilla's restless ambition, and Kate's secret trauma as the guesthouse survivor.

Reunion in Paradise

The trio reunites at the opulent resort, joined by other guests including Jade, a young bride on her honeymoon with Rob. The island's beauty is a stark contrast to the emotional wounds and secrets each woman brings. The group's dynamic is shaped by their pasts and the simmering undercurrents of their present.

Jade's Honeymoon Bruises

Jade's marriage is quickly revealed as abusive. Rob, her much older husband, is controlling and violent, leaving her with visible bruises she tries to hide. Her isolation and fear are palpable, and her interactions with the older women hint at a desperate longing for escape and understanding.

Old Wounds, New Friends

The women's friendship deepens as they share their histories. Kate, under a pseudonym, reveals her survival of the Dover massacre. Camilla mourns her murdered twin brother. Darcy's divorce and motherhood struggles come to light. Their trauma bond is both a source of strength and a trigger for old wounds.

Resort Tensions Rise

As the group settles into island life, tensions mount. Rob's aggression becomes more overt, Jade's fear intensifies, and the women begin to suspect that not all is as it seems. A mysterious bouquet of roses—sent every year to Kate on the massacre's anniversary—arrives even here, suggesting someone is watching.

Ghosts of Spinnaker

The women hire a private investigator, Adrian Clifton, to re-examine the guesthouse murders. New evidence suggests a second killer may have been involved, possibly someone still at large. The trauma of the past is reawakened, and the women's quest for justice becomes an obsession.

The Private Investigator

Adrian's investigation uncovers links between Rob and the original crime. But as the women dig deeper, it becomes clear that not everything about Adrian is as it appears. Meanwhile, Darcy's ex-husband Jacob, a tech entrepreneur, suspects his software has been hacked and becomes entangled in the web of secrets.

Jade's Desperation

Jade's situation grows dire as Rob's violence escalates. She contemplates desperate measures—contraception, running away, even violence. The women offer her help, but Jade is torn between fear, love, and survival. Her story becomes a parallel to the larger mystery, a microcosm of control and resistance.

Rob's True Nature

Evidence mounts against Rob: his past as a drug dealer, his connection to the guesthouse, and his violent tendencies. The women, especially Camilla and Darcy, become convinced he is the second killer. A plan forms to confront him, using Jade as bait, hoping to force a confession and finally achieve justice.

Misdirection and Manipulation

As the confrontation nears, trust within the group fractures. Accusations fly—who told Jacob about Adrian? Who can be trusted? The private investigator's identity is questioned. The women realize they may be pawns in a larger, more sinister game, manipulated by someone among them.

The Confrontation Plan

The women lure Rob to the gym under the pretense of a workout with Jade. The plan is to confront him, record his confession, and turn him over to the authorities. But emotions run high, and the line between justice and vengeance blurs. The confrontation spirals out of control.

Blood on the Island

The confrontation turns deadly. Rob is stabbed and left for dead. The women, shocked and traumatized, scramble to cover their tracks and process what has happened. The island's paradise is shattered by bloodshed, and the truth of who is predator and who is prey becomes murky.

The Truth Unmasked

In the aftermath, the true killer is unmasked—not Rob, but Darcy herself. She orchestrated the entire trip, manipulated her friends, and used advanced AI to create a fake investigator and evidence. She is the original Spinnaker murderer, a psychopath who has hidden in plain sight for decades.

Predator Revealed

Darcy confesses to the murders, relishing the power and fear she inspires. Her friends are left reeling, betrayed and traumatized. The authorities arrive, and Darcy is arrested. The women must confront the reality that evil can wear a friendly face, and that trust can be a fatal mistake.

Aftermath and Reckoning

In the wake of the violence, the survivors struggle to heal. Jade escapes her abusive marriage and begins a new life. Camilla and Kate process their guilt and trauma, finding solace in friendship and honesty. Darcy, in prison, remains unrepentant, a chilling reminder of the darkness that can hide behind ordinary lives.

Characters

Darcy Levitt

Darcy is the novel's central figure—a mother of three, recently divorced, outwardly competent and nurturing. Beneath her facade lies a cold, remorseless killer. As a teenager, she committed the Spinnaker guesthouse massacre, then spent decades hiding in plain sight, manipulating those around her. Her need for control, admiration, and power drives her to orchestrate the Maldives trip, frame Rob, and ultimately confess. Darcy's psychological complexity is rooted in a lack of empathy, a hunger for dominance, and a chilling ability to perform normalcy. Her relationships are transactional, and her capacity for violence is matched only by her skill at deception.

Kate Miller (Briony Conley)

Kate is the only survivor of the Spinnaker massacre, living under a new name to escape her past. Intelligent, introverted, and deeply traumatized, she is a ghostwriter by profession, skilled at inhabiting other people's stories while struggling to reclaim her own. Kate's journey is one of gradual empowerment—moving from victimhood to agency, confronting her trauma, and ultimately helping to unmask Darcy. Her relationships with Camilla and Darcy are fraught with survivor's guilt, longing for connection, and a desperate need for justice.

Camilla Papaki

Camilla is a Pilates instructor, social media influencer, and the twin sister of one of the massacre's victims. Outwardly glamorous and assertive, she is driven by unresolved grief and a relentless pursuit of answers. Camilla's psychological landscape is shaped by loss, anger, and a need to control her narrative. Her relationship with Kate is both supportive and competitive, while her dynamic with Darcy is marked by trust and eventual betrayal. Camilla's arc is one of confronting her own capacity for violence and learning the limits of vengeance.

Jade Marlowe

Jade is a young woman on her honeymoon, married to the abusive Rob. Vulnerable, isolated, and desperate, she becomes entangled in the older women's quest for justice. Jade's psychological journey is one of awakening—recognizing the danger she is in, seeking help, and ultimately fighting back. Her relationship with Rob is a study in coercive control, while her bond with Kate and Camilla offers a lifeline to freedom and self-worth.

Rob Marlowe

Rob is Jade's husband, a physically imposing, violent man with a criminal past. He is initially suspected of being the second Spinnaker killer, and his aggression and manipulation make him a plausible suspect. However, Rob is ultimately revealed as a pawn in Darcy's scheme—a dangerous man, but not the mastermind. His relationship with Jade is a microcosm of the novel's themes of power, control, and the blurred line between victim and perpetrator.

Jacob Levitt

Jacob is Darcy's ex, a successful tech entrepreneur whose AI software becomes a tool in Darcy's deception. He is preoccupied with work, custody battles, and his own insecurities. Jacob's role is that of the oblivious bystander, gradually drawn into the web of secrets as he investigates software breaches and uncovers disturbing truths about Darcy. His relationship with his children, especially Charlie, is marked by confusion, guilt, and a dawning horror at what he has missed.

Charlie Levitt

Charlie is Darcy and Jacob's eldest son, caught in the crossfire of his parents' divorce and his mother's hidden monstrosity. Sensitive and traumatized, Charlie's experiences—especially a near-drowning incident orchestrated by Darcy—highlight the generational impact of violence and the vulnerability of children to adult secrets.

Antoni Caballé

Antoni is a Catalan dance instructor who befriends the women at the resort and becomes romantically involved with Camilla. His warmth and openness offer a brief respite from the novel's darkness, but he is ultimately murdered—another casualty of Darcy's need for control and chaos.

Adrian Clifton (AI Construct)

Adrian is presented as a retired detective hired to investigate the Spinnaker case. In reality, he is an AI avatar created by Darcy using Jacob's software, designed to mislead, plant evidence, and direct suspicion toward Rob. Adrian's existence is a commentary on the dangers of technology, the ease of fabricating authority, and the vulnerability of truth in the digital age.

Hugh Fraser

Hugh is the man convicted of the Spinnaker murders, a terminally ill sex offender who confesses to the crime. In reality, he is manipulated by Darcy, who exploits his illness and notoriety to cover her tracks. Hugh's role is that of the convenient monster, allowing the real killer to vanish into respectability.

Plot Devices

Unreliable Narration and Misdirection

The novel is structured to keep both characters and readers off-balance. Narration shifts between multiple perspectives, each with their own secrets and blind spots. The use of a fake private investigator, AI-generated evidence, and doctored photographs creates layers of misdirection, making it difficult to discern reality from manipulation. The narrative structure mirrors the psychological confusion of trauma and the ease with which truth can be manufactured or obscured.

Trauma Bonding and Survivor Guilt

The women's friendship is forged in the crucible of shared trauma. Their bond is both a source of strength and a vulnerability, making them susceptible to manipulation and groupthink. Survivor guilt, especially for Kate, drives the quest for justice but also clouds judgment, leading to catastrophic decisions.

Foreshadowing and Symbolism

Animal imagery—tigers, sharks, manta rays—recurs throughout, symbolizing the predatory nature of violence and the thin veneer of civilization. The Indian Ocean, at once beautiful and deadly, mirrors the characters' inner landscapes. The motif of performance—mothers, wives, friends, victims, and killers—underscores the novel's exploration of identity and deception.

Technology and AI

The use of AI to create a fake detective and evidence is both a plot engine and a thematic device. It raises questions about the nature of truth, the dangers of technological power in the wrong hands, and the ease with which reality can be manipulated. The software becomes a metaphor for the masks people wear and the stories they tell themselves and others.

Feminist Reversal of the Serial Killer Trope

By making the killer a woman who weaponizes her roles as mother, wife, and friend, the novel subverts expectations and interrogates gendered assumptions about violence, power, and evil. Darcy's ability to hide in plain sight is both a commentary on societal blindness and a chilling reminder of the banality of evil.

Analysis

Bad Tourists is a psychological thriller that weaponizes the familiar—friendship, motherhood, vacation, and even technology—to explore the darkest corners of human nature. Caro Carver crafts a narrative that is as much about the stories we tell ourselves as it is about the secrets we keep from others. The novel interrogates the nature of evil, the limits of empathy, and the dangers of assuming that monsters are always male or easily recognized. Through its layered structure, shifting perspectives, and relentless misdirection, Bad Tourists exposes the fragility of trust and the ease with which truth can be manufactured or destroyed. Ultimately, it is a meditation on power—who wields it, who suffers under it, and how easily it can be hidden behind a smile, a friendship, or a bouquet of roses. The lessons are stark: evil can wear any face, and paradise is only ever a thin mask over the abyss.

Last updated: June 7, 2025