Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

 

Lux has been drifting through life.  She had been in college but left when her mother got sick and then spent her time nursing her through her end.  Now she is waitressing and trying to decide what to do next when Nico walks in.  He is gorgeous and seems to want to be with her.  After a few weeks together, Nico suggests that they get on his ship and sail to Hawaii.  Months later, Lux is in another dead end job while Nico spends his time at the marina.  That changes when two girls, Brittany and Emma, offer him $50,000 to take them to a deserted island.

Meroe Island is gorgeous but has a haunted reputation.  Over the years, those stranded there have not survived or survived by means they aren't willing to discuss later.  It served as a military airstrip during the war and that occasionally brings travelers to visit but they don't stay long.  But the four arrive and are entranced with the views and the sheltered cove they find.

The only fly in the ointment is that another ship is there, but Jake and Elisa are Australians who are great mates, willing to share their food and drink and soon the six of them are all friends, spending their days sunning and swimming and their nights partying.  But as the days go by, secrets start to emerge and tensions start to bubble up.  Then the first person goes missing, then another....

This is my first Rachel Hawkins novel and she is a great suspense writer.  Each character has their own backstory and there is also an underlying class theme going on.  There are secrets and betrayals and realliances until the end story is played out.  This book is recommended for readers of psychological thrillers.