Suicide Vacation
Jack Holden is a big fan of the silver screen, but if Hollywood ever make a movie about his life, it will be a horror film. He's lost his job as a radio presenter, his girlfriend has dumped him and eviction from his flat seems imminent. Devoid of hope, Jack scrapes together enough money for a nostalgia fuelled trip to Barcelona, with the aim of ending his life there. But, when a stranger using a tantalizing alias contacts him, telling him not to go through with it, he becomes curious. With Jack's final scenes imminent, he realizes that he's only a player, and that someone else is in the director's chair.
Despite the sadness of the premise of this book, it is actually quite a light hearted easy read. We follow Jack around Barcelona as he prepares himself to take his own life, in what he sees as the only way out, but at every turn there seems to be someone or something thwarting him. Whilst the book has a series subject it doesn’t take itself too seriously and there are some lovely pieces of inward struggle written with dry humour, as Jack tries to decide what to do for the best. There is the inevitable happy ending, but one that the reader is happy to embrace. 4 stars