“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .

Nate and Layla, Jude and Sophie. They’ve been a four for as long as they can remember: fancy dinners, dancing ’til dawn . . . Even living and working together.

So when Nate and Layla suddenly quit their lives and move to Bali, with its white sands and exotic beach clubs, Jude and Sophie are their first visitors. Anything to escape their life in London.

But as the two couples reunite, cracks begin to show.

Which is hardly surprising; they’ve been lying to each other for years.

And now, it’s time for revenge.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith. They Had It Coming will be published by Viking Books later this week (on Thursday 22nd May 2025) and will be available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free ARC of They Had It Coming but that has in no way influenced my review. My grateful thanks to Nikki Smith and the team at Viking Books for sending me a proof copy.

Four friends who on the surface are a tight-knit group meet again following one couple’s move to gorgeous Bali. Nate and Layla upped sticks leaving dreary London (along with Jude and Sophie) behind to build their own villa on the sun drenched island surrounded by the digital nomad community. Following a chain of unfortunate events, Jude and Sophie decide the time is right for a visit and see how their friends are getting along. But as soon as Jude and Sophie land, it’s clear that there are tensions between the women. The wariness the reader feels emanating from the two women as they meet after time apart is palpable. There’s something fairly heavy going on between Sophie and Layla and I just HAD to discover what it was. The men, on the other hand, seem delighted to see each other. University besties reunited after a short time apart. These two are the glue holding everything together. Question is, is it Super Glue or Pritt Stick?

Last year I read The Guests by the same author. Embarrassingly, it was the first of Smith’s books I had read (I do have a couple of her other books on my Kindle). I loved it. I’m a huge fan of the destination thriller done well and Smith absolutely excels in the field. So much so, I have been looking forward to reading They Had It Coming for months! And what a sun-soaked treat it was. Flawed, realistic characters, a glorious setting and a gripping plot full of intrigue and suspense.

Two couples with a shared past. Jude and Nate met at university. Years later the bromance is still strong. Sophie and Layla were ‘sort of’ friends but something happened to put a spanner in the works. Now there is an unmistakeable sense of hostility between the two women. When Jude and Sophie rock up in Bali, the sense of unease is inescapable. They’re shocked to discover that the dream Nate has been selling them isn’t quite reality. The dream villa they’ve received photos of is nothing more than a building site, empty of contractors, staffed only by a disinterested site manager who manages to fob Nate off time and time again. But this isn’t the only surprise. Because these couples have their own secrets, their own resentments and their own agenda.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. They Had It Coming is THE beach read of 2025 for me! Intriguing characters whose story builds over the course of the book. Smith drip-feeds her reader with new information, jaw-dropping twists and a large dose of the unexpected. We get to hear from the four main characters, see how their minds work, how they secretly feel about each other. But there’s a fifth voice who remains anonymous throughout the majority of the story. What does this unnamed narrator have to do with what’s unfolding before us? Well, you’ll just have to discover that for yourself by picking up a copy of this compelling thriller. All in all, I loved the time I spent with They Had It Coming. I thought the character development was superb, I was wholly engrossed in the lives of these four people. I didn’t particularly like them but they came across as believable throughout. The setting is sublime. The author has clearly done her research and paints Bali for her readers in vivid tones. It was the suspense and the intrigue though which won out for me. I HAD to know more about these people. I HAD to know how things were going to end for them. I HAD to read more and discover their deepest, darkest secrets. Tense, gripping and completely absorbing. A cracking psychological thriller from a new favourite author. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of They Had It Coming. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith was published in the UK by Viking Books on 22nd May 2025 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Nikki Smith worked in finance until 2017, when a ‘now or never’ moment prompted her to apply for the Curtis Brown Creative writing course. She is the author of five novels and co-host of the podcast In Suspense. She lives in Guildford with her family and loves to travel, ideally somewhere hot and sunny.

You can find out more about her on her website www.nikkismithauthor.com & she’s on twitter/X as @mrssmithmunday