Author Highlight: Carol Kowalczik

 Every so often, a debut author arrives with a story that grips you from the first sentence and refuses to let go. Today, we're honored to spotlight Carol Kowalczik, a writer whose first full-length novel, The Vacation, blends domestic suspense, psychological unraveling, and the sun-drenched tension of a getaway gone very, very wrong.

Carol's journey to authorship began- like so many storytellers- with a childhood fascination for imagination. What started as simple one-page tales eventually grew into poetry, then short stories, and finally, the powerful voice readers meet today in her debut novel. Living in Connecticut with her husband, two grown children and an energetic household of pets (two dogs and two cats), Carol balances creativity with her love for music, movies and the kind of addictive, morally messy TV dramas- The White Lotus, Sirens, and more- that explore the corners of human behavior we often pretend not to see. 

It's no surprise that her writing leans into that same fascination: people doing questionable things, making impossible choices, hiding truths beneath polished surfaces.

And that is exactly what The Vacation delivers. 

 

About the Book: The Vacation

Domestic Suspense - Psychological Thriller  

Nearly a decade ago, a family trip changed Jessica's life forever. The sound of her mother's scream. The blood on the pavement. The way everything fractured in one brutal moment. That kind of trauma doesn't fade- it lingers.

Now, years later Jessica returns to the very same Florida resort, desperate for closure. But the sunshine feels too bright, the pool too familiar, and the memories too close. What she doesn't expect is the unsettling connection she forms with Mark, a charismatic father vacationing with his wife and daughter. What begins as innocent conversation turns into something far more dangerous as loyalties tangle and long-buried secrets begin to surface.

Just when Jessica thinks she's come to make peace with the past, she realizes this trip isn't about healing at all- it's about what happens when truth finally claws its way up from underneath years of silence.

For readers who devour the twisty domestic noir of Frida McFadden, Shari Lapena, Sarah Pekkanen, and Greer Hendricks, this novel is a perfect storm of tension, emotional depth, and creeping psychological suspense.

 

From the Book:

"Below me, the pool is still full of movement. Kids in colorful bathing suits with arm floaties and ring-shaped rafts are shrieking, jumping, splashing water on each other. I almost feel like I can smell the chlorine baked into everyone’s skin, washing away the layer of sunscreen from earlier in the day. 

 Then I see her. 

She’s about five. Maybe six. Wearing a pink bathing suit and those jelly sandals that make your feet smell like rubber and hurt like hell. Amber had a pair of those. Blue, of course, like Elsa. Her hair is in a messy braid, and she’s holding a stuffed animal in one hand. It’s damp, but she doesn’t care. It reminds me of Ellie—though even soaked, this one still looks newer than Amber’s ever did. 

 And just like that, I can’t look away. 

Tomorrow, I’ll go to the pool. I’ll bring a book. I’ll sit nearby and just watch. I’m not looking for anything specific. I just want to remember, and maybe feel something again. Or maybe just to make sure she’s safe. Her parents seem distracted. Somebody should be watching her better. 

We all know what happens when you don’t watch children closely enough."

 

Meet the Author Behind the Darkness

Carol's creative journey spans decades, though The Vacation marks her first full-length novel. She brings to her writing the influences of the shows she loves, the music she listens to, and the complexity of human behavior she's always been drawn to. Her stories ask the same questions she asks of the world:  

Why do people make the choices they do? How well do we ever truly know one another? And what happens when the truth becomes impossible to ignore?

Her debut proves she is an author to watch- one who can turn sunlit settings into simmering tension and everyday people into something far more mysterious than they appear.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with emotional punch and characters who stay with you long after the last chapter, The Vacation belongs on your reading list.

Find Carol's Book HERE.