The Road Trip by Tricia Stringer
Book Review | Nov 2025
Category: Early Bird, Fiction, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
Publisher: HQ Fiction
ISBN: 9781867247760
RRP: 34.99
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Reader Comments
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(5/5)
Tricia Stringer has written a charming story about four people going on a caravanning road trip for the first time. The two women are very reluctant travellers. The many rookie mistakes they make are hilarious. The descriptions of the beautiful outback and the camp sites are done so well you feel you are there. The fellow travellers they meet are characterised so perfectly that I am sure that I have met them before. The Road Trip is a thoroughly enjoyable read that will appeal to many.
(4/5)
If you are new to Tricia Stringer books, or have been reading her stories for quite a while like me, I think you’ll love the book as much as I did. She has a way of telling stories that we feel we are part of.
I was hooked from the beginning, but Funnily enough, I forgot about the more dramatic and suspenseful bits of the plot. I was more interested in the characters and the gorgeous landscapes on the road trip
Like the women in the book, I warmed to the idea of caravanning. But just like Sharyn, I could completely see her point of view, horrified at the initial thought of travelling in such confined space. I mean, we all want a luxury holiday, don’t we?
The Road Trip sees this group of people relying on each other, seeking confidences and finding friendship where they wouldn’t if they had stayed home. They meet a variety of people along the way. Not everyone is everybody’s cup of tea, or mimosa. Isn’t that the truth when you travel?
(4/5)
Tricia Stringers new book The Road Trip is hard to put down, a thought-provoking read about our perceptions of those around us.
If you have ever been caravanning, you will relate to a lot of the incidents that happen along the trip. Great reading for those who love the open road and a good story with colourful characters.
(4/5)
I love road trips and Tricia Stringer’s latest release sent me on a wild roller coaster adventure through the heart of Australia – without the need to leave my comfy lounge.
Two unlikely couples, each driving 4WDs and towing caravans, travel together on a ‘bum numbing’ road trip between Adelaide and Broome. Husband and wife team, the Treggonings, are experiencing traveling in a caravan for the first time. Barry has little or no experience on how to tow a caravan. Wife Sharyn had expected a more luxurious holiday for her upcoming 60th birthday and is certainly not looking forward to the journey.
Brother and sister team the Allenby’s are in the second caravan. Widower Ray has encouraged his reclusive sister Kathleen to join him on the trip but as the journey progresses she has cause to believe that her brother may have devious, ulterior motives for wanting her to be with him.
An exciting, page-turning journey that encounters outstanding locations, new friends, strained relationships, unknown deceptions, sinister plots, boozy nights and lots of laughs! I was fully engrossed and eagerly following the books road map, in anticipation of each exciting chapter. So much so, that I am seriously considering planning my own road trip to follow in the footsteps of the books intrepid characters.
(5/5)
My friend had told me how good Tricia Stringers books were and let me tell you she wasn’t wrong. The Road Trip had me hooked after the first few pages.
I loved seeing the friendship form between Sharyn and Kathleen. Especially how Sharyn showed Kathleen how to stand up for herself which in turn gave her the confidence she needed to put herself out there and stand up for herself. It was a good ending to a journey that didn’t always go to plan.
The best part was I could see my parents in Sharyn and Barry and my Dads best mate and his sister in Ray and Kathleen. It made the things that went wrong with their road trip even more funny.
All in all an excellent read.
(4/5)
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I liked that the book reminded me of going on road trips with my family and the adventures that can happen. The way the author portrayed the relationship between the sisters and how they moved from dislike to friendship was realistic and moving and made the book enjoyable to read.
My favourite part was the climax of the book, and their past was revealed. I also liked that the Australian outback became a character in the road trip especially with the way the author describes the scenery, you can picture yourself being there. I did think sometimes the book was a bit slow and lost my attention but overall, it was an easy read.
(5/5)
The Road Trip is filled with stories about family, communication, understanding and love. Sharyn and Barry start off the trip with a marriage that is on the rocks, this couple have forgotten how to communicate.
I laughed out loud about some of the things that happen to our road trippers when they start out on what will eventually be their trip of a lifetime. They are all learning as they go. The countryside description is beautifully written, the reader is taken on a wonderful trip. I really enjoyed every stop and every character we met along the way. Some of them play a part in helping our road trippers realise what is important. Watching the changes in our main characters is a joy, each experience helps them grow and become better people. All of them learn things that are important and things that they can let go.
By the time our road trippers arrive in Broome the reader has been taken on a fantastic journey and our characters are nothing like they were on page one. This is definitely a five-star read that will have you hooked from the beginning to the end.
(5/5)
Reading The Road Trip was like reading my own journey in a camper trailer. Tricia has a way of making you feel you’re actually a part of the journey. Her writing flows well, and is so close to human emotions. The author has a real knack for getting us readers involved and wanting to see certain outcomes for the characters.
I didn’t want to put this book down, never wanted it to end, and I feel like reading it again right away. I’m sure other readers will rate The Road Trip as highly as I do. Especially if they’ve travelled Australia and to most of these places in the story.
(5/5)
I was really excited to be chosen to get an advanced copy of The Road Trip. I have enjoyed all of Tricia’s other books and this book didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed it from the first page.
Who could have thought there would be so much that could go wrong on a holiday in a caravan. This book had me laughing out loud in places and the way it was written made me feel as if I was actually on the holiday with them.
The story has it all! Romance, family dynamics and humour. I would recommend this book, Tricia Stringer has a way of making you live in the story.
The Road Trip is a must-read.
(4/5)
The Road Trip was an engaging, enjoyable read based on four people travelling together from South Australia to Western Australia in two caravans.
I found the characters had both likeable qualities as well as some flaws, making them very human and relatable. The developing relationships between them was my favourite part, as it allowed the author to show growth in their characters. Plus, the challenges they faced along the way created moments of humour, suspense, and mystery.
Tricia Stringer is a favourite author and this book definitely met my expectations.
(4/5)
I found The Road Trip easy to engage with from the start to the finish. Early chapters easily represented the characters personalities and established relationship dynamics.
Once the road trip was in progress, the descriptions of the unique Australian backdrops were easy to visualise, and I found this fascinating. I also enjoyed the balance of drama and humour throughout the novel. I feel like the story is really well suited to readers who connect with life stages and relationship dynamics.
I would have loved to have been on a road trip and take this book with me. Another Tricia Stringer delight.
(4/5)
The Road Trip is a story about getting to know those who are closest to you.
Sharyn is coming up on her 60th birthday and her husband Barry has decided to surprise her with road trip up from Adelaide to Broome. Sharyn is decidedly not impressed with the idea.
Kathleen has just spent the past few years caring for both her parents and her sister-in-law. She’s persuaded to join her brother Raymond on this road trip he is taking with his good friend Barry and Sharyn.
As the trip gets underway, tempers are stretched and issues arise which are both helped by a lack of communication and trust between all four people.
I found the descriptions of the scenery absolutely beautiful, but I did find an issue with how much driving was done in one day without mention of frequent rest stops. This would have been a good opportunity to mention the dangers of the outback.
Overall, this book was a nice escape and a lovely way of introducing people to what the interior of Australia can look like.
(5/5)
Another cracker of a book by Tricia Stringer. Books for me are a way to escape from the everyday pressures of work and normal lifestyle, and this book absolutely lives up to the task.
The Road Trip is the story of four people travelling around Australia in a caravan. Sharyn is about to turn 60 and is desperately hoping that her husband will organise a surprise European holiday with all her snobby friends. Barry her husband has other plans. He thinks a road trip around Australia in a caravan with his best mate and her sister in tow would be the perfect holiday. But he forgets to discuss this with Sharyn.
As always in Tricia’s books, you feel you are on the journey with all of the characters. Four very different people with not a lot in common embark on a twelve-week caravan trip and this book is about friendship, trust, and at times, disappointment.
(5/5)
Tricia Stringer’s latest book The Road Trip follows the adventures (and misadventures) of two couples taking a caravan trip from Adelaide to Broome. One of the four, Sharyn, is upset about her husband Barry buying a caravan and 4WD without her knowledge, and that his friend Ray and Ray’s sister Katherine have been invited along also.
I have read several of Tricia’s books, and this one does not disappoint. I found it very hard to put the book down – I couldn’t wait to see what happened at the next caravan stop, and what new characters the four meet next. Tricia has a real knack of writing about everyday people and the problems that they face in life. The main characters felt so real. She has also painted a very well-balanced view of what caravanning is really like – there are good and bad points to it.
The books explores the theme of secrets – most of the main characters are hiding secrets from each other at some point during the book. It makes one wonder if keeping their secrets was morally right or wrong.
(4/5)
Without giving away too much of the plot: I found it interesting the way the characters interacted with each other and how this evolved as they travelled. I loved how, towards the end, the women were more aware of themselves and had become stronger because of this.
The story was intriguing with lots of twists and turns, just when I thought I knew what was going to happen there was a twist to the story that I wasn’t expecting.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Road Trip.
(4/5)
The Road Trip by Tricia Stringer is a great read about the ups and downs of marriage, family relationships and travel. Sharyn was not keen going on a cross-country sojourn by caravan and to be honest, I completely sympathise with the main character. Being camped up with your husband, his best friend, and sister in the middle of nowhere can really bring out the worst in people.
Stringer has a great knack for capturing people’s personalities – what makes them unique, what makes them annoying and what makes them great humans. I enjoyed Sharyn discovering truths about the others as well as herself. Stringer has captured the Australian landscape incredibly well and I could imagine myself in these remote locations.
(5/5)
I received an advanced copy of The Road Trip by Trish Stringer in exchange for an honest review.
I adored the book and I read it over a couple of days. It would be my favourite book of Trish’s. The story was about four people travelling via caravans from Adelaide to Broome and their mishaps and difficulties and ultimate understanding of themselves and each other. I love how Trish really understands people and how they think. I enjoyed the very satisfying ending as well.
I was sorry to finish it so quickly and I am eagerly awaiting her next book. I have already recommended The Road Trip to friends and family.
(4/5)
Sharyn and husband Barry have received an inheritance, which starts a series of severe tests to their relationship. The first was a caravan, bought against Sharyn’s wishes, and then a holiday in the caravan with Barry’s best friend Ray and his sister Kathleen, who were not Sharyn’s ideal travelling companions.
And so the trip begins, with many descriptive, angst-ridden, and laugh-out-loud moments that test even the most devoted couple. Stringer describes the limit of endurance with characters we meet along the way, some not so ideal, and others that have lifelong unexpected bonds. What started as a nightmare ends as a special and memorable birthday surprise. Definitely a road trip that readers will love to travel along with and enjoy.
I thoroughly enjoyed the transformation of Sharyn’s character, from a very staid and black and white opinionated person to a warm and understanding 60-year-old, alongside two comical and vulnerable, but well-meaning men.