I'd recommend THE BROKER, John Grisham's latest legal thriller, although this one is not as "legal" as most of them; it is not a murder mystery either, but it is definitely a suspense novel. If you are vacationing, you should be able to finish it 2 days. #1 on NYT last week. Stay away from your John Calvin writings and Rick Warren's PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE while on vacation!
Not a murder mystery and not suspenseful, another good novel is Tom Wolfe's current novel I AM CHARLOTTE SIMMONS, an intriguing fictional account of life at a fictional university. It is very long; I only finished about 200 of the nearly 700 pages while sitting on another beach last week.
The hosue we usually stay in at Orange Beach (next to Gulf Shores) is still out of use due to minor Ivan damage, so we skipped our annual Orange Beach Spring Break and went to our other beach in Walton County, Florida. I hear Perdido Key took quite a hit. I would suggest some fried crab claws at Doc's Oyster Bar & Seafood Restaurant on Canal Road, and a grouper sandwich at the Shrimp Basket on Perdido Key or in Gulf Shores (I think they have both opened back up; Doc's is open for sure).
Have a great vacation. Mine was too short.
~U2Alabama