The Retreat: The new top ten Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Sanatorium (Detective Elin Warner Series Book 2)

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The next day, an guest named Rob is missing. Elin goes to search his villa (located on an isolated islet connected to the main island by a bridge) and finds Rob’s belonging strewn around and his laptop missing. The longer Elin stays, the more secrets she uncovers. And when someone else drowns in a diving incident, Elin begins to suspect that there’s nothing accidental about these deaths. But why would someone target the guests at this luxury resort? Elin must find the killer—before the island’s history starts to repeat itself. Characters, for the most part, were not very likable, nor relatable. I couldn’t connect with them, as hard as a tried. Certain plot points in the story didn’t really belong, or were forced. And I have to admit that the scene with the deer seemed irrelevant and gratuitous, and was so difficult for me to read. For a unique and unforgettable party or event,The Retreat is the perfect spot. The countryside setting, the décor, the food and drink, and your friendly and experienced hosts make for a winning combination.

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Soon strange things start occurring at the writer's retreat. Lucas hears rumors that the home is haunted and when he begins to hear singing at night, he wonders if the rumors are true. Other guests notice strange things as well and begin to wonder if they should be afraid of the things that go bump in the night. This is the story of four dysfunctional women carrying some heavy baggage as they join together for a weekend retreat. This will be a life-altering experience. Unfortunately, the retreat seemed more like a week to me. A cauldron of stirred up secrets that become repetitive, the story losing momentum midway. He brought her to the island and they had a couple of drinks. He said after that she told him she got an upsetting text and said she had to call someone. The Retreat is a creepy suspense novel with multiple twists and turns making it quite enjoyable for this reader. My only complaint was that, some of the chapters felt a little bit too long especially at the start. I think they could have been broken up more. And secondly, it could have been a little bit shorter. The middle did get a bit slow and dragged on a bit.I hear you asking, why would you not have given this book a full 5* - are you mad??? Well let me tell you. I love this book, it was tense, angsty, it made me anxious and wanting to read further. BUT, I have read Sherri's previous book and I (unfairly?) compared it to that the whole way through. I LOVED 'Follow me down', I read it twice in a year I think. And I love Sherri, she's great - funny, endearing. So, 4.5* is a fair reflection of my views on this one. Tom, a water sports instructor, said that he knew Bea from university and that she’d messaged saying she wanted to surprise her family. I have many many Goodreads friends who love this author, and I was excited to finally be reading my first Mark Edwards book, though a few of you warned me that this was probably your least favorite of his books. I like how it started...with authors gathering at a new writer’s retreat run by a woman named Julia, who tragically lost both her husband, and young daughter Lily, two years prior.

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse | Waterstones The Retreat by Sarah Pearse | Waterstones

But, in the end, the explanations given for the “who” and “why” ended up becoming implausible to me after all, and I just did not care for the way the mystery was wrapped up. I’m not sure whether I would agree with other reviewers in saying that the book was ‘atmospheric’. Even though it was set in the woods it didn’t quite give me the * vibes *. Something flapped in the branches above my head, startling me and almost making me lose my balance. But I stole another look at the house before I climbed down, and smiled. It was the perfect place to write a scary book.

Hmmm…a disappearing kid plot. We’ve read plenty of these, Mr. Edwards. We are feeling pretty darn confident here. Oh! It’s taking place at a writer’s retreat in an old house in the North Wales countryside. OK, a point for you. This is a refreshing setting. Very refreshing. I’m a huge Mark Edwards fan and have four of his other books sitting on my shelf. And even though this one may have fallen just a bit short for me...you know I’ll still be reaching for his next release! I’m not quite sure why exactly this book is getting so much hate. It’s an adequate thriller that kept me intrigued and guessing who the murderer was until the very end.