Will you brave The Retreat? The new bestselling thriller from the author of The Sanatorium.

Book blurb

They couldn’t wait to stay here.
An idyllic wellness retreat has opened on an island off the coast of Devon, promising rest and relaxation – but the island itself, known locally as Reaper’s Rock, has a dark past. Once the playground of a serial killer, it’s rumored to be cursed.

But now they can’t leave.
A woman is found dead below the yoga pavilion in what seems to be a tragic fall. But DS Elin Warner soon learns that the victim wasn’t a guest – she wasn’t meant to be on the island at all.

And they would do anything to escape . . .
The longer Elin stays, the more secrets she uncovers. And when someone else drowns in a diving incident, Elin begins to suspect that the old stories about the island are true.

Because history seems to be repeating itself – and the guests might not make it home alive . . .

My thoughts

This follows on from the first book by Sarah Pearse ‘The Sanitarium’ which I have not read. Detective Elin Warren is recuperating after what happened in the first book. She’s building up her strength (physically and mentally) in order to get back to ‘normal’ and return to work. She’s out jogging when she sees her colleague Steed’s car. Wondering why she has not been notified by Anna, her boss, she jogs over to Steed to find out what is happening. As she approaches it becomes very clear why.

Hana doesn’t know why she agreed to go on this trip to the island it’s another one of her sister Jo’s bright ideas! It was that ‘It’ll be good to get everyone together, it’s been so long’ kind of thing and the resort has offered Jo, a social media influencer, free accommodation for them in exchange for some good publicity.

Investigation leads Elin and Steed to The Retreat. A death occurs which impacts Hana, Jo and their party. Then there are other events which bring the island into lock down. There is a possible link to historical events on the island and it’s not a good history. Child murder and issues at a now derelict school.

Erin and Steel continue to investigate as storms hit the island. The issues for Hana, Jo and the others unravel as they are hit by one event after another. Erin has personal reasons to want to solve what is happening on the island worrying that her boyfriend, who makes a surprise visit, or his sister, who works at The Retreat, might be involved.

The mainland police cannot send reinforcements because they are tied up with a massive incident. So throughout Erin and Steed are on there own and that does bring them into dangerous situations. As the conditions deteriorate Erin begins to piece together what happened.

The Retreat was a good read however as it moved closer to the end you did need to suspend belief with regard to some of the action that takes place. That happens in fiction although it was quite noticeable I don’t think everyone would be overly concerned rather enjoying the tension and pace that it allowed the story to build. That said I did enjoy The Retreat.

A Virtual Crime Book Club

August book club – whilst most enjoyed the book it was criticised so do consider that and also the fact that there are plot giveaways and if you intend to read The Retreat then do so before checking out the video.

A Virtual Crime Book Club’ meets monthly our next meeting is Monday, 4 September 23. Why not join us?

#20Booksofsummer23

This is my 11th book for the #20Booksofsummer23 challenge.

Information

Published: Transworld Digital (21 July 2022) | 404 pages

Buy: AmazonSmileUK | Hive |

Author: Sarah Pearse lives by the sea in South Devon with her husband and two daughters. She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick and worked in Brand PR for a variety of household brands. After moving to Switzerland in her twenties, she spent every spare moment exploring the mountains in the Swiss Alpine town of Crans Montana, the dramatic setting that inspired her debut novel, THE SANATORIUM, which was a REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK and became an instant NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller and a No.1 SUNDAY TIMES Bestseller and also won CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2022 FINGERPRINT AWARDS & was the COLD AS ICE AWARD WINNER AT 2022 DEAD GOOD READERS AWARDS.

The Retreat is her second novel also a New York Times Bestseller and a Top Ten Sunday Times Bestseller.

Over 1 MILLION copies of her books have been sold worldwide in over 30 countries.

She is working on her third book now, which will be out in 2024.

Find Sarah on Instagram / TikTok @sarahpearseauthor | X (formerly known as Twitter) @SarahVPearse