Reviews

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse

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strawberrymivvy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another tense, atmospheric mystery from this author.

A purpose-built wellness retreat is opening on an island off the Cornish coast. Influencers are there, with Jo taking her family along as her guests to try to repair a struggling sibling relationship.

Detective Elin Warner is gradually returning to work and rebuilding her confidence. When a body is found on the island, Elin is called over to manage the investigation.

Then a guest drowns, and a storm picks up, leaving Elin and the guests and staff cut off from the mainland and any hope of rescue.

Whilst Jo and her family were all pretty annoying and unsympathetic characters, I liked Elin and her struggles and keen to read more about her. A couple of surprises in the plot kept the pages turning, and the weather and storm actually felt like a character all of their own

kristyloves2read's review against another edition

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4.0

OMG!!!

I loved how much growth Elin goes through in this book. This book is paced very well, and the audio book's narrator did a fabulous job of keeping that pace.

I'll admit I guessed who the killer was about midway through but I didn't know why or how until the reveal I just got a funny feeling that turned out to be right. It was a great story and I think it was better than the first book and honestly can't wait for # 3 because I am sure there will be a #3.

jillibean91's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

ice_umm's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

what_deb_read_next's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

bbethcasas's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I do love me some Sarah Pearse! Her characters are so unpredictable and have so many layers! You might think you know a character and get a little defensive for them when someone gives them some lip, just to find out they did some HORRIBLE thing! Be careful who you trust and rally behind in this book….we all have a skeleton or two in our closets! 😉 Be ready for a page turning mystery that will keep you reading until the wee hours of the morning trying to figure out who did it and why? Great read!