Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Retreat

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse

7 reviews

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Good atmosphere, didn’t guess the twist, rooted for main character.

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olivesnook33's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

2.25

I don't know what, exactly, I was expecting but it wasn't a repeat of the first book but somehow not as good. The premise of this book is just as promising as The Sanatorium. There is an old place, an evil place, a place that doesn't want humans there. But that place has little relevance to the paper-thin plot. I want to feel something with these books. Everything is there for what usually makes me fall in love with characters and places and themes but.....it's feeling like someone dumped mystery-thriller-detective puzzle pieces out on the table, didn't bother to flip them over, and forced them together.

To say the overall plot was loose is an understatement. Elin grew as a character....between books. It was jarring to me that she was suddenly thrust back into her work and was feeling rather confident. Don't get me wrong, I was glad for the change but was expecting a more middling piece of character development. Using her experiences from The Sanatorium to help her solve this case.

And, oh, what a case this could have been. It was truly made up of everything I love in a crime thriller but, to me, poorly executed.

I really, really, really want to love this series. And I will stubbornly give the next book a listen when it comes out because there is truly so much potential here. I want to know more but I don't know if this is truly the series for me.

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renee_rain's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No

4.0

This book is a sequel to The Sanotorium. Though I have read it, I didn't realize it was a continuation until after I finished this book. I guess Elim was not memorable for me.

This is a solid mystery/thriller. That being said, there is a lot of information to keep track of. There are three periods of time that occur on the island: a school with traumatic history, an Outward Bound center with a series of murders, and the present at a retreat center. The Leger family has past events that become relevant to the plot. There is a continuation of threats to Elim.

I thoroughly enjoyed the chaos of the book. I had no trouble keeping up with the characters, their relations, and backstories. The explanations of why people did what they did felt believable to me.

Except Jo. I know she was having an affair with Hana's boyfriend, but how can someone callously leave him at an accident like that? What if he could have been saved? Could it have been explained that they had become friends? Though this does provide Maya some clarity.

I plan to read the next book in the series though I really do need closure on some things.

What is going on with the Hayler case? What actually happened to Elim's brother, Sam? Who is threatening Elim? What will happen with Elim's relationship with Will? I wouldn't be sad if it ended. She appears to have a stronger connection with his sister.

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