Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the arc of this book by Ross Armstrong.

5 stars- gripping, sensational, gripping fast paced read- well done

As I flipped through the pages of Ross Armstrong's The Getaway, I couldn't help but feel like I was transported to a different world. The perfect holiday destination - a private Greek island with white sand beaches and turquoise water - quickly turns into a nightmare for the seven guests who are staying there.

Multimillionaire Robert Rathwell and his entourage arrive at the island, ready to relax and escape their problems. Little do they know that this vacation will be their last. The next morning, a scream echoes across the island, signaling that someone has been murdered. The body is arranged to make it look like a suicide, but everyone has a motive, and secrets quickly come to light.

As the investigation unfolds, we see the darker side of paradise. The Rathwells are not just wealthy - they are powerful and own everyone on the island. It quickly becomes clear that they will do whatever it takes to protect their interests - even if it means committing murder.

The characters in The Getaway are well-developed, and each has their own set of flaws and motivations. As a reader, I found myself rooting for some while suspecting others of being the killer. The suspenseful plot keeps you guessing until the very end.

The author's vivid descriptions of the island and its surroundings make the story come alive, and you can almost feel the warmth of the sun on your skin as you read. However, this idyllic setting soon becomes sinister as the characters' true intentions are revealed.

Overall, The Getaway is the perfect beach read - gripping, suspenseful, and with just the right amount of intrigue. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery novel. But be warned - you may not be able to put it down until you've reached the shocking conclusion.

Starting with a character guide, which normally I love. I’m not sure the experience translates so well on digital version but I persevered.

Alternating chapters between the three main female characters, we quickly learnt that everyone was unlikeable and flawed, but it was definitely the authors intention. Suspect everyone. Trust none.

Lies, suspicious behaviour and secrets kept you on your toes, whilst guessing who the murderer may be and I was gripped trying to solve the mystery. I was pleased that I hadn't guessed all of the twists the book threw at me.

A nice easy read for during the summer months.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

It took me a while to get into it. There were alot of people to keep up with. Was absolutely jam packed with drama, lies and deceit. Because of this, once I got into it, I didn't want to stop. I love a mystery, one of my fav parts of books like this is trying to figure out who did what before the end. Certainly enjoyable, just a little tricky trying to keep up with all the characters.

Kept me guessing throughout the story, I had no idea who to believe, and there are many twists I didn't see coming at all.

A very cleverly crafted psychological thriller,

However, as much as I enjoyed it, I think I would have loved it more had I been reading it in paperback, just for ease of flicking back to the chapter headings to check which voice I was reading. As the three main females all felt rather similar to me in terms of their voices and I struggled to switch between them all.

That being said I loved seeing the story unfold from multiple viewpoints, and I really wasn't sure if I actually liked any of the characters, apart from the tutor, as they all were rather unlikeable.

I did thoroughly enjoy the setting, the private Greek Island that is remote and with very little working communications, which added an exotically claustrophobic feel to the book, as especially as the 7 that went to the island started being killed.

It was the first book i've read from this clearly talented author and I will certainly keep an eye out for more of his work.

Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I love a good locked room mystery and this one was ok but nothing amazing, the plot was ok but I found parts of it to be quite predictable

The premise of this novel was good. A secluded, private island, a disparate group of characters. Unfortunately, I could not get involved in the characters or the narrative.

I wanted to love this…it sounded so good…one private island. Seven guests. One killer…! A remote island and yet still a ‘who dunnit’ had me so intrigued as to how this could play out. The book is written from the viewpoint of three main characters, Amelia, Sophie and Isabelle however none of them are particularly warming and I found myself wanting to jump through this book. There was very little depth to the book and whilst I hate to write a bad review it just wasn’t for me. What this book is, is a light read ideal for commuting or between other novels when you just need something easy and simple. It was by no means the worst but I wouldn’t necessarily say it was good either.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an opportunity to read this in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story it was gripping, intense, clever, smart and fast paced. Would definitely recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher & Ross for the ARC.

A fast paced thriller, unable to put it down until it was read. I absolutely love these psychological holiday thrillers & this one has an added layer of depth. Will absolutely seek out more books by Ross.

One private island. Seven guests. One killer…
The perfect holiday. The perfect murder. The perfect beach read.

Get away from your problems.

Multimillionaire Robert Rathwell and his entourage arrive at their private Greek island. White sand, turquoise water, the perfect place to relax. But this is no ordinary family, and this holiday will be their last.

Get away from your life.

The next morning, a scream shatters their peaceful world. Someone has been murdered, his body arranged to make it look like suicide. Everyone has a motive and, under the burning sun, secrets quickly simmer to the surface.
Get away with murder.

Soon the guests see a darker, more violent side to paradise. Because the Rathwells don’t just own the island; they own the people on it. And they can do whatever they like – maybe even commit murder…

Unfortunately this one didn’t gel with me. I found it confusing who was telling the story - be it Isabelle, Amelia or Sofia and none of the characters left a lasting impression.

The story didn’t flow; I was expecting a whodunnit but found it to be disjointed and difficult to follow.

I was so looking forward to this and I was left a little disappointed.

Multimillionaire magnate Robert Rathwell arrives at his private Greek Island for his birthday. He is there with his wife, son, cousin and aunt, as well as several staff members. The story is narrated from the points of view of three female characters -Sofia, wife of Robert; Isabelle, Robert’s lifestyle assistant; Amelia, the ‘super tutor’ to JR, Sofia and Robert’s son. Even though the characters are difficult to care for, about or even like, (which is intentional, I suppose) I still couldn't put this book down. The finale is thrilling.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from HQ via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Getaway by

Description

One private island. Seven guests. One killer…
The perfect holiday. The perfect murder. The perfect beach read…

Get away from your problems.
Multimillionaire Robert Rathwell and his entourage arrive at their private Greek island. White sand, turquoise water, the perfect place to relax. But this is no ordinary family, and this holiday will be their last.

Get away from your life.
The next morning, a scream shatters their peaceful world. Someone has been murdered, his body arranged to make it look like suicide. Everyone has a motive and, under the burning sun, secrets quickly simmer to the surface.

Get away with murder.
Soon the guests see a darker, more violent side to paradise. Because the Rathwells don’t just own the island; they own the people on it. And they can do whatever they like – maybe even commit murder…

Thanks so much to HQ the copy of this locked in summer thriller read but despite the beautiful setting and promising start this was a disappointment for me. I usually enjoy multi POV books but I found it hard to remember whose chapter I was reading, and by the end didn’t care all that much!

Uber rich Robert Rathwell and family arrive at a private island for his birthday, yet on the first morning they aren’t celebrating, they are trying to find out who killed one of their number,

A stylish and well paced novel, hugely dislikable characters and good motives,

Great beach read

If you are looking for a summer read with plenty of intrigue that will transport you to to the kind of holiday location that most of us can only dream of then look no further than The Getaway by @rossarmstrongbooks.

Wealthy businessman Robert Rathwell, his family and entourage arrive on his private island. What should be an idyllic holiday quickly changes when someone is murdered and everyone is a suspect. Told from the perspectives of a number of characters, the reader is kept on their toes trying to figure out who to believe and who to trust, particularly as they all come across as largely unlikeable. I must confess that there were times I struggled to keep up with up who was speaking - and was very grateful for the cast of characters provided at the beginning of the book. But it kept me reading as I was intrigued to find out the truth and unravel the connections between the characters. With revelations that kept coming it certainly proved to be an island you wouldn’t want to be stranded on, and a family I think you probably would rather avoid!

Thank you to @hqstories for a #gifted advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favourite types of book is a locked room type mystery, and The Getaway is exactly that. A remote island. Seven guests. One killer.

Having never read a book by this author, I was looking forward to diving in and reading what turned out to be a perfect summer thriller. The weather, fictional and literal, had me craving a beach holiday, a cocktail and a dip in a pool. Minus the killer please!

Introducing majority of the characters at the start was a risky manoeuvre, but thankfully, when reading the physical copy of the book there was a quick list of characters that could be referred to. Digitally, I think this may hinder the reading experience.

Alternating chapters between the three main female characters, we quickly learnt that everyone was unlikeable and flawed, but it was definitely the authors intention. Suspect everyone. Trust none.

Lies, suspicious behaviour and secrets kept you on your toes, whilst guessing who the murderer may be and I was gripped trying to solve the mystery. I was pleased that I hadn't guessed all of the twists the book threw at me.

A nice easy read for during the summer months.

As soon as I opened this book and saw a cast of characters list it meant it could go one of two ways. It was either going to be helpful or meant that the characters were so unforgettable you would need reminding.

It was unfortunately both. It did help as I mostly had no clue who was who or even who was providing the narration half the time. It switched all over the place between the three main narrators Isabelle, Amelia and Sophia, none of whom I liked very much and good or bad you have to like the characters.

I was hoping the plot would grab me as the characters weren’t and I liked the idea of people owning other people and maybe what they could make them do. Bad behaviour always catches my interest and I do like it when people get away with things. Yes this is bad I know but it’s fiction so that makes it ok. However this was sadly lacking in that department too.

I have a thing when I’m ironing of putting on a film that maybe I’ve seen a hundred times before or one that doesn’t require much from the old noggin and you can miss a bit and it won’t really matter. This for me was the book equivalent of an ironing movie.

I thought this story to be a big disappointment. I was excited by the ‘who dunnit?’ premise and thought the remote setting would cleverly build anticipation. However, this story felt erratic, with underdeveloped characters and too many coincidences.

I struggled to keep track of the three women narrating the story. Sometimes the voice switched mid-chapter and I became grateful for the character list at the beginning of the story. That being said, even when I was well into the book, I still had to keep reminding myself of the character positions. I think this is because they felt so one-dimensional and lacking development. Furthermore, I didn’t grow to particularly like any of the characters and found myself irritated by their attitudes. I was confused by the male lead, Robert, who seemed to go from being extremely frail and elderly, to acting like a patriarch that the family fears. Furthermore, I found his relationships with several women to be a bit toe-curling and I disliked how he spoke to the women around him.

Reading this book, I felt like some parts were rushed too much. For example, in the opening chapters, I thought I had missed some significant element of the plot because the story was simply rushing through to get the characters on the remote, holiday island. This set the tone for the rest of the book and I felt like I was constantly playing ‘catch up’ to the narrative as parts didn’t feel truly explained properly. Too many over-used cliches appeared in this book and this definitely lessened the intensity of the story. Frequent convenient plot devices were used to make this a ‘tidy’ narrative and it didn’t feel like it ever got going, even with the mystery element of the story.

Whilst this had the enticing cover and the idea of the wealthy behaving badly, this book did not meet expectations. The setting was never truly explored and I thought this was a missed opportunity. I persevered with the novel because I wanted to find out the answers but, honestly, did not really care by the end of it who was alive and who was dead. I love a good ‘who dunnit?’ mystery but I think Armstrong was off the mark here. It had such promise but it made me want to get away from the book itself.

With thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There is a birthday party organised on an island for Robert Rathwell who is the strict head of the household.
None of the employees know each other well, so when there is a murder, everyone is a suspect. Amelia, who works on the island, decides to write a journal of the goings on in the strange household.
The situation worsens,with everyone told they must stay on the island until the murder is solved. Is Robert being targeted for his will, or for his mistakes in the past?
A twisty mystery full of surprises. It shows money isn't everything, but powerful people tread on those they believe beneath them. I didn't guess the ending and was wondering who would get out alive! Great read!