This is the second book in the series and the central character Detective Elin Warner’s character has evolved and she is more confident when dealing with a death on an island off the English coast. Later the body of another guest who has gone diving, is found. There is a similar theme to the first book with this story being set in a retreat and the island it is built on becomes cut off when the weather conditions deteriorate. The island itself, known locally as Reaper’s Rock is regarded by the locals as being cursed, partly because of having a dark past.
Really good characterisation, with the group of guests connected to the deaths on the island being interesting but they are not all likeable. Overall I enjoyed this second book more than the first one, with more interesting characters and I liked the ending.

When a group of six friends visit a luxury retreat on an island of the Devon Coast, they don't find the peace and tranquillity they expected. Within hours, one of their party is dead., then another... DS Elin Warner, drafted in from the mainland, suspects there is a serial killer on the loose - but will the island give up its menacing secrets before more bodies are found?
This was very atmospheric and tense, right from the beginning. The tangled and volatile sibling relationships of sisters Jo and Hana set the pace for a multi-layered, entangled plot where their past secrets and lies echo the past secrets of the island itself, scene of the brutal killings of young schoolchildren nearly twenty years before, and further back in its past, home to a school for vulnerable kids where dark deeds went unpunished.
DS Elin must unpick the threads of past and present while dealing with her own unresolved traumas if she is to solve the case and prevent further deaths.
And all the while there is a hint of the supernatural in the brooding presence of the Reaper, a grim outcrop of rock that seems to warn people off the island. If only they'd paid heed!
With short chapters, various viewpoints and physical and emotional mayhem on every page, this is a book you won't put down until the end.

A terrific take on a locked room mystery set in the luxurious surroundings of a spa, when one of the guests meets an untimely demise. Gothic and haunting!

The plot of this book did not really gel for me. Why would a developer put a Retreat and spa on an island and leave the buildings where murder and mayhem had happened in the past? A fairly average thriller that had a few twists and turns but the story seemed slow in places and then raced along in others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the advance copy of this book.

After reading The Sanatorium, I was thrilled to be given an advanced cope of The Retreat to read and I certainly was not disappointed. Another Elin Warner story, however this time she finds herself called to a death at a luxury retreat on an island. A recipe for disaster, right?! But as Elin arrives, one death turns to two turns to three. Can Ein catch the murderer in time?

The Retreat was a great fast-paced thriller that kept me gripped and turning the page, desperately trying to figure out what was going on and who was going to die next. I love a book with short chapters and this book makes it so easy to read 'just one more chapter'.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. I will definitely be recommending this.

As with The Sanitarium this book had me gripped start to finish! I live how Sarah manages to make you feel for the characters and feel how they feel! If you're looking for an epic read or you only read 2 books this year make them these! 5 stars isn't enough!

Another twisty thriller from Sarah Pearse, a follow up to The Sanatorium featuring the same main protagonist.

This time we are heading to a Welsh island with a morbid history - and it seems as if the curse continues as Elin investigates suspicious deaths and finds it may be a lot more personal than expected.

I love this kind of addictive narrative, those page turner that keep you reading way past the point at which you meant to stop. There's a great character dynamic within the supporting cast too with secrets coming to light and danger lurking everywhere.

A nice set up for a professional partnership too which bodes well for this series moving forwards and I love twisty plotting so thoroughly enjoyed this.

The retreat is an amazing new spa destination on an island. But it has a history...........
A young woman's body is found at the bottom of a cliff - but she isn't supposed to be there?
DS Elin Warner is called in to investigate.
Residents are becoming concerned and then there is storm forecast which means there is no escape from the island or the murderer.

Rating: 3.0/5

I was not a fan of Sarah Pearse's first novel, "The Sanatorium" ... in fact, it is probably fair to say that I was quite brutal in my criticism of it. Nonetheless, I do like to give an author a second chance to appeal to me, so I decided to to give this one a go. Thankfully, "The Retreat" is a marked improvement on "The Sanatorium". I still wouldn't rate it as amongst the best in class, but this time around, Sarah Pearse has managed to deliver a perfectly decent and entertaining read.

Like its predecessor, this also features the lead character of DS Elin Warner, but there is definitely no need to read the first book in the series in order to understand and enjoy book two ... in fact, I would recommend in the strongest possible terms that you do not even consider wasting your time reading the first book in the series - it really was pretty poor!

Although "The Retreat" features a Detective Sergeant as the main protagonist this is certainly not a police procedural. It is actually a "locked room" style mystery set on a remote island off the Devon coast, where an eco-wellness retreat has been set up in recent times. There is nothing particularly original about the setting, nor the fact that it features the almost obligatory restricted cast of characters with secretive histories. The lack of originality in these elements doesn't matter at all - similar scenarios have provided the backdrop for many an enjoyable mystery that I have read over the years - the important thing is that it is how it is executed by the writer.
To try to put it into some kind of relatable context for you, this novel bears a lot of striking similarities with (at least) three other mysteries I have read over the past year or so: "Her Last Holiday" by Cally Taylor, "The Long Weekend" by Gilly Macmillan and "The Sanctuary" by Charlotte Duckworth. I would describe Sarah Pearse's "The Retreat" as better than "The Long Weekend", less impressive than "Her Last Holiday" and pretty much on a par with "The Sanctuary". But the main thing that I am both pleased and relieved about is that it is such an improvement on "The Sanatorium".

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Absolutely brilliant! A retreat I do not fancy visiting. The story and characters in this book are woven really well. A few twists and turns along the way. Highly recommended.

3.5* rounded up!
Full review on my insta to follow…
I loved the setting! The author has a great way of picking a unique setting that adds so much mystery & suspense to the story. Isolated, creepy weather & an even creepier history of the island made this book just as good as the sanatorium.
Loved the short chapters & the character growth for Elin the main character was really satisfying! Looking forward to the next in the series already!

Sarah’s debut book The Sanatorium was one of the best thrillers I’d ever read, so I admit I did make a very unladylike squeal when I received an early e-copy of this (and believe me, I’ll definitely be buying it when it comes out in physical copies).

I didn’t realise initially that this was number two in a series of books and reviews some of the characters from her debut. Whilst it’s not a necessity to have read The Sanatorium to enjoy this one, they can both be standalone reads, I do think knowing the background of the characters and what they’ve been through beforehand shines an extra light on this one.

I felt this one had more sure, more work. The Sanatorium was so thrillingly tense and frightening, but it was a one off. Whereas this one has a lot to live up to. And dare I say it, I think this was even better, and it had a hard mountain to climb.

Now I know this was part of a series, I am hopeful for more stories. It’s a satisfying conclusion but it leaves you wanting more and more, teasing you with ideas, and you just want her to write this series forever.

One of the best things for me is Sarah’s use of weather and her description of weather. It’s so well done it becomes a character of itself, it’s absolutely first class. You can hear the wind, feel the rain, sense yourself getting stuck in the storm with the characters, holding your asth until you come out the other side, it adds a whole other dynamic to an already thrilling story. I personally don’t think you can learn how to write weather as well as that, I think it’s a natural ability and she’s definitely got that.

In combination with her use of weather, she has perfect the writing of isolation and claustrophobia. With both of her books, she has set them in isolated places, abandoned buildings now reborn, but with an undercurrent of evil. As a reader, if the author manages to make you feel uncomfortable in the comfort of your own home, I think is an immense talent.

I will say one thing, Sarah (I hope you don’t mind me using your first name, I feel so absorbed in your writing it’s like I know a piece of you), if you’re reading this, I want to know how you write something like this. Do you know who did it and how and why, and then work backwards? Or do you start with the questions and then work the answer out as you go? Thrillers and murder mysteries fascinate me, the way little twists and red herrings can be dropped in now and again, things that seem innocuous at first read but end up pointing directly to the answer.

I’ve had this book on my e-shelf for a while, teasing me, waiting for me to read it. And now I’m almost sad that I have read it, as I no longer have it to look forward to.

A great story with so many twists and turns you don't know what to make of anyone.

This will keep you hooked from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this tense, atmospheric thriller set in a luxury retreat on an island with a dark past. Initially, I found it quite hard to keep track of the multiple characters as the narrative swapped between them but they soon came to life and I found myself reading more and more quickly to get to the dramatic conclusion.

A worthy follow up to The Sanatorium. An Island off the coast of Devon with a dubious history only accessible by boat is somewhere to build the ultimate Spa escape. For select guests the amenities are exquisite. Accidents still happen and a guest falls over a stylish glass barrier. The detective from the Sanatorium who hasn’t worked a major case since is sent to confirm that it is not a suspicious death.
The victim is not even a guest, she has been murdered and Elin is thrown into a nightmare. The writing is atmospheric and the tension ratchets up as several murders follow. The Island with its trademark crag in the shape of the Grim Reaper is a character in itself, part of the essence of the murders. Creepy and gripping, it is an excellent read.

This is an exciting mystery set on an island just off Devon, set in a purpose built retreat to make up for the violent deaths of some teenagers on the island in the in the past. Elin is the police officer who is assigned to the case as it’s her first work after time off after a stressful case. However the death is not a straight accident. The family stopping there seems to be targeted. There are more murders and a storm traps everyone on the island. This is a well crafted story with violent deaths and a link to the previous murders. Elin just has to work it out. This is made more difficult for Elin as her partner Will is the designer of the new retreat. Has he got more of a link to the murders than he is willing to share with her? Some of the murders are brutal and Elin is injured and has to use all her skill to finally work it all out. This is the second investigation that Elin has been involved in and it is just as frightening and hard to get the right answers and managing to survive as her first adventure. It is good to have a strong female leading the story and it is a wonderful read.

I loved THE SANATORIUM so this one was an automatic must read. And wow, what a book it was!

It follows 2 narratives - Detective Elin Warner and the group of friends staying at the retreat. I liked the mix of POVs, it really helped to tell the story. Especially as they weren’t all together at the same time so you got to see what was happening at various areas of the island.

I literally couldn’t put it down, it was so gripping. Every chapter was full of drama, ending on cliffhangers making you want to continue reading. The descriptions of the island were so chilling, it felt like you were there.

I did not see that ending coming - what a plot twist!

If you enjoyed THE SANATORIUM, you’ll like this one.

Like The Sanatorium before it, The Retreat really succeeds in creating a sense of foreboding and an unsettled and creepy atmosphere. It is genuinely spooky at times.

The story itself is gripping and I did find myself reading quite late to find out more.

I’d say the only downsides were the characters which I felt weren’t as well rounded as they could be. I didn’t feel like I cared particularly about any of them apart from Elin. I somehow wasn’t shocked by the revelations towards the end, perhaps because I’d never fully engaged with the characters.

I really enjoyed Sarah's debut so knew I was in for a great read with The Retreat. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed this one better than The Sanatorium, possibly because I preferred the ending.

The island setting and use of description added a strong and tense atmosphere, and gave it a locked room mystery feel. The characterisation was good and I enjoyed meeting DS Elin Warner again, in a different setting, with a new partner and with a new mystery to solve; one that puts her at peril. The pace was spot on and created a taut energy that made me eager to see what happened next and the style of writing made it very easy to read. I don't usually comment on covers as am more interested in what lies between the pages, but I thought the cover for The Retreat was very appealing and captured the island, and tone of the story, perfectly.

I'm excited to see what Sarah comes up with next.

With thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I really didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one. I found Will an irritating character and just found the story dragged on. Terribly sorry 😞