The Retreat is book number two in this series and I think would be ok to read as a stand-alone.
I really loved the sanatorium which is the first book in this series but for me I just couldn’t get into this one. I found it had a lot of characters and was very slow going. It was an effort to pick this up, I don’t think the storyline is bad as it had a lot going on, I think it’s probably me as I am in the minority with my view.
The retreat is on an island off Devon, it is an eco wellness retreat, there for you to come and relax and recharge but someone isn’t there to relax someone is there for revenge. Reapers rock has history though and as much as people want to forget about it the murders that are happening now isn’t going to make that happen anytime soon. D.I Elin Warner must work out what is happening and fast before more lives are lost.
I would like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great second novel and a follow-on with the same police force.
The twists are insane, every time they try to gain evidence to solve the murder it complicates the narrative.
There are no solid alibis and the motives are complicated, I love how the strands of the storyline are confusing and full of red herrings that are genuinely baffling.
The ending is jaw-dropping and you won't see it coming at all.
#netgalley #TheRetreat

I wasn’t so keen on The Sanatorium but I loved the premise and liked the authors writing style. Hearing it would be a series, I was intrigued! The second book was definitely better than the first, but it still didn’t quite have the spark I wanted, or needed from the story.

A brilliant read. So deserving of 5 stars to me. The setting was just perfect and I’d absolutely want to visit, aside from the who murder aspect.
Really thrilling story, the author is getting better and better!

I read and reviewed The Retreat on Netgalley in exchange for providing honest feedback. Sarah’s book is thrilling, exciting, unputdownable and a perfect ‘who has done it’ story. I would go as far as to say that The Retreat might quite possible be one of my favourite thrillers that I’ve read.
I know for sure that after reading this book on Netgalley I want to buy a print copy so that I can read this action-packed novel again. It had everything that I want from a thriller, a clever plot, brilliant writing style and character development, complex characters, a serial killer element, police solving the crimes, spooky, and remote location.
I loved the location but I would not be in a rush to book a villa in this luxury resort. The book felt modern and in with the times as it mentioned social media and influencers, but it cleverly jumped back and forth in the storyline.
I would have given this book 6 stars if I could, 5 stars do not feel enough for this fast paced, mysterious novel. I loved this thriller and recommend it to everybody!

I couldn't wait to read this follow on from The Sanctuary which I really enjoyed. The book begins by us meeting Elin a few months after the Hayler case where she is now living with her partner on the west coast. He has just designed a new 'Retreat' which has been shortlisted for rewards for its design - although it has been built on a nearby secluded island with a murky past,

We realise something sinister has happened on the island previously when it was a school and activities camp. When Hana, her sister Jo and cousin Maya arrive for a break away something terrible happens and Elin gets called across to investigate to see if this is linked to anything that happened back in the past.

Through out the book we find out from each character past of their past catching up with them.

I loved how descriptive the island was as well with all the wildlife and nature.

This was a great page turner and I will be recommending to others.

After the superb The Sanatorium I was looking forward to discovering where Sarah Pearse would go next. The Retreat is just as good, and it is interesting to meet Elin Warner again, in a different setting. Once again we are in a closed room situation, but on an island dedicated to wellness and recreation. When deaths start to occur, Elin must work out who is responsible and why. There are some fascinating revelations and various interesting revelations. Excellent stuff!

Ooh, another belter from Sarah Pearse. her second book has the same flawed detective Elin and her partner Will.

A wellness retreat has opened on a creepy island off the coast of Devon. The island has a past, a serial killer loomed back in the day. Are they back? How can they be if they're in prison? One by one, guests are found murdered. So what links the island now to the island then?

A real page turner.

Recharge. Refresh. REVENGE !
A wellness retreat opens on an island on the Devon Coast. The Retreat offers rest and relaxation but the Island known as Reapers Rock has a dark past and when a body is found on the rocks history begins to repeat itself.

I found this a little slow at the start but once the pace picked up I just couldn't stop reading. Loved the Creepy isolation Vibes
The twists just kept coming ! Elin character development in this book flowed perfectly from The Sanitorium I can't wait to read more in this series !!

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House UK and Sarah Pearse for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest Review

I recently read the sanatorium and highly highly recommend this. Having finished the sanatorium and having a new favourite female detective - I was so glad to have the second one to hand.
Thank you so much for the publisher and tour organiser for sending this to me
The author delivers another great crime book. I really do hope this is the beginning of a long series featuring Elin
From the very first chapter, the action begins.
The author tells the story in short, snappy chapters, leaving each chapter on a cliffhanger, leaving the reader just wanting one more chapter, until suddenly the book is finished
Elin is one of my favourite detectives. She is not without flaws and I can relate to her in so many ways.
From book 1, I didn’t like her boyfriend Will and more so in this book. I loved the way the two books linked together
In this book we are introduced to a group of sisters, a cousin and their boyfriends, all lying to each other and harbouring their own secrets. When one of them is found dead, Elin cancels her holiday and immediately starts to solve the case
Is the killer closer than she thinks??

An outstanding detective novel! I just want more!

This is fictional detective Elin Warner’s second outing, but it is to Pearse’s credit that this novel also works as a stand-alone. This time, Elin and her partner Steed are called to Cary Island in Devon, an eco-retreat where an extended family reports the sudden death of a young woman. What should be an idyllic setting is transformed into a claustrophobic, inhospitable setting when a storm cuts the island off from the mainland. And what should be a thorough investigation for Elin is made even more complex when a second person, also from the family group, dies in mysterious circumstances. With its switches between different points of view and packing in several backstories, there is a lot going on in this thriller but readers who disappear will be rewarded with the most incredible of endings. Highly recommended! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for granting me the free ARC that made this honest book review possible.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the gifted early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Read this if you:

✔Believe that a place can be cursed
✔Like a novel where everyone is a suspect
✔Want a suspenseful book
✔Are new to thrillers and want to try out this genre

My Thoughts:

This is Sarah Pearse’s second novel, but the first one that I read. I heard awesome things about The Sanatorium, her first book, but I never got around to reading it. My expectations going into The Retreat were pretty high given all the hype on her previous novel.

I was a bit disappointed because the twists were not very hard to guess and I wasn’t impressed. Maybe it’s because after reading a lot of thrillers, there are very few things that could still surprise me.

Despite not having blown my mind, I still enjoyed the book because it was suspenseful from beginning to end and it kept me curious.

I also loved that the characters were well built. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing their personalities come more and more to the surface throughout the book.

Overall, this was a pleasant read but I expected a bit more mind-blowing twists. I think this could be perfect for readers who are just trying out this genre.

Detective Elin Warner is back and, once again, she finds herself in a remote location, with bad weather conditions, murder to solve, and a killer on the loose (and I loved it!). This time, the murder scene is a bit a closer to home, a recently opened hotel on a island just off the coast which her boyfriend Will designed and where his sister Farrah works as a manager. A few years earlier, the island had been the setting of another crime scene when a group of teenagers camping there had been murdered. Now, the victim is a young woman who wasn’t supposed to be on the island, and then someone else is found dead…

While I enjoyed The Sanatorium and The Retreat both in the same way, I have to say that I liked more the Elin Warner that we see in The Retreat. She has a new working partner, while her relationship with her boyfriend Will becomes a bit strained during the investigation. She is surer of herself and tougher working her first murder case since leaving the Major Crimes Investigation Team.

The plot is suspenseful and chilling. Secrets, lies, resentment, revenge, and jealousy start a series of murders while the island, renamed Reaper’s Rock, is itself a protagonist of the story. Once it housed a school that burnt down, then became an Outward Bound center where a group of teenagers was brutally murdered, and now people are being killed in the newly built retreat while a storm outside prevents people from leaving the island. As the storm raged I was on the edge of my seat to see what would happen. And once the killer is found, the twists don’t end with a final shocking surprise that I didn’t see coming.

I was completely immersed in The Retreat and I am already hoping for more adventures and cases for Detective Elin Warner.

I loved ‘The Sanatorium’ and was keen to read this one. However, I found there were too many characters to keep up with and it was a very slow read. I stopped at 50%. Hopefully I enjoy the next one as much as I did the first one.

Absolutely incredible. What a work of art! Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this masterpiece!

Author: Sarah Pearse
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Age Range: Adult
Format: E-Book (ARC)
Published: 21st July 2022
Pages: 362
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis

Most are here to recharge and refresh.
But someone's here for revenge . . .

An eco-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 rumoured to be cursed.

DS Elin Warner is called to the retreat when a young woman's body is found on the rocks below the yoga pavilion, in what seems to be a tragic fall. But the victim wasn't a guest - she wasn't meant to be on the island at all.

When a man drowns in a diving incident the following day, Elin starts to suspect that there's nothing accidental about these deaths. But why would someone target the retreat - and who else is in danger?

Elin must find the killer - before the island's history starts to repeat itself . . .

Review

Trigger Warnings: Death, Loss of a loved one, Grief, Violence and Blood.

This review may contain spoilers.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley, however, this in no way influenced my opinion. Thank you to the publishers Random House UK and Transworld Publishers for providing me with a copy.

After reading The Sanatorium in May and loving it I decided to request the sequel and was so glad when I was approved. I was really looking forward to picking this up and while I did enjoy it, I liked the first book in this series better. Similarly, to The Sanatorium from the very first page of this novel I was completely gripped by this story and was kept engaged throughout as I tried to work out who was behind the murders, so I found this hard to put down. I also flew through this as the chapters were so short. One of my favourite aspects of this novel was the character development of our main character Elin, she seems a lot more confident in her abilities which I loved seeing. I will say that I’m still not the biggest fan of Elin’s boyfriend Will and I was quite frustrated with him. My favourite aspect of this novel was definitely the plot twists, I don’t want to spoil anything, but I had a few suspects in mind while reading and it turned out to be none of them, so I was shocked. The ending of this revealed another twist and I still have a few questions so I’m guessing there will be a third book which I’m looking forward to picking it up.

Overall, this was a great mystery/thriller novel that had me gripped from the beginning and had some unpredictable twists. I will definitely be picking more of this author's work up in the future.

Another great book from Sarah Pearse. Even though this is the second book, the case has nothing to do with the previous one so you don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy it. I actually think I enjoyed this one more than the first. It’s a murder mystery and the story flows well. I had no idea who the culprit would be, it’s definitely not predictable which was a refreshing change. It’s quite fast paced and you definitely feel the need to keep reading in the last third of the book. Looking forward to the next one. Thank you #netgalley

The Retreat is the second book in the Detective Elin Warner series. This book is miles apart from the Sanatorium. The plot, writing and character development eclipses book 1.

The Retreat, known as Lumen, is set on an island with a murky past and when mysterious things start to happen, Elin and her work partner, set out to discover what is going on. With a group of friends at the heart of the story and figures from the past coming in, it’s not a predictable ending and I was left guessing until the conclusion.

A much better read than book 1 so 4 stars it deserves!

This is the second book in the DS Elin Warner series. Once again it is set in a remote location.
The story follows three sisters, a cousin & 2 boyfriends as they go on a break to the island retreat. One of the sisters is found dead in suspicious circumstances and DS Elin zwarner is called in to investigate.
I do think it helps if you have read the first book as that gives you an understanding of Elin's flawed character.
I found this book a little slow in places but I enjoyed it more than the first., and would recommend it.
Thanks to neutrally for this advance read.

When someone ideas it appears to be an unfortunate accident at the retreat. When another body materialises questions need to be asked. Elin must find out what is happening. I found the story a bit slow until the final third of the book. Some annoying characters that you can't help being interested in.