The Wilderness Retreat by Jennifer Moore

The cover and synopsis of this book drew me in, and I was really excited to see how this murder-mystery/thriller would turn out. I was, however, a little disappointed.

Firstly, the action was too slow-paced. The author did a great job of setting the scene to be a creepy, isolated cabin in the woods scenario. However, too much time was spent on descriptions of settings and dialogue that had no purpose to the plot, so the action took a back seat. It was way past half-way through before I felt the action actually kicked off. I really enjoyed the last third of this book, and found it gripping so it's only a shame we had to wait so long to feel that effect.

Furthermore, I found the characters to be a bit strange. Usually, the protagonist would be a flawed yet still likeable character who the readers can get behind. However, Bella was an odd choice of protagonist as she appeared rude and overly cautious of everyone/everything. Yes, the author may have been using her suspicion to highlight the mystery element, but it was not necessary and I found myself become frustrated by Bella's personality. I felt that a lot of the mysterioys events that happened didn't warrant the large, dramatic reactions which Bella had.

There was very little escalation in the seriousness of the unfolding events in this book, so the plot became a bit stale and I found myself becoming bored. I think the inciting incident should have occurred earlier, rather than the author waiting until the last 100 or so pages to reveal the main incident. This would have kept me gripped all the way through rather than my interest waning after the first 100 pages.

Overall, this is an okay book if you're jusg looking for a quick read to pass the time. The authors writing style seems to have real potential, and her descriptive vocabulary is great, so it's just a shame that the pacing and character choices let her down.

I rated this 3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jennifer Moore for the ARC.

I was really looking forward to reading this book but I have to say it didn’t live up to the hype. It was very repetitive and a ten year old could have worked out the denouement. None of the characters were likeable so the reader couldn’t even hope that their favourite character wasn’t the baddie and would survive. I’ve read far better locked room genre and if it wasn’t because I was on holiday and had the time, I would have given up and not finished it.

I was drawn to the cover of this book and thought it sounded interesting.

I did enjoy it it was a slow start but did pick up.

I liked the plot idea of being stuck in the middle of knowwhere where things happen.

Gripping

I loved the sound of this book - an isolated setting with a group of people whoo don't know each other plus secrets and lies thrown into the mix - but unfortunately I just didn't really connect with it. I thought the set up was good and I loved the setting - it felt both beautiful and claustrophobic which was perfect. However I just didn't believe in any of the characters, they just didn't feel real to me so I found it really hard to connect with the story. I will look out for other books by the author in the future but sadly this one just wasn't really for me.

Really descriptive and atmospheric. I liked the setting and it had some really interesting characters. Recommended.

I really wanted to enjoy The Wilderness Retreat. Having done my first retreat last year and loved every second, the setting appealed and I hoped throwing in a thriller-style-mystery would make it a fun read.

The book does have some strong elements. The final quarter was fast-paced and gripping, complete with wanting to know how the characters are going to get out of the predicaments they found themselves in. This last section was a classic case of staying up late because I needed to find the answers. Any book that can have that effect has done something right.

Unfortunately, however, it took until that last quarter for it to feel anything truly happens.

We follow Bella as she comes to terms with her son moving out, visiting the retreat in an attempt to spend some time focusing on herself. Bella was an incredibly difficult protagonist to like. From the start, she’s suspicious and paranoid of everyone. It didn’t work to add to the mystery element; it just made Bella unlikeable due to the way she treats everyone around her.

Bella’s narration is full of repetition: her bond with her son, her work, and her suspicions about what’s going on at the retreat. While there were a few incidents, there was very little to be suspicious about. It didn’t build tension because every small incident was over-analysed so many times that I was bored of hearing about it before any answers are found.

Due to Bella’s attitude, it’s hard to connect to any of the characters. You aren’t suspicious of anyone; you also don’t care about anyone: they’re all there to fight their demons but it doesn’t mean anything.

It would have been nice for the setting to be explored more than just lots of trees and a cold lake giving off a creepy vibe. The contrast between a wellness retreat and the events unfolding were a great juxtaposition but it felt like it was underplayed. Also, from the start, Bella refuses to do any of the ‘wellness’ events, making it feel the setting wasn’t utilised at all other than a convenient place to be.

The pacing is incredibly slow. Very little happens given the extent of Bella’s reactions and you go in circles a few times before the plot takes the next stop forward, only to repeat. It wasn’t the gripping thriller I was hoping for.

If you want something to pass the time, then I’m certain this book would do the trick. It wasn’t poor, it just could have done with a tight edit and being made a third shorter to up the tension. The entire novel is set over the span of a week, but I think that week dragged as much for the reader as it did for Bella.

I’d potentially look out for more from the author, but just without high expectations. There was something there, it just lacked the spark needed to really hold my attention. Often the case for me and thrillers these days.

This really is a page turner and it has put me off ever attending a retreat. It has it all, a house in the middle of nowhere, no phones, cut off from anywhere, raging storms, creepy fellow-guests, and lots of creepy unexplained goings on. I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. it's a cosy read, I was never quite sure what was going to happen next or what the protagonist was going to do next.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC.

3.5 ⭐️

I really wanted to enjoy this one and was keen to get stuck in. Unfortunately, for me, I found it quite slow and in places repetitive.
I liked the general idea of this book and it captured my attention enough to keep reading, I really wanted to know what was going on but the author really drips in the new information and you do feel you are going in circles at times.
All is revealed at the end of the book but it does seem a little far fetched.

All in all a good read but not what I was expecting.

An enjoyable book although I did find it took a while to get into the plot and to relate to the characters. Well written. I am sure this will appeal to a wide audience,.

Whilst I enjoyed this book, it was a little bit of a too slow pace for me.

I did like the setting, the author describes it well and it came across as quite eerie, the majority of the characters were interesting, especially Bella and her past/perception of what had happened

Bella has reluctantly agreed to join a retreat in the Swedish wilderness, a present to help her deal with her son going away to university. What starts our as a potentially interesting week away with a group of strangers soon descends into a terrifying situation. First, someone arrives who Bella never wanted to see again, then the mysterious notes appear, and then one of the group disappears….
Jennifer Moore writes well, she carefully rachets up the tension while dropping red herrings cleverly through the novel. The flashbacks to Bella’s past add to the mystery. I didn’t guess the twist until the last few pages. The Wilderness Retreat doesn’t add anything new to the genre but it’s an enjoyable page turner.

This was not exactly what I was expecting from the synopsis and sadly fell a bit short for me. The premise and location are great but it was too slow a burn for me with too many Characters and a lot of repetition, a good chunk of the book could have been removed without affecting the story.
A well written book just not me for.

This thriller had enough about it to keep me turning the pages however I did feel that the "big plot twist" was signposted well before the ending was revealed. The characters weren't particularly believable nor did the writing make me really care about them either. A suspension of belief was also required due to a lot of the events being quite incredible but I did feel compelled to finish it.

The Wilderness Retreat was a good read that I really enjoyed. There was a big cast of characters that all played their part in creating an intriguing background for the main character of Bella. She was one of those where you find yourself on the one hand shouting at them for making stupid decisions and on the other you have absolute sympathy for them having ended up in such a terrifying situation.

This was an atmospheric story that was full of twists which I didn’t see coming. The fact that all the story takes place in one remote cottage gives the whole thing a real locked room feeling. You know that the guilty party must be one of the guests but just like Bella you are left not knowing who you can trust and who not.

Thanks to her sister, Bella arrives at the Wilderness Retreat, ready to unwind after the stress of seeing her son off to university, and hoping to focus on composing some music.

Unfortunately this is not to be, as she takes some funny turns, the others at the Retreat have their own problems and the special guest is special for all the wrong reasons.

Is Bella just paranoid, or is someone really out to get her?

All the ingredients were there for a brilliant thriller, but it just didn't quite happen for me. Bella's love for her son comes across as obsessive and while the scene had to be set and tension increased, the real action didn't happen until at least 3/4 of the way through. Slow burn indeed!

I still enjoyed the book - I just feel a tighter edit would have ramped up the pace and tension.

Thanks to the author, HQ Digital, Pigeonhole and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Bella drops her son Asher off at university and feels devastated. How will she cope without her boy? It's always just been the two of them.

One thing that may get her through is an upcoming week-long wilderness retreat in Sweden, a gift from her sister and Asher.

In the middle of nowhere - Dead Man's Forest, to be exact - Bella does not want to stay. Especially when an unsettling note is popped under her door and a figure from the past turns up. Bella feels uneasy; this is not a restful retreat at all. She feels on edge and knows something is not right, especially when a fellow guest disappears.

The Wilderness Retreat is a gripping psychological thriller that I found hard to put down! The plot was pacy, helped by short chapters and mini cliffhangers, which make you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next.

There is a sub-story in italics. It took me a while to work out the connection, but was a great way to input the background story.

There was an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit theme running through the novel, with a range of different characters who all appear suspicious for their own reasons. Bella is sensitive, jittery and always on high alert, with the cracks deepening by the day.

A real page-turner with an unexpected conclusion!

I’m quite indecisive on how to review this book.

I loved the set up, the location and mood were wonderful and engrossing, but something felt like lacking and fell short at the end (last 10% of the book).

I feel like the culprit was guessable, which on its own is ok…. But the reveal didn’t seem strong enough and the lack of knowledge from anyone else and the relationship dynamics felt so weird, like not fully well understood and developed.

And what was that bit about the dating app!? Just one sentence like that about something so interesting… is it a hook for the next book!? I’m confused.

Anyhow, I did enjoy reading the book and it was overall an ok experience taking everything into account. But it might be that you can sell me anything cold country wilderness and I’ll buy it :D

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Well written, addictive and unpredictable. This is a book I have really enjoyed and devoured. i definitely want to read more from this author. Full Review to follow.

The Wilderness Retreat was a book I was looking forward to reading but wasn’t the read I thought it was going to be.
Bella has just dropped her son off at university and she has caught a flight out to Sweden to a retreat, it has been booked by her sister and her son to help her over the first week of having an empty nest. She is thrown in with a group of people she doesn’t know and has nothing in common with. Their is a celebrity joining them later in the week and when Bella finds out who it is she is alarmed as she has tried to keep him from her mind after that night with him. Strange goings on start to occur and Bella seems to get iller and iller. Why is Bella feeling like this and what secrets are about to be shared?
This book had the premise to be really good but I found it so slow, it was repetitive and could have lost a good chunk without affecting the story. There were too many characters and too much tooing and froing making it hard at times to keep up. The storyline was good just not the length.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ Digital for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

**3.5**
The Wilderness Retreat

As Bella drops her son off at university, she’s devastated. It’s been the two of them ever since Asher was born. The only thing helping her through is the upcoming week-long wilderness retreat in Sweden. It’ll be her chance to reconnect and recharge.
Is the idyllic holiday too good to be true !

Overall I enjoyed this book it was a definite page turner but I was put off a little by Bella constantly referring to her son all throughout the story but this didn't ruin my enjoyment and would definitely recommend giving it a try

Thank you to Netgalley, H.Q and Jennifer Moore for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest Review