I read and loved Ruth Kelly's previous two novels (The Escape and The Villa) so I was excited to start this! I found this another highly original thriller that I raced through in just over a day!

I loved the premise of the Ice Retreat. This was a place where people stayed to get cured of intense physical pain through a specialised and extreme, ice treatment programme. This programme seemed to defy scientific explanations but was it safe?
Hollie Jenson is the presenter of a documentary series, Bad Medicine and she sets out to find a missing boy and expose both the Ice Retreat and it's founder Ariel Rose for the phony and corrupt place she believes it to be.
The Ice Retreat is a dangerous and remote environment however. Will Hollie survive her visit and uncover the truth?
This was such an atmospheric (and chilly!) thriller. The cold, remote Swiss mountains created the perfect locked room scenario.
As with Ruth Kelly's previous novels, there were plenty of great twists, making it impossible to predict! The ending wasn't what I was expecting at all!
A great suspense thriller that is hard to put down!

I definitely did not know who to trust which made reading this book very suspensful, it kept me hooked until the very end.

A LOCKED ROOM TYPE THRILLER

A scientist turned investigative journalist plans to uncover rouge medical practice… The ice retreat aims to cure pain and combat addiction!

Cults. Coincidences. A missing person...

Dark. Original. Sassy &Sinister… I completed raced through the pages. A jaw dropping twist you don’t see coming ends the story perfectly!!

Perfect for those who enjoy:
- Pacy thrillers
- Strong storylines
- Twists and turns
- The perfect ending

If you enjoyed Richard Armitages’ Geneva, you’ll enjoy this one!

Hollie, a presenter who exposes the truths behind extreme therapies, sets her sights on The Ice Retreat, a wellness retreat that promises to rid you of pain, which is run by guru Ariel. She jumps at the chance to visit when she is invited to see what they do, however when there she realises that it may be more dangerous than she first thought.

Ruth Kelly has been a go to author for me since I read her first book, The Villa. This was another great offering by this author, turning out to be a tense, entertaining thriller. The story starts strongly and straight away I was drawn in. I found the premise of extreme therapies fascinating and the atmosphere was superb, you could feel the eeriness and isolation. I enjoyed the Swiss setting and could imagine the cold environment.

The characters, especially the lead, were written well and had interesting personalities, despite being frustrating at times. There were plenty of twists and turns, some which I surprised myself by predicting, although others I didn’t see coming. The story gets a bit crazy by the end with plenty of action and suspense. Overall this was another fun, well plotted thriller by this author and I can’t wait to find out what’s next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this, and as the autumn nights draw in this was a great read.
Our main character, Hollie, is angry and determined to use her role on social media to expose those who are doing wrong. Having already had a hit show, her target this time is former Olympic skier Ariel who has become the face of a wellness retreat. The Ice Retreat is shrouded in mystery, but there is talk of bizarre practices and a number of former guests have killed themselves. After talking to the mother of one of the guests Hollie vows to learn the truth about the resort.
There are definitely secrets, and Hollie finds herself in increasingly dangerous territory as she tries to work out what is going on. We’re kept as much in the dark as Hollie and the shifting perspective means we’re not allowed to see what’s going on until quite late on.

I love high concept thrillers with vivid and evocative settings and a cast of characters living lives I can only dream of so, having read and loved "The Villa", I was immediately intrigued by the concept of this book, with its isolated and secluded Wellness Centre setting and an almost cult like figure in the form of Wellness Guru, Ariel Rose.

And overall it ended up being a solid 3 star thriller for me. The concept and mystery drew me in immediately and I knew there had to be a twist or two along the line which kept me reading, unfortunately what knocked it down was the characterisation of main character, Hollie which just didn't work for me at all.

I really dislike characters who are written to handle their trauma by using alcohol as medicine, it makes for a contrived unreliable narrator trope which for my reading preference is really irritating. With Hollie we also had another pet peeve of mine, her inability to communicate effectively, making for more contrived ways to keep the plot moving forward.

Normally I wouldn't have continued reading as the main character is obviously a major figure throughout, however the dual timeline with other character perspectives broke up Hollie's chapters and added enough intrigue to keep me on the hook and keep reading to figure out what on earth is going on.

The final reveals of the truth of the situation did stretch credulity and required a lot of suspension of disbelief. It also didn't all quite flow and come together in the way that "The Villa" did. However overall I can say enjoyed the ride, it was what I needed at that moment and I will go back and read "The Escape" next as having read two books now from Ruth Kelly I can see the patterns of style, tone and pacing and setting and I like it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a digital review copy of "The Ice Retreat" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

A thriller based on a fantastic ice retreat in the Swiss mountains, it all sounds pretty good, if a little bit “come in Mr Bond” about it. However I enjoyed it and it was different. It all goes a bit into the realms of fantasy as the bodies pile up. A good read for winter, by the fire

The Ice Retreat is Ruth Kelly's third novel and is a gripping thriller. The location is the snowy mountains of Switzerland, where the charismatic and enigmatic Ariel Rose, a former Olympic ski champion, runs a wellness retreat.

Hollie Jensen, an ex-scientist, presents a documentary series on Netflix called Bad Medicine. In it, she exposes scams in the wellness industry and despite her producer’s fears, she wants her next mission to be the exposure of Ariel Rose. Hollie has also been contacted by the mother of a young man who has disappeared after attending the retreat.
On arrival at the retreat, Hollie and her assistant are ostensibly welcomed by Ariel Rose, but Hollie is not taken in. We also learn that Hollie has her own personal reasons for exposing Ariel.
What follows is a novel with increasing tension and imminent danger throughout, with the reader constantly immersed in a feeling of claustrophobia. The story is told mainly from Hollie’s perspective, but also from wellness patients Florence and Martyn.
The characters are so well done and fleshed out. Hollie and Ariel are both deeply flawed. You don’t like them but you want to know more about them.
It’s a wild ride of a thriller and I loved it. Five stars.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley, Ruth Kelly and especially Pan Macmillan for the much-appreciated ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

This was my first book by Ruth Kelly and I really enjoyed it. Told from various points of view with the shocks ongoing I read this book in two sittings. I couldn’t predict the outcome at all and was surprised.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed Ruth Kelly’s The Escape, so I was excited to read another standalone thriller from her – The Ice Retreat.

Hollie Jenson is on a mission to prove that wellness guru Ariel Rose is doing more harm than good with her ice rebirth treatments. When she is invited to visit them to see the treatments for herself, she jumps at the chance – but what is really going on at the remote centre?

I really enjoy thrillers that centre on the wellness industry so requesting this book was a no brainer for me. The opening chapter completely gripped me, and wellness patient Florence’s point of view is interspersed throughout the book, along with flashbacks to really keep the tension and stakes sky-high.

Hollie is an interesting character - she is certainly flawed and makes some really questionable decisions – you get the feeling of an unreliable narrator from her throughout. She keeps some of her backstory really close to her chest, but despite this, you believe that what she is trying to uncover is important and so you are fully on her side.

I enjoyed the chapters set at the wellness centre - the isolated retreat in the middle of the Swiss Mountains out of season makes for a claustrophobic and locked-room style of thriller. I wish there had been slightly more of the exploration of the retreat before the reveal of what was actually going on though. The reveal itself kind of came out of nowhere and almost went into sci-fi territory - I think I still have some unanswered questions about what was going on, but the pace really ramped up, so I think as readers we were just swept along at breakneck speed. The ending is very action packed and I did not see some of the twists and turns coming.

Overall, The Ice Retreat is a gripping thriller that I finished in two sittings – perfect for those dark and wintery nights. Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I heard about this book at the Harrogate festival and really wanted to read it! Clinical trials plus a backdrop of an icy retreat with limited access and exits made for a good story. Characters were well written and took me on lots of twists and turns. I didn’t know what was going to happen! I would like to see more from this author.

‘Everyone who comes here is afraid of something. Don’t be sacred, look it in the eye, stare it down and scare it off.’

I liked this book a lot. It started out strong and kept up momentum all throughout the book. Very early on, the book gives off a feeling of eeriness and dread. Something is simmering beneath the surface but you can't quite put your finger on it.

It leaves you feeling uneasy while simultaneously gripping your attention. I wasn't sure how I felt about Hollie's character. I just didn't connect with her the way I think I should have. I did enjoy the differing perspectives and timelines. Experiencing the story from other characters added to the suspense.

Multiple twists and turns along the way kept me on my toes and at the edge of my seat. There really never was a dull moment here. The final 80% of the book was wild, almost a little too much for me. There was so much happening that by the time the final twist came along, I was tired lol.
Nonetheless, still an enjoyable, atmospheric and creepy read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Ruth Kelly for my eARC of this book. All opinions are my own and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Rating: 2.4/5

"The Ice Retreat" is Ruth Kelly's third novel since stepping out of the shadows as a ghost-writer. I loved the first two, "The Villa" and "The Escape", which I rated as four and five star reads respectively. Sadly, this latest offering is less impressive.

There are some good ideas, which should have formed the basis of another solid book. An investigative reporter, Hollie Jenson, with a medical background, who has forged a reputation for her television exposés, decides to look into a wellness retreat based in the Swiss mountains. Hollie is convinced that behind its glamorous front lies something far more spurious.

I have praised Ruth Kelly in the past for the almost faultless pace of her novels, the impressive characterisation and the credibility of her unusual, but nonetheless believable scenarios. Unfortunately, this time around, although the pace is fine, the characterisation is not convincing and too many aspects of the plot stretch credulity too far and do not hang together. Potentially interesting threads of the story comes across as fractured rather than having been seamlessly woven together. I have commented previously that Ruth Kelly manages to create a du Maurier-like menace in the tone of her writing, but that is lacking here. In "The Ice Retreat" there is far more overt over-dramatisation that is frequently found in the more run-of-the-mill novels in this genre.

Everyone is allowed a misstep, so I have no doubt that I will be back for Ruth Kelly's fourth novel - but I will be hoping for a return to the standard of the first two books rather than a repeat of this one.

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

I did not see that coming! Wow!

Hollie is investigating concerns about a health retreat in Switzerland and suspects the wellness influencer at the helm, Ariel Rose, of malpractice and even possibly murder. When Ariel's assistant invites Hollie to come and see for herself, she doesn't hesitate. But does danger await?

There was so much going on in this sinister and twisty plot, way more than I could ever have imagined and once the twists started to drop, my head was spinning! There is some serious tension and not everyone makes it out alive when it becomes a game of survival.

4.5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Ruth Kelly and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I'm dubious about miracle cures for pain so I was interested in seeing how this book tackled the subject. At first glance nothing looked wrong, but there were definitely shady things happening. It had some time jumps, but it was clear who each focused on, so they didn't annoy me. There were twists I never saw coming and I didn't expect the reason one character was kept in a drugged state. Hopefully no spoilers given here, but it's a good book.

Judging from down of the other reviews this seems to be a yes/no kind of book for people.
For me. It’s a yes on the whole. It was a bit slow to start, I’ll admit.
But the premise behind it was what interested me initially, and was the driving force to keep me going. I’m pleased I did as it really came alive in the second half of the book.
It’s a perfect read for these cold, dark nights drawing in.

Never read anything by this author before but after reading this I shall certainly be checking her others out.

A unique and likeable FMC despite her angry exterior. I did feel at times she could be more sympathetic but her developing is brilliant and I understood her reasoning by the end.

I couldn't read fast enough. Also loved the atmosphere and isolation of the story. Clever premise and believable too. I loved this book and highly recommend for those who love fast paced thrillers. And no I didn't see the twist coming!

Having really enjoyed The Villa I was looking forward to The Ice Retreat however, I got half way through and was still unsure. An angst ridden Netflix documentary maker on a mission to disprove the latest weird 'cure' for chronic pain....The Ice Retreat of the title. The first half of the book just seems to set the scene (cold, wet, isolated) and stress the personal angst and physical and mental pains of all the characters. None of whom are very likeable in fact Hollie the main character comes across as almost certifiable at times! The next 25% of the book the story begins to pick up a bit but it's still all very confusing. Finally by the end we get some action and some barely believable explanations but to be honest if I wasn't reading it for Netgalley I'm not sure I would have bothered finishing it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

I have been looking forward to this one for a while now! I also realised I've never read a Ruth Kelly book before which sounds unbelievable and something I will need to rectify.

There is no messing about with this. First chapter. Boom. We're in, we're frightened, we're on edge. And I was immediately excited for more.

I don't often read first person books - that's not a conscious choice, I just don't seem to - and so was concerned I might find the writing hard to get into because it's so unusual for me, but it did the opposite. That's probably what first person does, it sucked me right in and I was instantly with Hollie on her journey, which upped the ante and the atmosphere.

Ruth has created this sense of claustrophobia, a scary environment, something that is too quiet. You can feel Hollie's heart beat almost as loud as your own.

As someone who suffers with a lot of chronic pain, I can fully sympathise with those who turn to alternative medicine and therapies to help when traditional medicine has failed. People who don't have pain can't understand why people could be drawn to potentially dangerous things. But sometimes you have exhausted all the traditional methods and you're desperate for something and are willing to risk everything to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I really do get it, and so I came into this story with my own preconceived ideas as to what these characters are going though and what they'd risk to be well, which put an additional spin on an entertaining story.

Yes there's a plot, an explosive one at that. But there's also great character exploration, especially with Hollie and Ariel. They are deeply disturbed women, for an array of reasons; they're well layered and were fabulous characters. I suppose in a way they are our protagonist and antagonist, but I found it interesting for both of those characters to be young women, as the "baddie" in thrillers does tend to be male.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to know that there are some difficult subject matters, including grief, loss, trauma, chronic pain, death, missing people, war wounds, alcohol abuse, distrust, etc.

I read it in less than a day, it was so addictive. It went to places I was not expecting and that really kept me on my toes. You can be certain that I'll now be looking for her other work.

3.75 stars

This is the second Ruth Kelly book I've read. I really enjoy the way she writes! Kelly has an straightforward style that keeps the story moving quickly and is perfect for thrillers. She has a knack for getting into her characters' heads, making it easy to connect with them. Unluckily, none of her plots have quite done it for me yet. The Ice Retreat got a little too 'big picture' at the end for my tastes, but Kelly is one of those authors I can see myself continually going back to. One day she's going to write exactly the book I want to read and it will be an instant 5 stars.

The Ice Retreat follows Hollie, an investigative reporter on the docuseries, 'Bad Medicine', aiming to shed light on predatory pseudoscience. She sets her sights on Ariel Rose, an ex-Olympian who touts the miracle cure of ice bath rebirth. Hollie is determined to expose her as a dangerous grifter.