I read The Villa last year and this book has a similar claustrophobic atmosphere. Told from the dual points of view of Juno and her mother and also dual timeline. Juno decides to go to the Greek Island where she was conceived in search of the father she has never met. There are many warnings against Juno staying and this adds to the tension. I didn’t expect the final twist. Good summer read.

This was a great thriller, with a captivating mystery and plenty of heart behind it. I was offered this book after reading Jess Ryder's previous book, The Villa. I actually liked this better even though I enjoyed The Villa quite a bit!

The setting was more interesting to me and felt more real somehow. Perhaps it's because the author, as she mentions in her acknowledgements, spent time in this particular world in Greece - she seems to have an affinity with it and describes it so well.

I have to admit, the title didn't get my attention by itself, but the description of "Mamma Mia with murder" certainly did! I would definitely agree that it fits that tagline well. A daughter searching for a lost father on a Greek island with a somewhat hippy mother. And it doesn't even take to the point where it all turns a bit darker to be interesting; the narrative had my attention throughout. There was always an underlying tension as Juno is warned by her mother, among others, to stay out of everything, but she forges ahead.

The book is well told through a first person narrative by Juno, the daughter, Estelle's postcards to her parents at home, which is how Estelle's story is unfolding for Juno (and gives a good unreliable narrator version - who tells their parents the real truth?!), and a third person narrative from Estelle's perspective that gives us as the reader a little extra insight.

This makes an excellent summer read to keep you on your toes and guessing throughout. There's not just one mystery to uncover, but a few, and some will definitely be surprises - I'm sure!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a review copy of this book.

I went into this completely blind as I love not reading a blurb! I loved the mystery unfolding of what had actually happened all those years ago. I also enjoyed the link the letters had when transitioning between past and present day! A surprise all round!

Mamma Mia but with murder springs to mind when reading this book.
This book had great characters introduced to us early on and i didn't quite know who to trust. I enjoyed the flashbacks to the past and it kept me on my toes.
The ending is worth the wait and i really enjoyed this summer read. Thanks Netgalley

I enjoyed The Island Escape, it wasn't the thriller I was expecting but it was enjoyable and had a good ending. The island sounded beautiful!

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was really good, however I didn’t find the characters that likeable and during the middle of the book it started to feel a bit flat, but the beginning and the end were fantastic. I definitely enjoy this authors writing style.

I enjoyed reading the Island Escape. It was a book with enough twists in the narrative to hold the reader's attention throughout. The descriptions of the Greek Island scenery made me want to visit. Next holiday here I come! Although I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters they were well written and believable and carried the plot well. An enjoyable beach read
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own

This was a decent read but far from the gripping thriller I expected. The setup had all the makings of something juicy: an exotic island, secrets from the past, a mysterious disappearance but what followed felt more like a slow-moving drama with thriller elements sprinkled in as an afterthought.

The dual timelines tried to build suspense, and occasionally succeeded, but overall the tension never quite reached the level it needed to. As for the characters, they mostly fell flat. Their decisions often felt forced and I found myself more frustrated than invested.

On the bright side, the island setting was well done—lush, vivid, and the perfect backdrop There were a few twists that managed to surprise me and I appreciated the underlying themes of fractured friendships, betrayal, and tangled family secrets.

𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 : unreliable characters, secrets & lies, disappearance & cold case.

Thank you to Jess Ryder, Random House UK & NetGalley for my e-ARC copy.

𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 : 03 july 2025

Juno takes a break from her marriage and goes to search for her father on the Greek island of Ionis She has never met her father and the little she knows about him is from copies of letters and photos her mother kept when she was corresponding to him 40 years ago. Her Mother who she now rarely sees and lives in Portugal warns her not to go to the island as it is not safe. But Juno doesn’t listen and heads off regardless.
The story was set in two times lines. Estelle bag packing on the Greek island where she meets Niko and they fall in love. But things don’t run smoothly, and their relationship goes against his families’ principles.
Then we meet find Juno visiting the island and gets job as a wedding co-ordinator and her father’s family’s business. Being careful not to reveal or she really is. So, she can discover where her father is. But things don’t go to plan.
The island Escape by Jess Ryder is the fourth book I have read, and it would make a great beach read. This has an intriguing storyline, and I enjoyed the descriptions of the beautiful places on the island, it made me want to book a flight somewhere. But I didn’t think the characters were very likeable and thought that Juno was a bit annoying as she wasn’t taking any heed of anything anyone was saying. But I did think the ending was the most satisfying. 4 stars from me.

This was a suspense filled dramatic read, however I wouldn’t necessarily call it a thriller. There was so much going on all the way through that really kept me reading. The dual timelines really added depth to the story also.

I really enjoy the authors previous book The villa so was looking forward to this advanced copy.
The book starts off interesting setting the scene when Juno visits the island of Inois to find the father she has never met. I enjoyed the way the book went back and forth to different time lines from present to the 80s when Junes mum spent time in Inois.
I didn’t connect as much to the characters as I did in her previous book and felt the story fell flat in the middle.
The story then picks up towards the end with some enjoyable twists.
I did enjoy this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thanks for the early copy review book.

Wow. Another amazing read.

It does jump from one year to another but it's a fantastic read. From now to b4.

Can't wait for more.

Juno leaves her husband and goes to Inion a Greek Island in search of her father who she has never met, Juno was brought up by her gran and has just found postcards from her mam to her gran saying who she was in love with.
The island has secrets and Juno does not know who to trust.
The story just didn`t flow for me and none of the characters were likeable.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review

Jess Ryder’s *The Island Escape* is a slow-burning psychological thriller with a vivid sense of place and a cast of characters who feel lived-in and emotionally rich. Set against the stunning backdrop of a Greek island, the novel’s real strength lies in its atmosphere. Ryder’s descriptions are lush and evocative, creating a strong sense of escapism that makes the island feel like a character in itself.
The story unfolds steadily, and the tension is built more from interpersonal drama than high-octane twists, which may not satisfy every thriller fan.
A few revelations feel a touch predictable, but *The Island Escape* is ultimately a rewarding read for those who enjoy character-led suspense with a rich, immersive setting. Perfect for a summer afternoon when you want drama with a sting, or when you're on an island escape yourself!

This is an ideal read for a summer break especially if you're heading to Greece. The descriptions of the Island of Inios are idyllic, the sunshine, the warmth the little beach coves.
Set over dual timelines, in the mid 1980's Estelle travels to Inios for a summer holiday, she meets Nico and falls in love. Years later Juno travels to Inios to find her father after discovering letters written by Estelle.
I wouldn't necessarily class this as a psychological thriller it's more a family drama with a little bit of intruige added.
It's an interesting read that has a little bit of escapism

An enjoyable and easy read but it didn’t strike me as a ‘thriller’. Certainly mystery and deceit surround Juno trying to find her father on a Greek island. Juno has run off from her marriage and is troubled , seeking solutions and resolution .

Having really enjoyed The Villa, I was looking forward to this one. It has avery different feel - not as fast paced, and it just lacked something to keep me really gripped.

The Island Escape by Jess Ryder

I read “The Villa” by Jess Ryder last year and rated it really highly, so when I was offered the chance to read her next book, I jumped at it. However, I felt really let down as there was a massive downgrade in this recent book from her previous work.

As with “The Villa”, Ryder does a brilliant job setting the scene; the Greek landscape feels beautiful, well-crafted and immersive. The author writes lovely descriptions that feel life-like and engrossing. Clearly she has visited Greece or done research on the landscape as it was very realistic and felt hugely similar to all the Greek towns I have personally visited. I also enjoyed her use of personalised similes; she steered clear of over-used, cliche descriptions- for example I loved the one at the beginning “the [ferry] doors opening like the yawning mouth of a whale” which evokes a really striking image. Certainly the writer has a great way of setting the scene, but there was often far too much of this detail involved in the scenes. We’re left reading pages of long descriptions about the setting or the atmosphere or the unimportant events, which could have been cut to less than a page to keep it fast-paced and interesting. This all felt unnecessary and left the pacing feeling odd and disjointed.

The majority of the middle parts of this book felt drawn out and lacked any inciting incidents, so the plot fell stagnant and became disinteresting. There was no need for us to have so much detail about all the weddings, the party planning, Estelle’s holiday or her time at uni etc. Even the scene where Andreas’s party is sabotaged (which felt like it was meant to be a dramatic moment in the plot) felt underdone, like there was no real meaning associated with the events and it lacked any tension or suspense to keep me gripped. The pacing felt weird and slow due to this lack of action. When the body was discovered, I expected things to finally pick up in terms of action or mystery but it felt like it was pushed to the sidelines and the overriding plot was Juno searching for her Dad, which left the plot feeling lifeless and repetitive. Considering this is marketed as a Mystery/Thriller, it didn’t have much mystery, nor much thrill, unfortunately.

In her previous book, I loved Ryder’s creation of the characters and found them to be complex and interesting, yet I just did not warm to any of the characters in this story. Juno came across as irritating, naive and overly optimistic to the point it felt like she had no critical thinking skills whatsoever and just went along with things regardless. Her going to Greece expecting a premade perfect Greek family that would embrace her with open arms was overly hopeful. Also, when Juno says towards the start “I shouldn’t have told anyone Niko is my father, I have to be more careful going forward…” then immediately in the next chapter tells Millie and then later tells anyone who asks it was like uhhh okay maybe not, I guess we’re not learning from our mistakes then! She willingly walked herself into so many stupid situations just because she refused to think about anything logically. It also felt unrealistic that Juno turns up in Greece, happens to be approached by Millie for a massage then within a couple of hours has a job as a wedding planner with no future experience and has lied her way into it. It felt far too convenient, like it was key to the plot that she had that job, so it just fell into her lap! ** SPOILERS INCOMING ** The ending when Juno is attacked was so aggravating as it could have so easily been avoided by Juno not being so hopelessly obsessed with thinking everyone is great and wanting to be liked by everyone, or just having some perceptive thought. Despina came across as desperate to keep her on the island and I knew exactly what was about to happen, but Juno willingly walked herself into the situation like a lamb walking into the slaughterhouse, smiling and cheerful all the way. **END OF SPOILERS ** Her character just made me annoyed as she didn’t really have much personality other than being hopelessly naive and showing zero awareness or critical thinking skills and all the while abandoning her husband at home in the hopes of finding some premade family in Greece waiting for her. How frustrating. It was like Juno’s character was created and used solely as a device to keep the plot moving, but there wasn’t any real exploration into her as a character, and, if there was, it was all very shallow.

Estelle was also an odd character who I just couldn’t warm to. I did like the flashback elements of the book and especially thought it was clever to do it in a way as if we were reading her letters and postcards from the past alongside Juno. I thought this split between present and past added an interesting side to the book and did keep me interested, yet I found myself preferring Estelle’s POV over Junos as it was more intriguing. However, Estelle as a character came across as a selfish, overly indulgent, reckless teenager who was obsessed with a boy she’d known for a very short amount of time. Estelle’s internal monologue was annoying to listen to as she is contradicting herself at multiple times and seems, like Juno, to lack any critical thinking or personality other than loving Greece and obsessing over Niko. Her investigation of Rob’s disappearance was quite gripping and I liked these scenes, but it quickly fell off. Otherwise, her motivations were unclear until the very end and I found myself thinking “okay so what was the point of including that?” at several intervals throughout. Even at the end it didn’t really become clear why half of Estelle’s POV was required to make the plot understandable. At the end when Estelle keeps saying she needs to “let Niko decide for himself” yet keeps going to see him and trying to subtly sway his decision was narcissistic and a very weird POV to read. I’m not sure if it was intended to be aggravating to read her thoughts here or what but it was so annoying… like, girl, please leave the man alone, do the right thing and leave the man to support his wife and child, stop being so self-centered! I found myself hating her more and more as the book went on; I mean this very well might have been the intention but considering I also wasn’t a fan of Juno I just felt irritated whilst reading this book.

I’m really sorry to say I just did not find this an enjoyable read. Jess Ryder’s previous book was really good, but there felt like there was something missing from this one and it just left it feeling lacklustre and uninspired. I’d be very interested to read any future work from Ryder and see if this was just a blip in an otherwise good writing career! Overall, I rated this 2.5 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Jess Ryder for the ARC.

✨3 stars✨

This was a decent thriller, and I can see people enjoying this, especially if you’re looking for a page-turner.

I really enjoyed the Greek island setting! It put me in a summery mood.

However, I found the twists a bit lacklustre. There seemed to be all this build-up about Juno finding her father and trying to get to know her family (like Mamma Mia), and the final reveals fell flat for me!

Personally, I would’ve preferred a thriller that’s more psychological, as everything kind of wrapped up too neatly and I don’t think this plot will last with me.

I cried an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I found this book just an ok read where I did skip a few pages as I felt it was far too long. Not exciting or gripping read for me.