Hana says she’s all alone now and Maya comforts her. Obviously Maya killed either Bea or Jo or both and it has something to do with the fire.

But there shouldn’t be anything too traumatizing in the latest case she’s caught, out at an island retreat off the South Devon coast where she lives. Never mind that her fiance Will designed the resort, or that his sister Farrah is a manager there. A young woman, seemingly inebriated, has fallen off a cliffside. CCTV shows that it was likely accidental, but the more Elin investigates, the less sure she is that it wasn’t murder. There’s something about this island that feels deeply off, a feeling that’s affirmed for her by the resort employee who originally discovered the woman’s body: Caleb agrees that his father was a murderer, but he was trying to change until Ronan encouraged him to make the bad investment. Ugh, I can’t with these explanations.The longer Elin stays, the more secrets she uncovers. And when someone else drowns in a diving incident, Elin begins to suspect that there’s nothing accidental about these deaths. But why would someone target the guests at this luxury resort? Elin must find the killer—before the island’s history starts to repeat itself.

R.F. Kuang, Sue Lynn Tan, Rebecca Ross, Kate Heartfield, N.E. Davenport, Saara El-Arifi, Juno Dawson and Sunyi Dean We all fancy a spa break don't we? Well don't include me after reading this book. It had me hooked from start to finish.' ***** A colorful and tense murder mystery with a chilling (in more ways than one) atmosphere. . . There is a pleasing pressure-cooker feel to proceedings, reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None. Pearse uses clever red herrings—secrets, pills, affairs, mental illness—and the stand-off scenes between Elin and the murderer are genuinely scary.”

I absolutely loved it. So many threads, more red herrings than a North Sea fishing trawler, cliffhangers galore and my absolute favorite —short, snappy chapters. It’s a riveting, twisty turny read, a classic whodunnit with a killer final twist.” At dinner Will and Farrah say that people should stop being obsessed with the island’s past while Elin says you can’t erase it. A mix of whodunnit and psychological thriller with hints of horror, this fine debut. . . is smartly structured and often powerful.”

CHILLING! The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse is an eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat. Let’s set the mood. . .You’re in a remote location—at a hotel—and there’s a snowstorm. The winds are howling, the snow is pelting in every direction, there’s a missing person, and a dead body shows up!” Unsettling, unnerving and unforgettable. The Retreat is the kind of creepy, atmospheric thriller that burrows deep beneath your skin until the chilling climax.” The debut book written by author Sarah Pearse is entitled ‘The Sanatorium’. It was released by the Pamela Dorman Books publication in February 2021. Author Pearse has set this book in Le Sommet and has mentioned the primary characters in the roles of Elin Warner, Issac Warner, Laure, and a few others. Initially, Pearse has described Le Sommet as a place overshadowed by high peaks and half-hidden by dense forests. It has always been believed to have a sinister appearance. This former sanatorium has been plagued by some troubling rumors for a very long time. But now, the once-abandoned sanatorium has been renovated and converted into a 5-star hotel. Caleb aka Chris who killed Bea (who was onto his fake identity) and Seth (as revenge against Ronan Delaney for encouraging his father to make the bad investment and preventing him for applying for SSSI status for Carey Island.) I ripped right through both novels, expecting all ends to be neatly tied up at the end, and left frustrated and disappointed both times. I’ll definitely read the next book, but I’m confused asBe careful who you root for, as no character is safe in Sarah Pearse’s new novel The Retreat. In the spirit of a true thriller, the tension is taut and the suspense is real as the pace builds to a heart-stopping finale. A triumphant second novel, which is no mean feat.” The Retreat is book two in the Detective Elin Warner series. If you need a complete recap of book one, see my Spoiler Discussion for the Sanatorium.

Elin talks to Johnson, the investigator on the Creacher case. He tells her about another girl, Lois Wade, who went missing from an Outward Bound trip before the Creacher incident. He says an eyewitness saw Creacher near the teens’ tents on the night: Farrah Riley. The longer Elin stays, the more secrets she uncovers. And when someone else drowns in a diving incident, Elin begins to suspect that the old stories about the island are true. No one understands why Bea was on Carey Island when she was supposed to be on a business trip to the US. Bea called Caleb and said she was on her trip. She texted him the night before she died. Dazzling and inventive, like an Agatha Christie mystery split open by a heatwave. Sarah Pearse won readers’ hearts with The Sanatorium, and The Retreat is every bit as transporting, with another unforgettable setting and a complex web of secrets. I didn’t want it to end.” Hana goes to talk to Jo, who is not in her room. Hana reads Jo’s text messages and finds a message from Bea to Jo saying that Jo has to tell Hana something.

Maya accuses Jo of lying. Jo says she knows Maya was spreading rumors about Seth. Hana is convinced that Jo is hiding something and asks her about the “I’m sorry” note that fell out of her bag when they arrived. Elin tells Will that her father is planning a visit. Trying to lighten the mood, Will mentions that a project he designed has been nominated for an award: a hotel called Lumen. Note: the mood will NOT be lightened. Will’s sister Farrah tells Elin that an ex has been hassling her. She has something else important to tell Elin but says she will do it later. Bea’s unexpected arrival on the island is explained away as her trying to surprise the group, but it’s made very clear is that is NOT in keeping with Bea’s character. Why would she do something so out of character? Was she expecting to confront Caleb?