THE RETREAT Book Review

The Retreat¹ (book 2 in the Detective Elin Warner series) by Sarah Pearse, eBook, 400 pages.

Synopsis from GoodReads: An eco-wellness retreat has opened on an island off the English coast, 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 rumored to be cursed.

Detective 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 guest 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 guests, and who else is in danger? Elin must find the killer—before the island’s history starts to repeat itself . . .

BOOK REVIEW: There were moments when I was thinking would this really happen but overall I enjoyed the storyline. Just like in The Sanatorium, I didn't see the ending coming at all and I enjoy that. There were some things that felt a little rushed and I was left wondering about some things, like the bag Elin found in the hole that she put back. Why would she put that back? Why didn't she tell her partner about it? Why didn't she bag and tag it? Those questions aside, I'm eager to see if Sarah Pearse continues this series and if she does, what will be the next mystery!

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. There were a couple of times I had to read a sentence a few times because some words were swapped around or something felt like it was missing. I still wish that I would have finished it before the start of the year but that's on me!

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