The Retreat - Sarah Pearse

4/5 ⭐

Sarah Pearse is back with another destination mystery featuring Detective Elin Warner.

A family trip to an all-new eco-retreat to help reconnect and learn more about new family members starts off as they travel to the island clouded with a dark past.

The cast of characters presented covers the gambit, self-absorbed influence who scored the tickets, freeloading boyfriends, distant sisters, and cousins with a tragic past. Take your pick there is one of each. And they are all stranded together on this island with a murderer picking them off one by one.

We definitely get to see some character growth with Elin which I loved. Instead of being stagnant and making it a focus of her character we get to see her grow from the traumas of her past. As well as see how she does solving a crime in an official capacity and being backed by her department.

I love a locked room mystery and boy, does Pearse know how to structure one. The twists in this were flawless and kept me on my toes. And there was no way I could have seen that ending coming.

There are a few elements that still have not been addressed and that are being dragged I would have liked to have seen answered or more information given but it wasn’t a deal breaker.

While this could be read separately, I do recommend reading The Sanitorium first.

I can’t wait to see what Pearse does next!

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chelsea

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