Review: The Retreat by Mark Edwards

Title:  The Retreat

Author:  Mark Edwards
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Publishing Date: May 10th, 2018

Pages: 335
Genre: Adult Thriller-Suspense 

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

A missing child. A desperate mother. And a house full of secrets.
Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive.
Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily. But within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of eerie events.
When Lucas’s investigation leads him and Julia into the woods, they discover a dark secret—a secret that someone will do anything to protect…
What really happened that day by the river? Why was Lily never found? And who, or what, is haunting the retreat?


From the bestselling author of Follow You Home and The Magpies come his most terrifying novel yet.

I have been obsessed lately with thriller suspense books.  I was really excited to read this one. It sounded really good and creepy. I enjoyed this book.  This was the first book I have read from this author and I do plan on reading more.  I really enjoyed the creep factor and the anxiety of this read.  

A horror writer, Lucas, decides to spend some time at a writing retreat. He is currently in a writer's block kind of way and he needs a little peace and quiet. Once he is at the writer's retreat he finds the owner has recently (in the last two years) lost a little girl in the forest. He finds the details frightening close to his book and he feels he must solve the case. He likes Julia, the owner of the retreat, and he feels for her. He wants to find out what happened to this little girl. Soon it is discovered that there is something really off that happens in this town and everyone blames it on the Red Widow, but it seems the entire town or someone who gets around wants to keep it all under wraps.

This book was pretty good. I found it slow in parts and the mystery, well at least part of the mystery was a little to easy to figure out but for the most part, it was good. I found an amazing creepiness in the tone and in the setting it really helped set the entire book up for what I wanted.

I think the only issue I really had with this book was lack of connection to the characters. I didn't dislike the characters. I just wasn't emotionally attached. I did like their role int he story and I liked their backgrounds. Something just stopped me from really connecting. There were a lot of characters to keep up with. There were only two major characters, Julia and Lucas, but there were a ton of other characters. The story is told in 3rd person and switches a lot. So I had a hard time keeping up and I think that hindered my connection level. But the connection wasn't bad, just not as much as I like. 

I did like the story and the plotline. I feel it played out very well, and even though I was able to guess some parts, I was still shocked by some reveals. There was a lot going on. There was the past story of Lucas, the stories of others in the writers retreat, stories of the townspeople, and of course Julia's story. It was a lot to keep up with and I feel there were some filler parts but all in all. The story was good. The ending was quite a shocker and I feel that this story isn't over even though it is. 

I think the best part for me was the feel of the book. Total creepville and that is what I was in the mood for. SO it was a good read for me. 

I really enjoyed this book and it did its job well in the creepy and crawly department. 

I write psychological thrillers. My influences include writers such as Stephen King, Ira Levin, Ruth Rendell, Ian McEwan, Val McDermid and Donna Tartt and movies like Rosemary's Baby, Single White Female, Fatal Attraction and anything in which scary things happen to ordinary people.

I love hearing from readers and always respond. I can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: markcity@me.com
Twitter @mredwards
Facebook: www.facebook.com/markedwardsbooks

You can download a free box set of 'Short Sharp Shockers' by visiting www.markedwardsauthor.com/free