Hannah works at a stunning hotel, The Stanhope, on a remote island in the middle of the Blackwater Estuary but there is a problem, after a tragedy in the summer Hannah has an irrational fear of water and is unable to leave the island and therefore the hotel. She is stuck!!

After the tragedy the hotel is trying to rebuild its reputation and ensure they have enough bookings to stay open but it doesn't seem as if this is going to be as easy as everyone thinks. With time on her hands Hannah decides to try and discover what led to the events of last summer so if she can understand it maybe her fear will be cured and she can leave the island. But will it really be that easy and what will she discover?!? Can she escape the island or will she be trapped forever?!

This is a hugely atmospheric thriller with some dark, brooding surroundings and a creepy hotel at the centre. Hints of the supernatural add to the creepiness and unease surrounding the plot. A great lead character and a cute dog thrown into the mix, what more could you ask for.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Fantastic physiological thriller kept me up guessing all night I could not put this book down I love a good thriller that keeps you turning the pages so fast paced an enjoyable read

Hannah is the PR manager at the Stanhope Hotel that sits on the Blackwater estuary but whilst the guests and staff come and go via water taxi to the mainland, Hannah is stuck on the island because of a phobia of crossing the water. This began the previous summer following an incident in which several people drowned.

The story tells of her desperation to leave the island but held prisoner by her fears of the water but also her guilt and sadness of the drownings. As the hotel starts to struggle, Hannah starts to have flashbacks of that fateful night and realises the drownings may not have been accidental.


The precise of the book is great but the repetitiveness of Hannah's fears does let it down a lot. The ending is quite a let down when you take into account the entire book beforehand.

A very suspenseful thriller. The story is told from a dual POV and timeline. The plot felt very confusing. This is a slow burn. The ending was anticlimactic.

I got into this book really quickly. Found the characters, setting and storyline interesting.
Did drift off a little to the end, but then you get a twist just in time to get back into it.
An interesting read with a good ending

There was no much right with this book, but also so much wrong with this book.
It was well written, good storyline, folklore and superstition - but was it all correct? That is my issue.
It does keep you guessing until the end though.
I would give 3.5 stars but as I can't it has to be 3. .

2.5 stars - A luxury hotel on an island off the Essex coast where Hannah works and is fated to remain due to an incident. If the lights and buildings can be seen on shore then it can’t possibly be described as “remote”. Also there are ways and means to get Hannah off the island if she can’t do it herself and that was annoying as the whole premise of the book is based on that! The most irritating thing though was the absolutely juvenile way the sisters spoke to each other - ok, we get it, no need to labour the point. The only likeable character was the dog, well apart from his name. The story was extremely slow to get going and I only got into it well towards the end. The ending wasn’t spectacular either - quick work Hannah!! I did like the island with its woods, animals, river and sea. The loneliness of Hannah’s position, her grief were well described but sadly not enough to save the book, as it wasn’t quite the thriller I’d expected.

This was a well written, gripping story that features a lot of local folklore and superstition. It was full of tension, and keeps you guessing until the end.

I was a bit disappointed by this one, I expected quite a fast paced thriller from the blurb but it was more of a middle paced thriller, and I didn’t find any of the twists particularly surprising

A mid paced thriller, that got really gripping at about 60% of the way through. It was pretty good, but predictable in parts.

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and held my attention. I will be reading more from this author :)

Whilst I enjoyed reading this book, I found myself waiting for something, anything to happen, but it never did which was a bit of a disappointment. What happened to the twist at the end ? Nothing …
I loved this authors other books but thought this one just wasn’t as good.
7/10

A chilling claustrophobic thriller. Hotel worker Hannah finds herself trapped on an island in the Blackwater Estuary because she has a fear of water. A slow read.

I loved this book so much. It was sent to me in return for an honest review.

Quite a spooky story, but really interesting the way it unfolded and very gripping. I must have read it within a few days! Thanks.

I have just spent about five terrifying days with Hannah. Hannah works at a hotel on an isolated Island. Hannah witnessed a terrible accident in the water around the Island, and has a developed a phobia of water, which means she can't leave, she is trapped, the hotel has become her prison. To leave the Island Hannah has to conquer her phobia, but doing this reveals a host of secrets: ' All life is a life of crime, and we all get caught'...
A well written page turner of a tale.

A paranormal thriller that kept me on the edge till the end. The author did an excellent job in describing the claustrophobic atmosphere and plotting the story.
Helen slowly grew on me and the satisfying solution came as a surprise.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I really enjoyed the setting and atmosphere of Tremayne's novel. With vibes of The Woman in Black setting, cut off from the mainland is always a creepy winner. I found the storyline rather adrift and I kept putting the book down. A winner for the setting and supernatural vibe though!

This is a contemporary take on the spooky ‘locked room’ mystery, with the ‘locked room’ being a secluded Essex island where the protagonist, hotel worker Hannah, finds herself trapped at the Stanhope Hotel. Once a popular holiday destination, the hotel became the set of tragedy when several guests drowned after a night of heavy partying. Hannah has been traumatised by these events and is now suffering from a fear of water and from what appears to be agoraphobia. But is she really safe inside the hotel? And how will she ever get off the island?
What spoilt the novel a bit for me were the dialogues between Hannah and her sister which seemed either far-fetched or very insipid. Dialogue is always a hard thing to get right, but in this novel, less would definitely have been more. However, I thought the setting, the plot and Hannah as an unreliable narrator were great stories, and I would still recommend this novel to readers who enjoy mysteries and contemporary thrillers. This free and unbiased review was made possible by the free ARC I received and for which I would like to thank NetGalley as well as the publishers.

Hannah works at the Stanhope,a rather smart hotel where she handles the PR.
The Stanhope is situated on an island and following the death of her sister and others by drowning in the waters there, she has developed a phobia of water.
She is really a prisoner unable to leave even if she wanted to.
Matters are getting worse for Hannah as she is now not only seeing her dead sister around the hotel but imagines she is talking to her.
Something is going on in the hotel!
Will Hannah be able to discover the truth and finally overcome her fear and leave the island.
This is an interesting tale with supernatural overtones, however I cant say it is one of my favourites by S K Tremayne.

Hannah is working as a PR consultant at an exclusive hotel which is on Dawzy Island in Essex. She has developed a severe phobia of water since a tragic drowning incident of numerous guests the previous summer.

Whilst working up the courage to overcome her fear she is determined to find out the truth of that tragic summers evening but the longer she is trapped the more she finds out about the hotel’s sordid history.

It started off as quite slow paced read with a lot of time spent on building the claustrophobic atmosphere, but there was enough intrigue in the story to keep you reading.

As a supernatural thriller it had an ending that was completely unexpected and gave the book a needed twist.