Wow! The Cove turned out to be my Covid isolation book, so I read it in a couple of days. Fantastic book that you really can't put down (well, I couldn't). Set in paradise (Turtle Cove), paradise soon shows it's dark side when two familes who have spent very little time together go away for a weekend break. Tensions rise between the familes and tension amongst the locals spills in to their holiday and their story. The plot is fast and furious, the characters excellently developed and the narrative pacy and well-constructed. The ending has you guessing right to the last page. Superb book, the author makes the setting come to life. Clearly written during the pandemic, the author doesn't ignore it and it will be interesting to see what readers in 20 years time make of the references. Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I’ve been looking forward to reading this for a while now and thankfully I didn’t have to wait too long thanks to NetGalley for sending me a copy of the book to review.

The Cove is a story about two couples and their children who go on holiday together to a luxurious resort…Turtle Cove. But appearances can be deceiving and if just shows if something is too good to be believed , it usually is.

I would have to give this book 2.5 or 2.75 stars in my review.
I am really struggling in leaving a review for this book. I don't really have much to say about it, I just found it very very boring. Very boring.
I did not feel the plot moved, I did not like any of the characters (I'd like at least one to root for), and I found there were a lot (a lot!) of unnecessary descriptions and additions.
The book was ok, but I am sure I will forget it shortly.
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

I would like to thank Netgalley for the ARC of The Cove by Alice Clark-Platts.
This is the first book I have read by this author and what a great introduction. Two families holidaying on a tropical island together, with plenty of secrets and lies add in unrest with the locals and this is a fast and engaging story with each chapter written using one of the four main characters as its main focus.
I really enjoyed this book and will defiantly adding more of Alice Clark-Platts books to my ever growing TBR list.

This book was right up my alley! After reading the extract I knew I needed to read more ASAP, so was extremely happy to be approved for this (my thanks to all). The Cove is set on an idyllic island where everything seems too good to be true - almost because it is. I won’t give away spoilers but there’s plot twists galore and I loved the different character POV, which is my favourite. Definitely a five star book for me and will be reading again!

The characters and setting is set up and the intrigue is there at the beginning but the story is predictable and I knew the ending quite early on so there was no suspense. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

I have really tried with this book,the blurb sold it to me BUT am at 25% and nothing has happened,how much more can Lou mope on about being a Mum?,not for me am afraid

This was a decent read. Set in paradise, some nasty characters, a bit of tension, etc. But... sadly instantly forgettable. It came and it went! I didn't think about it between reading sessions, and immediately forgot about it upon finishing it.

The Cove by Alice Clark-Platts
Published date - 14 April 2022
BOOK - 272 pages
PUBLISHER - Raven Books

The story of The Cove can be gleaned from the fly cover. I was intrigued and happy to start reading this novel, but not for long. The writing style has lots of dialogue and I lost interest. The writing did not relay any tension in the writing as I continued through the story. I struggled with the book, it was not for me. I think this book will suit lots of psychological/thriller readers.

I give a 3 start rating, only as the booked did not pull me in.

I WANT TO THANK NET GALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

A novel which was a mixed bag for me. I really felt as if I was on the island and the whole landscape and atmosphere was realy well done. The characters and plot I felt let it down for me as they weren't as developed as they could have been. I would still recommend the novel though as it was a good read and I felt I followed a good premise where I did want to know the ending.

I started this with high hopes after reading the synopsis. It started rather slowly, the characters were dull and detestable. I ended up not finishing.

Two couples, along with their young children, are staying at a Malaysian island resort, Turtle Cove. It should be heaven, but of course it turns out to be anything but.

The story is well written and the island setting vividly drawn, but overall I didn't really feel I got to know the characters well, although Lou's struggles with a baby who won't stop crying and a husband who provides zero support are well described. The other couple, Eliza and Noah, never really came to life for me and, unfortunately, neither did the plot, involving the disappearance of one character and some dodgy island goings-on.

It's certainly not a bad book but perhaps I just wasn't quite in the mood for it. The setting is great and very atmospheric, but somehow it just failed to ever quite grab me. However I'm sure many readers will enjoy it.

The synopsis interested me and I love discovering new authors. I did devour the book it wasn't one of my normal genre's but it worked well. There were lots of characters to hate and all flawed and made sense. This is why I would never again go away with another family. I will definitely look out more by this author.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

I didn't finish this book, didn't enjoy what I started to read. Found the 'blokey' bloke bit quite a Turn off and didn't go beyond that.

Two couple, Lou and Adam, Eliza and Noah take a family holiday to the gorgeous Turtle Cove. Paradise and new friends, what else could they need for the perfect getaway?
The holiday starts well but soon tension begin to rise between the couples and not all is as it seems! With the locals arguing and a storm on the way the scene quickly changes from serene to less than idyllic.
When one of the group goes missing, it’s only a matter of time till everyone’s secrets are uncovered.

I wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t do it for me. It started off well, and I was definitely intrigued, but around half way I just lost interest as the characters didn’t develop enough for my liking. I also didn’t enjoy the general storyline concerning the locals as I felt it was given a bigger role than needed. The ending didn’t surprise me enough which was disappointing as I was hoping for lots of twists and turns.

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters that were all believeable, if not somewhat unlikeable at times. The narrative starts off as a slowburner but does increase in paving as the tension of the plot increases, and I found myself enjoying it more when it was a faster pace.
I still read this really quickly and couldn't put it down.

Welcome to Turtle Cove.

A long weekend break to a luxury resort on an idyllic Malaysian island, surrounded by clear blue seas and tropical jungle seems the perfect place for Lou and Adam, Eliza and Noah, and their children to kick back, relax and get to know one another better, what could possibly go wrong? It quickly becomes apparent that something is going on behind the scenes at the resort and there is also tension between the two families, someone knows more than they're willing to divulge...

The Cove starts off as a slow burner, told from the perspectives of all four main characters, none of which I really cared for and didn't seem to really care much for each other, which made me question why they were even friends, but the reason behind this all becomes clear later in the book. The story soon picks up the pace, it's a tense, descriptive and compelling read with a few twists along the way that you won't see coming which add to the thrill of the ride and I finished it in less than 48 hours. This is the second book I've read by this author and is definitely worth a read.

I'd like to thank Bloomsbury Publishing and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Another first time author to me and would read more by her. Found the book very well paced and descriptive. Loved how the characters personally and emotionally unfolded throughout the book. Plenty of twists I did not see coming and would highly recommend reading.

In this 'closed room' style thriller, two couples and their children are holidaying together on a tropical island. It's obvious from the start that there are tensions between the four adults, and on the island itself between the resorts and the local people. Then one of the group disappears, and everyone is a possible suspect.

It's not an original setup, people have been writing variations on the theme since Christie, if not before. One reason for its popularity is that it generally works, so that's not a bad things. And this isn't a bad book. It's a perfectly adequate example of the model. It's fairly predictable - nothing came as a surprise to me - although I did find the tensions between the islanders and resort staff added interest and a bit of a different angle. The characters are not terribly likeable - the women are preferable to the men but I didn't care deeply for any of them. I did like that the detective who solved it all was a Malaysian, not some white detective flown in from afar. The latter is all too common in the genre. And he was portrayed as a good, perceptive cop, not a figure of fun (again, something I've seen rather too often).

Ultimately, this is booked that very much lived up to expectations. It delivered what it promised - a readable if not terribly original crime thriller with a tropical setting. It would be a good holiday read, given the holiday theme of the book and tropical setting, along with the short chapters and eventful plot. All things that are ideal for reading on a beach or a plane.

Rating: 1.3/5

I was attracted by the synopsis for "The Cove" - it promised an escapist thriller set in a luxury resort in an exotic location. It sounded like just the sort of thing that I would readily lap up. Unfortunately, severe disappointment was about to set in.

Perhaps there was already a hint of a warning in that self-same marketing blurb that contained the appealing synopsis. It suggested that this would appeal to fans of Lucy Foley's "The Hunting Party", Lucy Clarke's "The Castaways" and Sarah Pearse's "The Sanatorium". I thoroughly enjoyed both "The Hunting Party" and "The Castaways", but I was seriously unimpressed by "The Sanatorium". Sadly, "The Cove" has far more in common with "The Sanatorium" than it does with the other two vastly superior novels.

The setting for "The Cove" is wonderful and should provide an ideal backdrop for a dramatic mystery thriller - but for the most part it just feels very flat. Fictional characters do not necessarily need to be likeable, but they do need to be engaging - but the creations in this novel are neither. The potentially wonderful location is also wasted and fails to evoke the atmosphere that it should.

I kept persevering with "The Cove", hoping that it would eventually draw me in and deliver on its potential, but the more I read the more frustrated and disappointed I became. The descriptive writing is poor on a number of occasions. It is regularly overplayed and needlessly melodramatic, so that it becomes cheesy rather than contributing positively to the reading experience. There are shamefully contrived twists and retrofitting of the plot - and an author resorting to pulling a rabbit out of the hat is rarely forgivable. All in all, not a great read and it fails to deliver on its appealing premise.

As ever, I would still like to convey my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review. It is a pity I was not in a position to pass more favourable comment on this occasion.