would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this unbelievable book

think deliverance and you might get the taste of where this book will go....

a young family are exploring australia its a busmans holiday for the husband as he is a keynote speaker at a convention but the teenagers want to see Australian animals and so they get on a ferry to a small island...

nobody knows they are there....

and once the accident happens ....

omg at times i couldnt believe what i was reading and i would have to put my kindle down and walk away i was that angry....but i couldnt not read what was to happen next in this life and death struggle...

the terror never stops and the shocks keep coming..but oh my word its worth a read...

will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works if he always writes like this...

This is the second McKinty book I have read, the first being The Chain, which I loved, and this too did not disappoint!

Thank you to @netgalley for a pre released copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Americans Tom, his 2 kids and new wife, are in Australia for a conference, but decide to go exploring and seeing a bit of the real Australia.
They end up on a hillbilly island which is home to a big family, who do not welcome outsiders very well. After an unfortunate incident, their dream holiday quickly turns into a nightmare they cannot escape from.

It was a tense rollercoaster of a ride, and it was written so well I felt I was nearly on the run around the island along with them!

Think of ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ meets ‘Wolf Creek’ and you have The Island. I can see it making a great movie or series. The characters were well written, so much so that I detested the kids and their attitude to their stepmother Heather and their sense of entitlement for most of the book. The development of the characters as the story unfolds is fascinating, with twists and thrills throughout.

After reading The Chain last year I was thrilled to be granted an ARC of this book and it did not disappoint.

When the Baxter family take a trip to Australia their happy holiday turns into the holiday from hell when the make a grave mistake visiting an island inhabited by a family that are a law unto themselves. A trip to Dutch Island with the hopes of seeing the local wildlife turns into a fight for their lives for the unfortunate Baxter’s.

Full of suspense, tension, twists and turns this book took me on a wild ride and I could not put it down. I will absolutely be recommending this book but be prepared to clear your diary as you won’t want to stop reading. Thank you NetGalley for this fantastic ARC.

Sadly this just wasn't my cup of tea, the story swung from terrible violence to endless running around the island.

I really had to push myself to read until the end.

Having said that i thank the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy to be able to give my honest opinion.

Will certainly seek out McKinty's other titles. Thriller set in Australia as a family seek out adventures and thrills on holiday.

Well I read The Chain a while ago which was brilliant and this one did not disappoint at all. I did not know what to expect from this book set on one island concentrating on one family visiting. I was pleasantly surprised and not prepared for the terrifying journey. That family go through shear hell on that island, yes they make a mistake and a split decision that goes wrong but the consequences are horrific. I liked the character building in this book it was done well you either love or hate them. There are some twists and turns along the way you may not expect so be prepared. This book will grip you and keep you there, you will not be able to put it down you will be scared, anxious and feel so tense! If you enjoyed The Chain you will definitely enjoy this one. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC and the chance to review this brilliant book that I will definitely recommend to others.

This wasn't what I was expecting - in a good way.

Rather than it be a typical "tourists go to out of the way place and get slowly murdered by the in-bred family living there," it's much more nuanced and poses the question of who really is the bad guy here?

Tense and fast paced, McKinty pulls back from going *too* brutal at times, but the action doesn't suffer as a consequence. A lot of secrets are revealed along the way and by the end, you're not where you expected to be.

Really great escapist read that pulls you in right from the start.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

A bit of an odd read. I was a big fan of the Sean Duffy series and this is a big difference. A bit horror story and mad max style gore

I'm a big fan of the author, loving most of his previous works and whilst The Island is very good it felt as if it had been written to made into a drama series to be sceened as much as a book to be read. I'm sure that it will soon be on Netflix or Walter Presents.
A family from the USA visiting Australia for a holiday while Tom, a doctor, is there for a conference, Tom, his children and Heather are invited to an island not normally open to visitors to show the children the wildlife. As soon as they board the ferry for the crossing it becomes obvious that something is amiss. What follows is scary Duelling Banjoes roller coaster of a ride on the island inhabited by a close knit community unwelcoming to visitors.

Wow absolutely loved it, an on the edge of your seat, heart pounding thriller. I couldn’t put it down. It’s a twisty Story of suspense and survival for Heather and her family. Loved the authors descriptive writing, characterisation and twisty plots, just brilliant. You didn’t know who to trust. You feel the panic and your pulse is rising as you read. Definitely a page turner, highly recommend.

A great read, tense and some brilliant twists.

Heather is on holiday with her new husband Tom and his 2 children. She's trying so hard to make them like her but it's tough going. So when the opportunity to visit a private island arises, she persuades Tom to take them all. Which turns out to be a bad decision!

Great characters and I could really see this book being made into a film.

I really enjoyed this book, it was completely unrealistic, but it had my heart beating out of my chest in fear for the characters’ lives.
On a bonding holiday in Australia, the Baxters decide to visit a remote island to see some of the nation’s famous wildlife. However, this one split moment decision will change their lives forever. Once on the island, a terrible accident leads to the Baxters being hunted and fighting for their lives. For Heather, the new mum to two kids, this certainly tests her devotion to her newly acquired ready-made family.
The entire story is completely implausible, but I’ve never been to a remote island in Australia inhabited by one family, so what do I know? However, it all felt very real in the throws of reading this. I completely devoured the book as it was fast-paced, and I felt like I was running along with the characters. I was out of breath reading this, and I just had to know would they get out alive, intact or maimed!
The situation they find themselves in just seems impossible; I didn’t know how Heather would get them out of trouble and off the island. They had no phone reception, there was no law enforcement, and the only way off was a boat controlled by the people hunting them!
This is a tense and exciting book, and I was gripped the whole way through. I can certainly see this becoming a film as there was so much action. A fantastic five-star read!

Tension Fuelled, Unexpected…
A remote island, a break from the stresses and strains of modern life, a chance to regroup and communicate without interruption. Sounds perfect to Tom and Heather. A chance for Tom’s two children to connect properly with Heather. A chance of adventure too. When the family set foot on the island, however, nothing is as they predicted. In fact, nothing is as it seems at all. It’s not long before the nightmare begins. A breathless and exhausting, high stakes thriller where staying alive is the name of the game. Well crafted and terrifying, tension fuelled and unexpected.

A fast-paced thriller that is impossible to put down. Adrian McKinty has written a truly horrifying story that gives the reader a heart stopping roller-coaster ride. One that leaves you breathless wanting more.
A family vacation in Australia that becomes a hunter-prey kill to live situation.
This is without doubt the most tense, adrenaline fuelled book I have read to date. I cannot wait for the series to hit the screen. Brilliant.

This book just wasn't for me. What I thought it was is just not what it actually is. I may try to read this again in the future but for right now it just wasn't grasping my interest.

The Island was amazing, I loved Heather and I loved the journey she went on throughout the book. I don’t want to give away what happened after Heather and Tom had a tragic accident on an Island during an excursion with their two children (Heather being their step mum), but I can tell you to read this book right now! It was extremely well written and it had a brilliant storyline. I can’t wait to read the next book by Adrian McKinty.

Shortly after the death of his wife, Tom marries Heather. Tom’s children Olivia and Owen don’t like Heather, a situation that is not helped by the fact that she is closer in age to them than her husband.

When Tom, a leading doctor in the USA, is invited to speak at a conference in Australia, they decide to make the trip a family holiday. They decide to take a day trip to the outback - even referring to the number of books and films that are about tourists having horrendous things happen to them in the outback. Things like that don’t happen in real life - or do they???

If you’re planning a trip to Australia don’t read this book, otherwise, I highly recommend it. The family take a trip to a private island, an accident occurs, and everything changes for the worst. The inhabitants of the Island are a close family that takes the law into their own hands. No police are on the island and there is no mobile phone coverage.

What ensues is a heart-pounding, thrilling battle of wits, survival instinct, and cunning. Heather, who seemed a meek and mild girl transforms into a character that would give Liam Neeson and Bruce Willis a run for their money. She takes on the large, violent, ruthless family doing everything she can to survive both herself and her family survive. A task made even harder by the lack of food and water, the island’s inhospitable environment and the Australian heat. The book is a gripping game of cat and mouse. I could NOT put it down.

I would describe the genre as psychological thriller meets survivalist horror, if ever a book is going to have you on the edge of your seat this is it.

5/5 Stars from me

Relentless pace and story line to this book with the reader totally caught up in the race for survival. A believable portrayal of how far a person will go to protect themselves and others and the extreme practical and moral sacrifices they will make along the way.

I absolutely loved this book. It was the definition of un-put-downable. The pacing, the characters, everything about this book was done well. I loved the setting, being trapped on a small island with no kind of law enforcement for help is probably one of my biggest fears and that really helped with my enjoyment of this book.
It's action packed, it's thrilling and it's exciting. Heather our amazing strong heroine was really likeable and I enjoyed following her and watching her figure out ways to solve things. I loved the turn the book took, the survival aspect and the confusion as to who the baddies were was really well-done.

I would highly recommend this book.

I really wanted to love this book, but the formatting of this eArc really put me off, and I couldn't get into the story at all. I'm sad, because I really think that I would have loved this one based on the synopsis.