This story of very much of "The deliverance" mode where a group of people living in a community control everything with violence and threat.
A chance trip to an island sets off a chain of events that gets more and more grisly as time goes on.
It is very fast paced and you find yourself reading on and on to find out what happens in the end.
I did find it a bit preposterous that a woman and 2 children could survive such a situation on an island.
However I did find it a good read.

The Island is a tale of an American family - Tom, his teenage kids Owen and Olivia, and their young new stepmother Heather. Tom is in Melbourne Australia for a conference and is persuaded to go on a short trip to a small island to see some native wildlife. Something bad happens and the island's inhabitants turn very nasty indeed.

This is a story of revenge, survival and cunning, and is tense and exciting throughout. What I particularly loved is the similarity between Heather's isolated colony upbringing and the Australian aboriginal belief system, both based on respect for nature, which was written to great effect. This little bit of magic made the book charming and memorable despite the sometimes bloody events taking place. A very enjoyable read.

This is my second Adrian mckinty novel after reading the chain in 2020 and I have to say this was a very very good book.

I thought the cast of characters were very well developed and I really enjoyed the dynamic between Heather and her new family and how she had to adjust to them.

One thing I absolutely loved about this but was how tense the atmosphere got. It was clear from the get-go the feelings you were meant to experience and you got a really intense vibe all the way through this book and it only increased as the story went on.
I also love that this story did not worry about getting dark, and graphic.
When I read the chain I felt it had potential but could have gone darker this book I feel definitely went there and I'm very glad that it did.

My only criticism is that the ending wrapped up very quickly and some plot points were a bit predictable. One plot point I predicted very early on, however none of this impact is my enjoyment of the story.

After being persuaded not to give up writing, Adrian McKinty achieved great success with his last novel, THE CHAIN, success which his writing has always deserved. THE ISLAND should continue to bring him critical plaudits and commercial sales. Not as ‘high concept’ as The Chain, THE ISLAND is a fast-paced, incredibly tense thriller which grabs the reader by the throat and shakes until the heart-pounding ride is over.

American couple Heather and her much older husband, Tom, in Melbourne for his business, travel to an island just off the coast with Tom’s children, Olivia and Owen. There, following a terrible accident, the family is pursued and terrorised by the family to whom the island ‘belongs’. There are shades of Deliverance and Southern Comfort, Wolf Creek, even Mad Max in places, but all done in McKinty’s style which marries spare prose to occasional stream of consciousness sections, something I have loved about his writing going right back to DEAD I WELL MAY BE.

McKinty lived in St Kilda, Melbourne for several years and his knowledge of the area adds verisimilitude to the setting. The story is violent and the suspense almost unbearable, the tension maintained, intensified, right until the conclusion. It is a little difficult for me to predict, as I have loved almost everything that Adrian McKinty has written, but THE ISLAND will, I hope, continue to reach the wider audience that The Chain appealed to. And, just perhaps, some of that readership will go back and discover just how good the Michael Forsythe and Sean Duffy novels are.

With all the hype and from the description I expected a great deal from this book. Sadly I was disappointed. What had a promising beginning rapidly descended into a farcical tale which just became more and more improbable..

A fast paced thriller about a family offered the opportunity to move to The Island, which is already inhabited by a dangerous family. This is one where you have to immerse yourself in the story and suspend disbelief... reminds me a little of Lost the TV series, with all it's twists and turns that surpass the ones before! Just go with it and enjoy the ride. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read and review this.

Having been completely enthralled by 'The Chain' last year, (unpopular opinion, I know) it's safe to say I lept at the opportunity to read 'The Island' when it became available on Netgalley and to say I was excited when I was approved would be a considerable understatement.

Honestly, from page 1, I was gripped.

McKinty's ability to place you in the scene is incredible.
From cruising down the road to Alice Springs in the dead of night, to sitting hopelessly on a beach in scorching sunshine I honestly felt like I was right there with them.
Each stomach lurching twist had my mind spinning and my heart hammering (Literally. I have the Fitbit stats to prove it!).

Heather, Tom, Olivia and Owen are on holiday in Australia and in a bid to see the 'real' Oz they pay locals to bring them across a shark infested lake to Dutch Island. What they soon discover is the inhabitants of Dutch Island play by their own rules. Rules which are very different to those in the civilised world.

If you're looking for a thriller that will keep you wanting more then honestly look no further. A well deserved 4.5 stars.

As someone who loved Adrian McKinty’s previous high concept stand-alone novel The Chain I was looking forward to sinking my teeth into The Island. There was a lot to like about it: it was fast paced and enjoyable - up to a point. But then it went in a direction that unfortunately didn’t quite work for me.

It’s brilliantly written, as this author’s books always are, but I found myself not really caring about any of the main characters at all, which did hinder my enjoyment somewhat. I think it would work incredibly well as a TV show or movie, with the stunning visualisation that would bring, but sadly as a novel it didn’t quite hit the mark this time.

Adrian McKinty can write and write stunningly well. His Sean Duffy series provides more than sufficient evidence of that. He is capable of nuance, character depth and so much more, but this is a straightforward action thriller. The blurb, reproduced above, tells you all you need to know about the plot. It is one woman’s battle to save herself and her family from a rabid situation in which the odds are firmly stacked against them and there is seemingly no way out.

The Island is written in a cinematic style so it’s no surprise that it has gone straight to Hulu.

Tom is an orthopaedic doctor in the United States, and Heather, a former massage therapist, is his second wife. Now married for a year, Heather is tasked with looking after Tom’s two children. The family are in Melbourne for a conference that Tom is speaking at when, in an attempt to keep the children happy, they blag their way with cash on to a private island in the expectation of seeing many kangaroos and koalas.

You don’t readily take to Tom. A man who hires a Porsche to go into the outback is always going to be a bit of a tool, isn’t he? And the way he waves his cash around to get what he wants is not a good omen for things to come.

So it proves when things go badly wrong on the island and suddenly the entire family is fighting for their lives. Central to the action is Heather, a woman whose upbringing on Goose Island proves to be surprisingly helpful and it is enjoyable to watch this mild mannered masseuse change into a thundering warrior as the book progresses.

As an adventure movie I’m certain it will work well in a Die Hard kind of a way. Certainly there’s enough violence and grisly, scary, gory bits to make you squirm and squeal. I enjoyed the way that Heather was forced to it her wits against an entire family of tough and dangerous desperadoes headed up by a matriarch who brooks no dissent.

Verdict: It’s a kind of Die Hard meets Hunger Games You’ll need to suspend all your disbelief, but if you let it entertain you, you’ll find you can while away some happy hours reading this tense and action packed thriller. A great one for a summer holiday, I reckon, but really, McKinty is capable of so much more.

I enjoyed this quick read, the premise had me hooked and I enjoyed how we started with a glimpse at the ending and then went back to how we got there.
A family living their worst nightmare following an accident.
I didn't really like the characters of Tom, Olivia or Owen but I did like Heather and how she was an absolute warrior for a family that didn't really deserve it.
Loved to hate Ma and the boys from the Island who were absolutely awful, but was torn because Matt at times seemed nice and saner than the rest.
Very gritty and gory and not entirely believable.
Not as good as The Chain which I thought was brilliant, but an enjoyable way to pass a few hours. My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.

A family from the US on holiday in Australia get the opportunity to go to a remote island called Dutch Island. A decision that changes their lives and everyone already on the island.
When an accident happens and the American family are held prisoner, their world becomes a nightmare no one could ever dream of.
In an incredible battle between the residents and the visitors this becomes the ultimate fight for their lives.
A brilliant terrifying story that moves like a rollercoaster. This is one of those books that once you start it you will forget everything around you until you finish it. It is a perfect page turner and one I highly recommend. Strap yourself in for the ultimate ride.

I enjoyed this, it was an intense thriller with a clever plot; focused on a cat and mouse chase through the Australian outback. This is definitely not anyone’s idea of a perfect island getaway! There was plenty of action and tense moments where you almost have to cover your eyes to see if the main characters manage to get through! There are some quite violent parts and there was a scene with animal deaths which personally I found difficult to read and lowered my rating. All in all it was an intriguing plot which keeps you on your toes, just keep an eye out for trigger warnings if you find animal deaths upsetting.

I enjoyed The Chain and thought the premise was interesting. Not so with The Island. Boy this book is badly written! Really weird throw away lines that either don't suit the characters, are cheesy, or just plain offensive. I felt this book oozed masogeny and racism. The characterisation of Tom, Owen and Olivia was really poor. But even the more fleshed out character of Heather was full of holes, contradictions and unrealistic behaviour. I will forgive thrillers a lot if the story grips me and the plot is intriguing but this was just plain ridiculous!
With thanks to NetGalley and Orion for this digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This book is set in Australia with Tom, Heather, Olivia and Owen travelling there for Toms work. This is a thriller where their dream trip becomes a nightmare when they accept an offer to ride a ferry over to 'The Island' where a terrifying family live. When a accident happens on the island they find themselves at the hands of head of the family Ma and her sons and daughter. At times the scenes were quite violent and overall the book was fast paced.

“A crow with a skeptical yellow eye was watching her from the lightning-struck eucalyptus tree. The crow was death. If it called out, she was dead. … In the bay something huge moved under the water not far from the shore. They had been right not to try to swim to safety. That was the scarred dorsal fin of a great white….” from Prologue.

My thanks to Orion Publishing for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Island’ by Adrian McKinty in exchange for an honest review.

How to describe this novel? As the brief extract from its opening indicates something very bad is happening on the island. In my opinion it’s a novel that is best read ‘cold’ to appreciate its bonkers plot. So just a bit of background to set the scene.

After the teasing opening, the story goes back a short while and introduces the Baxter family visiting from the USA. Heather has recently married Tom, a widowed doctor with two children, Owen and Olivia. They decided to travel as a family to Australia where Tom is a keynote speaker at a medical conference. It seems a good opportunity to make new memories. They are taking a few days beforehand to tour though everyone is jet-lagged and both kids are whiny and fractious and not at all thrilled about having a new mom.

They demand to see some wildlife and when a local mentions that the nearby Dutch Island has koala bears, Olivia and Owen beg their father. Tom talks the ferry operator to take them and their swanky rental car over (for a hefty fee). They receive strict warnings that the island is private property owned by a tight knit local clan, who don’t like strangers. They are told to not go far and to be back to the ferry within 30-45 minutes.

Sounds easy enough though it wouldn’t be a thriller if the Baxters stuck to these instructions. When a shocking accident occurs, their nightmare begins.

I found ‘The Island’ a white-knuckled ride of a thriller that was impossible to put down. It should be noted that there are high levels of threat and strong violence throughout.

In his Author’s Note Adrian McKinty describes the incident that inspired the novel as well as assures readers that the real island that served as the geographical model for Dutch Island is populated by lovely people. Phew!

While ‘The Island’ requires some suspension of disbelief, I certainly felt that it delivered on the action and thrills.

Great fast paced book. It’s the perfect cross between action adventure and psychological thriller. This was a perfect Sunday afternoon read, feet up and cup of tea at the ready.

Hmm
3* too low but 4 feels to high.

I don't know how to review this so I'm going to do positives and negatives.

Positives-

Really good fun, a great premise with lots of actions. Reads like a good fun popcorn action thriller. I'd like to read more of these! A few 'oh dear god no' moments and 'ooooh shit' so I really enjoyed the ride.

But....
And I do hate to be negative because I did like the book....(this is nitty gritty spoilers.. So probably wait until you've read the book for this next part)


It's hard to describe my problem with the writing style, I think it wanted to be deeper than it is.. Or it wanted to provide motivation for the characters. But occasionally it felt forced or shoehorned in.

Some things where just clunky, like calling a 14 and 12 year old who you've known less than a year after they lost their mum honey and baby was just a bit... Weird? I have a 13 year old though and I know that would get her goat up now as her mum. So to imagine a very young step parent who been there not long at all trying to push themselves on you like that just sat totally unrealistic.

The minor theme of who are the real bad guys also didn't ring true, yes the whole debacle began with Tom and Heather's actions but there was never any doubt regarding who the bad guys were. It was certainly the people who tied up, threatened rape, shot, tortured and repeatedly hunted people with dogs and guns. Never a flicker of perhaps Heather has gone too far. Nope

But I did really enjoy the book, I just wish it chose to lean into the action thriller side more than the armchair psychologist. I kind of felt like, OK I get it...Heather is a warrior, she's seen some shit. She's not going to be put off by cold step children, she won't be put off by near certain death, she's awesome

And she is! I just wish it wasn't spelt out so simply and obviously. I don't have a problem with the intent just the delivery.
Like watching a Hollywood movie and being irritated wanting to roll your eyes like here we have character development, I got echoes of that feeling.

Saying all that, if you want a good fun tense action book this is definitely one for you! Despite what looks like a negative review I really did enjoy it and am going to go through the authors catalogue :)

Yet another heart in your mouth rip roaring thriller from this writer, with a truly disturbing family (who reminded me of the family in the first series of ‘The Top of the Lake.’ at the heart of it. The pace, energy and twists and turns of this novel were just right, for a really immersive read.

This was a really wild ride. I loved the pace, I could not stop reading it, the plot was a great example of "from bad to worse" An accident starts a nightmare, and they have to fight to escape.
I really like Adrian McKinty, for now I'm loving all his books.

Will get your adrenaline flowing

This book had a sense of foreboding from the beginning. It felt like the reading equivalent of watching the screen peeking through fingers. A page-turner, I wanted to keep reading to see what happened next.