DS Elin Warner is back!

I loved The Sanatorium, Sarah Pearse’s atmospheric debut, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her follow up, The Retreat.

An island with a dark past has been reborn into LUMEN, aluxury wellness retreat, complete with yoga pavilion and executive villas. Unfortunately, relaxation is the last thing on anyone’s mind after a body is found at the bottom of a cliff. A storm is brewing, both on the horizon and with the guesys themselves…

Pearse has a way of drawing in the reader within just a few pages. Not only was I excited to meet Elin once more, my attention was immediately grabbed by the tensions between guests on the island, Jo and Hannah. Despite being sisters, the animosity and distrust pours off them, and truly sets the scene for a tense and twisted thriller.

The isolated location harks back to classic Christie; a locked room style mystery with suspects dropping like flies. The encroaching storm adds to the atmosphere and adds an obvious sense of foreboding to the going on at LUMEN.

The sinister history the island, and the infamous Reaper’s Rock, is an inspired, Gothic element which hangs over the island like a spectre, tainting all within its grasp.

Pearse is the queen of misdirection, leading us one way before pivots so suddenly you’re left gasping. The devil truly is in the detail!

I like Elin, I find her flawed but capable. Brimming with self-doubt but determined to a fault. I can’t wait to see where Pearse takes Elin next, so I’m keeping everything crossed for a third book!

The Retreat is out August 2022. Thanks to Bantam Press and NetGalley for the proof!

After reading The Sanatorium, and then discovering that a second book was on the way featuring main character DS Elin Warner, I was excited to receive this early ebook of The Retreat. The Retreat is set on an island off the coast of Devon, where there has been an apparent accident, but things don't quite add up. Step in DS Warner.

I found the book to be fast-paced, with plenty of twists and turns. I can usually sense where a book is going quite early on, but with this, I genuinely didn't have a clue until nearing the end. I enjoyed the character building and the claustrophobic setting, and I finished wanting to know more.

I can't wait to see what else Sarah Pearse has coming in the future.

I enjoyed Sarah’s ‘the sanatorium’ so when I received a message about early access to The retreat I was thrilled.

It had a very similar storyline, a murder in a remote location, no help from outside and the detective left to herself. It was a great setting, I could really picture the scenery, the rock and hotel.

There was a great mixture of characters, the storyline overall was enjoyable and the twists were good.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin random house UK for early access to this book.

Thank

In the follow up to The Sanatorium (2021), we join Detective Elin Warner on her next case: a mysterious death on an island with a terrible past where not one but two spectres hover over the new retreat.

Whilst there are plenty of twists and turns, as with The Sanatorium this is a story with unseen motives: we never have the full picture. The multiple layers – the old school, the teen murders, the current retreat – and the various new identities or secret links to the island make it difficult for the reader to form theories or guess the truth.

This is especially the case when combined with the past of the island is mixed with several tragedies in that of the family who are guests on the island: Jo with a secret she can’t tell her sister; Maya with a terrible suspicion about the past; and Hana who is lost in the depths of grief.

A complex story which ends up overreaching as multiple intertwined crimes and sins unfurl and leave the reader lagging behind.

This is the perfect sequel to The Sanatorium. The location is equally isolated qnd creates that intense 'cabin fever' feel. It was great to see Elin develop further but it still leaves enough unanswered to have me longing for a sequel. The plot is engaging with plenty of twists and turns and drama. I'll definitely be recommending it to people like I did with the first.

Whilst the reader may well see the way in which the plot is headed this will in no way detract from the sheer reading pleasure of this tale. A eerie, atmospheric thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder as you read. A wonderfully chilling story.

The tension and the intrigue was the best part of this book. Pearse's writing has evolved however the mystery was lost. I felt that the story dragged in places it should have picked up and went too quick in others.

The second in a series of murder mystery thrillers, with the detective Erin. I felt it was quite similar to The Sanatorium - both books had parts of the story that I liked, and then it seemed to tail off , and I struggled to stay interested. It didn't pick up pace for me, and really get going, until towards the end. It just didn't ring true for me, but maybe I'm being over critical. It was an OK murder mystery with the usual twists.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advance copy of The Retreat, the second novel to feature DS Elin Warner, set on an island off the coast of Devon.

When a woman’s body is found at Lumen, a luxurious resort on Carey Island, DS Elin Warner is sent to investigate. It was initially thought to be an accident, but small anomalies make Elin think twice. Then a storm gets up and they are trapped.

I enjoyed The Retreat, which is, in my opinion, an improvement on the previous novel, The Sanatorium. It seems to flow better and isn’t quite as far fetched, in other words easier to believe.

The novel is told mainly from two points of view, Elin and one of the guests, Hana Leger. I would like to say that Elin concentrates on the investigation and she does, but she’s also trying to find herself so there’s a fair amount of angsty self examination (yawn). Hana is on holiday with relatives and boyfriends, so her narrative is all about family secrets and frictions. Who knew there could be so much drama surrounding three sisters and a cousin? That’s perhaps a bit facetious because it’s actually interesting and quite gripping.

I like the plot, which has a bit of everything from old crimes on the island to new ones, hints of curses and creepy feelings. The author does the characters’ jumpiness well and demonstrates the power of suggestion on the mind. The author also has a good sense of misdirection, distracting the reader from simple facts with the macabre history of the island.

I’m not sure if the author knows how to write likeable characters. The Leger group has too much going on to identify with and Elin is a bit self absorbed to be anything but tedious.

The Retreat is a good read that I can recommend.

I requested this book primarily because I had read ‘The Sanatorium’ and been intrigued by it. I felt it was a book that promised much, but failed to deliver. Unfortunately I feel this second book from Sarah Pearse is the same. There is something jarring about the way these books are written - the third person, present tense narration just doesn’t flow. A real shame, so many good ideas, but the plot doesn’t seem to ‘stick’ together,

Rounding up to three stars



Having looked back on the authors last book, it would appear I just don't particularly get on with the main character.
Having read the second book, I feel a bit sorry for her and her boyfriend that they're dogged by murder everywhere they go.

For ME, this was an OK book, a few things stood out as good, a few things seemed too predictable.

So my next read was one that I had been waiting for since I read this author's last book, The Sanatorium, so needless to say I was very excited to received an advanced readers copy.

'The Retreat' reintroduces DS Erin Warner who arrives at a wellness retreat based on an isolated island, an island that has had more than its fair share of secrets over the years. When a woman's body is found at the bottom of the cliff it is initially seen as an accident but it soon becomes clear there is more to uncover, especially when the body count continues to increase...

Sarah Pearse has done it again, another edge of the seat thriller that sees you wanting more from each chapter and just when you think you've figured it out you'll be surprised by the next twist and turn that emerges. After reading the first book in the series I was already established with the character of Erin and that familiarity with her continues through this. The tension is built in all the right places and keeps going right up to the thrilling climax, along with some gore and horror along the way - which although am not the biggest fan of! - continues to set the scene in the most descriptive way, so much so that it is one of those books that you feel immersed in right to the very end. A definite must read!

This was a tense and gripping story which kept my attention throughout. There was a good cross-section of interesting characters, but I did find Elin to be suprisingly nervous and full of self doubt given her central role in solving the mysteries.

I loved the Sanatorium, and was delighted to find The Retreat just as entertaining! I loved the mystery around the island, and the weaving through of the multiple perspectives. Can't wait to read what is next from Sarah Pearse!

I did not realise this was part of a series until after I had started. It should be made more clear from the synopsis. It was an average thriller overall.

Another really great book written by Sarah Pearse. It has murder, intrigue, many twist and turns, and edge of your seat moments. Don't miss it if you are a psychological thriller.

The is the second book in the Detective Elin Warner series the first book was the sanatorium
Elin is back on a stunning island getaway for a eco wellness retreat off the England coast of Devon where Elin’s boyfriend Will is a architect Lumen is will’s baby his pride a luxury retreat that he designed on a island a few kilometres off the coast and Farrah is a manager there Farrah is Will’s sister when a body of a woman is found dead and followed by more murders
Totally recommend I couldn’t put it down really enjoyed
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Uk, Transworld Publishers
I just reviewed The Retreat by Sarah Pearse. #TheRetreat #NetGalley

This is the second book in the Detective Elin Warner series by author Sarah Pearse. This was a lot better than the first book in the series ‘The Sanatorium’ in my opinion and was far more entertaining. Yes it was a lot better than the first offering but still failed to convince me.

Detective Elin Warner needs to attend an eco-wellness retreat on an island off the English coast. The retreat is meant to be for rest and relaxation but for one young woman it has ended with her losing her life. The island is known by the locals as Reaper’s Rock and has a dark past, rumoured to be cursed due to a serial killer on the rampage.

The woman appears to have fallen to her death from the yoga pavilion but the victim wasn’t a guest at the retreat and wasn’t meant to be on the island at all. The following day a guest drowns in a diving incident and Elin starts to suspect that there’s nothing accidental about these deaths. The question is why would someone target the guests, and is this just the start of the killings. The race is on for Elin to find the killer before more deaths occur and history is repeated.

I enjoyed the character Elin a lot more this time and the story itself was more entertaining than ‘The Sanatorium’ but still not quite there for me.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Bantam Press for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

There were parts of this novel I really loved - the setting of the isolated island, the continuation of Elin’s story and the whole idea of being trapped while a killer is on the loose. However, I did feel that the story was, at times, a bit fantastical and characters reactions to events were somewhat muted in comparison to how they would react in reality.

With that being said, I would still recommend this as a decent thriller to those who enjoy this genre!

Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A luxurious retreat. An isolated island with a dark history. DS Elin Warner returns to investigate a death of one of the holiday goers. Whilst there the body count starts piling up. What is going on and is it linked to the islands previous massacre?

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. After reading the sanatorium I was disappointed as it hadn’t lived up to my expectations. However the retreat definitely did, albeit my expectations were much lower this time around. I really enjoyed the story line, from the creepy origin of the island to the current murder plot line. The only thing I couldn’t get on board with was the lack of grieving from the present day survivors. They didn’t seem to be particularly bothered that their group seemed to be being picked off one by one. Very odd.
On a positive note DS Elin was much more likeable in this story as well which was definitely a bonus!