3.5 stars rounded up.

As Bella drops her son off at university, she's devastated. It's been the two of them ever since Asher was born. The only thing helping her through is the upcoming week-long wilderness retreat in Sweden. It will be her chance to reconnect and recharge. At the retreat, Bella basks in the beauty of the modern lodge, with its luxury rooms and picture-perfect views, the glistening lake and the lush forest. For the full detox effect, everyone must surrender their phones. The holiday seems idyllic until the person who ruined Bella's life years ago arrives.

This book reminded me a little of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Bella is a single parent, and a composer for film scores. She goes to a retreat while her son is away at university. But someone is planning something sinister. There are sick guests and mysterious notes. The Swedish Forest was a little bit creepy. There was the perfect mixture of characters who could be annoying, suspicious, and intriguing. The book had a strong start, but then it took a dip in the middle, but thankfully it picked back up again. There were far too many dream sequences for my liking. Bella also makes a few bad choices. There's quite a lot of repetition throughout. I did enjoy the book, just not as much as I hoped I would.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HQ #HQDigital and the author #JenniferMoore for my ARC of #TheWildernessRetreat in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the first part of the story and really related to Bella’s struggle to let Asher go but then in the second half of story I felt the story just lost the tension and became a bit slow.for me I started to skim read and I’m afraid I didn’t really enjoy the hurried reveals. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

I’m giving this book 2.5 stars rounded up to 3
I found the tension building to be fantastic! The atmosphere is as creepy and I was excited to keep reading and find out what was happening. I enjoyed trying to work out whether it was all in Bella’s mind or was there truly a creeper creeping?
I was a bit disappointed to have to wait until 80% for the twist. The first 80% built the tension but I felt I waited a bit too long for the reveal that I was getting impatient
The twist was good if super unrealistic. Once it came, the rest of the reveals were easy to see coming
I would have loved this book so much more of the build up was a little shorter, I was ready for it so much earlier

The book starts off with Bella (a single mom) dropping her son Asher off at university and to fill up the "empty nest syndrome" her sister has bought her a holiday in Sweden in a Wilderness Retreat in Deadman's wood. The story then unfolds with lots of twists and turns. I will give no more spoilers in my review but this is an excellent book, which I would definitely recommend.

The story started with full of promise and the premise was good, trying to come to terms with empty nest syndrome by taking yourself off on an adventure. However, despite the good start, I felt it was too slow with too many coincidences. The ending was a bit too rushed. Not really my sort of book.

Absolutely brilliant. This is a well written story that had me gripped right to the end. Highly recommended

I did enjoy this right up until the end which seemed rushed, ill thought out and lazy. It's a shame because up until that point it was highly atmospheric and intriguing, but the ending just didn't seem to make sense. There were a fair few holes in it which detracted from what had otherwise been a great thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC without obligation.

Bella is not relishing this next stage in her life, she's a single parent to eighteen year old Asher who is just starting university and it's always been the two of them since he was born. To help her adjust to this, her sister has booked her a wilderness retreat for a week in Sweden at Dodmansskogen, or Dead Man's Forest, as it's locally known. She's looking forward to getting away and, as a composer, being able to work on her next piece, but in amongst the beauty of the retreat danger is lurking and Bella doesn't know who to trust.

The Wilderness Retreat is a dual narrative story and it quickly becomes apparent what the connection is between the two. It's a fast paced story with some very complex and, at times, elusive characters. As a parent myself of two grown up children, and having experienced the leaving home and empty nest syndrome, I found Bella quite relatable and to have all sources of communication taken away from you as they did at the retreat, even for a week, would have been unbearable for me, especially as Asher was embarking on a new journey too and may have needed his mum during those first few days. Bella's behaviour was quite intense and I did begin to question whether a lot of the events were actually happening or if Asher leaving was causing her to spiral but, when the reveal came it was quite unexpected. It's a tense and intriguing, sometimes predictable, read which kept me turning the pages to discover who was behind all the strange goings on.

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

This was everything a thriller should be, a proper page turner with suspense that just ramped up and up as the book went on - continually I couldn't imagine how it could end and devoured the whole book in just a few days. Bella is a great central character and one you really empathise with, as her struggles and confusion deepens.

The setting (a remote retreat in the deepest Swedish countryside) was perfect for the book and was described vividly, adding to the eerie feel. Yes there's more than a few red herrings, and a few things that seemed obviously suspect to me as the reader but not to Bella, but dive in and enjoy - I promise you'll be hooked!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy to review.

Just finished this twisty ever changing exciting book….a great read had me hooked and certainly had me guessing until the very end. Loved it 😍

A gripping thriller based in an idyllic location. I would recommend this book to everyone. Thanks NetGalley for allowing me the advanced copy!

Bella has become an empty nester her son Asher has started university . It’s always been the two of them so to soften the blow her sister has booked a nice relaxing holiday away in Sweden in a remote retreat.
Relaxation, peace and tranquility just what Bella needs but unfortunately that’s not how the story goes.
The story moves at an average pace until the last part of the book and the pace moves up a gear .
Some of the writing does seem a little repetitive but I had to quickly read the last half of the book in one sitting so it certainly kept my interest .
An interesting psychological thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ.

Loved this book. Loved the story and the writing and the characters. A real ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book. I would really recommend and I read it really quickly which is a sign of a great book!

I finished The Wilderness Retreat late last night. There was no way I could go to sleep until I had.
When we first meet Bella, she is dropping her only child, Asher, at university before jumping on a plane to Sweden for a week of relaxation, courtesy of her older sister. The Retreat is located in a beautiful place, but I’m not sure I would want to be somewhere so remote, especially on my own with a group of strangers so I could understand Bella’s reluctance. I found Bella quite relatable as a mother. I have two adult children and I know I would hate not being able to even text them/or them me if needed. They are still your babies no matter how old they get!
I knew something bad was going to happen at this retreat, but I was not prepared for the story that unfolded. It’s quite disturbing to say the least. The tension and suspense kept me glued to my kindle. I felt so scared for Bella as the story progressed. I could feel her fear, her frustration, her desperation, her panic. I would have been desperate to get out of there too! I suspected everyone at one point or another of causing her agony. I even thought Bella herself was having some kind of breakdown.
When it clicked my jaw dropped!
Brilliant! I loved it!
**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley**

The Wilderness Retreat Jennifer Moore

5 stars
What a brilliant book. I was so engrossed in this that I read it in three days!
Bella has just dropped her 18 year old son, Asher, off at university and is suffering from a severe case of empty nest syndrome. This is made worse as Asher was a result of a drunken one night stand with her married university lecturer, Ludwell Storm. Although Bella had tried to tell him he denied any relationship with her causing Bella to drop out of university and bring her son up alone. Their bond is very close and Bella is grateful that Asher and her sister, Rachel, have organised a week’s retreat in a remote Swedish forest where she can concentrate on her music.

As soon as Bella arrives things begin to go wrong. The celebrity guest is Ludwell Storm and his wife who fortunately do not seem to remember her. However the other guests all seem to have their own problems and not long after Bella has arrived she starts to hear strange scratching sounds, notes appear in her room and an apple full of maggots. Even worse for her, she seems to be affected by illness and all the healing remedies provided by the retreat’s owners, Marie and Stuart only make her feel worse.

Gradually we discover what is really happening to Bella and I must admit I was completely fooled by not only the identity of the killer but also why Bella was the intended victim, which for me epitomises a good thriller. I loved the atmospheric setting and the way the threat becomes ever more sinister. I would thoroughly recommend this book.

Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

An okay read however didn't get totally immersed in the this about Bella who is booked into a retreat as a birthday treat from her sister. The storyline was just too unbelievable to be enjoyable.

I started this book expecting a good thriller/whodunnit/page turner but unfortunately it didn’t quite tick those boxes for me. I found it heavy going and a bit repetitive from the start, it was difficult for me to fully engage with the characters and I thought that the supposedly suspenseful and surprising plot twists were heavily signposted. A half decent read but not a great one.

Bella goes to a retreat in Sweden as a treat from her sister and son but thing soon take a turn for the worse, a note left in her room and strange noises. A good thriller, good characters. Well worth a read.
I received this book from HQ and Netgalley for a review.

"The Wilderness Retreat" was a great read. An interesting combination of suspenseful, interspersed with optimisic. By that, I mean that regardless of how bad things got Bella kept hoping things would get better.

It is suspenseful and it certainly had me wondering what was going on. Bella's paranoia feels justified and realistic. It feels like between the stress and anxiety, the unexplainable events, the alcohol and fear, someone can start feeling and acting like Bella (with a bit of variation).

The pacing was right for me and this was reflected by the fact that I kept reaching for the book and would not want to put it down. Some might say that it has a slow burn, but the suspense and mystery balanced that perfectly for the intense, final quarter.

Also, the epilogue ties things quite nicely and neatly... some might say, rather conveniently. But I disagree with that last bit. The ending is foreshadowed well by certain parts of the book and was satisfying.

It was interesting to read a book in present tense. There are a few slips: in chapter 6, when Bella is searching for food "minimalist for Bella's liking at that exact moment in time" should be "this moment".

I love the inner commentary provided by Bella in social situations. It was demonstration of "telling, rather than showing", but there was plenty of showing. The combination was right and it helped immersing me in the situation.

It was creepy and gripping and the setting was great for it. I was living the awkward and intense moments. When Bella decided to take control of her life and took something back to her room, I didn't know what I felt or how I should be feeling

Bella missing Asher was extremely reminiscent of how my own mother describes missing me. The smelling of clothes that triggers memories is very realistic.

Probably my favourite line from the book other than a dark joke at the end: "The universe has a way of putting us exactly where we need to be".

3.5 stars
A single mum is given a retreat stay in Sweden for her birthday. Her son is off to university and she’s trying to adapt to that feeling. Creepy things happen at the retreat.

I didn’t find this book a page turner. I thought there was too much reference to her missing her son. People love their children but I just found her love got a bit creepy.

There were no subtle hints in this book. Everything was spoon fed to you, it might as well have been on a flashing billboard.

Not all loose ends were tied up either, without giving any spoilers.

It was an OK read that passed the time.