Wow, just wow!! It started off great, taking the reader in right from the beginning. Lots of mystery and different stories that could or not be linked together; stories that don't make much sense right until the end. Although you start putting the pieces together bit by bit, you don't get a full image right until the end.
It's a thriller through and through.
I gave 4.75 stars only because the ending went so fast I didn't even realise what was happening. Other than that, it was great! Thoroughly recommended!
Thank you again to NetGalley for this approval

Ooooh! I really enjoyed this - was hoping for something similar to The Guest List by Lucy Foley and. got what I wanted - mysterious lodge....check...collection of maybe trustworthy/maybe horrible people...check...and an innocent unexpecting victim who doesn't have a clue about what's going on...check! Really enjoyed this and found it a great page turner, although I started to untangle the web as I went!

Oh my, what a ride this book offers. So many twists and turns. It was so hard to put down. So many characters with backstories. Who is taunting Bella on her much anticipated relaxing break.? And why? Then the murders start and things get bleaker. This psychological drama is well worth reading.

I didn’t really enjoy this book as much as I was hoping - the description sounded good however it was disappointing. It was very slow, and I got bored and there was too many characters to try to keep up with.

I didn't really enjoy this and sadly, didn't finish it. I found it slow and felt like I'd read the book before.

This sounded like a book I would like after reading the blurb.
The retreat sounded like an amazing place to visit for a week, but as soon as phones were taken away, I knew it was going to turn sinister.
Bella was a character I liked, I could relate to her, a single mum, an only child leaving the nest. It is a sad time for most parents.
Secret notes that vanish, guests that were falling ill all of a sudden. Who is doing it to them all, and why?

I liked the book but I did find it quite repetitive.

Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for ARC.

Composer Bella doesn't feel ready to drop her son off at university, but that's what she's just done. Her son and her sister have conspired to organise a week away in a Swedish lake house hotel for a creative retreat and digital detox, so she can complete her next soundtrack.
As this is a twist on the country house crime novel, it's not long before the weather conspires against contact with the outside world. Mysterious things begin to happen and Bella is forced to confront aspects of her past that she would rather stay buried.
Unfortunately for me, the revelations and the final twist couldn't come quickly enough. I found the whole thing a slog, and the eventually exposed 'villain' not well realised. Not for me, but I think I'll be in the minority.

I loved that this book was set in Sweden, it made a nice change of location!

The story was great, it kept me guessing and I enjoyed watching the characters develop.

A great holiday read and one I will recommend.

I'm a big fan of isolated settings in thrillers and this book set at a wellness retreat was the perfect setting. I loved the different mix of characters we had and the freaky threatening vibes of what was going on.

It did slightly take me out of the story that there was so much publicly happening to several characters and none of the other characters seemed to notice or care.

The twist was great and led to a nail-biting conclusion. I would recommend this book to those who love an isolated setting or small cast thrillers.

The perfect read for a balmy summer evening! This thrilling tale kept me on the edge of my seat and I was desperate to get the the next chapter every time.

A slow psychological thriller set in a Swedish wilderness retreat. Although an easy read, there were too many coincidences and the protagonist has no emotional depth to her.

This is a slow burner, but I will say keep with it as it really is worth it. I loved the twists & turns & the separate narratives about each character. Kept me guessing the connections til the end with another twist of Intrigue to finish!!

This book was a bit dull. The main character was an utter wet wipe and annoyed the hell out of me.

It was an easy enough read though. ⭐️⭐️

* ARC from Netgalley *

Hmmmm I loved the idea of this being set in Sweden at a retreat but the story didn’t give me enough of the outdoors and activity the group of people thrown together for one supposedly relaxing week.
Bella is going to recharge after leaving her son at university but her past is coming back to haunt her. The story was very predictable in parts and felt the ending was rushed. The book did keep me turning the pages and Bella was a really strong character that you did feel sorry for. Overall the story was a bit like a cludeo game.

I quite enjoyed this book although felt that it was definitely somewhat far-fetched, over the top and ridiculous in places. I couldn't relate to the characters, especially not Bella, who I found incredibly annoying, and didn't like the other retreat characters much either.
It was ok but not one of my favourites; 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Bella is packing her son off to university, she drops him off and makes her way to the airport, heading to a lodge in Dead Man’s Forest, Sweden.
The lodge is part of a retreat and she is one of 8 guests staying at there.
The retreat is designed for wellness, spiritualism and a new sense of well-being, however not all is as it seems.
Peculiar things start happening, which start to disturb Bella. Bella is already highly strung due to her son leaving for university and a re acquaintance of a former ‘partner’.
Nothing is turning out as it seems, a storm has brought down local trees and the road out of the retreat is blocked. The story follows Bella trapped in the retreat, desperate to escape the strange goings on, and get back to her normality.

The premise of this book, the location setting and a good mystery is what drawn me to this book.
However I felt the story did not live up to the hype I had attributed to it.

Bella is an annoying character, who only seems to have two things about her, her music composition and the love (read unhealthy obsession) for her son.
I decided a while ago, I wouldn’t read books I didn’t like, but with this I had a morbid curiosity to how would it end and how frustrating would I find it once completing.

The book lacked depth, it was padded out with paragraphs of memories that were tedious and tenuous to the plot. I found the reminiscing of memories of Asher so dull, I was skipping words, which then turned into paragraphs.
The characters had ridiculous names, the humorous dialogue wasn’t funny, and the plot was weak.

I wasn’t a fan of this book and the more I read the more I disliked it.

Thank you Netgalley for the free copy, in return for a honest review.

If you're a fan of the isolated setting, high-tension thriller with an unreliable narrator, then The Wilderness Retreat won't disappoint! Bella is our lead character and is taken by her sister on what should be a relaxing holiday in Sweden but a gathering of guests that are a little sinister and circumstances that re more than a little strange means that Bela just can't be such what to believe or what's really happening...

I genuinely had some jaw dropping moments when reading as I just couldn't guess where the story was going - loved the twists and thrills this threw my way!

I haven't had a book keep me on the edge of my seat like this in a while, I was truly gripped by this story!

The pacing was amazing and the twists were so good! I'm usually quite good at guessing the ending of these types of stories but I truly couldn't figure this one out! Amazing!

This was a real page turner and was very difficult to put down and very addictive with a twisty and unexpected finish.

I found this hard to stay gripped. I felt the intense dark isolated atmosphere to be missing until closer to the end. While attempts were clearly made for it. I just didn't feel it much.
The story itself didn't wow me. I figured out the main twist pretty easily then found myself waiting for the reveal to actually happen.
While I did enjoy the book enough. I would have liked a little more.