This is a fabulous and intense dual narrative thriller about domestic violence and gaslighting. It explores these issues with sensitivity and gentleness without losing any of the excitement and drive of crime fiction.

It was great to reunite with Elin Warner, Pearse’s detective, and it was lovely to see her develop through her relationship with her brother Isaac as they holiday at an incredible nature reserve in Portugal. Of course, it doesn’t stay as peaceful as it sounds. And of course Elin has to get pulled into an investigation.

Alongside their narrative we ride with Keir, an artist, and her boyfriend Zeph, a fiery celebrity chef. They live in a caravan, and this sets one of the themes of the book very early, with the close confines of the caravan set against the wildness of the environment, as well as contrasting the freedom of their nomad lifestyle against her brother who is settling down and getting married.

Pearse always writes fabulous locations, and the Wilds is no exception. The nature reserve has unpredictable weather, waterfalls, woodland where you can get lost and more. It all adds to the sense of mystery and menace as the landscape is vast one moment, and claustrophobic the next when the mist descends.

I have loved all of Pearse’s novels, but this one is deeper and more emotionally complex, whilst maintaining all the twists, turns and mysteries. It was a fabulous addition to the Elin Warner series and I really look forward to reading the next one!

Thank you for the opportunity to read The Wilds as I have enjoyed Sarah Pearse first two books. The book is well written and has a good twist, with long term questions in the series being answered. Unfortunately though this time the story didn't work for me, it felt very slow to develop and I struggled to relate to Kier. Thank you for the copy of the book.

Kier Templer had a troubled childhood but remained close to her fraternal twin, Penn. Now, Kier is living the #vanlife with her boyfriend, Zeph, a rebellious New York chef, as they travel through Europe. However, Kier has mysteriously disappeared, likely somewhere in a Portuguese national park.

Detective Elin Warner and her brother Isaac, on a trip to the same park hoping to reconnect, soon find themselves drawn into the search for Kier. Their only lead is a hand-drawn map she left behind, leading them deeper into the mystery.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

We follow Detectve Elin Warner this time in the mountainous setting of Portugal where she is trying to reconnect with her brother. However it’s not long before Elin finds herself investigating a mysterious disappearance.

This is definitely a slow burn told from multiple perspectives and multiple points of view. This is the 3rd in a series and would not recommend trying to read this as a standalone.

I wanted to love this however I felt it was hard to connect to the characters and fell short of the second novel The Retreat.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
The last in the series and just like the previous two; super bingeable. Due to the short chapters, you fly through it. Slowly connecting Kier's and Elin's POVs, it keeps you at the edge of your seat. I liked the gentle introduction to domestic/psycholohical abuse, how easy it is to creep into relationships without the victim realising it. A mystery with a deeper layer, that makes you more aware of what kind of awful things happen in life.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Multiple POVs
Short Chapters
Psychological Thriller
Quick Read

❌ ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴtɢ:
Domestic & Psychological Abuse

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘈 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥. 𝘋𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳” 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧-𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.

𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘭—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘱, 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬—𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵—𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴.

I’ve read many books by Sarah Pearse so hoped I was in for another compelling read.However I must admit I was disappointed as I found this book rather confusing for me. There were two time lines….. 2018 Kier and 2021 Elin ( which come together near the end ). . Hower the chapters were very short…. some just two pages…and it didn’t give me time to work out who was who and what was actually happening before I was starting to read about new people and a new situation. At the end when it all came together,I thought knowing what I now know ,I would like to read it again. It was a brilliant plot but not written in a style for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for giving me the chance to read this book.

I read the first Detective Elin Warner book 'The Sanatorium' and remember at the time finding Elin someone I didn't warm to. I found her much more likeable in The Wilds, where we find her alongside her brother investigating the disappearance of Kier in a remote wilderness area of Portugal. There are numerous references to coercive and controlling and domestically abusive behaviour in this book so if these are triggers for you then this is something to bear in mind. I thought the story itself was well-written and well-paced, with the various threads unwinding and tying back together well as the story progressed. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Fantastic book with great core characters. Recommend to friends for anyone who loves this genre of book!

I felt The Wilds was rather slow to get going, there was a lot of build up without really getting a full understanding of each character.
There was a mystery surrounding the story of Elin, Kier, Zeph, Penn and Isaac that constantly made me second guess the outcome of the story and it really had the potential to be a great story and the writing was mostly well thought out.
It was a good read but despite the slow moving story the ending came about very abruptly and was rather disappointing in relation to the build up.
I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys the journey the writer takes you on rather than the final reveal of how all the parts come together.

Detective Elin Warner & her brother go on a holiday to a National Park in Portugal. In part it is a holiday but it is also for Elin to reconnect with Isaac. Isaac also want to find out what has happened to Keir, the sister of his friend Penn. She was last heard of at the Park a long while ago. Enroute to the Airstream they have booked they come across a group of people who have settled nearby. At first they seem unfriendly but they may hold the key to Keir's whereabouts. The story is also told from the Keir's perspective three years earlier.

The descriptions of the setting was very well done. I could really imagine this vast wilderness. For me that was the best part of the book. I found the story a bit confusing & the odd names didn't help
(when I hear the name Keir I don't think female- even less so now he's PM!) And Penn? I felt the story went on far too long & the arrival of their neighbour seemed to add another somewhat unbelievable strand to the story.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc

This book was really good, I have enjoyed this authors past work and this one didn’t disappoint!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was a so-so read for me. I found it difficult to get in to for some reason and couldn't really gel with the characters. Parts of it seemed predictable to me, but there were also some twists that kept me guessing.

3.5 stars rounded up.

3.5 ⭐ rounded down

‘I don’t know, sometimes it seems like bad shit seems to happen to people who’ve already had the worst shit.’

This was my third time trying with this book and while I did have some issues with it, overall I did enjoy it. The dual POVs, dual timeline and short chapters, made for an easy and quick read when I settled down with it. The book was also very well written and I did like the characters.

I also liked both settings of each POV and the inclusion of van life, something that I have grown fond of as of recent. The way the story unfolds is also very engrossing. It's both tense and suspenseful. However, around the 50% mark, there came a revelation that really threw me and from then I began to piece it altogether. By the end I pretty much had everything figured out.
That took away some of the enjoyment.

Certain sections of the book also felt like they were brushed over leaving me with more questions than answers. Nonetheless, I did like the message behind it regarding abusive relationships and how women are often neglected, gaslighted and seen as unstable when really they're crying out for help.

This was my first book by this author but definitely won't be my last. Not a bad read by any means just not my favorite.

Thank you to Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group UK and Sarah Pearse for my eARC of this book. All opinions are my own and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

The third book in the Elin Warner detective series, and having recently reconnected with a family member, she goes on what she thinks is a holiday to Portugal with her brother. However, her brother has ulterior motives, roping Elin into trying to find out what happened to his friend’s sister who is missing.

They discover a camp nearby, and convinced that they are somehow involved, Elin and Isaac start digging.

The book moves between Elin in the present and Kier in the past, enabling the reader to see from both perspectives and understand why Kier made the decisions she did, and unknowingly why both characters were intrinsically linked.

The misdirection and red herrings made some the twists more surprising, one in particular.

Set in the middle of an isolated national park, the location had a big influence on the suspense and tension the author built, adding atmosphere especially towards the end.

4 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Little Brown Book Group for an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

This is the third and final instalment in the series and I have really enjoyed following Elin's narrative during this novel.

The book follows Elin trying to unravel the truth behind Kier, a friend's sister, and her disappearance. Elin cannot help but get completed wrapped up in the mystery of what exactly happened to Kier and the truth behind her disappearance.

This book was extremely dark and, due to the location of the novel, I genuinely felt very isolated reading it; which added excellently to the overall vibes of the novel. In a weird way, I think it really added to my reception of the book. The premise was well thought out and it was enjoyable to read, however at times I found it quite challenging to follow and this resulted in some confusion during areas of the narrative.

This being said, I definitely enjoyed the read but the constant changes in the pov had me confused from around 45%...

This is the 3rd book in the Detective Elin Warner series and another mind-twister from this author. The story is set over two timelines and the author gradually links the two together. Along the way, there are some serious twists, plenty of shocks and a realisation that things are never what they seem.

Elin and her brother Isaac are on holiday in Portugal, it is a chance for them to reconnect and spend time together. Elin has been through some rough patches and needs time to get her head around things. Unfortunately for her, Isaac has misled her. He has been asked if he will take a look at an off-grid camp for one of his friends, he is worried about his sister who is missing.

The past is the story of the missing sister, Kier and her boyfriend Zeph have been together and seemed happy. But they had then split just before her brother's wedding. Disappearing off to Portugal and being seen at the off-grid camp.

Once again the author has created a fabulous story with so much tension, drama and suspense. It is such an addictive one and it was only a few page sin that I realised how much I was going to adore this one.

The themes the author touches on are serious, there is trauma, abuse and manipulation. Alongside this, there is also a crime, but how that crime became one and the journey to finding the answers is one that I never saw coming. There were times when I thought I had the answer only to find that my thoughts had been sidestepped by this clever author.

This story has a few characters, they have their roles but there is always the sense that some of them are guarded, hiding things and not letting on what they really know. Once you get to the end and understand the plot you realise why this is important and also how integral it is.

This is a tense and dramatic story, it is set in a secluded area and so this only gives a few options about the who, why, when and all the other questions that need answering. There is a lot of soul-searching for several of the characters and this adds a more personal touch to the story.

I adored this one and I am sorry to see that this is the end of this series, it has been a wonderful one. The other two books in this series are The Sanitorium and The Retreat. I am looking forward to what the author writes next.

If you are looking for a suspense-filled crime thriller then this is one that you may want to have a look at. I have enjoyed all three books and I would definitely recommend this one as well.

The Wilds is the third book in the Elin Warner series and concludes the series. In this novel, we travel to Portugal as Elin sets out on a well needed break with her brother, whom she's trying to reconnect to. But unbeknown to Elin until they arrive there, there's other reasons her brother has chosen this particular place to stay. His friend has asked him to look into the disappearance of his sister Kier, and with Elins help, they begin to dig for information and evidence of her being there. A great read full of twists and turns that you don't see coming.

This is the third book in the Elin Warner Detective series. I have enjoyed all three and this had an interesting plot with many twists. It was difficult to read at times because of the content about DV but the characters are well developed.

I would read more in this series if any follow.

Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.

This is the third book in the Elin Warner series by author Sarah Pearse. I have read the first two novels in this series and although I enjoyed them was not completely blown away by them. This third book is slightly better and would rate it 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Kier Templer is drifter and haunted by her past and her mother’s infamous crime. She was even given the nickname “the monster’s daughter and since spent her life on the move, trying to escape the shadow of her mother’s legacy. Her only connection to her twin brother, Penn, are the unique maps she designs of the places she’s explored. But when Kier suddenly goes off the grid, leaving Penn without her latest map, he knows something is terribly wrong.

Detective Elin Warner is on vacation in a national park in Portugal with her brother, Isaac and she discovers Kier’s final, disturbing map and begins to unravel the dark secrets hidden within the park. As Elin delves deeper into the mystery of Kier’s disappearance, she uncovers connections that are more personal and shocking than she could have ever imagined.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is part of a detective series but you can also read it as a stand-alone. I enjoyed reading it and found it to be a bit of page-turner. The sense of place added to the suspense and tension of the book. It was a change to read a brother/sister storyline - something I don't come across in other books often.