This story follows two separate people and timelines. Elin, the detective from the first two novels, is on holiday with her brother Isaac and trying to repair their relationship. He surprises her by saying that he has promised to help a friend who thinks his sister went missing in this region of Portugal. Kier, the missing sister, has her own storyline from three year’s previously. You follow the events from the past and the present day investigation to find out what happened. I was very intrigued and some of the twists caught me by surprise. The story explores themes of gaslighting and domestic abuse. In light of this, I found Penn’s behaviour deeply disturbing and the ending jarred a little because of this. This was a great thriller that kept me reading late. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

I read the first and now 3rd instalment of this series but work as stand alone stories. This one centres on Keir, a complex woman with a tragic family history, in a relationship with a volatile ex celebrity chef. When Keir goes off grid, her brother Penn knows something is missing. When Detective Elin Warner goes on vacation with her brother, Penn asks for their help to find Keir at her last know location, and coincidentally the place they’ve chosen for their vacation.

This book is told between the two female leads and dual time lines. Both women haunted by their past looking for renewal and salvation. I actually enjoyed this book more than her first which was widely lauded and A Rees book club pick.

"Perhaps, deep down, I knew it would end like this. Maybe, from the very beginning, the narrative was set. You can't outrun a monster. I should have known that from the start."

It's 2018 and Kier lives her life on the road in her van. Her new boyfriend, an infamous fallen-from-grace chef – Zeph – joins her on her journeys. She paints maps of the places that have special meaning to her, while he's working on a cookbook. But when she has to return to her hometown for her twin brother's wedding, things take a bad turn.

Three years later, Penn has not seen Kier, who's travelling across Europe in her van, for some time. She used to send him her painted maps of where she's been, but she's stopped. Is she in trouble?

When Detective Elin Warner and her brother Isaac visit a national park in Portugal, they're intrigued by a group of campers in their vans, who've made the park their home. They say Kier stayed with them for a few days and left. But Elin thinks something isn't right.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest Sarah Pearse novel, which is atmospheric and eerie. A sense of dread pervades the book and I was invested in learning what happened to Kier, a character I grew to love. She's vulnerable but also strong and protective of those she loves.

My only gripe is that I'm not sure I keep buying into Elin's serious memory loss issues. It seemed a bit overcooked to me. I feel like the story could have been just as good without it.

Overall a highly entertaining thriller that made me want to go to Portugal's forests!

3rd instalment of the Detective Elin Warner series

Kier Templer can’t seem to settle. After the trauma of her childhood and consequently being separated from her twin brother Penn, Kier needs to keep moving and lives on the road. Able to work remotely with her design business, she also paints these amazing, detailed maps of places that have meaning for herself or her clients.
Kier’s final destination is to a National Park in Portugal.

Detective Elin Warner needs to get away after her last case. Her brother Issac convinces her to come with him for a break in a Portuguese National Park.
Once there, Issac spills the beans about why he suggested they have a break here specifically, because his friend Penn’s twin sister is missing.
Penn knows Kier would never leave one of her maps behind.

Elin must figure out what happened to Kier and the evidence is going to lead them to dark places.

This story is well written, the characters are well fleshed out and there are twists and turns that you wouldn’t expect.
The Wilds was very hard to put down and I’d definitely recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and The Little Brown Book Group for the ARC.

An atmospheric novel set in Portugal and spans 2 timeframes. Elin is on holiday and her brother wants to follow up on the disappearance several years ago of Kier, a friends sister from the same camp site . Theresa still people around who might know something but will they reveal it.

With thanks to Netgalley and the author Sarah Pearse

The Wilds is the third book and final book in the Detective Elin Warner series. You don't really need to have read the other two books (but it might help)

The Wilds I would say was the strongest out of the three books, it's the most fast paced as well and I found myself gripped from the first page to the very last one. The setting of the book is quite spooky and very atmospheric.

Having read The Sanitorium and The Retreat I was delighted to be offered the chance to read the third and final book in the series about Detective Elin Warner .This is a gripping story told in two timelines and set in Devon and Portugal National Park .A dark and atmospheric thriller with an unexpected ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

It is hard to believe that Sarah Pearse’s ingenious fictional Detective Elin Warner is being retired with this novel – just when I feel she has so much more up her sleeve! In The Wilds, Elin gets to share the spotlight with the fabulous setting, a remote national park in Portugal, that is depicted so vividly that the eery, menacing surroundings of Elin’s latest case cannot fail but draw the reader in.
Elin had originally travelled to the national park to build a stronger rapport with her brother Isaac. He mentions, however, that several years ago, his acquaintance Kier disappeared in the park, and this sparks off their joint investigation into what happens to this young female. The plot split off into a contemporary timeline featuring Elin and Isaac and into a previous timeline focused on Kier, her twin brother and boyfriend. The circumstances of Kier’s disappearance in Portugal eventually become clear, but by then, the reader has already uncovered themes of toxic femininity and masculinity, psychological abuse and domestic secrecy that provide more than enough material for an ‘Elin Warner encore’, just in case the writer ever changes her mind to retire this formidable character! Highly recommended, this is a book set in a unique, mesmerising location that will leave a lasting impression on its readers. I wish to thank the publishers and NetGalley for the free ARC that allowed me to produce this unbiased book review.

The Wilds, the third book in the detective Elin Warner series, is a dark and atmospheric read. Creepy, disturbing and at times claustrophobic it is a fabulous summer read which is edgy and powerful. The story is told from the viewpoint of Elin in the present (who we get to find a bit more about – although you don’t need to have read the previous two books to enjoy this one) and Kier in the past. It is Kier who the story focuses and her disappearance leads Elin to an isolated camp and its inhabitants who are less than friendly.
It flits carefully between the two narratives giving a clear insight into the lives of the two women and how they collide in a dramatic and devastating way. The setting is a national park in Portugal which adds the edge of eeriness – a vast expanse of tall trees and winding trails – a place it would be easy to get lost and for dark deeds to take place.
There are haunting themes covered in the book – domestic abuse and coercive behaviour – and the impact this has had on the two women throughout their lives. The backstories are so carefully thought out and lead to the present day scenario perfectly. It’s not always an easy read hearing about the past lives of Elin and Kier but it is tackled sensitively and cleverly in terms of the plot.
What starts out as a holiday for Elin with her brother Isaac (they have a strained relationship and are trying to reconnect), quickly turns into a case of finding a missing person and the events surrounding the vanishing. All is not as it seems with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The characters are likeable and you even those who are less so, you want to find out more about them and the trouble they stir up.
Sinister, disconcerting and chilling it’s a thriller that will grip you until the end!

#TheWilds by #SarahPearse employs the writing trope that probably annoys me beyond any other. The one where the reader is given no clues and has no chance of solving the mystery. Spread this choice over three books and you have one pretty irritated reader. I can deal with unreliable narrators but I detest being deliberately misled. At least now the parts I found ridiculous in the first two books make sense and with the series being finished, I know I don't need to worry about there being anymore.

The Wilds was published in July 16.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC! I had been the release date of the third novel in I was thrilled when a third novel in Sarah Pearse’s Elin Warner series was announced, and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to read it in advance of its release!

I’m always nervous to start a new book by a favorite author and my expectations for The Wilds were incredibly high after the bar Pearse set with The Sanatorium and The Retreat. But The Wilds not only failed to disappoint, it may be Pearse’s best book yet!

The story unfolds across two timelines. The first follows Elin as she sets out on a holiday with her brother following a tumultuous time in her life. Their relationship is its own engaging story which ultimately connects to the central mystery in unexpected and intriguing ways. Elin’s vacation is soon interrupted when she’s drawn into a missing persons case that is full of twists and turns, making the story better and better and nearly impossible to put down.

The second timeline is narrated by the missing girl and follows the events that led to her disappearance.

Each timeline tells a gripping story and I was always excited to return to each one to learn more. They timelines were also well developed and distinct worlds, so I was never confused or trying to remember where one story had left off. The timelines finally connect to reveal a truly masterful conclusion to the mystery that I never saw coming, and gives the characters satisfying resolutions.

I HIGHLY recommend The Wilds, and this entire series .
I read a lot of crime fiction and psychological thrillers, but I don’t read many series because I often find the protagonists static and the individual books vary in quality. This series is a laudable exception! Elin is an incredibly engaging character who has her own well-developed storyline that weaves into each novel’s central plot and themes, and The Sanatorium, The Retreat, and now The Wilds are each inventive, gripping atmospheric thrillers on the own merits.

It is an intriguing story that follows Elin Warner as she goes on a trip to Portugal to try and connect with her brother. What she does not know is that he is there to look into the disappearance of a friends sister, and things may not be entirely as they seem. Set in the wilds of a national park in Portugal, with a missing girl that Elin has a strange feeling about whist trying to get closer to her brother and missing her new partner as well as what happened to her recently have her a little on edge and jumpy and suspicious of everyone. The truth will blow your mind! It's thrilling and full of twists and turns and told from two perspectives as well as two different timelines. I really enjoyed it, and it's an easy read for a Sunday afternoon!

Loved the previous 2 in the series so was looking forward to this one and it didn't disappoint the twists were very clever well done this was the best one in my opinion I'm a little sad it was the last in the series but all good things have to come to an end as they say I look forward to what the author brings out next

I gave The Wilds 3 out of 5. I liked how the book switched between Keir ‘s story in Devon in the 1980s and Elin’s story in Portugal in present day. I wondered how the stories of the two different women were going to eventually link up and come together.

This is the third in a series with main character Detective Elin Warner and I have not read the previous titles. However, I don’t think this matters too much and The Wilds can be read as a standalone book without being familiar with the character or series. Some of Elin’s back story was explained and it was clear she had travelled to Portugal with her brother to get over a previous traumatic time.

While they are in Portugal they begin to look into Keir’s disappearance and get drawn into her past. The remoteness of the camp and their quiet hostility to Elin and her brother were very evident and atmospheric and there were a couple of twists. I thought this was a decent read without being particularly stand-out or memorable.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing an advance copy in return for my honest opinion. I have also published this review on Goodreads.

Keir has gone missing and her twin is wondering how he can find her. When Detective Erin finds a map she hopes this might help her to piece together what happened. The storyline travels back and forth between the investigation and what led up to the disappearance. An interesting delve into various characters’ relationships.

I couldn't wait to read the third installment following Elin Warner and this didn't disappoint, it was in fact my favourite..

This is the perfect summer thriller, set in a beautiful Portuguese national park.

There are two timelines and they are equally engaging and exciting.

In the first, we follow Elin, who has a relaxing holiday planned with her brother. She soon finds herself embroiled in a missing person case and not relaxed at all!

The other follows Kier, the missing person, and follows the events that led up to her disappearance.

This is a beautifully written vacation thriller that spends time developing the characters and their relationships ensuring the reader is fully submerged in their world.
It has many twists and turns and I thought it was an amazing conclusion for Elin.
Totally gripping, highly recommended.

3.5 ⭐️

Elin and her brother Issac have gone to Portugal to stay in an airstream campervan in the forest. Issac then springs it on Elin that he’s agreed to look into the disappearance of Keir Templer, his friends sister whilst there. She went missing in that area.
Will they find any clues and solve the mystery?
Very descriptive writing, I felt as if I were there.
The book covers sensitive issues of coercive control.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

The third book in this fantastic series featuring Elin Warner The Wilds picks up after The Retreat and Elin is on a holiday with her brother Isaac. They have a complicated relationship and Isaac has hidden some of the reason why he wanted to head to Portugal. When they arrive he admits that he is there for his friend Penn whose sister Kier was last seen at the National Park and is presumed missing.
This book has two storylines one with Elin and Isaac in 2021 and also Kier and Penn and also Kier's partner Zeph. Zeph is a very temperamental chef who has left his career and is now living in a van with Kier. They have an intense relationship and Kier and Penn have suffered in the past, with family trauma.

Sarah always uses great settings for her books and this one is no exception, our native Devon and a Portugal National Park feature in The Wilds, which are both familiar and the camp in Portugal unnerving and unsettling.
This book covers some difficult themes and this is done sensitively and well researched.
The Wilds took me on a great reading experience, revisiting some characters such as Elin I was interested in what happens next for her and Kier and her Maps which added a really interesting thread to the story.
Twisty, surprising and a great ending for a fabulous series.

This is the third and final outing for Detective Elin Warner. I had only previously read the first book - The Sanatorium - and think that many of the nuances in the relationships between characters were based on that novel.

In The Wilds, Elin is visiting a Portuguese national park, building back her relationship with her brother. The park itself becomes a character; at times benevolent and soothing, only for it to turn and become a fog-bound place of shadows and peril. Similarly, members of the camp close to their lodgings seem friendly and welcoming one moment, only to become secretive and malevolent the next. The siblings become invested in searching for Kier, a missing woman, once travelling with her celebrated chef boyfriend. The story follows 2 time lines so we hear the past events from Kier's perspective, particularly during the build-up to her twin brother's wedding in Devon. We then unravel missing parts and make connections from Elin's point of view in the present. Each chapter seems to end on a cliff hanger. It was a bit formulaic, but did maintain the suspense and kept me reading 'just one more chapter'. I felt that the author offered more than just a thriller though. She really dug into the truth of being in relationships and contrasted that with what is seen at face value by others.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this eARC novel.

First of all, thank you for letting me read this ARC of The wilds! Then for my review. It honestly took me very long to finish this book, mainly the first 50% of it. Nothing seemed to be happening and I was getting to a point where I almost stopped reading. But I have it one more chance and I'm happy I did! The second half of the book was much more fast-paced and there were definitely some big surprises in there which is the reason I'm still giving this book 3.5/5 stars.