Isolation Island is a TV show where ten celebrities have agreed to spend time in a monastery on a remote, deserted Scottish island. The premise is "I'm a Celebrity" with challenges, or "penances" but the trials and problems become all too real. Each contestant has been offered a prize tailored to them - for Investigative journalist Lauren it's her own primetime TV show. But things start to go wrong. Lauren's instincts save a couple of lives along the way. And then a storm blows in, cutting them off from the mainland, and taking down the Comms. What could possibly go wrong? A dead body or two? Accident or murder? Very creepy and a real page turner. #netgalley #IsolationIsland

Ten people on a deserted Island, think of Agatha Christie! I had high hope for this book as it sounded interesting. A unique start to get the celebrates to the Island was interesting. I managed the first few chapters and thought that there was a rather far fetched mystery, how were they allowed to treat these people as they were? I felt it was rather sadistic and unnatural. What finally stopped me reading was all the numbers appearing in almost every line of the text and lead in to each chapter ?????????Where they there for a reason I'd missed, very annoying!

A thoroughly enjoyable and twisty thriller you can really sink your teeth into. The author did such a good job at building suspense and eeriness, that came with the setting. A really unique plot that I had never seen before in a thriller book. Definitely one to recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Louise recently joined a virtual book club I am part of and spoke about writing this book, which is the reason I was interested in reading.

Unfortunately I didn't end up loving any of the characters, which I tend to find means I don't end up feeling too connected to the book itself. The story was fast paced which I enjoyed, but I found the ending to be a bit abrupt and left me with questions.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I was intrigued by the description for a reality TV show setting. However, I'm not sure that it was really what I had expected. The format of my download didn't help as it was full of numbers which made reading slower. The characters were a bit of a mix, some I felt were quite uninteresting. Louise Minchiin is obviously familiar with the format of reality shows and live filming, which showed. The pace of the story was a bit slow. The ending felt cut short and was definitely unexpected. I'd have liked an epilogue to tidy it up. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout the book and I did not guess the murderer.

Firstly, what a nightmare this was to read with the formatting! Every line has a number and it made it very confusing to read - took me a lot longer to read than normal and feel that it did not help the pacing of the book at all.

The overall story is good and I loved the setting, but it also felt lacking in something and I found that the ending was a bit rushed and put together! But as I said before, this may be down to the formatting and just finding it hard in general to read!!

I loved this book. It was based on reality TV and I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was. Full of intrigue, mystery and tension - and the writing was superb. If this really is a debut novel then I think it is excellent and I’m looking to reading more from this author. I highly recommend this to all mystery/thriller lovers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the early copy.

‘Isolation Island’ by Louise Minchin is an intriguing thriller featuring a cast of celebrity reality TV contestants, a remote island location and a once-in-a-lifetime storm. The novel largely focuses on investigative TV journalist Lauren who - like each of the other islanders - has a secret reason for participating in the show…

I really liked the variety of different celebrity characters and the way tension built up throughout the first half of the book. I also found the twists unpredictable and captivating, and some of the themes very important. The fact that the author herself participated in ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here’ a few years ago in a Welsh Castle added a sense of realism - and made me wonder whether any of the characters were based on actual friends or foes!

The pacing felt slightly off to me, with a long time spent introducing the location and concept, and then a lot of action very quickly. There was also a big tonal shift which was quite jarring, and a fair few plot points left loose at the end.

All in all though, this is a strong thriller with an atmospheric setting and familiarly entertaining characters. Giving this 3.5 stars.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Headline via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

My first time reading @LouiseMinchin and I wasn’t disappointed. I really enjoyed this book. #isolationisland is a creepy, chilling and suspenseful page turner from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down.

In the depths of winter, ten celebrities arrive on a remote Scottish island to take part in a gruelling reality survival show. With hidden cameras, a production team who can’t keep them safe and an incoming storm things start to take a turn for the worst.

It’s well written with a setting that is really atmospheric, brilliant twists and dramatic ending. The storyline is good and keeps you guessing and unsure who you can trust. I loved the well drawn characters, especially Lauren who was a strong lead character.
Overall, a brilliantly written debut thriller whodunnit. Definitely recommend if you enjoy this genre. Look forward to more from this author.

With thanks to #NetGallery @headlinebooks for an arc of #IsolationIsland in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 12 September 2024.

This book gives I’m a celeb vibes with 10 celebrities being marooned on an isolated island, their every move watched by cameras. As always, things are not all that they seem and it goes from bad to worse when an almighty storm hits.

All 10 characters are introduced early on but I had a little trouble remembering who was who in the beginning and I found the first 50% quite slow. The second half certainly ramped up and kept me guessing. I wasn’t always right but I did guess the main plot twist at the end. The novel was very atmospheric and descriptive which gave me a great mental image of the island itself.

Overall a solid read.

I found the beginning of this book a bit slow but that was probably the need to introduce the individual characters.
Ten celebrities on an isolated, unwelcoming Scottish island, living in the deserted Eilean Manach Monastery, Nate an unlikeable but charismatic film star, Jude a TV matriarch, Frank an elderly soap star, Kez a Paralympian amputee, Jackson an Olympic sprinting star, Nico, runner up in a TV talent show, Mac a retired rugby player, Hollie and Taisie, popular influencers and lastly Lauren, Lauren the investigative journalist, Lauren who had given up everything that mattered to her in pursuit of a story, Lauren who was on the island in an attempt to trap her very clever perpetrator.
In the beginning everything in the camp is rosy.............until it isn't, it soon becomes clear that health and safety aren't high on the list of necessities for the TV company, they wanted gossip, scandal, confrontation but did they want death ?
As this story unfolds it becomes more nail biting, the suspense is high as Lauren proceeds in her crusade to bring down her culprit, but does her culprit know that he is being stalked ?
The rewards are high, the candidates play to their strengths, play to the intrusive cameras
This book started as a four star but catapulted to a five. Louise Minchin has managed to illustrate the miserable damp, creepy atmosphere of the monastery, the fear and destruction reaped by the storm and the surprise ending
Thank you Storm Publishing and Net Gallery for my ARC, my review is voluntary.

I do enjoy a bit of reality TV so loved the idea of this one.
It gives I'm a celeb/big brother vibes and was an easy read. But for me it just lacked something to really grip me, and I was left disappointed in the conclusion of it all.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

Ten celebrities arrive on an island to participate in a game show- one quite unlike any other. Their “prize” is something they have wished for which could be career or personal based and they are not allowed to ask each other about it- if they do they will forfeit their prize and there will only be one winner. They are guided by a voice through loudspeakers as to what to do and where to go. Failure will result in penance- they are dressed like monks and have no personal belongings- there should be a bag for each of them when they get to their new home. The start is rough and tough and they can't believe what they have got themselves into. When a storm hits and they are trapped in one room for safety, their stories begin to emerge.
I quickly got into this. It’s lovely to see a celebrity with a talent for being an author. This is well written and well thought out and boy! What a premise! It's mainly based around Lauren who is an investigative journalist and wants more information on one of the other contestants who she suspects is not what he portrays to the public. This gives even more of an edgy feel to an edge -of -your- seat read as one thing settles another emerges. A deliciously dark thrill of a read. I very much look forward to more. Loved it.


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Isolation Island is a celebrity reality TV concept which becomes a locked room murder mystery. As is usual for this type of novel and TV programme there is a wide range of characters, the main one being an investigative journalist Lauren. Bad weather means the competitors are truly isolated and the pace picks up at this point. There are twists and turns and a dramatic ending. A mainly successful blend of a modern TV genre and an old fashioned murder mystery.

A brand new reality show. Ten celebrities are dropped onto an island off of the coast of Scotland. They are completely alone on the island, but there every move is being recorded. One of the contestants has an ulterior motive though. An investigative journalist who is determined to expose a major Hollywood film star. When a body is discovered on the island, with no one else present, have one of the contestants turned to murder to win the dream prize?

Right from the very start we find out about the dead body. The book then goes back to the start and tells the story from when the contestants are arriving on the island. I absolutely adore this type of book, where we know from the beginning that the list of suspects is very limited. I did find it difficult to keep track of all the characters, especially for the first few chapters. The story is very well told though, and I did not have a clue who the murderer was. I did find the ending slightly disappointing. I would have loved an epilogue to tie things up nicely, and probably would have given the book 5 stars if it had. Overall though I really enjoyed this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline books for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
There are a plethora of "Reality TV" shows on these days so it is probably to be expected that this trend now extends to books. Now, where I have never watched a reality tv show, I have read plenty of books about them. I am sure that the tv shows contain less in the way of fatal accidents and murders though!
So, in this book, former BBC presenter Louise Minchin draws from her time spent as a contestant on one of the main Reality TV shows to produce this, her first fiction book. Now I very much doubt that her time in the jungle would have been as perilous as the time that her characters spent on the remote Scottish Island that they were sent to. Half arriving together by boat, the others arriving by canoe, they again split up when they are denied entry to the castle they are supposed to be bunking in. This event serves to split them up for the rest of their time on the show.
The characters, as you might expect, are all a bit larger than life, the sort you'd expect to find fighting it out in front of cameras. But I will leave you to get to know them as the author intends. Personally, I struggle when introduced to a large number of characters in one fell swoop, so I wrote me a cast list, which helped until I got them straight in my head.
So... after a couple of near miss accidents and a couple of "evictions" things start to hot up when the contestants are further isolated by a rather horrendous storm (seriously does no one ever look at the weather forecast before pressing go on these things, it's not like we are back in 1987 Michael Fish!) which knocks out all the power and prevents any rescue efforts.
What it doesn't prevent however, is a death. But did he fall, or was he pushed...!?
This was a quick and easy read, hence the rounding up as I didn't really have to make much effort reading it. i did however lose count of how many times I rolled my eyes along the way...! It was a little on the predictable side on occasion too. But there were enough things I didn't guess early to keep me going and I was rewarded at the end by a satisfactory ending.
I wasn't overly impressed by the characters, probably as I failed to connect to any of them, so I didn't really care who did what to who and why! But all the twists and turns were well set up and executed so I guess that was a job well done.
All in all, a decent enough read but not one that set me, or the genre, alight. I would however be interested to see what she serves up for next time though. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Ten celebrities arrive on a remote Scottish Island to take part in a survival game show. Journalist, Lauren is hoping that Hollywood star, Sam, will be there as she wants to confront him about his past. Things start to go wrong and a sudden storm leaves the celebrities trapped. There is a suspicious death and they are all in danger. Who can Lauren trust? This was an exciting thriller with some great characters and a satisfying twist. The isolated setting and bad weather was very atmospheric and really added to the tension.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the review copy.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

I absolutely love a book with a remote setting, where the characters appear to be deserted. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the isolated island, the darkness, the wind howling with all the harsh elements around.

I found the first half was a little slow but once the book hit the halfway mark, it very quickly picked up the pace. I really enjoyed the twist even though I saw it coming from pretty early on. I still enjoyed the ride in spite of knowing the destination. I have never read anything by this author before but I will definitely be looking out for their books.

I had seen Louise talking about her book on tv and knew I had it on my TBR pile so I made it my next read and I was so glad I did. At the beginning it felt like I’m a Celebrity when it was filmed in the castle, especially with the tasks and lack off food. The relationships between the contestants, the murders, the storm, trust and lack of trust, who were allies and who were enemies, it twisted and turned right until the end.

An interesting, well written thriller. A strong main character in Lauren and a very unusual setting. The setting of a remote island and a celebrity TV show allowed for a good cast of characters. We find out early on Lauren has a reason for agreeing to do the show and this is slowly revealed. The backdrop and set up of the show are described with authority and there are twists along the way. It kept me engrossed and wanting to read more.