A mystery on a reality show was a different subject which was original. The setting was atmospheric. Good characterisation. Enough twists to keep me reading. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Come on. 'Fess up. Does anyone really watch reality TV, particularly featuring celebrities, for any other reason than to have a good laugh when it all goes wrong? Maybe we eventually get into the programme and end up rooting for one or the other of the victims participants, but the errors and catastrophic moments are where the real entertainment comes from. Well, when it comes to Isolation Island, a brand new format reality survival show in which a group of 'celebrities' are left on the remote scottish island of Eilean Manach, once home to an active monastery, the catastrophic moments are off the scale, and with a storm brewing, both psychological and literal, things can only get worse. Which they do. My only advice to anyone of a mind to enter such a show - if Louise Minchin is behind the production team anyway, say no. She's vicious!

Isolation Island follows investigative journalist Lauren Brooks who, against her better judgment, has agreed to be one of the celebrity 'victims'. There is method in her apparent madness, for despite an initial reluctance to engage, never mind that it might just save her flailing career, it is the rumour of who one of her fellow contestants might be that seals the deal. The prize, should she win, is tailored to her dreams, as it is for each of the contestants, but for Lauren, the real prize is something money cannot buy. From the very outset of the book it is clear that this will not be your typical reality show. Even getting to the island is fraught with peril, and the tone of the book and the ensuing challenges is set from the moment part of the set almost ends one challenger's journey before they've even set foot in the monastery.

Now, I'm not a big follower of reality shows but, even by any standard, the format of Isolation Island seems a trifle harsh. Made to dress in less than fashionable habits, and left in conditions that may be the 'authentic monk experience' but are far from the luxury they are used to, they are set a series of challenges. The failure to achieve their challenges results in them paying a penance, including forced fasting (not popular), and rest is something they are forced to learn to live without. It allows the author to ramp up the tension, using the natural conflict that such deprivations can create, to amplify the clear divisions that soon start to form in the camp. It certainly kept me glued to the page - kind of car crash TV but in a book.

Louise Minchin has created a really varied bunch of characters for her survival show, from all walks of life - professional sport, investigative journalism, business, influencers, even a Hollywood superstar - and imbues them with a real sense of authenticity. I can't help but think they may be an amalgam of many people she has met over her career - I'd hate to think that some of them were based on any specific person, although it's not impossible, certainly in the case of one particular characters, whose personality if very much informed by current affairs. It creates taht believability factor. as for her opening chapter - well I was immediately gripped as you already know that a terrible fate is to befall one of them - it is just the who and why that needs to be answered. You might make a judgement on that early on, but be careful of jumping to conclusions. Louise Minchin is one crafty author and with deft use of misdirection works to quickly throw you off the scent, or at least introduces some uncertainty to proceedings.

I loved the pacing of this book and the constant sense of jeopardy that infuses every chapter. It is not the longest book, but no page is wasted and I absolutely tour through it, finishing in a single evening. It's the kind of book that has that one more chapter vibe, keeping me hooked to the final somewhat surprising conclusion. Not everyone makes it off the island ... at least, not every leaves on their own two feet anyway. I loved and loathed the characters, wanting to slap my kindle on more than the odd occasion, and loved the madness of the show format. Introducing a severe storm to increase that sense of isolation for the contestants, placing them where even the production crew cannot help and removing any access to crucial evidence (hard to commit the perfect crime when your every move is being recorded after all) just builds the already lofty tension and dashes any hopes Lauren may have had of easily getting her big scoop. Where would be the fun in that?

Pacy, thrilling, with delightfully loathable characters and a packed tight with tension, I really enjoyed this and can't wait to read more from the author. Heartily recommended but fans of action and adventure style thrillers.

Really interesting plot. It's like I'm a celebrity but with a twist.
I'm not a reality tv fan but I am a Louise Minchin fan and this did not disappoint! Brilliant.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is about a group of celebrities ent by a TV company to spend time on an island (similar to I'm a Celebrity). However about a third way through the book, the plot changes from what you might expect. I thought the characters were interesting and I enjoyed the ending. I wold recommend this book.

Whilst not a fan of reality shows, I was intrigued to see what this was about. A good whodunnit in an atmospheric setting.

There’s real a sense of menace from the start with the remote setting. With twists and turns and a variety of characters a great debut novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for this ARC.

10 Celebrities are left on a remote Scottish island in the middle of Winter, to take part in a TV reality 'gameshow'. Their home for the next 2 weeks is an ancient, ruined priory. Secret cameras and microphones follow their every move and conversation. But things start to go wrong - by accident or deliberate? They're worried very early on about lack of safety in their new 'home' but then things worsen. All contact with the outside world is lost and then a body is found. An amusing reality show is turned very quickly into something much more sinister.
The story turns into an exciting 'whodunnit' which will keep you guessing. Very entertaining and an enjoyable sumer read

Highly recommended - page turner

Read the summary of this book, definitely my type of read for murder and mystery

Famous people are left on an island on the outskirts of Scotland to live for 2 weeks in the hope of winning the dream award, all being filmed in a TV series - but someone dies

This book was easy to read and I couldn’t put it down - story flowed well with the characters. Plenty of twists, turns and drama

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline Publishing

Free Courtesy of Netgalley

First book for Louise Munchin and what an entry into the book market at your first attempt. This book is amazing and the story flows really well.

The main character Lauren is an investigative journalist and has agreed to go on a reality show called Isolation Island, where 10 celebrities are transported to a remote island in Scotland in the middle of winter. The island was formally used by monks and they are forced to dress as monks and live in a monastery on the island, and do challenges set by the production company but all is not as it seems and after a few close calls one of them ends up dead. Will Lauren use her skills to find out if it was an actor murder or will she just hope that they are rescued soon

The characters are well written and the story is very good. It is a bit like I'm a celebrity, get me out of here but worse for the celebs.

I would recommend this book to people who like books with a bit of mystery.

If you're a fan of reality TV and tense mysterious novels then this is an ideal read for you.
Lauren is an investigative journalist and when she discovers that a famous Hollywood Actor is booked to join others on Isolation Island for 2 weeks she accepts the offer to be part of the group. It's set on a remote monastery in Scotland and from day 1 there are major problems with safety. And when a really bad storm threatens production all contestants are told to stay in the great hall, but after a massive argument one of the party is found dead the next day.
Lauren then realises she has to use her journalistic skills to discover how they died, potentially causing a risk to her own life
This was a fairly fast paced thriller with a few red herrings thrown in. A great read

What an amazing debut from Louise so well written and thought through!
Lauren is a journalist who along with nine other celebrities is heading to a remote Scottish island to compete to win a prize of their dreams! There can only be one winner and they aren't allowed to tell anyone what their prize is. Strange occurrences start to happen as soon as they set foot on the island and they need to rely on each other more than ever! Cue an incoming storm never seen before and the erieness of the monestary they are in along with being miles from anywhere and no way of communicating with the outside world and you can see why it's called Isolation island!
Did not see what was going to happen and was kept guessing till.the end. Well done Louise loved it couldn't put it down! Will be looking for more from Louise in the future. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this.

Excellent! gripping read! Did not want to put it down! Had a sneaky suspicion about the culprit but was kept guessing all the way through!

Loved it so much! Will definitely be heading to the launch my local bookshop is doing

I absolutely loved this book – it was a very easy read and I couldn’t put it down – the story flowed well and the characters well written. Plenty of tension to keep you hooked and guessing to the very end. Full of atmospheric drama with twists and turns.

On a deserted Scottish island, in an abandoned ancient monastery, 10 celebrities are left alone to win the prize of their dreams. It’s a reality show with similarities to Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity, but without any other human contact, apart from the Voice that gives them their strict orders to be followed or punished if the rules are broken. It’s where each contestant has come with their secrets and everyone is suspicious of the other person, wondering who is genuine and who is playing the game. Then one of the contestants is found dead – are they safe or in mortal danger?

Highly recommend – a real page turner to enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Publishing for the ARC in return for an honest, unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book - the reality TV angle was very current and I loved how it built up and up into more of a mystery- and a great ending. Recommended.

"Isolation Island" is a taut, well written debut thriller from Louise Minchin. It is however extremely unlikely that a reality survival show such as this would ever get commissioned - isn't it?? There is a good variety of characters amongst the competitors, all with their own reasons for being there, although some seem rather reluctant and most are definitely out of their comfort zones.

This is a really atmospheric novel which keeps you guessing until the end.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

There are reality tv shows to suit every taste, from baking (my personal favourite, who doesn't enjoy a tasty cake?) to celebrities completing complex challenges in a jungle setting and traitorous antics in Wales. So, it seems like a terrific premise for a novel to use the reality show idea and take ten celebrities to an isolated island near Scotland, where they compete to win their dream prize.
Of course, nothing is ever as simple as it seems and our protagonist Lauren, an investigative journalist clearly has an alternative motive as she is travelling to the island in order to 'get the truth' about one of the other potential contestants. Lauren's storyline is setting the scene for some explosions later in the novel, but when we meet all of the ten celebrities, the reader soon realises, that everyone is keeping secrets - and the question becomes, just how dangerous these secrets prove to be.
As the novel unfolds, Minchin is building up the tension nicely, and we know that we are rapidly moving towards a dramatic conclusion. There are sufficient secrets and plots surrounding each character so that the reader can never be sure of who is telling the truth and the suspicions lead to many dramatic lead and twists.
If "Isolation Island" was a tv show, then I've booked my place on the couch, and have the popcorn ready!

Ten celebrities put together on a remote Scottish island. Their only chance of winning is to survive two weeks completely alone, their every move filmed for the entertainment of those at home.
From the outset we can see a mixed cast, deliberately assembled to cause tension. Upon their arrival the production team throw surprises at them, waiting to see how they will cope. Our main viewpoint is that of Lauren, an investigative journalist whose obsession with exposing the truth about an A-list celebrity has almost cost her everything.
Things tick along relatively calmly, with one or two characters removed from events early doors to allow us to focus on a core group of contestants. Then one of the stars is found dead.
Tension immediately ramps up as people scramble to hide their secrets - and there’s plenty of them. With suspicion high, it only gets worse when another star is discovered dead. You’d expect this to be easily solved…but the production team have been knocked out of action (conveniently) by a major storm.
As with all natural events, they die down sooner or later. By the end of the book we have a pretty good understanding of what happened, and Lauren is left with a choice that suggests there could be more to come from this story.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this in advance of publication in exchange for my honest feedback.

A great read. This book had enough description to set the scene of the location without becoming boring. As usual for a reality tv setting there’s a good mixture of likeable and non-likeable characters. Unusually I didn’t predict the ending so a bonus there for me as a mark of a really good book. Highly recommended read.

I really wanted to like this book, it’s an interesting concept the idea of a reality show where death may be the reality. However the writing is quite cliched, lots of descriptions of how the lead character is desperate, fighting for breath etc which pale after a while. Also very cliched descriptions of the surroundings eg the sky is like a bruise.

The plot was ok, it was fairly obvious who the murderer was although the twist at the end was good.

Some things made no sense (spoilers)-

Lots of accidents happening to the participants. Were these carelessness of the the part of the reality tv company? Part of the murder? Who knows?

Realistically if someone who wasn’t already famous had written this it probably wouldn’t have been picked up by a publisher. Which saddens me as there is the basic of a great plot here and Louise Mitchen clearly had talent for writing - but overall it’s not as good as it could be.

The middle part of the story is pretty gripping though and it zips along at a good pace so an easy read

What a debut novel from Louise Minchin.A abandoned monastery on the Atlantic coast of Scotland was the amazing setting. The atmosphere that was created right from the beginning had me keen to carry on reading until the small hours. It was exceptionally well written with a very intriguing storyline. I hadn’t expected a murder to occur which really blindsided me, but certainly added to the menace. There were a lot of twist and turns with the odd red herring which added to the intrigue. I will certainly read and future novels.

This is my first Louise Minchin book. To be honest I usually stay well away from 'celebrities' who write but I was pleasantly surprised. Isolation Island was excellent. One of the many reality TV novels out at the moment it soon became obvious this was something special as we see the contestants fighting for their lives. I loved the characters. They were nice and not so nice. Almost identifiable but not quite! Very human in adversity. There were plenty of surprises and a great twist at the end. All in all a great read. Good enough to make me look up more of Louise's books. 5 stars from me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.