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.

I hate reality TV shows, yet seem to have read so many thrillers based around them lately. This was a dark, sinister, tense twisted tale which kept me guessing.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

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I was really excited by the premise of this book as it sounded like it could be a modern day "and then there were none". Unfortunately, this didn't quite meet my expectations.

The story started out strong by setting the scene but I felt that a lot of the characters secrets and motivations were exposed quite early in the book and that the true explanation behind the plot lacked depth.

If you enjoy watching "I'm a celebrity: get me out of here" and want to explore a similar setting with a sinister plot then this could be the book for you.

Big Brother meets The Traitors in this excellent debut thriller from Louise Minchin. A mixed group of celebrities, some more famous than others are left in a remote Island with only an abandoned monastery for shelter. Completely alone with only a remote production team giving orders, life becomes uncomfortable very quickly and when someone is near killed, nerves are shattered. A hierarchy is soon formed and friendships are forged as indeed are enemies. Food is scare and tempers frayed and when a huge storm descends on the Island their troubles really begin. Communication is lost and lives are in serious danger from more than one source. Will everyone make it out alive? What an excellent story that was a definite page turner that had me hooked. Some of the characters were somewhat annoying but isn’t that always the case in these productions? It’s almost as though Louise had certain people in mind when creating these fictional people. Thoroughly recommend this debut and hope there is more to come.

The modern equivalent of the Roman Circus is the game show, especially celebrities subjected to ‘torture’. Death is not usually on the modern menu. Contestants are paid to participate, eliminated by public vote, but probably hope that their profile will be raised and their career boosted. The main variation in the “Isolation Island” format is that the winner will be guaranteed a personally tailored prize package worth a million pounds which will fulfil their greatest wish – “Answered Prayers” as the Production team has named it. The losers get nothing. Who gets eliminated and when is determined by the Production team, according to unspecified criteria. Ten assorted people are delivered to an ancient monastery on an island off the west coast of Scotland in late November, i.e. cold and mostly dark (average temperature 10C, sunrise 08.30, sunset 16.00). Log fires and oil lamps, woollen Monks’ habits, restricted food. Lauren, our principal character, is an investigative journalist researching a Me Too story about Hollywood action hero Nate Stirling, who is one of the participants, which is why she is here. The others are a TV star, a millionaire angel-investor business woman and TV star , a young pop star, three sports people and two young girls who form an influencer duo. All have been told to keep their reasons secret or they will be eliminated. Having been dumped on the beach they are abandoned, for there are no members of production. Already they face major problems and it becomes clear that there has been no Health and Safety assessment and that serious accidents or even deaths are likely. Which soon becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
New authors are advised to write about what they know, and this Author is a TV presenter/journalist and was a contestant on “I’m A Celebrity” in November 2021, when it was based in a Welsh Castle, so she definitely followed that advice. This story is well written but a bit melodramatic. It is not clear how the contestants were chosen, which is important to the plot because Lauren is only there because Nate is but how did she know that, and how did she get herself included? None of the characters are particularly likeable and Lauren is not very relatable. The Production team are clearly incompetent, if not actively criminal, so I don’t find the early stages of the story believable. It picks up when the storm strikes and the first death happens, becoming more of a murder-mystery. The final solution is quite surprising although the clues are there. It’s quite a fast read and moderately thrilling.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Being a lover of reality TV shows I just had to read this book. The location was very unusual, reminding me of I’m a Celebrity in Wales, and it made for an atmospheric setting. It took me a while to work out who was who, but naturally you needed a lot of characters for this book to work. It did keep me guessing throughout and the twist at the end was unexpected and it made up for some of the slower pace earlier in the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for letting me read and review this book. 3.5 ⭐️

Isolation Island is a 3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4⭐️.
Lauren is on a remote Scottish island, she has signed up to be in a reality show and she is with nine other contestants, some she knows some she doesn’t and one she hopes to expose and bring down while she is there. Some of the contestants are on the way up in life and some aren’t but all will battle hard to achieve the top prize. The prize no one knows what it is as all contestants have chosen a different prize and are not allowed to talk about it. Trials come fast at the beginning and two contestants don’t make the next day. Then one of the contestants dies, how and why needs to be found as another is found in their bed deceased. Lauren tries to find out what is happening but is she fed the right story?
This was a good concept for a book I just wished I’d connected with Lauren more. The book was slow going over the first few chapters as you get to know the contestants and I did struggle around halfway to pick the book up but it did improve for the last third and the ending I didn’t see coming at ell.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Headline for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
A highly enjoyable popcorn thriller but I found the characters a little empty. As in, none of them really stood out or jumped off the page.
The format was bad with numbers on every line and at the end of every sentence (assuming it was the ARC upload to netgalley) so reading was a bit jarring.
Overall though, I enjoyed it but it's one not to take too seriously. A locked room/island mystery with an ending I didn't really see coming but not overly shocking.
Also ... was the production coming in on it or were they all just really bad at their jobs?

This sounded like a really fun premise (if a little overdone recently), and I liked the author so was anticipating a good read.

Sadly it's a DNF for me. The writing style was so frustrating - the first few chapters are virtually all description, backstory, exposition, with virtually no dialogue. I want to get to know the characters, not hear them reported about. There's obvious gaps in the backstory to allow for intrigue, but these came across as plot holes or clumsy Chekhov's gun placements.

And I found it impossible to engage with anyone here at all. So many caricatures of existing celebrities, I just wasn't enjoying myself at all. Disappointed.

Ten celebrities arrive at a remote Scottish island to take part in a reality TV show, where they are left isolated and have to survive, with the chance of winning the prize of their dreams. When one contestant winds up dead it becomes clear they are competing for much more than the prize.

I have read quite a few reality TV survival thrillers recently. I have enjoyed the majority and this one sounded compelling so I wanted to give it a go. The story starts strongly and my interest was held while being introduced to the characters and the game. There are quite a few celebrities to remember, with Lauren an investigative journalist being the main character. I found with a few of the celebrities, I was getting mixed up between them as they seemed quite similar. I also found that after a little while my interest started to dip and the story didn’t flow as well as it did at the start.

The atmosphere was described well and I did get a sense of eeriness. I enjoyed the remote location and trying to work out the contestant’s secrets. This was definitely an intriguing read but unfortunately not one of my favourites in this trope. Most likely because I have read many now and it takes a lot to stand out and offer something new. I can see a lot of people enjoying this who haven’t read similar books recently. I would be interested to pick up another by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of reality TV shows so I wondered how this book would capture my imagination. However I was pleasantly surprised as I think the author brilliantly captured the type of personalities that take part in these shows and what extremes they are prepared to go to. Enjoyable quick read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

10 celebrities, a reality tv show & an old monks settlement on an isolated island in Scotland with not a soul around & no means of getting back to the mainland what can possibly go wrong!!
Meet Lauren an investigative reporter known for reporting on some of the biggest cases on tv & Nate a Hollywood actor who is mega famous & also known to be a philanthropist. Lauren decided to take part in this reality show as unbeknown to Nate & the other celebrities, Nate is Lauren's next big scoop, so she feels this show will bring her closer to him & get him to admit to things he has done. However, not is all as it seems with the show & strange things start happening, then to top it all off a major storm hits both the mainland & the island leaving the celebrities stranded with no form of communication & no way of leaving & this leads to murders,betrayal & secrets been revealed. Can the celebrities trust each other? Who is the murderer? will all of them get off the island in one peace? And is any of this linked to Lauren's case?
I couldn't put this book down I needed to know what happened next & I devoured it in a day!
This is a great 1st novel for Louise Minchin & I would definitely recommend it to fans of thrillers

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
A locked in read featuring a Big Brother reality type show but with lots of clever twists.
All the contestants have an end game when they arrive on Isolation Island but some of them will not leave it alive.
A quick fast paced atmospheric read that keeps you turning the pages.

You’d kill to be them, they’d kill to win.

When 10 celebs are given the opportunity to take part in a reality show with the prize being something money can’t buy what could possible go wrong? They are all taken to a remote island and left to fend for themselves, personalities and egos soon start to appear. Things soon take a deadly turn and nobody knows who can be trusted.

I enjoyed this book especially the setting. A spin on a locked room story and I read it in a day. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and good luck to the author on its release.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publication Date - 12/09/2024

#IsolationIsland
#LouiseMinchin

Isolation Island by Louise Minchin

I was apprehensive when I picked this up, worried it would be just another game show thriller story, but I am glad to say I was proven wrong. Minchin's debut novel was highly enjoyable, fast-paced and gripping, so I cannot recommend it enough!

This book is set on an eerily remote island in Scotland, and Minchin does a great job of building the ominous atmosphere not only with the setting of the abandoned monastery, but with the matching hooded robes our characters are forced to wear. the sudden disappearances of Kez and Frank then, later, the devastating storm. Right from the start, it is made clear that the character's safety may potentially be at risk and that Production do not seem willing to intervening, the tension builds with each accident until eventually there is a seemingly inevitable death. As soon as the body is found, everything spirals and the story becomes a web of secrets which we as the readers have to unwind, and this part of the book was definitely the most compelling. The twists throughout this book were really well written and had me furiously reading, desperate to find out what happened next.

I enjoyed exploring the world and the characters through investigator Lauren's eyes; her backstory and her motives for joining the TV show were heart-wrenching but definitely had the desired effect of having us readers root for her every step of the way. Each of the characters were incredibly well composed and life-like, with their own individual personalities, motives and secrets. Even Kez or Frank, who leave the island pretty early on, were completely formed individuals who we got to know and feel for (I worried about Frank for a good 3/4 of the book). The author did a great job at making us hate Nate, yet allowing us to see him from Lauren's POV really highlighted the way narcissists operate and showed us the horrific way people can use influence, fame or attractiveness to manipulate the narrative in their favour and escape consequences. The way Nate treats Lauren, Jude and the girls is appalling, yet we see how a person can hide their true self behind a facade, which was scary to watch unfold and had me angrily glaring at my phone whilst reading!

Overall, I rated Isolation Island a 4 out of 5 stars. This was a very fun read, even if it did take me through a rollercoaster of emotions. I would highly recommend picking this up, and I can say for certain I will be looking forward to seeing what Louise Minchin writes next.

I love a locked room thriller and throw in a reality TV element and I'll definitely want to read it. Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for providing me with a digital copy for review.

Ten celebrities are brought together for a reality TV show where they must spend two weeks on a remote Scottish Island, live like monks and try to survive. After several near misses the contestants soon realise that the production team's Health and Safety protocols are severely lacking or is there a killer in their midst?

I thought this was a solid debut novel from Louise Minchin. I found the TV element combined with the desolate setting made this a pressure cooker of a thriller. It had me gripped from beginning to end and I did not guess the outcome. I also enjoyed the cast of characters. An interesting mix of personalities to make a few sparks fly.

Overall I found this a fast paced and twisty read, full of suspense and atmosphere. I'm looking forward to reading more from Louise Minchin.