4.5 stars rounded up ⭐️ Stayed up to finish this one as I needed to know how it all played out. Think this may be my new favourite from Lucy Clarke and I’m sad I’m going to have to wait for her next book now for more!

Loved the Morocco setting and the beach vibes, even though I’m not a surfer I am someone who loves living on the coast and I felt drawn to all the characters who chose to set up their lives in a small Moroccan town by the sea. There is a character from NZ (whoop) which I always love any mention of NZ in books - even though they weren’t my favourite character! Lucy Clarke has a few NZ references in her books now, not sure if she has any connection to NZ but I love it!

The main character Bea runs away from the life she thinks she should have as a model, and what her mum pushed her to do. I found I connected with her need to escape and try find connections with people outside her everyday.

There is a little bit of romance in here amongst the suspense and tension, felt like this could have been developed a bit more, this is the only place where the half star is missing.

Overall, I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put this down. The twists and turns were epic. I knew it couldn’t be as straightforward as it seemed at one point and of course it wasn’t. The ending unravelled with several twists, which I can’t say much more without giving things away but it was a great ending (even though I was exhausted finishing up after midnight).

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Lucy Clarke and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Would definitely recommend getting a copy or pre-ordering for when this is released on 27th Feb. Will help those of us stuck in miserable UK winters feel a bit summery!

I liked the setting of Morrocco and Bea's adventure and the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Savannah. A gripping thriller. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

I have read several of Lucy Clarke’s books and loved them all. The Surf House didn’t disappoint. It is set in Morocco, starting in Marrakesh and going on to a surfing village called Mallah. Bea, who was on a modelling photo shoot, suddenly decides she has had enough of modelling, barely allowed to eat, staying indoors to be photographed - just existing. She leaves. After getting lost in the Souks, she is attacked by two men, then rescued by the owner of holiday accommodation. The vivid descriptions transported me to the surfing beach.
The dark undercurrent running through the book is made more real by the description of the huge waves and the surfers riding these waves. The adrenaline fix they all got from participating in dangerous sports.
A year earlier, another girl, Savannah disappears, from the same accommodation. Her brother arrives to find out where she is. As the book proceeds, the tension mounts and the story speeds up. I thought I had guessed the ending several times, but these were only red herrings thrown in. It kept me turning pages trying to find out what had happened!
Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Clarke and the publishers Harper Collins for an arc of this exciting thriller.
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Troubled model Bea walks out on a shoot in Marrakech, attracting the unwanted attention of some unsavoury men, with devastating consequences. A stranger - Marnie - comes to her aid and Bea flees with her to The Surf House, where most mysteries and trauma await her.

I enjoyed this twisty thriller. As with Lucy Clarke’s other novels this has a fantastic foreign setting. The characters were well developed (Salty, be still my heart) and it was an easy read.

3.5 stars only because I worked out one of the big ‘twists’ very early on and there was no shock factor when the truth was revealed. Still, there were plenty of other twists I didn’t get. The ending was also slightly abrupt - this may be intentional; Bea’s journey could definitely continue into a sequel (but please can Salty be in it?)

Thank you to Harper Collins UK and Netgalley for my review copy, I was delighted to read this.

I was so excited to receive this and it didn't disappoint.

A fantastic thriller from start to end, I was hooked from the first page.

Loved the characters and the location, highly recommended

I found this to be a gripping story full of twists and turns and I did not guess the ‘whodunnit’ until the last 1/4 of the story when it started to come to fruition. I really enjoyed the setting in Morocco and felt like I could visualise it really well. All the characters were well developed and I found quickly that I thought I knew who I liked and didn’t like! The story itself is far fetched and id like to think unlikely, but who knows! It made for easy reading and the pages turned quickly. LOVE the cover!

Beneath the surface, lies run deep is the tag line for The Surf House. High on the cliffs above Marrakesh sits The Surf House: an idyllic sanctuary for surfers and travellers but the idyll is built on lies. Bea is a model who finds herself in a dangerous situation and seeks sanctuary at the Surf House but after a few days, finds herself caught in a dark mystery of another traveller who went missing. I enjoyed this novel, it’s an atmospheric thriller that draws you in and will keep you entertained as the plot unfolds. It’s as if you can feel the heat of the sun and the breeze from the sea as each turn of the page embeds you deeper into the novel. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction and the author for the chance to review.

Set in a small coastal town in Morocco, The Surf House is a destination thriller from the absolute queen of writing them, Lucy Clarke. The research and work that Lucy does to transport her readers to the location she writes about is impeccable. You will be there, the tastes, the smells, the heat, the isolation of the clifftops, the oppression of the local bustling city, everything is just perfectly written and makes this thriller incredibly immersive.

I guessed one of the underlying secrets from fairly early on, and I’m not sure if that was intentional on Lucy Clarke’s part. I actually LOVED that I had worked something out because the additional reveals, the red herrings, the twists and turns, were even more shocking - I thought it had it all worked out! Not so! The unravelling was catastrophic and blind-sided me completely.

The components of five star thriller rely heavily on good setting, brilliant twists and great characterisation. I particularly enjoyed the contrast of the characters in this novel, probably Lucy’s most varied cast - they worked well together, some likeable and some not so much, and really rounded off a brilliant story.

Tense, claustrophobic and completely compelling.

Lucy Clarke does a wonderful job of making the reader see wonders of Morocco and the little town of Mallah where Bea ends up after running out of her modeling job and meeting Marnie after the incident in the alley. The Surf House may be a prime destination for surfers, but it also holds many secrets that certainly ramps up the thrill as Bea tries to pay off a blackmailer cop and find the missing Savannah for her brother, plus try to figure out what she wants to do with her life. That provides great tension and made the book hard to put down! Nice twist at the end that I kinda but didn't see coming and had a great shock factor.

This was a great thriller that was fun to read and though I am not a surfer (more of a dabbler in boogie boarding) it was easy to picture it. I think it would be fun to visit Mallah or a place like that (cause I do not want to stay at the Surf House!).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book! I will definitely keep this author on my list to see what other books I can read that she has written.

I found this book to be engaging throughout, there was a mixture of characters, some more likeable than others which caused tension. As the story unfolds it flows at quite a fast pace with a few twists thrown in.

I especially liked the destination of the Surf house in Mallah and the descriptions were very vivid for me, from the sandy dunes, the bustling town and then surfing in those amazing waves.

Overall, an enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love Lucy Clarke thrillers, so I was very excited for this ARC, and it didn’t disappont! It’s actually my favourite by her now.

One thing I love about her books is that the story always is set in a holiday destination. This time, Morocco!

Bea is at a modeling shooting there and gets into a trouble in a backstreet. A woman who works at a surf house in a bearby town rescues Bea and takes her to the surf house. There, Bea meets other staff and enjoys the beach life. But soon she figures out something is not right…

I won’t reveal too much to avoid spoilers, but I enjoyed the twists. The first half was a bit slow but the pace picks up in the second half. I couldn’t stop reading the final third! So go in blind and enjoy the ride!

But the main reason this is my favourite by the author so far is that I never felt attached to the main character of Clark’s thriller the way I did to Bea. She is lonely. Her feeling emptiness and loneliness broke my heart at different points in the book and I felt strong empathy for her.

I highly recommend this atmospheric thriller when it comes out in March. It’s a good one to take on your holiday ot get out of your reading slump!

4.5 🌟

Blackmail, secrets and a lies in another sun dappled mystery.

I am a big fan of Lucy Clarke but I found this much more predictable than her other novels. The characters of Bea and Marnie were, as ever, well written but there wasn’t enough here to immerse me in the book.

I would recommend starting here with Lucy Clarke and this way round would mean you would get the full benefit of her skill.

I love Lucy Clarke's books. They are always reliably brilliant reads, and The Surf House is up there with her best. Right from the beginning of this book I was drawn in and couldn't put it down. It follows a disillusioned model on a photoshoot in Marrakesh who ends up moving to a remote surfing community after a woman promises to help her following the loss of her passport and money in a violent robbery. She soon settles into the small but mostly welcoming community, but it isn't as idyllic as it appears once she learns that it was the last place a young woman much like herself was seen alive. I really enjoyed the setting of the book. The characters were all complex and well rounded. It had good pacing, and there were enough clues for the reader to piece together the mystery without it being a completely unrealistic shock ending (my pet hate.) I feel a bit sad actually that I read it so fast! Highly recommended.

Another suspense-in-the-sun story from an expert in the genre. This time Lucy Clarke takes us to a surf house in Morocco and does a great job of creating this setting.
As usual there's a group of characters with secrets they must hide. However, in contrast to her previous novels, these characters don't share history but become involved with each other on location.
I did guess some of what was going on, but there was plenty more to discover.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
Upon publication, I will post my review on my blog and on GoodReads.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I always enjoy a Lucy Clarke novel and The Surf House was no exception. I found it to be a very enjoyable mystery that had me hooked instantly. I really liked the descriptive nature of the locations and scenery and I could almost picture myself there. The twists at the end were fabulous and very surprising. Overall a very good mystery that I will definitely recommend.

I loved this one from Lucy, it was full of twists and it left you feeling like you couldn't believe anyone in this story. Very exciting and unputdowable. Some of the characters were not particularly nice but that just added to the tension in the story. I found Bea a little too trusting which frustrated me a little. But on the whole a great read. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

4.5 stars - This was a stunning psychological thriller from Lucy Clarke which I absolutely inhaled!

Set in a small coastal town in Morocco, with snippets in the bustling city of Marrakesh, the descriptions of the setting were so vivid and well-written - from the tastes and smells, to the humid heat and the oppressive and claustrophobic build up in the story.

Bea is a successful model in her mid-20s, travelling the world but feeling empty inside. On a shoot in Marrakesh, she decides she’s had enough and stalks off into the busy streets. Soon she is lost and has a harrowing encounter that leaves her without her bag and passport, rescued by a woman called Marnie, who brings her back to the sanctuary of her coastal holiday home, The Surf House.

But now Bea is being blackmailed over what happened in Marrakesh - and a newcomer to The Surf House is trying to find his sister who disappeared a year ago and who was last seen at The Surf House…

Such an addictive, tense, claustrophobic read! I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters were compelling - not all likeable, but well developed and intriguing. The overall feel reminded me of Our House by Louise Candlish, which had that similar slow burn of dread and question marks over who to trust, the claustrophobic holiday home setting where things are both idyllic and a nightmare at the same time.

I loved this book! I’ve read all Lucy Clarke’s other books and would say this is definitely the best one. It’s beautifully written and very atmospheric. I’d definitely it.

This was an okay read but for me something just did not gel. Bea is a good character and I enjoyed getting to know her and reading about the traumatic events that lead her to The Surf House. The other characters are not particularly likeable and they were hard to connect to but they served their role in the plot well.
There are times the plot becomes ridiculous and I could not believe what I was reading. Overall this was an okay read.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy.

I was SO excited to get an advance copy of this book, I love the way Lucy Clarke writes and The Surf House definitely hit the mark.
The descriptive way the setting was written was beautifully immersive and set the scene perfectly.
With lots of twists and unexpected turns along the way that you'd want and expect from a Lucy Clarke novel, this kept me guessing right to the end. I devoured this in a day!
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the eARC.