Reviews

Het Resort by Sarah Pearse

madeleinebaird5's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It was quite good at the start but unfortunately it tailed off for me 

julittleton's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I realised this gem was still in my TBR pile when I received the ARC for the final book in the trilogy out this summer - The Wilds. I'm saving that one for my holiday in a couple of weeks, but this one has been on my wishlist since its release. I love the depth of characterisation Sarah Pearse brings to the Elin Warner series - her characters are layered and carefully woven into each other's history. Warner remains a complicated protagonist - torn between her career, her health and her relationships. In particular, I liked her connection to Farrah. The eerie history of the island really helps ramp up the tension throughout  - along with a hefty body count. Enjoyed this & very much looking forward to the conclusion.

joviravioli's review against another edition

1.0

This book was worse than The Sanatorium. I already knew who the murderer was in the first chapter. That says a lot. I didn’t care for the rest of the book and “finished” the book at 1%. That’s really sad. I don’t think I’ll be reading an another locked mystery book for a while…

jantonichuk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Elen is at it again. Quite frankly I find detective Warren to be a little insufferable. She states things that are plainly obvious and missing the big details. Instead of following one lead she flits around and changes direction at every new bit of evidence  

Not sure if I'll read book 3

szilvicsanyi's review against another edition

5.0

It's much better than the Sanatorium. However, the detective remains irritating and not really likeable for me. The setting is fascinating, the atmosphere is captivating and the crime mystery is just perfect. I hope that Sarah Pearse will try a new main character in her next book and then it will be amazing.

stacyrenee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

2.5

Adult
Contemporary
Mystery Thriller

Sequel to The Sanatorium

I've been trying to finish more book series lately but I lost interest in this one. It's probably my slump but I already can't remember much about this other than that it's another vacation setting with a dark past where Detective Elin needs to solve a murder mystery.

keppers_jax's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

3.0

aarireads's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

3.0

ncteixeira's review against another edition

2.0

“The Retreat”, by Sarah Pearse

 2 stars ⭐️⭐️ 

I wasn’t a fan of “The Sanatorium”, the author’s debut book, but I was curious about this one, as the setting sounded very interesting, and I wanted to see if the author’s writing and storytelling skills had improved.

Unfortunately this was very disappointing.

I don’t even think she tried that hard. 

The idea or concept were similar to the first book.

There is no depth or character development, and the storyline wasn’t that enthralling. 

I confess that I re-started the book 3 times. I should have taken it as a clue.

Perhaps there are too many characters for a book of 368 pages (hardcover edition) that is divided into to 99 chapters (plus one epilogue, plus a chapter titled “two weeks later”).

One thing is for sure: someone knows how to choose a cover.

Hardcover (Penguin Publishing Group): 368 pages

e-book (Kobo): 346 pages (default), 96k words 

audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden: 10.6 hours (normal speed)

PS. I tried the audiobook, which I borrowed from the library. Unfortunately the quality of my edition was not very good. The voice sounded as if it was confined to a small box. And the narrator was quite boring, in my opinion.

lottevanderpaelt's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25