A review by kdickerson38
The Retreat by Sarah Pearse

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

  • Second book in the Detective Elin Warner series but can be read as a stand-alone.
  • Tropes/themes:
    • Whodunnit
    • Multiple POVs
    • Short chapters
    • Isolated setting
    • Past traumas resurfacing
    • Revenge
  • Atmospheric and eerie. 
  • Very twisty.
  • I definitely liked this one more than the first book in the series. 
  • A lot of characters to keep straight. 
  • Felt dragged out at some points but the amount of overall suspense mostly made up for that. 
  • Not a huge fan of the writing style but it’s hard to pinpoint why. 
  • Ends on a cliffhanger. 
  • Content warnings:
    • Death
    • Murder
    • Violence
    • Child abuse
    • Child death
    • Grief
    • Mental illness
    • Stalking
    • Infidelity
    • Toxic relationship 
    • Toxic friendship