The Retreat by Sherri Smith is a blend of mystery/thriller genres. I like cozy mysteries and this reminded me of those books but with a suspense twist. It was a predictable and easy read to enjoy over a cup of tea. The atmosphere was well done but I absolutely hated the main characters. I found it hard to connect to any of them but then that is not the point or focus of the book. Overall, I found it to be worth reading and I look forward to reading more by this author. ( )

Katie Manning, former child star goes to The Retreat with her brother's fiance Ellie and two friends Carmen and Ariel. The highlight of the weekend is the drinking of the h ayahuasca tea. The weekend however does not go entirely to plan.

I was interested in this book and was lucky enough to win a copy in an Instagram giveaway. However the book turned out nothing like I was expecting.

The story follows the four women and what happens to them at The Retreat. All four have their own back story and what issues each of them bring with them.

I initially thought this book was going to be about a cult which was the attraction, but the retreat is just what it claims to be. The story for me was very character driven with the main action taking part at the end of the book. At times during the story I was getting bored then something would happen to regain my interest. I didn't really like any of the characters so didn't really feel a connection with them.

A disappointing read for, annoying characters and an ending which was like a slasher movie. I enjoyed small snippets in the book but overall really struggled to get on with it. ( )

The Retreat by Sherri Smith is a recommended thriller. Four women head to The Sanctuary, a wellness retreat. Will they make it out alive?

We know from the start that someone has killed multiple people, we just don't know who. The four women who head to the retreat are all connected through former child star Katie Manning. Ellie Rose, Katie's brother's fiancée, invited Katie. Katie, in turn, invited her two friends from her brief college attendance, Carmen and Ariel. All four of these women have some big secrets they want to hide, but the whole purpose of the retreat is to find themselves and inner bliss. The weekend culminates with the ceremony where all the retreat attendees drink the hallucinatory ayahuasca tea.

Smith does develop her characters to give them depth; however they all seem to be caricatures of a type of person. The whole novel is populated by unlikable and unreliable stereotypical characters. It is also relatively easy to figure out early on who is the killer, so the thrill is in reaching the conclusion and find out what happens to tie the opening scene to the story. The narrative is told through the four women who travel together to the Sanctuary, so the reader is privy to their secrets, schemes, and insecurities. All of these women are vastly different characters.

The writing is good, in spite of the fact that the plot is predictable and the characters stereotypes. There are also scenes that really serve no purpose except to be disturbing or depraved. This is an airplane book, read it to pass the time, but you won't cry if you misplace it or never finish it.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the Tom Doherty Associates.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/08/the-retreat.html ( )