"The Retreat" by Karen King

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I love the vacations gone wrong trope, so the blurb sparked my interest. "The Retreat" by Karen King is a slow-burn tale of revenge and betrayal set in beautiful Spain. Revenge best served cold? Not always.

The book follows a young couple named José and Eva, who have a dream to open a health retreat. After inheriting his run-down grandparents' house in South Spain, Jose worked with his girlfriend to convert the rambling villa into the beautiful place it is now. They decided to do a trial run before officially opening the place in the summer, so they offered a big discount to the first round of guests. The guests are an eclectic mix of characters: Saskia - who was once a close friend of Eva, Carlos - an estranged cousin of Jose due to a family feud, and two couples: wealthy and snobby Adrienne and Sean, and the couple Bianca, a librarian, and Nathan, a policeman.

Eva isn't entirely open about her past with her partner and is afraid that Saskia might reveal something to Jose. Meanwhile, Jose has his own secrets to worry about. When things start to go wrong - someone left the gate to the vegetable patch open, and the goats ate the vegetables, among other incidents - it seems someone has it out for them and is trying to sabotage the retreat. As mysterious incidents continue to plague their retreat, Eva and Jose find themselves caught in a web of secrets, lies, and suspicion.

With plenty of suspects to choose from and red herrings aplenty, one is left wondering who the guilty party is. I enjoyed the sense of impending danger. The book is written in the third person and alternates between Carlos, Jose, and Eva's perspectives, occasionally featuring chapters in the first point of view of the villain.

I loved the setting, the premise, and the writing, but a couple of things felt far-fetched and made me raise an eyebrow, such as the cause of the family feud, the motives, and the secret Eva hid from her partner. While I understand the roots of the feud, they seem to take it too far. As for Eva, she should have been more honest with her partner. We know almost at the start what the secret is, and while I understand where she is coming from, it isn't something she should have kept mum about.

Although the book was slow to start, it still kept me intrigued throughout. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the activities and found the idea of the workshops fresh. I also liked José and Eva and admired the work they put in to fulfill their dreams. I didn't guess the identity of the villain(s), which is also a plus. It is a resort I won't mind visiting, without the incidents of course... I enjoyed the book greatly and definitely recommend it.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc.  All opinions are my own.

* For more info about the book: "The Retreat" by Karen King