The Retreat

Horror writer Lucas Radcliffe goes to a writing retreat to work on his latest novel. He gets to know some of the guests, and the retreats owner, Julia Marsh. Julia’s husband died two years ago trying to save their daughter (Lily) who was thought to have drowned but her body was never found. Lucas becomes attracted to Julia and wants to help out so he secretly hires a private detective to look into Lily’s disappearance. But strange things are happening. The townsfolk believe in the old tale of the Red Widow who cursed the town and is said to take a child as a sacrifice every 35 years. Is this what happened to Lily?

I really enjoyed this captivating story. I was curious to see how everything would turn out. I liked the setting of the show more retreat, with its secret passages, and the woods nearby. It gave the story an eerie atmosphere. The characters were interesting. Another fine read by Mark Edwards. show less

What a fun, creepy, twisty read. In a sleepy Welsh town, a child disappears every 35 years - taken, the townspeople believe, to satisfy a curse by the Red Witch who haunts the local woods. Newcomers Tom and Julia don‰ÃƒÂ›Ã‚ªt believe in such things. One day they lose sight of their daughter, Lily, while walking in the woods near the river. Convinced that the child has fallen in, Tom jumps in after her and drowns. But Lily‰Ûªs body is never found. Julia‰Ûªs grief over this horrific tragedy is compounded by the belief that her daughter is still alive.

I couldn‰Ûªt put it down until the end, I had to know what happened to Lily. I read it very quickly, and enjoyed the ending, despite the need to suspend disbelief show more a little. The author would probably not enjoy this comparison, but to me this novel had a kind of charming, old-fashioned vibe, like a slightly darker Nancy Drew mystery. show less

"The Retreat" is probably an interesting horror/mystery story. It has a lot of the right elements: a child thought dead but who we know to be abducted, the dark dark woods in the dark dark valley in a dark dark Wales, a set of writers at a retreat, trying to write but finding themselves haunted and a main character with a tragic past (of course) who has just had a hit with a novel about a monster abducting and eating children.

I settled down for a few evenings of enjoying a creepy mystery in a warm room on dark cold nights and then found that the main impact of the book was to send me to sleep in my chair.

I attribute this mainly to the narrator, Simon Mattacks. Except when he is doing Welsh accents, at which he is quite adept, he show more narrates with a uniform cadence of the kind used by TV presenters on programs like "Escape To The Country": blokish, wannabe-charming, inoffensive rhythms that always trigger a mix of distrust and disdain in me, awakening my inner-Northerner who then mutters "wimp" and "smug git" in my ears.

I returned the book to audible and got a refund. I may come back to "The Retreat" in ebook format but I won't be listening to any more books narrated by Simon Mattacks.

Those without my prejudices may enjoy Simon Mattacks' narration. Click on the SoundCloud link below to judge for yourself.

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/441101148" params="color=#ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%" height="300" iframe="true" /] show less

Creepy and mysterious!

I initially picked up this book because it was about a MC who was a writer, and because it was written by Mark Edwards. Loved everything I've read from him so far.

It turned really quickly from creepy, to mysterious, and then OMG! for me really fast. A quick read that'll keep you turning the pages. The author really knows how to build suspense. Classic tale of people not being as they seem, and everytime you think you've got it figured out, well, the author throws another curveball at you. The twists and turns just keep coming.

It's a story about a supposedly haunted writer's retreat, tied in with the story of a missing little girl. Everything comes together at the end and is explained, which I appreciated.

Less one show more star because though the story was great, for some reason I didn't get attached to any of the characters.

Will continue to read more of Mr. Edwards' works in the future! show less

Lucas Radcliffe is struggling to finish his horror novel. Well more accurately he is struggling to get any of it done. He returns to the town of his childhood and checks in to a newly opened writers retreat owned by Julia, a sad and lonely woman who has lost her family 2 years prior. There are only a few other writers staying at the retreat and it seems peaceful and comfortable enough other than the strange noises and occasional singing that can be heard coming from what should be an empty room. Lucas can't really focus on his novel as he gets more involved in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Julia's daughter and the supposed town witch in the woods who will steal a child every 35 years.
This was an intriguing mystery that show more hooked me right away, although as it drew closer to what I thought would be the conclusion it did slow down a bit. Ultimately it delivered a satisfying ending.


I received an advance copy for review. show less

After reading the fabulous The Devil's Work and The Lucky Ones was I really looking forward to reading The Retreat. The creepy cover and blurb added to my eagerness. A missing child and an old house with secrets? Count me in!

The Retreat is one of those books that have all the ingredients I like when it comes to thrillers, a mystery, a group of people that don't know each other and a place with a history of troublesome events. Unfortunately, the story never got more than OK for me which trust me bothered me quite a lot since it has everything I usually like. However, I found myself not really engrossed in the story. Yes, I wanted to know the truth and the characters were not bad. I just never felt that heart-pounding intensity that the show more previous two books had, especially The Devil's Work. It never got creepy or even truly surprising. It's just OK. I liked the book, but I did not love it. If you are easily scared is this book perhaps more of a hit.

However, the writing is good as usual. The story has a flow to it, and the present story with a connection to past events was interesting and the very last part is good and I will even say that the epilogue is great. The epilogue felt so deviously good that I did feel like the book at least ended on a high note!

I want to thank Thomas and Mercer for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! show less

Lucas is a novelist. One of his books actually hit the bestseller list, but now he's struggling to write his next story. An advance has already been paid to him, but he can't seem to find his muse. Knowing he needs to get with it and present a finished manuscript to his agent, he travels to a writer's retreat in Wales where he lived as a child. He believes some peace, quiet and seclusion will help him put words on the page. He discovers that the widow who runs the retreat, Julia, lost a child and her husband in a freak accident three years ago. Julia is convinced her daughter didn't drown in the river like her husband because they never found the body. The longer Lucas stays at the retreat, the more strange things start happening...and show more the stronger his sense of dread becomes. Lily is not the first child to go missing. And perhaps local folklore and rumors have more truth to them than he would like to believe.

I loved this story! It's spooky and suspenseful vibe definitely kept my attention from beginning to end. The suspense builds slowly, weaving through the tale like morning fog through a forest. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, more details would be revealed making me doubt my theory. Great story!

I listened to the audio book version of this novel. Narrated by Simon Mattacks, the audio is just shy of 9 1/2 hours long. Mattacks reads at a steady pace with good inflection. I have hearing loss but was easily able to hear and understand the entire book.

Mark Edwards is the author of several thrillers including Follow You Home and Magpies. The Retreat is the first book by Edwards that I have read. I enjoyed it so much that I will definitely be reading more of his writing!

**I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less