Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three couples rent an isolated luxury cabin for the weekend. It seems like the perfect opportunity to relax and escape the everyday stresses of high-powered jobs, parenthood and modern life. However, they didn't bank on quite how remote the cabin is...especially with a violent storm on the way. Sinister elements from the past of the cabin - and its current residents - soon begin to surface. And there is no escape.

Unger does a brilliant job of building the tension throughout this book - there's lots of creepy scene-setting, horrific back-story and eerie descriptions of the gathering storm. Later on in the book, once the action begins to ramp up, I was reading this with my heart in my mouth!

The characters are interesting, although not very nice! I spent a long time trying to work out who was the nicest as they would be my key suspect! I totally failed to predict what was coming though, so kudos to Unger for keeping me guessing. I particularly disliked Mako - with his controlling nature and manipulative generosity - and Cricket, but there weren't too many likeable ones. Still, I think this is deliberate to better reveal the relationships between the characters and to bring out past tensions.

I liked that different chapters in the book were told from different perspectives - it was clever that the story was revealed slowly this way and the characters started to make sense in their attitudes towards each other. The addition of Bracken;s point of view (the owner of the cabin) was an engaging addition - although he's another character you might love to hate!

You'll enjoythis if you like books by Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware or Catherine Cooper. Think claustrophobic settings, intense situations and constantly trying to work out where the danger lies!

What could this have been if the authoress had concentrated to only one or two of the several motifs presented in this novel! I would happily read the novel based only on the Hanna-Mako sibling relationship and that particular dark incident during the party when they were young. But we have several arcs simply going nowhere - while the very absurd “nature vs. nurture” big motif is everywhere and with every page it gets more illogical and unbelievable and its big morality message got lost in the plot.

What could be more restful, more restorative, than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, complete with spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s loving and generous tech-mogul brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It’s his birthday gift to Hannah and includes their spouses and another couple. The six friends need this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R, far from the chatter and pressures of modern life.

An opening like that in the genre of thriller means it will be anything but relaxing, right? Theis book has multiple POV's with past and present storylines. If you do not enjoy this style of writing, I suggest you skip. While I enjoyed this book and like Lisa Unger, overall, it was not her best work, IMO. I felt that the characters were undeveloped and it was a little far-fetched.

Thank you to #Netgalley, the author, and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for NY honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This book was a slow read for me, I enjoyed the storyline but found some of it was more info than I needed to enjoy the story. It was all over the place and contained more people than necessary. I find the idea of stories around dna are interesting as it’s an unknown concept. Sometimes people turn out to be completely different from whatever ancestry they believe they are and I can imagine the stress of finding relatives that are related by blood but unknown.

It was definitely not my favourite book by this author but it was worth a read.

I love a locked room mystery so the premise about six family/friends enjoying a weekend in a secluded luxury cabin in the woods really appealed to me.
Being my first Lisa Unger book, I was a tad disappointed as I've heard great things about her books but this was just ok for me mostly because there numerous storylines, alot of characters to try wrap my head around and I felt the motive was lacking. I also feel the need for some characters in the book were unnecessary and felt they were just added to create a mysterious feel but didn't really tie in with the story in the end.
I suggest giving this one a go for yourself to see what your thoughts are though!

ok so this book was super hard for me to get through and am bummed about that bc it sounded sooo good and i wanted to like it

so there were soooo many POVs and storylines that at time it made it hard to keep up and remember it all and what goes with what

so the good thing was is that it kept you guessing but the ending was not as good as i was hoping for after the long drawn out parts in this book

this book def gave the real feel of a trapped in vibe where you need to survive
great atmosphere

I was able to read this book as an ARC from NetGalley and I really wanted to read this book so I am so glad that I got to, sad it wasnt all i wanted it to be but i bet alot of other readers will like this book. You know just bc it is not for one person doesnt mean a bunch of other will not like it also.
The above review is my own and was honest and voluntary.

Lisa Unger employs a trope that's always been popular in the crime-thriller genre: a group of characters set out for what's supposed to be a relaxing break in an idyllic location, only to find themselves isolated and threatened by malevolent forces. Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is a well-executed example of the format, with a twisty backstory, plenty of existing and developing relationship tensions between the characters, and bucketloads of suspense as the story reaches its thrilling climax.

I'd recommend Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six to any reader who enjoys multi-layered intrigue-thrillers, family dramas and characters with complex motivations.

My thanks to the author, Lisa Unger, publisher Legend Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this engrossing title.

Family is very touchy subject for some people, especially the characters in this book, about like my feelings for this story. I felt it was a very interesting take on how our DNA can affect us and the things that we do, but at times it felt a bit much. I found this story to be one that I couldn't wait to finish reading, but now that I'm done I'm kind of like meh. I wanted to like it more than I did. I feel like the character of Hannah was probably the most developed, but she still fell very flat at times to me, especially at the end when we were tying up all the numerous loose ends that had been weaved throughout the book. I did enjoy Henry as well, but it felt almost completely unnecessary to go into his parts of the novel most of the time. The book was a decent enough thriller, and for some new to the genre it might be a fantastic read. I have just certainly read more entertaining and thought provoking thrillers in my time so it just didn't fulfill all my wishes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Six people go to a secluded mansion far from their real lives. By the time they leave, alliances will have flipped, their will be death, and nothing will be what it initially seemed.

Lisa Unger wrote this book. She included too many plot lines for my preference, but it was still enjoyable. You’ll definitely have to suspend disbelief a few times, though.

I feel like the whole "cabin with friends but someone dies" trope is overdone now but this book was incredibly well-written and infinitely more entertaining than some of the others.

This was a super well done locked-room mystery. The story is told from multiple points of view, which keeps you turning the pages late into the night. I really enjoyed the setting and the fast pace. I thought the twists were great and I’m definitely excited to read more from this author!

An interesting, yet predictable read. With advances in science, we are able to uncover truths that some would rather remain hidden. This book is written from multiple points of view including the 3 couples renting the cabin, the owner of the rental, and two other characters who appear to be a second story line. A seemingly relaxing trip to a secluded cabin seems to be what these three couples need, but drama begins to unfold within the group. Without giving too much away, this book allows the reader to put the puzzle together piece by piece. It was a quick and enjoyable read.

Unfortunately I had to dnf the book. I was really looking forward to her new book and a fast paced, interesting thriller. But I didn’t connect to the characters and I had such a hard time getting into it. I hate not finishing books but this one got harder and harder for me to pick it up again!

🌲 This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Some parts I enjoyed, and some parts were strange and/or uninteresting. I think the premise was great, but too much of the plot was over-the-top and unbelievable in my opinion. And I thought the story felt a bit unfocused, like it was trying to be too many things at once.

🌳 Secluded location stories are usually quite thrilling for me. I love them. Sadly, this one didn’t deliver. It took me a long time to finish this book because I just wasn’t engaged.

Thank you @NetGalley and Legend Press for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. DNF at 40%. I am usually a fan of Lisa Unger’s, but I just could not get through this one.

I received an advance reader copy of this bookto read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is a twisty-turney page Turner sith multiple POV. There were two main stories to this book that interwove towards the end and kept me reading on to find out how they came together. Mako and Hannah are siblings, and when Mako books an all paid for getaway to a secluded cabin for them, their partners and their family friend Cricket (and her boyfriend) the story starts to unravel. Seemingly happy relationships are brought under a microscope and secrets rear their ugly heads. Bracken is the owner of the Cabin and has a secret himself. When a storm suddenly rages, one of the party goes missing and ghostly sightings occur - this book became hard to pull away from. I really liked Hannahs character and determination in this book and Henry my heart went out to!

Isolated parties where they might not all make it out alive is a tied and true trope, and Lisa Unger brings the chills in Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six.

A fun read that will keep readers engaged and invested in these three couples and their weekend away gone awry.

This book just wasn't for me sadly. I felt like the characters were bland and the plot boring. Maybe I have just read too many thriller books but the plot was predictable, even for me so never seems to guess the ending of books.

No. Uho. No. No way.

Sometimes I really enjoy her books but lately, the last one and now this one is a uht oh. No.

It didn’t rock my boat, I wasn’t scared in the cabin, I slept fine!

I know they say you should not judge a book by its cover, but the title of the book didn’t exactly lend itself to the highest of expectations, mainly because the cabin in the woods sub-genre is so overcrowded. But how wrong I was as, rather than being just another irreverent mashup of classic thriller and horror trappings, Lisa Unger’s deft alternation between different time settings and seemingly unrelated characters for much of the book gave this novel an edge over every other cabin-set thriller I’ve ever read, turning it into very much its own thing, despite a handful of by-the-numbers set-pieces. But those set pieces never undermined the story, as the intricate and intriguing plot and generally surprising twists and turns keep the reader fully invested in the characters and their motivations and implications in the grand scheme of things.

The book follows three couples who head off to a luxurious cabin in the woods for a relaxing weekend break. The holiday is a gift from Hannah’s loving and generous tech mogul brother for her birthday, but the quiet weekend soon turns into the worst laid plan ever, as a deadly storm is brewing, there’s something decidedly off about the rental host, and the six friends each have their own complicated pasts, with secrets that run literally blood deep, all gradually bubbling to the surface during their stay, leaving Hannah questioning just how well she knows her brother, her own husband, and if she can trust her best friend, Cricket, and the new boyfriend she’s brought in tow.

What sets this novel apart from its counterparts is the heavy emphasis placed on an unexpectedly intriguing genealogical thread that is cleverly woven into the plot, opening the door to a thought-provoking meditation on people’s origins and why we are the way we are. This is bolstered by a cleverly plotted storyline that deviates into multiple timelines that do a fantastic job at keeping the reader eager to figure out where all the roads will ultimately lead. Add to this a diverse cast of characters and you’ve got the perfect whodunit, as the different layers are slowly revealed to show each character’s true colours.

Such a complex, off-kilter technique is never easy to pull off, as it can so easily detract from the core story, but Unger uses some cleverly disciplined and deceptive plot devices to really draw the reader in and keep you guessing right up until the final reveal.

The cabin setting could quite easily have been any other location but it worked here with the addition of some intimidating backstory for the cabin where they are staying. While most stories set in such remote locations tend to overdo it when it comes to no phone signal and the like to make it impossible for the protagonists to get help, Unger does a great job of economising her use of technical glitches, and when they do occur, they are much more believable than they typically are, and a lot of situations that might initially seem far-fetched end up having very good explanations.

In short, do not be put off by the well-worn setting and familiar-sounding narrative beats, because Unger spins a tale that is calculatingly compelling, and readers will find themselves well and truly engrossed by the sum of all the book’s parts, especially the sui generis inclusion of a fascinating meditation on how much of human nature is inherited, which forges so much extra mileage out of an initially straightforward premise.