The Resort
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Sara Ochs

I requested a digital and audio advanced readers copy from NetGalley, Sourcebooks and RB Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: A searing vacation thriller set on a remote island in Thailand following two mysterious women, a charismatic group of expats, and the one murder poised to bring their paradise crashing down.

Welcome to paradise. We hope you survive your stay...

There are three rules to follow during a vacation at the famous Koh Sang Resort

1 – Leave the past behind.

When Cass sets foot on the coast of Thailand's world-famous party island, she's searching for an escape. With dark secrets following her every move, Koh Sang becomes the perfect place to hide.

2 - Always be careful of who you trust.

Now, years later, Cass is a local dive instructor alongside the Permanents, a group of expats who have claimed the island as their own. The Permanents don't linger on who they were before the island. Simply because, like Cass, they all have something to outrun.

3 – If someone discovers who you really are, run.

But suddenly, a dive student is found dead and paradise comes crashing down. Because this isn't the first mysterious death on the island, and it won't be the last. Someone knows who Cass is and they're ready to make sure justice is finally served.

My Thoughts: This was an interesting read. The twists are late and when they start coming, you are like oh my with a little whiplash action going on. Think of it, who flees to a hideaway island, far from where you actually live, and immediately trust others as if your life depended on it? Only a person who truly has something to hide from. I had really high expectations for this book and was slightly disappointed. Not a bad book, just not what I had hoped it would be. You do have to suspend belief a little bit, maybe a bit much. However, for a debut novel, this was really well written. Trigger warnings of mental illness, suicide, self-harm, and pedophilia - none of these warnings were dominant, just by mention.

The story is primarily narrated by Cass, dive instructor, and Brooke, social media influencer. There are also a ton of supporting characters and with this comes the secrets, deceit, lies, and a dangerous cat and mouse game of whodunit. We start off a little slow and somewhat confusing until we get the character layout straight. The characters were well developed with depth, mystery, and were intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, twisty, thought-provoking, and creative. Now the ending was a twisty madness of fabulous, definitely worth navigating through the characters and their secrets.

Overall, this was an enjoyable listen/read that I would recommend to other readers.

The Resort by Sara Ochs was an absolute rollercoaster from beginning to end! Highly recommend and will be purchasing for library collections.

A twisty mystery involving multiple deaths, two girls with past connections, secrets, and an unexpected ending. Some surprises wer ok, but not as shocking as they could have been.

Incredible thriller! Definitely didn’t see the big twist coming, let alone most of the small ones! The author really captured the setting and characters well.

Step into paradise—or is it a facade? Welcome to the Koh Sang Resort, nestled on Thailand's renowned party island, where relaxation meets intrigue.

Cass enjoys an idyllic existence, instructing diving enthusiasts amidst the breathtaking waters of Koh Sang. Meanwhile, Brooke, a social media influencer with a vast following, adds her perspective to the narrative through alternating chapters. With a cast of intriguing side characters and a web of deception thickening as bodies accumulate, the story navigates toward a gripping, tension-laden climax. Despite its debut status, the narrative shines with commendable prose, occasionally veering into young adult themes while remaining thoroughly engaging. And as another reviewer aptly noted, the epilogue delivers sheer brilliance!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my eArc of The Resort. One of my favorite things is reading about vacation destinations. When I read the description of this book I was 50/50 on whether I would love this one.

✅ vacation destination
✅ murder in paradise
✅ whodunnit vibes

I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters, and yes, there are a few. I loved that they all came from some place different and they all had their own twisted secrets. This story had its twists and turns and I was always questioning these characters. As quick as this story unraveled it also had some very slow parts. I was losing interest at one point, but glad I kept on with it. The ending felt a bit rushed, but it was very entertaining.

I recommend this for a quick pool side or vacation read. If you like a character driven story then this one will be for you!

—>Did I also pick this book based on the cover, I did. I’m a sucker for a gorgeous, bright cover.

My thanks to Sourcebooks/Landmark, Sara Ochs and Netgalley.
I would have sworn on a stack of Stephen King and Clive Barker books that I had already reviewed this book. But, turns out I'm very much mistaken!
I don't remember much about this book. I do recall being really frustrated with these characters.
This book was unfortunate enough to be read by me while I was jumping through hoops. That's how I think of my hospital surgeries anymore. Just hoops.
With surgery comes days of painkillers. For me, painkillers mean not only relief, but also the ability to speed through books that I enjoy, and yet not remember much at all!😜
Yay?!
I couldn't tell you anyone's name, but I did like the book. Barely.

This book was alright! I enjoyed the premise but found it to be a little disorganized. I enjoyed the characters though so it helped me read this book. Thank you to Netgalley, Sarah Ochs and Sourcebooks for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 star rating overall but rounded up to 3 for Goodreads. This caught my eye on NetGalley and as someone who loves mysteries I wanted to give this one a try. Unfortunately it missed the mark for me. It’s an intriguing and interesting story but it didn’t click for me and while the surprise twist of the epilogue was well done and fit the story, I hated it. Overall, I don’t think I’m the target audience for this read.

Koh Sang Resort in Thailand is truly a paradise. But, among the expats who work there, there’s an undercurrent of secrets and unrest. There have also been several deaths on the island that have been ruled accidental but still seem suspicious. As the story builds the reader is drawn into the beauty of the resort as well as the lives of the various characters.

The Resort is a slow burn that builds to an unexpected and twisty climax. It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel. Ms Ochs has woven together a variety of characters with the backdrop of a lush tropical island. Using two points of view and a wealth of secrets, The Resort is a fast-paced thriller to the very end. While I enjoyed the setting, the author’s descriptions, and the variety of characters, However, I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for any of the players. By and large they are difficult to understand and, moreover, it was difficult to be empathetic and that somewhat tempered my enjoyment of the book. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

This is a story about every single day being a vacation… until they aren’t anymore.

I liked this one well enough- I love it when books plot out awful things in beautiful settings. Plus, the ending was a bold move, which I always like! That being said it wasn’t a super impactful read, and a couple weeks later I’ve forgotten most of the plot points.

3.5 rounded to 4 🖤

Thank you so much @netgalley & @bookmarked & @recordedbooks for the e & audio copies!

1.5 stars rounded down. Honestly I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book. It was a slower build but I was interested and wanted to know what was going on. The last third was not good for me. I personally did not like any of the reveals, I felt like they were all offensive and I did not like the motivation behind anything. It was extremely frustrating to read, and not in a good way. I truly just have so many issues with this book and will likely not read from this author again even though I enjoyed a majority of it.

This was an interesting take on a locked-island mystery. A bit predictable, but lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed the island scenery, of course, but I also enjoyed the characters - most of whom were unreliable narrators.

I thought the author did a good job of handling such a large cast of characters. Often times, when there are multiple characters (and multiple point-of-views) things can get confusing. The characters are sometimes written too similar.

That wasn't the case with THE RESORT. This would make for a fun summer beach read.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an e-copy of THE RESORT to review.

I rate THE RESORT four out of five stars.

Slow start but then I could not put this book down. I wish there was a little more explanations and points of view of different characters but twisty to the very last word! A sequel from Neil would be exciting.

I thought this was a really good book and great read especially if you are into mysteries. This kept me on my toes and was a book that I wanted to read again and again. It was a great thriller and worth the read.

A fun, twisty read to take you away to the tropics! A vacation thriller set on a remote island in Thailand following two mysterious women, a charismatic group of expats, and the one murderer.

There are three rules to follow at the Koh Sang Resort:
1 – Leave the past behind
2 – Always be careful of who you trust
3 – If someone discovers who you really are, run

A dive student is found dead and this lovely paradise comes to an end.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this. I was bored and uninterested after 4 chapters. Maybe not the author for me?

Got this ARC from NetGalley.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🏝️ slow burn
🏝️ dual POV
🏝️ remote island thriller

A very slowwwww burn…… There was a lot of story building and scenery in this one before you got to the “good part” While I understand this is not everyone’s cup of tea, I stuck with it and really enjoyed it in the end.

I did not really love any of the characters… I feel like not much information was presented about any of them so it made it hard for me to connect with anyone.

The ending was absolutely crazy and I was totally here for it!! My jaw was on the floor! It blows my mind that some people are like .. “the ending was too far-fetched to me”… like isn’t that the whole point of reading?? I don’t want a boring story that I can predict 🤪

WOW! A resort on a beautiful remote island by Thailand. All the staff at the resort are not only co workers but they consider themselves family. When the guests start dying people start looking to find out why. Who is behind this? Is it Brooke …the influencer who is staying in return for her review on the island? Logan….The charming bar owner who recently got engaged to Cass? Or is it Doug…. Who runs the dive shop? Everyone is hiding something and everyone has a secret. This book was a bit of a slow burn in the middle and then it all came together. And the epilogue? Mind blown! Never saw that coming!

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC of The Resort! All opinions in this review are my own.

It took me a little while to get into The Resort but once I did, I was hooked! I like thrillers that are set on remote islands and this one went so off the rails by the end that I couldn't put it down. My favorite part was SPOILER the last chapter! It was one thing to read the end of the book when things got crazy but an entirely different experience to realize the danger hasn't gone away! I would read a sequel to find out what happens next and I will definitely be reading more from this author!