A whirlwind of a story. Hidden past, murder on a secluded island and not sure who you can and cannot trust. I loved this story so much, it was an easy read and enthralling.
Highly recommend for anyone who loves a good mystery, twists and turns that keep you wondering what could possibly be next.

The Resort was a twisty, fun ride following Cass, the newest member of "the Permanents' a.k.a. a group of young ex-pats living and working around a dive resort in Thailand, and Brooke, an influencer who befriends Cass while on a solo trip. Of course the idyllic beachy bliss has a dark undercurrent—especially after an incident leaves one person dead and may just be connected to a previous accident from just before Brooke's arrival. As the mystery heats up it becomes clear that everyone is not who they seem—and there may be a killer on the loose. It's a quick read that packs a lot of punch and is overall great for thriller fans.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This scorching, locked-room mystery story is set on a beautiful island in the South Pacific. Reading this in the winter definitely had me longing to feel the sand between my toes - the setting was so beautifully described throughout the story! The novel did have some pacing challenges and at times the POVs were difficult to tell apart from one another. Although I saw the twist coming, this was definitely worth the read if you like this genre or style of mystery!

This was a fast paced thriller set at a resort in Thailand. If you liked The White Lotus you would probably enjoy this one as well.

First off, thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark via Netgalley for providing an advance digital copy of this book.
This read was hard to put down, and when I thought I knew what was happening, I was dead wrong.

When non-residents stay on an island to work, is it for the views and location, or is it to hide?
I enjoyed the altering point of view in each chapter and found myself rooting for both of them. One being a diving instructor at the beautiful resort, and the other being a social media influencer on a trip to find herself...or so she tells everyone.

I am looking forward to reading what Sara Ochs comes up with next!

When Brooke arrives at the resort island, she seems to fit in okay with some of the permanents, but especially starts to get close with Cassie. Is Brooke just another traveler seeking out a quiet, private life, or is she there for something more?

Everyone at the Resort is happy to live in the present. They all seem to assume that their secret is worth protecting, and they really don’t spend much time worrying about anyone else’s secrets. This works out fine, until it doesn’t.

Brooke thinks she is drawn to the Resort because of someone else’s secrets, and she hopes to finally get revenge. But perhaps time and perspective has changed them all, and maybe the enemy is no longer who they each originally thought it was.

This was an ever-changing thriller and mystery. Different facets of each character made the reader wonder about all of the characters, and the possible villain changed from chapter to chapter. It was a great read that earned 4 out of 5 stars. The depictions of living at the resort island were fun and intriguing, and untangling each character’s backstory and mystery was fun. This would be an excellent vacation read for those who enjoy dreaming about island locales.

Spring has sprung and the redbuds are blooming! 😍 Fun fact: redbuds are the state tree of Oklahoma.

I thought I’d pair a pretty book cover that matched my pretty tree. Unfortunately, that’s about all I think I want to share about The Resort. 😐 This one’s just a pretty cover, guys.

A tropical paradise is soon marred by murder, but its not the first mysterious death of this island! Full of jaw dropping twists, turns, and reveals, The Resort is an action packed thriller that holds no punches. The scene is set beautifully, and then once the dominos start falling, you are compelled to read at breakneck speed until the thrilling end. I devoured this one! It was fun while still being thought provoking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

First of all, the cover for this book is perfect. It advertises beautiful beach sunsets hidden by a dark path. It creates some lovely foreshadowing.

The story includes unreliable narrators which of course gets the reader to question what exactly is happening. It kept me engaged throughout the story and had me thinking of all possibilities, which were all incorrect.
The plot was strong and kept one guessing and invested. However, one struggle I had with this book is that I didn't connect with any of the characters, resulting in me not really caring what happened to them. I still enjoyed the story, but wasn't into it as I could have been.

I think I'll walk away from this one trusting less people and asking myself do I really want that vacation?

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What a debut! 🍹🤿 🗻🌴☠️. A tropical getaway turned wrong. This book has it ALL! A psychologically twisty ride with multiple unreliable charactors. I felt like I wanted to be at the resort and wanted nothing to do with a topical getaway like this all at the same time. There are several twists and turns that kept me turning page after page. The ending was a ride all of its own and I was SHOOK 🫣🤯😳 10/10 recommend devouring this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a readers copy of this book. My reviews never contain spoilers and are freely given.
The Resort is set on an island near Thailand where Cass has joined a small group of people who came to visit and decided to stay permanently. She is engaged to one of the expats. She works as a dive master. Visiting the island is Brooke, an influencer who blogs about traveling the world. Everyone in this story has something to hide, and Cass is being threatened by someone on the island determined to expose her.
This story is about trust. People are dying on this island; accident or murder? How well do the characters know each other, or do they really know each other at all? Told mostly from the perspectives of Cass and Brooke, the story flows nicely and pacing is good. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

This had so much potential but ultimately didn't work very well for me.

First of all, what I liked. I loved the setting. Being on an isolated island gave it a locked room mystery vibe, and I always enjoy that. The duel POV was nicely done. Each woman had a mysterious past, and finding out what they were hiding kept me interested.

What I didn't like were all of the plot holes and the way Brooke and Cass constantly jumped to conclusions. Also, their secrets ended up being underwhelming, and the twists at the end weren't that shocking.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Resort is exactly what you need for the best beach read, suspense in an exotic local with some unreliable narrators and sketchy dudes everywhere. I truly wish I had found this one on a beach vacation drinking my weight in pina coladas but it helped bring some sun and sand to frozen Canada winters.

I loved this book all the way up to the very end. I felt like the ending was unnecessary and to throw that in felt sloppy and lazy. It was not a good cliffhanger. It felt very cheap to me to toss that last part in. The writing was excellent but I can’t overlook the last chapter.

There was a lot of potential with this book but I think it missed the mark in some areas especially handling some triggering issues. The setting was great being an isolated island which gave it that locked room style mystery feel.

The two female POVs were good- they each had a mysterious background and were hiding something but once you find out what each of them were hiding it was kind of underwhelming. Cass didn’t deserve the outcome she got especially for the past she was hiding and her struggles with her mental health. Brooke was the other pov and for someone claiming to be a journalist she jumped to way to many conclusions way to fast and caused more problems than she solved.

There was a few last minute twists that might shock some people but for me I saw them coming a mile away. Overall, I think this book had potential it just needed to be fleshed out a little bit more.



Thank you publishers and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Cass, a scuba diving instructor on the stunning but tumultuous shores of Koh Sand, Thailand's notorious party haven, embarks on a routine dive that turns disastrously wrong. The adventure meant to be transformative ends in tragedy: one student dead, another critically injured, and Cass's serene existence shattered. Amidst this chaos, a dark secret Cass harbors comes dangerously close to being unveiled. On an island where some choose to disappear forever, others are not so fortunate.

The narrative weaves through the lives of a tight-knit group of expatriates, each harboring their own concealed truths. The book is a labyrinth of suspense, peppered with engaging characters, a compelling storyline, and a web of murder and mystery. It might take a moment to immerse into its depths, but once captivated, the story's grip is relentless. The climactic twist is brilliantly executed, making for a riveting, easy-to-devour read.

I read this quickly and mostly enjoyed it. But I'll defend my rating by saying that it's not the use of various mental health issues to propel a thriller that bothers me – that can be incredible. It's the reliance on dumb tropes to do so that really grinded my gears. Not for me y'all. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, though.

Some secrets are deadly. The Resort comes with a cast of characters who are self-described castoffs and loners seeking a second chance or at least a fresh start on the party island of Koh Sang in Thailand. What they have in common has brought them together, but the secrets some of them harbor could tear their new lives apart. The narrative alternates between two POV characters, Cass, a scuba diving instructor on the island, and the latest member of the group, Brooke, an Instagram influencer who's sponsors subsidize her itinerant lifestyle. Brooke is still in the process of insinuating herself into the group of expats calling themselves the Permanents when Lucy, a tourist visiting the island, is found dead, likely murdered. The local police force, however, seems unwilling to entertain the possibility of foul play, possibly due to a payoff by the resort's owner, despite the recent and suspicious death of another young woman that was, nevertheless, deemed a suicide. Before long, Brooke and Cass — the one Permanent most accepting of the social media savvy newcomer — begin their own amateur investigation of Lucy's death.

In her POV, Cass reveals some of her own secret, involving the death of her sister and father, though the details are scarce; while Brooke's POV reveals she isn't as successful in her social media influencer role as she would like people to believe, and that she's struggling to make ends meet. Even less is revealed about the secrets of the rest of the Permanents. And perhaps too much of  3/4 of the book revolves around investigative speculation and general introspection by these two semi-reliable narrators for the story to slip into the flow of a page-turning thriller. Much like the scuba divers at the resort, the plot spends a bit too much time treading water without generating much forward progress. The final quarter of the novel, however, bursts into hardcore thriller mode, during a destructive island storm when buried secrets and hidden motivations finally rise to the surface and boil over with unexpected menace and murderous betrayals.

[3.5 out of 5 stars]

Thanks so much to Sourcebooks for access to a review copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I definitely recommend this read - I ended up doing a mix of audio and ebook reading, and I recommend both.
I meant to read this during my travels last month, but then I got distracted by other new releases. I finally started it via audiobook this week, and let me tell you - I listened/read over 50% in one sitting! I couldn’t stop because I was completely sucked in to the story!
Set on a remote island of Thailand, The Resort involves a bunch of expats that work (and party) at a resort. One of the big draws of the resort is scuba diving. A few visitors have died in “accidental” deaths, falling off a mountain and drowning in the water. When a third visitor dies, also ruled accidental, some people start getting suspicious, especially Brooke, a travel influencer who recently arrived. Cass, a dive instructor from the US who is carrying her own secrets, fears that someone has uncovered her past. But she just got engaged to Logan, from Scotland, so life should be great, right?
There are twists and turns in the story, as well as beautiful descriptions of the scenery and the reefs. I am ready to book a trip to Thailand immediately. I was shocked to read that this is the author’s debut novel - I can’t wait to read more from her!

Tis book is what I'd consider a quick summer thriller. If you're just looking for an escapist read for a weekend trip, this is the book I'd recommend. Was there a lot of substance? Not necessarily. Book club discussions about the effects of white supremacy on over-surveilled and over-colonized societies can ensue, but that's about as deep as it gets because it's still from the perspective of two white women. It's not necessarily a bad thing; it's just not as powerful an impact as it could have been than if the book was written from a minority's perspective.