Such an impressive debut! I absolutely loved this book from page one. I'll be recommending this to anyone who enjoys thrillers and unique settings. So many twists and it kept me guessing up until the very end. I enjoyed the dual points of view. Fantastic!

Social media influencer Brooke has landed on a beautiful Thai island as her latest base for posting photos for her travel blog. She soon meets a group called the Permanents, people who have moved to the island and make a living working for the resort. She soon bonds with Cass, the dive instructor. Cass is engaged to Logan, who runs a local bar on the island. Brooke soon learns that not long before she arrived, a female tourist died on the island. While the police have determined the death was an unfortunate accident, things take a sinister turn when a second woman dies. The chapters alternate between Brooke and Cass. Cass has been running from her past and is alarmed when anonymous notes start to turn up on her doorstep announcing that someone knows her true identity and is going to expose it soon. While Cass and Brooke decide to try to figure out what happened to cause the second woman's death (which happened during a boozy party on the beach they both attended), mysterious events happen to show that someone doesn't want them to get to the truth.

The story was very fast-paced and there were plenty of twists and turns, including a big one at the end. Both Brooke and Cass had plenty of secrets they were running from and it was tantalizing to finally get the truth behind their stories. I enjoyed the suspense and trying to figure out how all of the deaths were connected!

4+ (?) stars

I quite enjoyed this suspenseful thriller. The setting was fun; I like a remote island as a part of the plotline, and this was a nice take on that idea. Some of the characters were appealing and relatable in their own ways, which was enjoyable, and some of the plot twists were surprising but still fitting, making it a satisfying story over all. (Also, sometimes it just needs to be said: the cover and its colour scheme are beautiful.)

{ review } The Resort by Sara Ochs

February 6, 2024 by Sourcebooks Landmark

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

The Resort is such a fun read! Everyone on the island has secrets and they're all tangled up together in a wild web of lies and deception. I was immediately suspicious of everyone and while I had a few people figured out, Sara Ochs had my head spinning with some of the reveals! And the ending? SO GOOD

Some of my favourite elements of the book:
- A debut
- Dual POVs (Cass and Brooke)
- Past and present secrets
- The location aka paradise
- Short chapters that made it impossible to get board
- The ending!!!!!!!

Is it bad that instead of scaring me away from the expat island life, it's actually made me even more interested in it? #thrillergirlproblems

Definitely recommend picking up The Resort! I can't wait for Sara Ochs next book : )

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted copy to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with a copy of the ARC in exchange for my. honest opinion.


Oh my gosh! This book was a great read! For fans of Rachel Hawkins and Lucy Foley, set on a remote island in Thailand, following two female characters that are running from their past.

Cass is a diving instructor at a remote resort and is living her dream life with her fiance. But, she has secrets from her past that she wants no one to find out about. She has befriended the new visitor and travel blogger, but is she who she seems or is she also running from a past.

When a body turns up while on a dive, then mysterious notes to Cass, can she continue to keep her past a secret?

A debut novel for Sara Ochs, a must read for mystery fans!

The Resort is a wild ride. I enjoyed the story and the characters. The pace was a bit choppy at times but kept my attention. I found myself suspecting many and knowing little. In the end I was surprised which added to my enjoyment. A solid read that would be great to enjoy on vacation. The narration was good but didn’t fully bring the story to life for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome to Koh Sang Resort in Thailand! It is a beautiful place, but beware, all those who live here have secrets.

This was an amazing thriller taking twists and turns that left me guessing right up until the epilogue. I didn't see any of them coming either which kept the pace fast and engaging.

Recommended to all thriller lovers!

3.5/5 rounded up to 4 for the twist at the end!

Scuba diving instructor, Cass, lives in idyllic Thailand on a party island Koh Sang where all of the “permanents” (ex pats) are escaping something. Brooke, an influencer, fairly new to the island, has ulterior motives for being there. Everyone is hiding something.

When tourists bodies start piling up, dead, Brooke and Cass start digging into everyone’s past to figure out what’s going on.

The ending had me fooled. A great twist.

Thanks to netgalley for an ARC!

There was so much hype surrounding this book. I felt like it was there but it dragged too long for me. Not horrible but not great.

I got a early preview to read this book through NetGalley! The cover drew me in, as well as the pitch of a beachy mystery/thriller.

I enjoyed the dual point of view, but at times I felt exhausted by the women’s secrets.

I am giving this a 3.5 overall. Some of the foreshadowing and clues were too obvious feeling, but the plot twists didn’t feel thrilling, they felt a bit over the top. I think it could have been a 4, but the ending was upsetting to me.

i tried and gave up after 130-ish pages. i didn't care enough about the characters or the plot to keep going

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
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Give me a book that is set on an island resort and I am set! This book was so fast paced and had me hooked till the very end! I was drawn to this book by the cover and I am so glad that I read it. I feel like it did start off a bit slow. There were a lot of characters introduced in the beginning and I feel like that took a little bit of time getting them all situated in my mind. However, once the book got going I was so engaged and didn’t want to put it down. I even requested it on audio so that I could get stuff done around my house and still continue on with the story! I cannot believe that this is a debut novel and I am so excited to see what Ochs has for us in the future!

This is truly a book about how you really don’t know anyone and they aren’t always who they say they are. This book sucked me in and didn’t let go until the very end. The twists were absolutely jaw dropping and I couldn’t get enough.

This drug on way too long for me liking & the two narrators were very similar. I found myself getting a little lost with the characters and how they were all connected. Some of the twists were good, but most were very outrageous. Unfortunately it felt a little all over the place and would not end. This is def an overhyped book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a certified SCUBA diver I found the dive talk and scenes fascinating and also eerie as parts are every diver's worst nightmare. The suspense in the story is paced gradually and I loved the slow build till the big twist. The characters are a bit confusing till later in the book, but that added to the aura of mystery for me. The audiobook is a great way to enjoy this thriller and the narrators are fantastic. A dream vacation in a beautiful location gone very very wrong.

4.5/5

The Resort by Sara Ochs is one of the few books that I can say actually stuck in my head for an extended period of time, and due to that, I raised my star rating! I was struggling to find the time to sit down and read it, so if anyone sees the dates on my Goodreads or StoryGraph and wonders WTF, this is why, and it has nothing to do with the pacing or the book itself. For a debut, this was pretty dang amazing, and I was very into the story as well as finding out what would happen next. The alternating viewpoints that would sometimes end on mini cliffhangers kept things even more interesting, and I love it when authors use this technique to keep the reader curious.

I think this is one of the many books that is best to go into blind, but honestly, if that incredible cover doesn't draw you in, I doubt anything I can say will. The Resort also had me Googling to see if a certain Thailand festival was a thing, and I love it when a genre like mystery or thriller takes me to the webs to see if something is real. The secrets are piling up in this storyline, and it seems that almost everyone has something to hide. I experienced quite a few jaw-dropping moments that both shocked and surprised me, and I loved the twists and turns. The audiobook was also top-notch as narrated by Miranda Raison, Dakota Blue Richards, Joe Jameson & Pema Monaghan. Full casts are my kryptonite, and they all did an incredible job making the audio a fantastic experience. Bottom line, if you love thrillers and debut novels, you just need to read (or listen) to this. 😉

This thriller is set on a beautiful island off Thailand and follows Cass and Brooke, who each have secrets. While it starts slow, the story quickly picks up, revealing mysteries and lies on the island. As they unravel, the two characters also face unexplained deaths at the resort. Themes of friendship and deceit run through the story, keeping readers engaged with its fast pace and surprising twists. The ending is satisfying, making it a gripping read for fans of mysteries and suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read The Resort!

This was an exciting read for fans of White Lotus! There is a diverse cast of characters and non-stop action, you can read in one sitting. I also enjoyed the unreliable narrator!

I love novels set in resorts! And add a murder mystery, even better! The twist in the epilogue alone bumped it to four stars! I did not see that coming! I did feel like it came off YA.

such an interesting premise and I loved the Thai setting, but unfortunately this was a slog to get through and the 2 perspectives were too similar and repetitive. lots of easy thriller tropes in here, this would be better for a beginner to the genre