Typical story by Mark Edwards although not as creepy as some of his work it is still a fantastic story. I could not put it down as I was enthralled from the beginning. The writers at the retreat were so diverse in character and so some friction was caused. The story unwinds in perfect timing to give the reader just a little bit more information every so often. The idea of the Red Widow that runs throughout seems so real yet bound in urban myth. What is the truth about her! Does she eat children every 35yrs or not?
Loved the ending great job Mark and I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes this genre.

What a great read. Creepy, dark and thrilling, I could not put it down until I knew the truth about the Red Widow.
I am a sucker for books about small town communities full of secrets and lies and this fits the bill nicely.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
My very first book by this author and I have no words to describe how much I loved it. It was creepy, chilling, thrilling and very suspenseful. I enjoyed it so much. Well written, with likable characters. I highly recommend it.

I’ve read a few of Mark Edwards backlog books. The Retreat is quite a bit different in some ways but super similar as well. I really enjoy his slow build ups. Now I’ll be honest, I struggled with that first 20% of the book. It was a bit slower than I like suspense book to be. But, I get it. Mr. Edwards needed to set the stage, build the characters, and get us right where he wanted us. Once that was set, I felt the build up steadily increasing. My favorite thing about The Retreat is I had no idea what the story was giving me... what it was hinting at. While Mr. Edwards gave me all the puzzle pieces he did not show me a picture to follow. So it took me a while to put everything together. That impressed me. A story that can keep me in the dark nearly the entire time is a talent! I can usually rattle off the ending based on what I would do in the authors place and generally, I’m correct.

Now, I’ve included the synopsis above my review so I’m not going to rewrite it in my own words. However, what I will tell you is that Mr. Edwards sticks to what he’s used to writing but strays a little bit with The Retreat. This book, while he wrote in a similar way, he was still able to give his readers something unique, something original. There was a large cast of characters but they all held their own and made an interesting addition to the story. I found that the closer I got to the ending the quicker my heart was pounding, the quicker I was flying through the pages. Adding in folklore and local myths from the town made the story super creepy and you wondered if there was a paranormal or ghost aspect to this story. I didn’t realize how invested I was until I had 10% left and I was devouring the last of it.

I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

I have read several of Mark Edwards books including the well known Magpies & Follow You Home. I found his previous work to be well constructed & complex thrillers full of suspense. This book is no exception.

Set in rural Wales, Lucas comes to stay at Julia's home which is a writer's retreat. Lucas has one bestseller under his belt and is desperate not to be a one hit wonder. Julia is attempting to recover from the terrible loss of her husband and daughter (Lily) whilst Lucas has his own personal loss to deal with. All is not totally quiet in the farmhouse - who sings during the night & is author Ursula as psychic as she would lead you to believe? Did Julia's daughter die as is generally believed or was something more mysterious at work?

This is quite a complex book which is well constructed. It doesn't pay to take your eye off the ball as a throwaway comment may just be the clue you need to solve the mystery. The setting is a quiet village full of secrets and steeped in folklore. Not everyone is proud of their past & not everyone is keen to answer questions about Lily's disappearance.

The characters in this book have interesting personalities & the author takes great care to make them three dimensional. The supporting cast - villagers and other writers at the retreat - are also well written leaving no clues as to who is important & who isn't.

The ending of this book is excellent. All of the threads come together and everything makes sense. Then there is a little added twist which was the icing on the cake.

An excellent all round read that I struggled to put down.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley

My first Mark Edwards book! I've heard so many wonderful things about his books, that I could'nt contain myself when I recieved this title. It did not dissapoint!

In The Retreat we follow author Lucas, who desperately needs to write a new book. To get that done, he goes back to the town where the inspiration for his first book came from. He stays at a writers retreat run by Julia. A widow who, after a while, opens up to Lucas and trusts him with what bothers her the most; her missing daughter and dead husband.
Shit hits the fan pretty quickly when Lucas feels the need to help Julia get some closure; they must find Lily's body. While he hires a private detective to figure stuff out and he gets to writing his book some strange stuff happends in and around the house..

I loved the way the storyline evolved.. I never saw it coming, and I definitely love it when a story does that! The characters were great, there were some great plottwists and overall,.. the whole book was set up pretty neatly.

No complaints whatsoever, I really hope to read more of Mark Edwards in the future!

As always Mark Edwards entertains and leaves the reader wanting more. This book contains everything you can want in a scary novel. However I did find the ending a bit contrived.l. Still a good read for those fans of a Magic Cottage by James Herbert.

This is not my first book by Mark Edwards and so I was looking forward to reading it. The book starts with the disappearance of Lily who is abducted by an unknown person while her parents are busy having an argument. Moving forward two years Lucas returns to the area of his birth to a retreat for writers and from there the plot takes off at a great pace. Whether Lily's disappearance is straightforward or whether she was taken by a many hundred year old Red Widow to appease her is the question!! Well plotted with a twist or two in the tale. Definitely worth reading.

Many thanks to Mark Edwards/Netgalley/Amazon Publishing UK for a digital version of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

Mark Edwards is a great story teller and he has done it again with The Retreat. A retreat for writers to come to to relax and write.. although there is no relaxing at this retreat! A spooky and suspenseful tale that will keep you on your toes and guessing until the end!

The Bottom Line:

The Retreat has an intriguing storyline and hits all the right notes on suspense, thrill, eerieness, setting, and pace, making for a fast, engaging read.

My take:

What I liked the least about The Retreat was Julia. Although you do feel for her after everything she’s been through, she comes across as a little too annoying, too often. Of course, the woman lost her husband and her daughter and is living in a state of limbo. So you can understand the irritating attitude. But what I couldn’t understand about it was how Lucas seems to be oblivious to her flaws. The dynamic between them, for that reason, didn’t make all that much sense to me. Still, it wasn’t the worst, could be written off as the result of the experiences they’d had in life, and was the only slightly irritating part about the book. And the rest of it more than makes up for this.

The story is quite intricate, with a lot of things happening across decades, leading up to the events of the present. The characters are all well defined and have a good real-ness to them. They are all incredibly human in their arrogance, humility, successes, and failures, and in their good and bad. That is what makes the story so relatable – you can actually imagine everything that happens really taking place in a similar setting. It’s also got great suspense and a great setting. It pulls you in right from Page 1 and keeps you hooked throughout.

The best part about the book, though, was its thrill. The Retreat isn’t one of those books where scary faces look out at you from the dark. The thrill it evokes is more subtle and, consequently, incredibly effective. It’s one of those books where the creepiness is brought on by that feeling that you’re being watched, when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, but when you turn around there’s no one there. Yet, you know that someone, or something, was there. It’s the kind of thrill that gets under your skin and stays there, making you a little jumpy at sudden sounds and dark areas. That’s why it stays with you longer and really makes you experience everything that’s happening in the book.

I received The Retreat from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It’s the second Mark Edwards book I’ve gotten from them and although the first one I’d read – The Lucky Ones – was quite good (you can read the review for that here), this one was definitely better. Edwards, who I’d started following after The Lucky Ones, is definitely one of the better (newer) thriller writers and I would love to read more from him. What really makes his work interesting is the variety he brings. It’s not just serial killer thrillers. Edwards writes different stories that just come to him, and while all are of the thriller genre, each of them has a different take on the category. The Retreat, especially, does more than enough justice to the psychological thriller genre under which it’s pitched, which is quite refreshing because (lately) too many books are sold as psychological thrillers when just ‘thriller’ would be more suitable a tag.

I’d strongly recommend The Retreat to:

fans of thrillers and crime fiction novels
anyone who wants to try out a new thriller author (I’m sure you’ll enjoy Edwards’ style)
those who want a thriller with a twist

I’ve read all of Mark’s books to date. Some of them I've loved and a couple I’ve felt lukewarm about. Sadly, for me, The Retreat was more the latter than the former. That said, I’m sure I will be in the minority and many people will enjoy it.

There has been a glut of missing children thrillers lately and I was hoping that this one would be more original, but unfortunately I found the plot lacking in credibility at times.

The writing was still good and at times the story was creepy, but the characters seemed one-dimensional and forgettable.

I will continue to read Mark’s books when they come out because I think he’s a good writer and I’ve loved some of his books (especially The Magpies), but, for me, this one was just mediocre.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I have read everything Mark Edwards has released to date so was excited to find a new book on the horizon. Unfortunately this book didn't quite hit he mark for me. It took me a lot longer to read than it would have normally and I can only think this is because I wasn't engaged enough in the story. I could easily have put it down unfinished.

The characters were uninspired and the hints at witchcraft and sinister folk stories, while tried to add to the spooky and suspenseful aspect of the story, just dragged it out unnecessarily.

I'm sorry, but I was bored within the first few chapters and this never improved for me. I have higher expectations from Mark Edwards and he just didn't deliver this time.

I had a really hard time with this novel. I kept reading because I wanted to know what was happening but at the same time it was just trudging on and on with no real significant direction. Lots of characters being thrown into the mix, which I'm okay with. It worked in this story but I felt more and more people were just there to distract you from nothing happening.

I would have DNF but I ended up pushing through and the only reason I'm going with three stars instead of one is because of the epilogue.

I did like the eerie aspect.. the old spooky retreat where writers go to work on their novels. Creepy things DID happen, I just wanted more. I expected to be scared and that's not what this is. So if you like a good slow burn of surprise, then this one is probably a go for you.

When I think of a retreat it conjures up images of somewhere quiet , an oasis where you can rest and reflect or write, somewhere you feel safe, well that was until I picked up The Retreat by Mark Edwards, who turns an idyllic setting into something far more sinister. Steeped in atmosphere and disturbingly creepy The Retreat is a reminder of why I’m such a fan of Mark Edwards writing. Lucas, a horror novelist, arrives at the retreat hoping to write his next book, but within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of strange events, are the events linked to Lily a missing child? And who, or what, is haunting the retreat?

It’s great that the author doesn’t conform to a specific genre, with elements of the supernatural, horror and psychological running through its veins you are never quite sure where the author is heading with an unpredictable plot. Mark Edwards maintain the overwhelming sense of suspense and unease throughout. The tale is shrouded in local folklore, and spooky ghost stories, the author does a fabulous job in evoking the horror, the fear and trepidation around such tales.

Told in the present peppered with chapters told from the missing child Lily’s POV you get a feel for Lily, her fears that are grounded in the folklore tales, her worries about her family, it was these chapters that I found the most intriguing and also the most creepy. These chapters were the ones that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, made me jump at every noise, and kept me reading long into the night (with the lights on of course!)

Steeped in atmosphere with a backdrop of creepy settings, and an array of characters who as the reader you can’t help but mistrust, Mark Edwards has written another outstanding book. I never thought the author could top The Magpies one of my favourite books ever, well until now but The Retreat is definitely his best book yet, it’s unpredictable, engaging with one of the most deliciously satisfying endings I’ve read in a long time. Highly recommend.

**I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review**

First time i am reading a book by this author! Read this in one sitting as it caught my attention from the first pages! Very clever twists and quite creepy at times but i must admit, i really enjoyed it!!

Will be following this author from now onwards, already purchased ''the magpies'' and cant wait to dive into it!!

4.5 stars!

This book was amazing. So atmospheric and creepy and well thought out. The story was executed so well and had me hooked basically from the start!

I loved that it was set in a writer's retreat, and that was used as a backdrop to tell a thrilling story.
I never knew what to expect and had no predictions about how things would turn out so I was surprised at every turn.

I read one of Mark Edwards' books a couple years ago: Follow Me Home, and I loved that one too. Edwards is a brilliant writer, and is really good at leaving subtle hints and clues that foreshadow events to come. A couple times, when things fell into place I was like "Ohhh, that makes so much sense"

This book felt so real and creepy and I loved it!

Definitely give this one a go if you like creepy and atmospheric thrillers!

This was a damn good spooky story! Lucas, a horror novelist goes away to a writers retreat in hopes of finishing his latest book and becomes enthralled with Julia, the owner of the house whose husband drowned on the property the same day her daughter went missing. Lucas is determined to help Julia find out if in fact her daughter is missing or has died. Strange happenings both in and out of the house begin to interfere with the investigation and add to the overall creepiness of the story. Great ending too! I thank Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. Highly recommend!

Excellent book. A page-turning thriller that was hard to put down. Urban Myth and Folklore intrigue.
Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a well written Psychological Thriller.

Brilliant from start to finish. I read this book in one sitting. I was gripped from the start. A really intriguing story about folklore and fear set in a very atmospheric Welsh village. The characters are so believable. I could visualise everything in my head. It is a really good thriller with a touch of horror. I still have chills down my spine. I have read most of Mark Edwards books and I thoroughly recommend them all.

I have spent the last few days with Mark Edwards at The Retreat. Not in real life may I add but in between the pages of his latest release.

The Retreat is my first Mark Edwards book and I feel I have been looking for a thrilling read like this for a long time.  Like a fly to a spider I was caught, stunned and well not eaten thank goodness but consumed in great length by the story.

When a widow opens a getaway writing retreat, the guests have no idea for the unique and creepy hospitality they are signing up for. Lucas is our leading protagonist and as he tries to find inspiration for his next best seller he is distracted by an array of startling events and he gets caught up in a whole host of drama that could change his life forever.

Mark Edwards has a startling ability to build a scene perfectly. You will find yourself in an emotionally driven scene and then jumping out of your skin the next. I am not too proud to admit that I did have to get out of bed and put the ‘big light’ on.

I must be extremely careful with my review today because I enjoyed the plot and the fact that it was so twisty turny I didn’t know what was going to happen and I want my readers to have the same read.

But what I can say is I was so impressed by the writing, I was never bored or skim read. I cared about the characters and was very eager to see what would happen. So much so that I feel I have a book hangover and whatever I read next will have to be so good to compete with the journey I have just been on.

So, book into The Retreat today by buying your own copy.  I can guarantee you will never forget your stay.........