From start to finish, THE RETREAT is a riveting tale of friendship, family, "wellness"...and deception.

The locale, a remote wellness retreat, sets the scene for suspense, as the increasingly bizarre methods of Dr. Dan and his wife Naomi keep participants (and therefore readers) unsettled. In a digital age, surrendering one's electronic devices is disconcerting to say the least; even more so when surrounded by, and urged to be vulnerable around, complete strangers. In addition, the lodging accommodations, meals, and staff are a little "off," while the proprietors' credentials and reputation teeter on shaky ground.

Each of the main characters has her own fully fleshed back story. Although I initially got Carmen and Ariel confused, their goals, motivations, and conflicts soon become very distinct from one another's. Ultimately, each woman has her own revelation(s) during the weekend stay, which only adds to the group's already-tense dynamic.

I read a lot of psychological thrillers, so for one to be good, it has to surprise me. This one surprised me. The beginning, the hook, gives readers a glimpse of what will happen, yet I was still caught off guard by the "who, "the "why," and the path it took to get there.

I highly recommend this book to fans of the genre!

***Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with a review copy.***

The premise of this novel sounded interesting, a young previous important child actress Katie decides to attend a weekend retreat in hopes of revitalizing her career and life. Too many errors and typos, too many cliched metaphors, and an unlikable main character Katie prompted me to stop reading the book at location 3% and not continue. Typos are listed below:

-In the acknowledgement paragraph before the novel the author states: "For my bold and brillian daughter", brillian is not a complete word.

-2% location 114 of 4678- The sentence "She'd it converted it into two self-contained units" doesn't make any sense.
-3%location 121 of 4678- The sentence "As she reached the final bend in the banister she that frequent childish urge to slide down it" words are left out leaving the sentence incomplete.

Thank you NetGalley, Sherri Smith and Macmillan for an Arc of the retreat. The title and cover alone were really exciting. Four women living with different secrets go to a retreat for the weekend for rest and relaxation and in the end only one will survive. If that doesn't grab your attention I don't know what will.
This book had me hooked and I finished it in two sittings because it was to hard not to keep reading more and finding out about all of their secrets. I really don't want to give anything away but this book is amazing and you have to check it out. Such a thrilling ride and when it came to an end I was satisfied but sad because I never wanted it to end.

The Retreat by author Sherri Smith, an intense and fast paced psychological thriller that takes the readers to a place that is supposed to be calming, and to find answers. Except it wouldn’t be an awesome thriller if it was calm! Intense! Great structure, easy to feel for characters! Great book!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Chelsea for recommending this book to me! Special thanks also to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me this novel in exchange for an honest review.
“The Retreat” is yet another holistic-health-retreat book (think Liane Moriarty’s “Nine Perfect Strangers”), with a dark and suspenseful twist.
Katie is a former child star, surviving on her dwindling childhood earnings and trying to find herself after the fame of her youth. At the insistence of her brother, she decides to get to know her brother’s fiancée by inviting her on a health and wellness retreat (and getting a little rejuvenation herself while she’s at it!), along with her two long-time friends. Although the retre¬at is a little out there, with ayahuasca tea and group meditations, each woman is hoping to gain something from their time away. Soon things turn from good to very, very bad when a fellow participant turns up dead. Quickly, everyone is pointing fingers at each other and soon enough, they are all just trying to make it out alive.
Sherri Smith is a new author to me, although evidently she has published two previous novels, and even lives in the same country as I do. All that aside, I am grateful for this introduction!
I did not know what to expect going in, and I was not exactly excited about yet another, tired, wellness retrea¬t novel. This one, however, was far different than I expected. Full of dark, twisty characters and even darker and twistier plots, “The Retreat” is something delightfully unexpected. A true whodunit, the mystery is not revealed until the very end, but each character has the potential to be our culprit.
Each character has a likable part of them, but an equally unlikable part too, which adds a nice realistic element and has you both hoping for their success, and hoping for their failures, in equal parts.
Well told and taut, “The Retreat” builds well, and keeps you entertained and engaged from page one. Although the ending is definitely unpredictable, it also teeters on the edge of unbelievable. There are several components that seem just a bit far-fetched and unrealistic, but not too far off from reality that it is not enjoyable. The ending serves to tie up the novel in a satisfying way, and there are no unanswered questions, which is always a plus in my book.
A thoroughly entertaining novel I am grateful to Chelsea for introducing this to me! I don’t think I would have tried it on my own—and now I have a new author to enjoy!

The Retreat was one wild ride. When I first starting reading, I wasn’t sure if I would like it. But as I kept reading, it just kept getting more and more intriguing.
It was intense, and twisted. I would definitely recommend.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Katie is a washed up, former child star. She’s thrown away her last chance to rebuild her career when her brother’s fiancee invites her to a wellness retreat. Katie brings along two friends who are struggling with their own lives, debts, family problems and a lost job and relationship. The retreat is suppose to help the women find peace and strength within themselves to face their problems head on. What they really find is a whole lot of anger, resentment and reason to commit murder. Smith does a good job of capturing the dual purposes we seem to be obsessed with – fame and mindfulness – and showing them, and us, for the hollow goals they really are