Oh my god what just happened! I've been looking forward to this book since reading McKinty's book The Chain, and he did not disappoint!

The book follows 24-year-old Heather, who is in Australia on a family trip with her new husband and her new stepchildren. Heather is having some trouble finding her place as a step mom to two preteens, Owen and Olivia, who have been complaining that they haven't seen any wildlife on their trip. When the American family is offered a chance to visit a remote Australian island, they think of it as an exciting opportunity to see nature.

Everything takes a turn when a horrible accident leaves them scrambling to back to the mainland alive. Their easy going vacation turns into a fight for their lives as they try to protect themselves from people and nature alike, all while Heather works to gain the trust of the stepchildren. This book is so action packed I couldn't tear myself away!

I really enjoyed this book! Fans of Karin Slaughter novels, The Last Thing He Told Me, and any adventure book will love this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for sharing this advanced reader's copy with me in return for my honest thoughts.

A working vacation for newly married Heather, Tom, and Tom’s 2 kids turns into a horrific nightmare! They arrived in Australia and came across a couple guys offering a ferry ride out to Dutch Island to see Koalas. All is good until an accident, which prevents them from leaving. This is an intense, quick read, but a bit predictable. Thank you Little Brown for a digital arc.

I just love the “vacation gone wrong” trope in thriller books and, WOW, did this one deliver on that! The Island is a book about a family that takes a vacation on a small island off the coast of Australia and has their vacation turn into a nightmare after a tragic car crash. This book will have your heart racing, your pulse pounding and you holding your breath throughout the story. This was an absolute roller coaster ride that does not let up! Loved this one!

✨Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC✨

A family vacation I would rather not use my vacation days for lol but really! McKinty is a successful writer and did not disappoint with this book either. It’s in your face suspense and an easy page turner.

This was one of those books you read…put your bookmark in…then decide that sleep isn’t important and read some more!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4685435661

Heather has no idea what marrying the recently widowed Tom will entail. His two children, Olivia and Owen are grieving and not overly impressed with their new stepmother. Tom has to attend a conference in Australia and sees it as an opportunity to bond as a family. The reality is much different. He is busy, the kids are bored, and Heather is trying her best to make her new life work.
A brief break in Tom's schedule has them setting out to hopefully see some koala bears. When they meet someone who lives on a private island, and for a price will ferry them to it, they grab the opportunity. They will have a short window to see a side of Australia very few tourists see. But things do not go as planned and an unfortunate accident and a bad decision turns their holiday into a nightmare.
Before this incident, I was pretty sure that Heather was in over her head and this marriage wouldn't last. But holy crazy island, she had quite a backstory before she met Tom, and turns out, she is a fierce adversary. As the story progressed, I was thinking that Ma, the island family matriarch(who BTW was some nasty piece of work)should just wave the white flag and let everyone leave. But this backwoods clan (that made me think of Deliverance), believed they had the upper hand. That isn't what happens anyway and if it did, we wouldn't get to read this twisted and terrifying tale. I am not going to risk giving anything away, but this was so hard to find a point to stop reading and do some adulting. So I pretty much just kept reading.

Oh,Man,Oh,Man,Oh,Man,Oh,Man,Oh,Man........

Now that I've adequately hyperventilated for the moment. Don't even approach this book of The Island if you are not open to the prospect of the bizarre, the outlandish, the off-the-wall-and-into-Wonky World, and all things that shift your eyeballs from side to side. Seriously speaking..........

The Island peels away at all the good intentions of a family trip. Destination: Australia. Dr. Tom Baxter is scheduled to speak at an Orthopedic conference there. He's newly married to his second wife, Heather, a twenty-four year old massage therapist. Tom was a widower when she met him. Owen, twelve, and Olivia, fourteen, had been through so much after the death of their mother a year ago. They beg Tom to take them along. Heather is not so sure. Being a stepmother can paint you into a corner.

So the Baxter family leave the cool weather of Seattle bound for the Outback of Australia and all it has to offer. It's key here that this will be the family trip from Hell. As a side excursion, the Baxters find themselves on an island that can only be accessed on a ferry. The plan (What could possible go wrong, boys and girls?) is a quick photo op of koalas and native plants and then back in time for Tom's speech at the conference. Whiney kids have the loudest voices.

But a tragic accident occurs while the family is driving the dusty roads of this island. We'll meet the O'Neill family who have squattered there for eons. Ma is the head of this clan and a lovely piece of work. Extricating themselves from the hospitality of this group of wackos will be easier said than done. And the wheels will now turn at a furious pace.

The Island is strange. Strange to the point of doubting what you are reading. The Rationale Road has been left far behind in the rear view mirror. You are entering into an unsettling storyline which won't be for everyone. The Island is raw in its telling. And the action takes place in a rapid rollout. Be prepared for that. But if you enjoy high octane adventure and a rough and ragged intensity of a relentless head-for-the-hills bolt to the finish, then say no more. You've found it within these pages. Hats off to Adrian McKinty for this breathless abandonment of the normal world into all things WooWoo. WoW! Just WoW!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Little, Brown and Company and to Adrian McKinty for the opportunity.

What a page turner.

Heather, a young massage therapist marries Tom who is a widower and a doctor. He has 2 children who are not welcoming to her. Tom accepts an invitation to speak at a conference in Australia and decides to take the family.

After touring Australia and arriving at their destination, they meet a Dutch couple. With this couple, they take a ferry to Dutch island because the kids want to see Koala's. While on the island, tragedy happens. The residents of the island, all one family, want Tom, Heather and the kids to pay. After Tom is taken by the family, Heather and the kids are on their own trying to escape the family.

The book is nonstop action, I stayed up way too late to see what happens next. Satisfying conclusion.

Wow, what a crazy ride. The suspense was great. It got a little cringy at times and a little more on the horror side vs the suspense side. Which is a little too much for me. Overall though, I really enjoyed reading this.

I could not get into this book. It was like “Deliverance” meets a bunch of people who make idiotic decisions. The plot was too outlandish and nutty.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58340727

I have just finished reading The Island, by Author Adrian McKinty

First, I would like to thank NetGalley, the Author and Little, Brown and Company for my advanced copy to read and review.

Strap on your seat belts, and get ready for this action-packed thriller, and be prepared to put everything thing else aside once you start reading this book!

You will want to read just one more page, and then one more page more, and then one more page more once you start.

It is like Deliverance, Die Hard and Annie Oakley all rolled up in one. You will not believe how this story progresses once it starts.

Heather Baxter a 24-year-old massage therapist from Seattle, has just married Tom a successful knee surgeon, who has two teenage children. They are all in Australia for a medical conference for Tom. Heather and Olivia, and Owen the teenagers are all along for some holiday time.

Well – I really will not say anything else at all, - just enjoy!

#TheChase #NetGalley

I LOVED this book. It kept me up reading at all hours of the night because I wanted to know what happens next. Great read! First time reading this author and I can't wait to pick up more of his books.

After having a terrible accident on a private island in Australia, four members of a family have to unite their forces to save their lives. If you enjoy fast-paced novels and plots centered on survival in the nature, you will love this one!

Personally, it wasn't my cup of tea. I love suspenseful stories, but I needed something more. I got tired of the chase in the bushland and I would have liked to have more details on the family living on the island and on Heather's past.

The Island is going to entertain a lot of readers, but I still preferred Mckinty's last book, The Chain.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC.

Pub Date 17 May 2022
36 likes

The definition of a page turner. I got about 15 pages into this one and suddenly it took off. Four hours later I looked up and realized I’d just spent my whole afternoon on this wild ride. It was better than any adventure I could have found for myself around the house.
The premise is simple, the object is as old as time - survive. This time a family is trying to survive on an island of off-the-grid inhabitants who are out for payback after a terrible accident.

I’ll not say more for fear of ruining any of the twists and turns. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, as brutal and unforgiving as it is.

This book was amazing! I enjoyed every single chapter, and it kept me hooked the entire time, which I loved! It was full of crazy twists I never saw coming!

Well, this was an odd one. I enjoyed the ride and it was a hell of a ride. But, did I actually like it? I truly have no idea.

I flew through the book but, I found the dialogue to read strangely sometimes and I can’t tell you one single character I actually liked. Even the main character I was annoyed with.

I do think this would be more enjoyable as an actual TV show and not in this format. I still can’t figure out if I actually enjoyed this!

Fast-paced, suspenseful, thriller/horror. This is told mostly from the point of view of Heather who is married to Tom and is the young stepmom to two teenagers Owen and Olivia, who lost their mom a year ago.. Tom decides to take the family along to a medical conference in Australia for a working vacation. They end up on a small island looking for local wildlife, and that's when the trouble begins. This book had me on the edge of my seat and I did not want to put it down. Highly recommend.

This makes me not go on vacation anymore. just kidding!
I felt like i have ran and escaped together with the characters while reading this novel. It gives a little bit of Lord of the flies and deliverance vibe. If you are a reader who is into fast paced actions and tactics here is a good one.

This was my jam! Thank you @netgalley and @littlebrown for the opportunity to read this book early!

Hulu already picked this up to be a series and YES!! I can NOT wait.

McKinty is the author of The Chain, which I loved! But what he serves us up here with The Island is an entirely different beast. This is an intense thriller/survivalist story that had me on the edge of my seat cramming popcorn into my mouth the entire time! Seriously.

I've been waiting for a true thriller! One that gets your heart pounding and blood pumping so much that every time you have to put your book down you crave to pick it up again. The pacing was consistent. The beginning had an appropriate build-up that didn't drag. A little gruesome at times but if you're worried, those parts move fast. It reads so vividly like an action-packed movie, which I'm finding is a reoccurrence with this author. He's awesome. Sure, at times it was a bit far-fetched but hey, that's entertainment folks!

Also, don't skip out on the Acknowledgments. Loved hearing his inspiration for the story. 5⭐️!

The Island is set to publish on 5/17

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a page-turner! Reminded me of Deliverance or many horror movies I’ve seen. I will definitely never travel to an island to see koalas, that’s for sure! A very good thriller.

This book will literally have you on the edge of your seat. While reading this book my heart was beating faster than running on a treadmill at 9mph at an incline of 3 .

Tom Baxter is well renowned orthopedic surgeon who has been invited to several conferences in Australia . Tom is also newly married to young massage therapist named
Heather . He decides to bring Heather and his two children , Owen age 12 and Olivia age 14 along for the trip. Heather is interested in going on this trip as it will give her an opportunity to bond with the children.

The kids are bored and are begging to see the vast wild life Australia has to offer . Who would guess two teenagers tenacity to see koalas and a father’s eagerness to please them would change the entire family's life forever. The family thinks they are headed to a private Island to partake on a real Australian outback experience but what awaits them is far from that .

This book is truly an edge of your seat , heart pounding thriller that reminds me of a 1980-90s action packed movie. This is a kill or be killed battle of survival.


I would highly recommend this to all fans of thrillers

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC . The book will be out May 17. 2022