Sheer Insanity and Non-Stop Action.

Heather, her husband Tom, and his two kids, vacation in Australia. While out on a day trip driving around, an accident occurs and Heather and Tom make a split decision that changes everything. It’s a mistake, of course, a bad one at that!

From that point forward, the family is running for their lives and I mean running! A thrill ride a minute, this novel will keep you flipping pages as fast and furiously as possible.

This book kind of gave me agita for the simple fact that my pulse was pounding throughout and the pace was lightning fast.
3.5 Stars

A buddy read with Kaceey that kept us gripped to our kindles.

Thank you to Little Brown and Company for the arc via NetGalley.

Published on Goodreads.

Adrian McKinty's "The Island" reads like a horror / thriller where outsiders find themselves in a backwoods where community that has its own laws (think Deliverance & Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but without so much gore). I finished this read in less than 2 days (and they were work days!) because it was an adventure packed with action from start to finish. You'll root for the main character Heather, but also think, "How the hell is she going to get out of this?" the whole time. Like Jane Harper's "The Dry", the extreme Australian weather becomes a character unto itself (and made me think I should probably sign up for some survival skill training...). Enjoyed this one A LOT - perfect beach read thriller for summer! 4.5 stars!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early read of The Island. In this one, Tom, his new wife Heather, and his two kids Olivia and Owen, are on vacation in Australia. They stop at a roadside restaurant and start talking to these two men, who say they live on an island just off the coast where they can see a lot of native wildlife. Trying to please his kids, Tom and Heather decide to take the ferry over. They don’t see anything fun, but when they are heading back to the ferry, a woman on a bicycle pulls out directly in front of them. With no time to stop, they hit her and she dies. In a panic, they make the bad decision to try to get off the island before anyone finds out. But they do find out and force the family off the ferry and to the main house. Where they learn that this family thinks they answer to no one but themselves and they are going to mete out their own brand of punishment. Before long, Tom is shot and the rest of the family are prisoners. But while Heather may not have a fancy degree like her doctor husband, she did grow up on an island with two former military parents – she knows how to survive and she is determined to save herself and Tom’s kids. Now, I like thrillers and this was a good one, but I will say the whole concept of these three being hunted on this island really made me anxious. If you like strong women characters, though, Heather is a great one – she reminded me of some of Lisa Gardner’s female leads – strong and fierce and unwilling to back down.

Super entertaining! It’s not easy for these books to make readers care about the characters’ plight unless they really make them care about them. McKinty did a great job with it. At first I wasn’t sold. Heather has no backbone and her husband’s kids are obnoxious. They use their American wealth to go to a private island, do something unforgivable and then try to cover it up. But when everything goes sideways, Heather transforms into a resourceful, smart, strong badass who singlehandedly takes on a whole “Deliverance” family. I liked her more and more, as I cheered every time she had a win, and cringed when she didn’t. I also liked the kids’ transformation from spoiled brats to budding survivors. The plot is tight and a really fast read. When male authors write women, they don’t always get the psychology right, but McKinty really aces Heather. It’s well written so that the island comes to life so vividly, you can almost feel the heat, the thirst, the bugs… This is a fantastic thriller.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Little, Brown and Company!

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

The Island is utterly captivating and terrifying in equal measure. Combine the terror of Texas Chainsaw Massacre with the unknowable elements of survival stories and you have The Island, which follows a group of travelers who, after a terrible accident, become the targets of a disturbed family on an isolated island.

From the very beginning, the reader is placed on a journey with these characters and each loss and victory you feel profoundly. I have a special place in my heart in the story for the character of Petra, though to say why would be massive spoilers and the book is best to go in completely unprepared for. The survival story is set against the backdrop of Heather bonding, fighting, and protecting her two step kids who have not fully warmed to her since their own mother's passing. Heather is an amazing character who you can't help but root for in every single thing, though she has enough shades and complications that victory does not seem at all guaranteed for her.

This book was utterly fantastic and I needed to read it all in one setting out of fear of going to sleep without knowing how it all turned out.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Adrian McKinty is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers for when I'm looking for a bone-chilling, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride. This book was exactly that: an American family on vacation in Australia finds themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time after a car accident leaves them stranded on a small private island with a hostile clan of bogans who will not let them leave. Although the plot starts off as a run-of-the-mill family vacation story, it quickly turns into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse on an inhospitable, scorching hot Victoria wasteland. I was completely captivated from the first few chapters right until the end. SO GOOD.

I could rehash the plot here, but I think all you really need to know is that this is an electric, captivating story focusing on Heather, a 24-year-old newlywed who travels to Australia with her husband, an orthopedic surgeon giving the keynote at a medical conference, and his two almost-teenage kids. The family takes a day trip away from Melbourne, hoping to satisfy the kids' desire to see some wildlife. They overhear two brothers talking about how they live on tiny, family-owned island that has koala habitat, and Heather's husband immediately asks them if they can come see the koalas. The brothers are reluctant because the matriarch of their family, Ma, typically doesn't tolerate visitors. But eventually relent after Heather's family and a Dutch couple agree to pay them almost a thousand bucks for 30 mins of island exploration.

The families drive their car onto the ferry, and the brothers take them over to the island. It's a degraded place, and they do not see any koalas, much to the kids' disappointment. As the family is driving around the island, distracted by wildlife spotting, Heather's husband accidentally hits a young girl who suddenly emerges to cross the dirt road. Heather and her husband get out of the car and find that the girl is dead. Panicking, they assess their options: there's no service to call the police, and they know that there will be consequences if they tell the brothers. They decide to move the body into the grass, drive back to the ferry, and get the hell off the island as soon as possible. From the mainland, they'll call the police. This is where everything changes forever.

Of course, the brothers get a call and find out about the dead body. They round up Heather, her husband, and the two kids and take them to the family house. The family operates in a lawless way, and they know they want to mete out vigilante justice on Heather's family.

What ensues is a heart-pounding, thrilling battle of wits, survival instinct, and cunning - Heather vs. this massive, violent, ruthless family. She needs to do everything she can to survive and ensure that her kids survive, while battling the inhospitable natural environment of a scorchingly hot Australian island with no water and virtually no shelter. The book is a total cat-and-mouse game until the very end. I literally could NOT put it down.

If you like thrillers, YOU NEED THIS BOOK IN YOUR LIFE.

This was so good!! I had to put down my kindle to catch my breath multiple times because it was so intense. Adrian McKinty's talent in building tension is unparalleled, and the details are so vivid it's like watching a movie. Read it in one sitting and I cant wait for the next book by this author.

Thanks to NetGallery for the honor of reading this early. This book is an exceptional page-turner. To be honest, it starts out a little clunky, but stick with it, because it is sooo worth it. He's created a protagonist that until the very end you are unsure whether she's a good guy. There are major plot twists that you won't see coming, and the lead character is stretched to the limit of human endurance.

This was my first book by this author & I was so impressed! This was exactly what I would define as a TRUE thriller. It was a heart racing, fast paced story that kept me on the edge of my seat chapter after chapter.

I didn’t find the plot itself to be very original though It gave off strong “The- Deliverance-in-Australia vibes”— but the book was written really well & kept me entertained right until the last page so I didn’t mind the over-used storyline.

This book had the perfect amount of gore & psychological horror to make the situation believable & painstakingly terrifying as the reader. I also really loved the character build up of Heather & how much of a badass she was. I highly recommend my thriller friends to check this book out! 🤩

This was a short, fast-paced thrill ride with nonstop action. I read a ton of thrillers of many different types and I think this is the most consistent action I have ever seen. The whole thing was simply nuts from start to finish, with the tiny exception of the first few pages where we are introduced to the characters. I loved the atmosphere, from the gorgeous nature scenes to the terror of the hunt. I could feel it all. The only aspects of the book that I didn't care for 100% was some of the interpersonal things between the kids and their stepmom, and between said kids and their father. Everyone's feelings seemed to swing back and forth so fast, from absolutely adoring to total hatred and back again in a few pages. I get that in some ways teenagers are indeed like this, but a few times it was just a bit too ridiculous and convenient. Otherwise, I loved everything about this book.

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book should win an award for the most bizarre reads of the year!
The Baxter's have traversed the world from the US to Australia. While Tom attends a slew of medical conferences, his new young wife Heather will entertain his kids to the best of her abilities. A task made even more difficult given the children are reeling from the death of their mother. Understandably, they’re not nearly ready to accept Heather into their already made family.

As the kids are begging to see any of the in the vast wildlife of Australia, Tom and Heather Finally relent .They’ll travel to a small private island despite the warnings from those who will ferry them across the waters.

But one unfortunate mistake on this isolated island now has the family running for their lives!

I’m actually stumped on what to say about this book. So absolutely different. So totally original. I was magnetically drawn to it despite the fact it was so very disturbing. Much like a train wreck people slow down to gawk at.💁🏻‍♀️. A guilty pleasure, if you will. That was me…reading this book.

I won’t risk revealing more than that. For full shock value go in as blind as possible. Just be prepared for something so vastly different than your average, everyday thriller.

A buddy read with Susanne that we both laughed at the craziness of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company, Adrian McKinty and Netgalley for letting me read this one early. You’ll find this one on shelves May 17.

I loved McKinty’s previous book, The Chain, so when I was able to snag an early copy of this one I was so pumped. Just like The Chain, McKinty raised my heart rate immensely with The Island. This book is fast paced, filled with such great atmosphere, and very hard to put down. It’s also about to be a series on Hulu. I highly recommend thus one! Go get your preorders and library holds ready, my friends.

After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over everything. The discover a remote Dutch island looking for photos and memories and end up finding so much more.

This book will leave you physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. I literally feel as though I have run a marathon over the course of this book, and I am very out of shape! When Heather and her new husband and his two kids travel to Australia all they are hoping to see is some cool Australian wildlife. Unfortunately in the process a terrible accent occurs that changes the entire course of their vacation. Heather is forced to become a mom and a warrior all at once. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it has made me very aware of how oh little I know and that I would be certainly the first voted off on survivor.

Do you suffer from anxiety? I normally don’t – I’m pretty chill about most things. But this book? Oh my god, it made me anxious!

This is just the kind of book I love. You have a family who is simply in the wrong place. They know they shouldn’t be there, but a mix of privilege and whiny kids means rules get broken – and when they do, it all goes to hell quickly!

I can tell you that, as situations ramped up from bad to unthinkably horrible, I was a wreck. I can still feel my muscles tensing up just thinking about being in these situations! And along with the action, McKinty gives us characters that have depth. I was so worried about them.

This is a winner of a book – a fast-paced, heartbreaking, adrenaline rush of a read!

Can’t wait for the author’s next offering.

• ARC via Publisher

An American family takes a dangerous detour in Australia.

I enjoyed The Island a great deal and I think it will be really popular with the public. It's a perfect summer novel--a real page turner that blends action, suspense and heart.

Heather Baxter is a 24-year-old who recently married Tom, a widower with two children. Massage therapist Heather is not having an easy time adapting to her role as stepmother. Teenagers Owen and Olivia are still mourning their mother and not accepting the new person in their father's life.

Tom is set to speak at a medical conference in Australia and the entire family goes along. Out for a drive, they decide to take a trip to see the wildlife on Dutch Island, a former prison island now inhabited by a single family. Unfortunately, a car accident leads to terrible decisions and soon the Baxter family is being hunted with no way of escape.

I've already promoted this book during an online book event. Any reader who likes fast-pasted thrillers or enjoys movies like Die Hard or Jurassic Park will be completely riveted by this novel.

Adrian McKinty has delivered yet another thrilling ride. After an initial story building and scene setting, this book takes off with a jolt and continues through the last word. For those looking or an un-putdownable thriller, I would highly recommend this when it comes out in May!

Tom brings his new wife, Heather, and his children, Owen and Olivia, along on a business trip to Australia. When the kids request an adventure to see koalas, Heather and Tom could not resist. They venture to the island, inhabited only by the O'Neal family, and begin to look around. When a tragic circumstance changes the course of their visit, they find themselves at the mercy of the O'Neal family, who would stop at no limit to protect themselves and the life they have built.

This was an action-packed, heart racing thrill to read. Everything from the remote island setting, to the gripping story line full of twists and secrets, to the character development throughout the story had me captivated. I really enjoyed this book and would certainly read anything else Adrian McKinty has in store in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Chain a few years ago, and it has stuck with me, because the plot was so original. Since then, I’ve pressed the book into several hands because I couldn’t stop thinking about it and wanted to discuss it with others. While The Island lacks the originality of The Chain, the Australian setting sets this book about a family finding themselves on the run from a vengeful family apart from other books like it. This book kept me guessing, and I had a hard time putting it down while reading the last third of the book. If you haven’t read The Chain, I’d definitely recommend it, but The Island is a fast-paced thriller with a satisfying ending.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This reminds me of his last book I read, The Chain, in a good way. Brutal depictions of violence but the premise was not one I read before. Yes, it can be compared to Deliverance and other revenge hillbilly books. I really liked it and the pace is quick! Would definitely recommend. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved THE CHAIN and couldn’t wait to read this one. Tom is a bigshot surgeon, who took his family to Australia where he was speaking at a conference. The two kids want to see koala bears, so he pays a couple of guys to take them over to their island…..where bad things happen. An Australian DELIVERANCE is the best description without giving anything away. A fast read!