“Dark Circles” by Cate Dolan-Leach is a bit of a twisted mystery/thriller. The book begins with the reader following Olivia (Liv) Reed, one of the stars of a TV show, as she enters “House of Light,” an upstate NY wellness centre/retreat, where she can (hopefully) regain some control of her life and become more self-aware (or possibly just being cut off from alcohol, social media, and drugs might be good for a while). Wellness centers aren’t new to Liv, but Liv has never been to a place like this one. On her first full day there, she gets a weird feeling about the place - especially after she meets a woman named Ava, who mentions some odd goings on, and the discovery of a dead body in the lake on the property just adds to the overall oddness. Mixed in with the ongoing story are episodes of “Vultures,” a podcast Liv starts about the House of Light and the oddness of events surrounding the retreat.

This book pretty much hooked me in from the beginning - starting off with a podcast, yes - more please. When the story started off, I had little sympathy for Liv - a spoiled star caught up in stardom floundering left and right (oh, please!), but as the book unfolded I did become sympathetic toward her - yes, she made some poor choices, yes, sometimes she acted before thinking (okay, quite often), and yes, she trusted people too quickly, but toward the end, I had hope that she’d matured a bit and would become a bit more reliant upon herself. I liked a number of things the author did - such as including “armchair Internet sleuths” (hello, Reddit) and also showing the craziness of the Internet and theories, including the one regarding Liv’s mother. Even figuring out part of the ending a bit ahead of time, that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book - and I even liked the little red herrings the author included along the way. A very solid and enjoyable book.

I really enjoyed this book about a mysterious cult. I don’t wanna give too much away but this book was the perfect thriller. It was a slow build into a dynamic ending.

This was an interesting read and I appreciate the chance to have read it. It just unfortunately wasn't my cup of tea and I guess not my genre. Thanks for the e copy in exchange for an honest review.

Good fast paced thriller! Lots of twists and turns. Writing style is easy to read and follow the story.

Being famous has its perks, it also has its drawbacks. Mainly having no anonymity, Olivia Reed decides to take a break and escape to a private spa in upstate New York. Called the House of Light, the retreat promises to grant attendees peace, quiet and a chance to realign themselves with the natural world. Sounds great – unless you count the high number of suicides committed by the women who have attended the center. Together with a local woman named Ava, Liv tries to uncover the darkness that lies in the House of Light. Fans of Liane Moriarty will like this twisty thriller