Cover Image: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Great read! Full of twists and turns. This kept me on the edge of my seat! Highly recommended. If you're looking for a good thriller, this book is for you!

Was this review helpful?

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is Lisa Ungler’s twentieth novel, and this was one of my favorites by her. I am a fan of locked-room mysteries, and this book was enjoyable to read. I had access to both the kindle and audiobook versions.

Three couples were trapped together on a getaway weekend in a luxury cabin in the woods due to bad weather conditions. They could not trust each other because they held their darkest secrets as their baggage. The seemingly haunted cabin with guests with dark secrets and an intriguing DNA/ancestry side plot made for a suspenseful and exciting storyline. The multiple POVs were mainly easy to follow, and the story was a page-turner. The conclusion was satisfying, and it tied everything together perfectly.

Thank you to NetGallery and both Harlequin Trade Publishing and Harper Audio for giving me a copy of the book

Was this review helpful?

Let me start off with this: I love Lisa Unger and she’s always been an auto-buy author for me. Her thrillers are always unputdownable and perfect for the crisp fall nights that are in our near future.

I was very excited to be approved on NetGalley for this early review copy of 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙣 𝙎𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙎𝙞𝙭 which drops in November. It has so many things I love: an atmospheric scene (where weather plays a major character role in the story), a remote location for a locked-door thriller setup, a cabin in the woods, a “romantic” getaway, and a truly messed up family.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for me. It suffered from a whole host of very unlikable characters with really deplorable behaviors. Of the whole batch of characters in this book, there were maybe 3 who were honestly okay people in the end.

This book is full of stuff that gives me the creeps, from rape/sexual assault to animal violence and a peeping Tom. It warrants some trigger warnings.

Beyond this, there are SO many characters, as well as two parallel storylines that seem unrelated for at least part of the novel, and it was hard for me to keep track of who was what and what their role was in the story.

This also just didn’t feel like Unger’s typical writing style. On the positive side, I did finish it in a day and wanted to know where it was going to end. I just wish I was happier with it overall, and I hate to give a less-than-glowing review for an author who I typically adore.

I can assure you this won’t be the last book of Lisa Unger’s that I read… but this was just not my favorite.

Thank you again to @netgalley and @parkrowbooks for this preview copy.

Was this review helpful?

So far this is in my top favorite thriller reads of 2022, as well as a first read by Lisa Unger. I can’t wait to read more by the author!

Do you love locked room mysteries?! I love them!! Six friends embark on a luxury weekend getaway in which everyone has been holding in secrets, so what could go wrong?! I won’t go in to anything more because this one is fun to go in to blind.

Was this review helpful?

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six started out incredibly strong for me, but around 2/3 of the way through, took a bit of a turn that started to lose me. I enjoy Unger's writing and was still eager to finish this one, but was ultimately not my favorite.

Thank you to Park Row for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

This is a story of a weekend away gone awry. Hannah is the main character and easy to relate to. I found the rest of the characters hard to care about in this mystery. It was an interesting storyline, but didn’t really hook me.

Was this review helpful?

Lisa Unger is a winner, folks. I'm so glad I tried her out with Confessions on the 7:45 and haven't looked back.

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six has all the suspenseful elements I love.
Remote, dismal location...check.
A cast of very shady characters...check.
An eerie sense of dread looming from pretty much the very first page...check.

I love locked-room mysteries and have learned to be skeptical of absolutely everyone. This one did not disappoint and I appreciated how everything weaved together at the end. So many unlikable or questionable characters, but also a few to be optimistic about as well kept my interest and attention.

Pick this one up if you love everything on that checklist I put up earlier, or if you enjoyed Lucy Foley's The Guest List.

Was this review helpful?

What’s not to like about this story? A creepy setting in a gorgeous mansion in a secluded area with a creepy caretaker with a pension for hidden cameras? Check. A slew of suspects (I mean guests), each one hiding an important secret. Check. A power outage in the middle of a raging storm. Yes! This story had all the ingredients for a perfect storm. It was fun donning my detective cap and playing along. I did guess the “who” earlier on, but it was still enjoyable to see how it all unraveled!

Was this review helpful?

Gritty and compulsive thriller. I was lost at times with a few of the characters but it all tied together by the end. Great read!

Was this review helpful?

Beautiful modern cabin in the woods. Creepy stories about ghosts and murder at the cabin. Genealogy tests and finding out your biological father was a serial killer. Yes please!
This thrilling tale delves into genetics and if our DNA can make us into an evil person.
Thank you to Harper collins Canada for the arc of this book.

Was this review helpful?

Lisa Unger’s new novel, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, is a locked-room mystery/thriller that you will find hard to put down. I’m not usually a fan of the locked-room mysteries but this one kept me engaged until the very end.

A group of six close friends/family rent a secluded luxury cabin in Georgia for some much needed down time. With limited WiFi on a good day, as a storm approaches the group becomes more isolated than ever. As trouble start brewing and the danger increases, they only have themselves to rely to survive.

There are several different story lines and POVs going on through out the book so at times it was easy to get tangled up a bit. Lots of dark secrets, flawed characters and surprising DNA results keep the plot interesting. A fast-paced well written intriguing novel.

I would definitely recommend this book to all mystery/thriller fans ( locked-room or not). This will be a great fall thriller you don’t want to miss.

Was this review helpful?

Lisa Unger delivers another page turning psychological thriller that is fast paced and absolutely everyone is a suspect. Thanks for the advanced copy!!

Was this review helpful?

A cabin in the woods, a major storm and murder, what is there not to like about the story. Lisa Unger does what she does best in this action packed thriller. A little confusing with multiple points of view and parallel story lines she competently ties it all together in a story that keeps you reading. As a side note, this is the second book I have read in recent weeks that genetics plays a major part. Is there a new trend starting?
Thanks to NetGalley and Killer Crime Club for the advanced readers copy

Was this review helpful?

This was such a great read!! I loved the suspense. The questions. The DNA aspects. It was a slow set up but it really took off and was a fun read. I was so curious how Henry tied into the story and way role he played with the cabin and the 6 people. I really liked the multiple POV.

I did want more on Bracken because he seemed quite twisted and his story kind of fizzled out. I expected him to be more integral to the story. He was a minor character tho. Just seemed he’d more essential

I thought it was a great page turner!

Was this review helpful?

Great pacing, multiple perspectives and an interesting twist makes this book a great ride.

Set in a remote cabin with a sketchy host and even weirder staff, you are kept on your toes wondering who has a secret and who is going to get hurt.

I enjoyed the history of the property, and the possibility of a ghost sighting.

I was a bit confused with Henry’s storyline but once it got past his childhood, it started making a lot more sense.

This is a thriller you can really sink your teeth into, and it’ll keep you up at night, both trying to finish and with it’s creepy location and storyline!

Was this review helpful?

An interesting premise derived from searching for family through DNA testing and the sometimes surprising results. Found the novel was definitely absorbing and I really wanted to put the pieces together. Thought there was a good variation of characters from Alice who was quite intriguing as well as Macko and Henry. Lots of good vs evil. Great coverage of a fairly extensive period of time.

Was this review helpful?

This twisty mystery has one of my favorite devices ever, a mystery in the past that will eventually catch up to, and converge with, the present. Unfortunately the style is very repetitive. Key characters get their own POV chapters where they go over and over in their minds the same few ideas about their personalities and relationships to each other. Tech mogul Mako is a bad man; his sister, Hannah, bails him out and covers for him. Her friend, Cricket, is a party girl and has always been infatuated with Mako, who is a bad man, but his sister Hannah turns a blind eye to his faults. The navel-gazing overtakes the plot. Readers might enjoy descriptions of the fabulous, luxurious vacation home where it all takes place.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free digital ARC.

Was this review helpful?

I liked the idea of fsther by insemination ... but it wasn't the main piece of the plot and that was disappointing.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you so much to Park Row Books and Lisa Unger for my copy of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. This book was a locked room mystery about three couples who are staying in a luxurious cabin in the woods. First there is Hannah and Bruce, worried to leave their baby for the first time but in desperate need of a vacation. Hannah’s brother Mako and his wife Liza are paying for the vacation and want everyone to get away for some bonding time. They also invite their close family friend Cricket and her new boyfriend Joshua, which is complicated because Cricket and Mako have a decades long affair.

Once they get to the cabin, they meet their host who doesn’t seem quite right. Then there is a horrible storm that cuts off power right after the couples learn the haunted history of the property. On top of all of this, everyone is hiding something and the complicated relationships begin to reveal something much deeper beneath the surface. Then, one of their party disappears and the group knows that danger is lurking.

Thoughts: I loved this secluded and creepy setting. Each of the characters are unique and individual which makes it fun to read about them all. They were all horrible and I wouldn’t say I was rooting for them, but I was interested enough to keep reading about them. This book was a slow burn that is definitely character driven, and things are revealed just enough to keep the reader engaged. I loved the DNA aspect of the story and how Unger used a genealogy test as a part of this story.

I would recommend going into this story blind like I did, because I didn’t know the plot or where the story was going. There were lots of things going on and I don’t feel like everything was resolved or explained which was frustrating. Things just worked out for the characters and some of them were not realistic, but it was a fun book that I’d recommend to anyone who likes a locked room mystery or a scary setting. 4- stars!

Was this review helpful?

This plot was so convoluted it made me feel quite dumb. There were too many details and red herrings in this novel. The ending tried to wrap up all the connections between the characters, but by then it was too late and I didn’t care anymore. The title was certainly intriguing, though.

Was this review helpful?