An interesting domestic thriller that I felt took some time to get moving. I really liked the setting but felt like Jess (the main protagonist) needed to be driving it a little more. It is well written but could have done with more devices to build suspense and tension.

Jess is taking a forced break from her GP role after something happened, so her husband Rob suggests they take a holiday by the sea. There the family get involved in the local life and make friends with their neighbours. But dark secrets abound and Jess finds herself drawn into their lives.

The Family Retreat is a dark thriller, focusing not just on the events but also the challenges that the families face and try to overcome. As a former psychologist, Bev Thomas knows more than most authors about the traumas and the coping mechanisms that people experience. This made the story more believable and compelling.

Great, dark, read.

I deleted this by mistake which led me to buying it. And it was worth every penny. I have just messaged all my book my friends saying BUY BUY BUY. I’m an absolute fan of this brand ok for a variety of reasons. It’s well written, it keeps you guessing and it’s compelling because of the variety of themes weaved into it.

The Family Retreat is a complex novel with strengths and challenges. While the characterisations and the portrayal of difficult themes are commendable, the pacing and structure may pose difficulties for some readers. It's a compelling, affecting, and educational read that tackles difficult themes while remaining entertaining. Overall, it's a story that demanded my attention and engagement by offering a mix of intrigue and complexity. Bev Thomas has crafted a remarkable story that resonated long after I turned the last page.

A good read, compelling and gripping. I enjoyed seeing things from different perspectives. Good characters.

I really liked this one and will look out for more by the author. Great characters and bone-chilling twists make this a must-read thriller.

The Family Retreat is definitely a play on words.
I won’t give any spoilers to the plot but this is a very well written tense psychological thriller that has you second-guessing just exactly what is going on here – who is a hero and who is a villain.
There’s some difficult themes explored – safeguarding, burn out and domestic violence to name but a few.
The last few chapters are really tense and gripping and I was hungry to read and find out what was going to happen.
The Family Retreat was sometimes hard to read due to some disturbing issues within the storyline but I still found it impossible to put down – I was gripped.
With thanks to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping family drama, The Family Retreat kept me interested from the first chapter. Twisty beyond belief, and a setting that seems beautiful until things aren't anymore, this is the perfect summer read. Thanks for the chance to read and review this title.

The Family Retreat is a decent read, it is classed as general fiction but I think I would class it more family drama.
Jess is a GP and is hoping for a lovely break in Dorset. She immerses herself into village life immediately and meets a mother with children similar to hers in ages. They form a friendship but Jess feels it is very one sided as she is really trying but Helen is very closed. Spending days with the children on the beach seems idyllic but Helen only starts to show another side when she gets calls from her sister. Jess is struggling with not coping well as a GP and a parent so gets involved with Helen to help her sister but trouble is on the horizon and neither see it coming.
I really enjoyed this book, it had a lot of tense moments in it and I couldn’t read it in a day as it wasn’t what I would call a relaxing read! The characters were all very different and I loved how the scenery of Dorsey made for some great moments. I would have liked Jess to have been more in holiday mode than getting involved in the village as fast as she did but that’s a minor hiccup on my part.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Fabre And Fabre for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Set in beautiful Dorset, this is an intense read that will leave you feeling emotionally drained. A mainly interesting plot which improved the more that I read. I found some of the characters irritating but the climax was so unexpected I ended up enjoying the book more than I thought I would.

I wanted to DNF this multiple times but I powered through. Sadly this just didn't work.
I found this all over the place. I found myself lost multiple times.
But I also feel this is a case of trying to do too much with how many different side stories and topics used. But then in the end it does very little.
The story was too slow and didn't pick up or get anywhere until 80% in and by then it's just too late.

Wow, what a read. I'm still reeling from what I've read. This book is nothing like the cover suggests!
From the first page, you are intrigued by why Jess is on a “sabbatical” from her job as a GP, the reasons for which are slowly revealed. When she discovers that the family in the holiday cottage across from hers have two children the same ages it's like the perfect summer holiday break even if they have everything that Jess and Rob don’t. The can do Dunstables, who put the ‘able’ in Dunstable. Perfectly organised Helen, lovely James, so kind, so helpful, so perfect and their two well behaved children. Add to the mix Joyce and Pete and their son Leo plus Penny and her Dad, not forgetting Jess’s family. We're all shaped by our upbringing and experiences and boy do the cast of this book have those experiences in spades.
A brilliantly written book dealing with some very serious subjects. I was invested in the characters from the off and their stories will remain with me for a long time to come.

Thankyou netgalley for allowing me early access to this title

I found this story quite boring and I was unable to finish

It wasn't for me, however I'm sure it will be perfect for someone

The Family Retreat is initially a slow burner but once it picks up the pace it becomes totally consuming, I did not want to put it down. A couple of times I was forced to in order to locate a box of tissues.
As someone with some personal experience of domestic violence it became obvious that Bev Thomas knows her stuff, hopefully from research only. I learnt so much about myself it was almost a course of trauma counselling for me.
This is such a pertinent and thought provoking novel as women are currently fighting to keep women only spaces safe against those men choosing to self indentify as female. The fact that as children, girls are taught to be aware of the dangers men can present and how it's their own responsibility to keep themselves safe. Thomas puts this all so succinctly via Helen.
A family drama and psychological thriller all rolled into one, I totally recommend this book and I will now be looking to read A Good Enough Mother too.

What a twist at the end! Kept me guessing and then it tricked me.

Rob decides the family need a month break in the summer holidays and reluctantly Jess agrees. so they and their two sons head to Dorset to a tiny cottage.
They start to enjoy all the pleasures the sea side offers and the Jess unearths a secret which she thinks she can solve!

Not what I was expecting but good nevertheless. Themes of domestic abuse and control that might not appeal/be suitable for everyone but topics that are handled well within the book. It takes a while for it all to be revealed and gives the reader an unexpected surprise.
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A book which includes sex abuse, coercive control, mid-life crises, domestic abuse, breakdowns, child abuse, suicide, child neglect and abduction. I found this book hard going and fairly depressing due to the above themes and would not recommend it.

I found this book somewhat confusing at first. Jess’ sabbatical and the reasons for it were rather weak and certainly unrealistic in today’s NHS. Some good and serious issues raised which were skilfully addressed. There was a rising sense of apprehension in the later parts of the book. This was a very well written climax.

I did enjoy this book although I found it a little slow at first with some unresolved threads. Slow build thriller involving the very serious issue of hidden domestic abuse. Good character depiction believable and relatable. A little predictable in places but enough to keep the reader still guessing

Maybe it is the cover and the blurb stating, “one perfect holiday, one shocking ending” and the fact that it is described as a psychological thriller, but 'The Family Retreat' is not the book I was expecting. Despite the rather frequent statements of “what was to come” (a common trope used in many basic thrillers as an attempt to ramp up the tension) it really is not a psychological thriller.

'The Family Retreat' is much more of an exploration of abuse, coercion and control than it is any form of typical thriller. These topics are handled carefully and surely by the author, with a definite air of knowledge and understanding of the subjects. It is a brave author that tackles these themes, particularly in the one book.

There are some genuinely thrilling moments that are tackled with sensitivity and sympathy but I’m not sure why it is being forced into the thriller category, although this may greatly increase its readership. So no, it’s not ‘the perfect summer read’ – it is much too serious and believable a book to sit neatly in that description.