レビュー要約

• Some readers praise the atmosphere and the pressure-cooker setting, while others are put off by the characters’ unlikeability. It tends to work best for readers who enjoy dysfunctional family drama.

レビュー

• A remote winery setting, chapters told from different points of view, secrets, and an impending storm all made for an atmospheric thriller that kept me turning the pages. I enjoy reading books that have multiple points of view and this one didn't disappoint. There were many surprises and I didn't see the ending coming. This is a well written, well plotted psychological thriller.

• My second time reading this author, and boy, did she deliver! Talk about a cast of flawed characters. The Van Ness siblings return to their deceased mother’s estate and winery for an annual birthday celebration. Twins, Richard and Harper, attend along with their spouses. Their younger brother, Zach, brings his new girlfriend, Lauren, who is desperate to fit in. Not one of these characters is truly likeable—some are worse than others—but even the worst have fleeting moments of virtue. First person POV shifts between the female characters and an “invited guest” who is up to no good. There’s plenty of snark, back-stabbing, and wine flows freely. I loved the descriptions of the old house with its lavish rooms and secret passages, plus the presence of matriarch, Katrina Van Ness, which hangs over the gathering like a tangible presence despite her death the year before. Add riddles, superstitions, more than one mystery to solve, plus a brewing storm and this is a claustrophobic and atmospheric suspense novel. The twists are satisfying and the ending delivers. I’ve found a new auto-buy author.

• This was a good story. Nice twist. Felt a little long but overall a good read. It was like reading a gossip magazine, all the dirty laundry and secrets of the rich and famous.

• I was so excited to read The Weekend Retreat. My first by this author. Such a great mystery of twists, money, family, secret and lies. Kept me guessing to the end.

• What a great story! Not only is the plot full of twists, suspense, and wrong turns, the writing is great. I loved how the author delves into the psyche of almost every character until we know them well. The physical setting mirrors the mental world of the people living in the book, from the hopeful evening of arrival to the very end. SPOILER ALERT: My complaint is the villain and how we hardly get to see, let alone know, this person in the everyday world. We catch glimpses throughout the book, but popping up near the end cheats the reader. I almost gave the book four stars for this, but the rest of the story and its execution outweighed this point.

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