Title: The Retreat
Expected publication: 10 May 2018
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
“It’s like I dived into that river two years ago. And I’m
still under the water, holding my breath.”
Book Description:
Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident.
Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near
their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes
Lily is somehow still alive.
Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily. But within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of eerie events.
When Lucas’s investigation leads him and Julia into the woods, they discover a dark secret—a secret that someone will do anything to protect…
What really happened that day by the river? Why was Lily never found? And who, or what, is haunting the retreat?
My musings:
Take a spooky old house in a small, isolated Welsh
community, connected to the disappearance of a small girl. Add a group of
writers with overactive imaginations and a sprinkling of things that go bump in
the night. Stir in someone who is prepared to do anything for the past to stay
hidden and pour the whole mixture into a remote, eerie forest. Does this not
sound like the perfect recipe for a delicious, spooky mystery? I thought so,
and thoroughly enjoyed the taste of it.
Edwards has an engaging writing style that immediately drew
me into the story – I love nothing more than a claustrophobic setting, and the
old mansion turned writers’ retreat provided the perfect backdrop for this
tale. Horror novelist Lucas Radcliffe has come to the retreat for inspiration
to make progress writing his latest ghoulish book, but even with his vivid worst-case-scenario
imagination he was not prepared for the dreaded “be careful what you wish for”.
The eclectic mix of characters at the retreat, plus the mysterious goings on at
the house made for a story I was loathe to put down, reading way too long into
the night to find out the answers. Edwards’ writing style is engaging and I remembered
how much I loved one of his previous books, The Magpies, for the very same
reason.
Whilst Edwards delivers a solidly plotted mystery involving
a missing child, he is also not afraid to throw some urban legends and local
folklore into the mix to build intrigue and suspense. Haven’t we all feared
them as a child, those stories of ghouls and monsters that snatch innocent
children in the night, that prowl the forest in the moonlight and steal your
soul when you utter their name? I remember one vividly from my childhood, a
fanged wild eyed creature who was supposed to come through your bathroom drains
if you called her name three times down the toilet bowl. It may sound strange,
but even as a child who was always up for a dare, I never mustered up the
courage to tempt fate (there were some big rats that could make their way up
the pipes, so why not a monster?). In The Retreat, it is the scary figure of
the Red Widow who is being blamed by some superstitious villagers for little
Lily’s disappearance. This spectre, distressed and angry after losing her
unborn child, demands one of the village’s children as a sacrifice every 35
years.
If this all sounds strange and a bit “out there” to you,
don’t despair, because Edwards uses these local superstitions to their full
potential, and they provide as much of a backdrop as the remote claustrophobic
setting. And if you are really clever and pay attention, you will pick up on
the trail of breadcrumb like clues Edwards leaves along the way to point you in
the right direction. With a dual timeframe and two POVs, that of Lucas himself
and that of the missing girl shortly before her disappearance, the mystery is
off to a most intriguing start and had me totally engrossed. Readers who find
it difficult to suspend disbelief may struggle with some elements in the
ending, but I am usually firmly in that camp and still found the final
denouement satisfying. There is plenty of action for those who need an
adrenaline fix thrown in as well.
Summary:
With its mix of mystery, action and suspense set in a
claustrophobic setting against a backdrop of local folklore and superstition, The
Retreat is a page-turning tale that will appeal to readers across multiple genres
and those who enjoy a good story in which (in Edwards' own words) 'scary things happen to ordinary
people'.
Thank
you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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