Review: The Retreat by Mark Edwards

A missing child. A desperate mother. And a house full of secrets.

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? Review:

I have to admit that I originally picked this audiobook because I absolutely loved the idea of a writers’ retreat tucked away in a small town with a mysterious past. And it certainly delivered.

Losing a child tears at my heartstrings and I could totally empathise with Julia’s grief and refusal to believe that her little girl was gone. Keeping her house by converting it into a writers’ retreat seemed like the perfect solution to her money woes, staying close to where her daughter disappeared, and her husband died.

The diverse range of characters were a little cliched on occasion, but their individual backstories supported that element to their lives.

I loved the mystery surrounding the Red Witch and the disappearance of a child every 35 years. As the story unfolded and clues were revealed I was sucked in by red herrings until the ultimate reveal.

This is a great story which kept me enthralled until the final page.