The Retreat

By: Mark Edwards

Narrated by: Simon Mattacks

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

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?

From the bestselling author of Follow You Home and The Magpies comes his most terrifying novel yet.

©2018 Mark Edwards (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Mark Edwards does it again!

I try to make my audible books last, but when the suspense builds, I must keep reading. This was a most enjoyable listen. The idea of a retreat in the woods, an old urban legend and missing children are a recipe for great entertainment. I'm excited to note the next book will be out in October. I can't wait to order it.

Creepy

Well that was creepy. There is a lot going on in this book and at the same time is it all believable. I wasn't sure if this was suppose to be a horror book or suspense and I say it leaning more toward suspense with some creepy thrown in. I have never read a book by this author but I did enjoy reading this one. I needed something a little different then what I was currently reading and that book did it for me. If you like suspense and wondering what the heck is going on then pick up this book.

I did NOT see that coming!

Really enjoyed this book- it seemed to drag on just a little at times, but at the end it was just WOW!

Intrigued from beginning to the end!

I seriously was suspicious of every character except the right ones!
Great read! Definitely getting another Mark Edwards book!
Every 35 years a little girl goes missing.. a legend backed up with actual proof!
Unraveling the mysterious disappearance or the little girls proves to be escalating in danger for others Luke gets closer... now he is a target or is he...?

two thumbs up

Until the last three chapters, u don't know if u r frightened by a ghost or a mad man. just know yr scared. Quite a unexpected twist towards the end. Excellent.

amazing!!!

it's rare I find horror books I enjoy! but this was truly awesome. hope there's more to come

Boy this was dark

If you want a good dark mystery then this is the book for you. A lot of twists and turns. You think you have it figured out and then in the next chapter you don’t.

Underwhelmed

This story morphed into a horror writer becoming an investigator out of a desire to help. There are current and past storylines. It's a minimally interesting interconnected set of mysteries. But I was done once Lucas couldn't find his phone, and no one thought to call to try to find it or to use a find-the-phone app even though Lucas used it before for his girlfriend's phone. Lucas was always, always seeking a logical reason for strange occurrences. Yet, he nor anyone else went there for a vanishing phone. Similarly, he didn't ask everyone about his missing favorite pen or to look out for it. And that wasn't the only time a logical act wasn't included in order to help the book movement, to bolster the conflict.
Some common tropes were used. And the great reveal was a little surprise, but the explanation was underwhelming.
There's 1 quick sex scene more than midway into the story.
The narrator did a great job including with some eye-rolling parts.

Fun mystery!

I enjoyed this story and its little twists, quirky characters and subtle macabre atmosphere. Very entertaining and great narration too. I would like to read more from this author and hear more from the voice actor. Well done!

Great story!

This would make an amazing movie or short series on Netflix! Such a great and interesting story!