“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.”

The warmest of welcomes to damppebbles today and to my stop on The Retreat blog tour. The Retreat is the latest release from one of my favourite authors, Mark Edwards, and is available to purchase from 10th May onwards. You can catch my reviews of some of Mark’s previous books by clicking the following links (be warned, there may be a spot of fangirling): Follow You Home, The Devil’s Work & The Lucky Ones (I have read more than these three, but they were pre-blog so no reviews to share. Shame on me!).

Normally, after finishing one of this author’s books, I sit back and think, ‘Wow, could that happen to me!?’. I didn’t do that this time, which is probably something I should be relieved about. The story felt a little more ‘fictional’ than others before it, but that’s neither here nor there. This is another fantastic addition to Mark Edwards’s catalogue of outstanding psychological thrillers. How does he do it?! Time and time again! (Honestly, if you’ve never read anything by this author then you are seriously missing out!).

You may know me as a die-hard crime fan but I’m also a massive fan of the horror genre and The Retreat is billed as a psychological thriller with a horror twist. If the word ‘horror’ puts you off then don’t fret, it’s a not a gruesome, gory slasher fest (which I love, by the way). The horror is provided by a small community’s fear of its own fables. A myth handed down through the generations, from parent to trusting, mesmerised child about a witch; the Red Widow. The Retreat shows the reader the terrifying consequences of an urban legend, and the uncomfortable power an adult has over a child’s beliefs to tease…and terrify. And ultimately, what terrible damage can be done.

Lucas Radcliffe is our main protagonist and possibly my favourite lead in a book ever. He’s a horror writer, recently bereaved after the horrific death of his girlfriend and following his one bestseller is struggling to get anything he’s even remotely proud of down on paper. That’s why a trip to Nyth Bran, a new writers retreat seems like such a good idea. Particularly as it is just down the road from where he grew up as a child and he knows Beddmawr fairly well. That’s where he meets Julia, widowed owner of the writers retreat and mother of missing daughter, Lily. Life hasn’t been kind to Julia; her daughter disappeared and was believed to have drowned in the River Dee, her husband leapt in to save his daughter only to drown himself. Julia firmly believes that Lily is still alive and convinces Lucas who sets out on his own mission to find the truth. That’s when the strangest things start happening at Nyth Bran and to the residents of Beddmawr…

Most of the chapters in the book are narrated in real time, but every so often the reader gets to hear from Lily before she went missing back in 2014. I thoroughly enjoyed these chapters and marvelled at how well Edwards managed to replicate an 8-year-old girls voice (I have a 7-year-old daughter myself so feel I’m fairly well qualified to comment!).

Would I recommend this book? I would. Read this and every single other book written by Mark Edwards as I can guarantee, you will not be disappointed. If you’re looking for a book to make you feel a little on edge, a book to take you to places you never imagined and to witness deeds you never foresaw, then give The Retreat a go. Such a compelling, well-written and accomplished book and one I devoured in just over 24 hours. Mark Edwards remains one of my very favourite authors and can’t seem to do anything wrong in my eyes.

Four and a half stars out of five.

I chose to read and review an eARC of The Retreat. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Retreat by Mark Edwards was published in the UK by Thomas & Mercer on 10th May 2018 and is available in paperback, eBook and audio formats (please be aware, the following links are affiliate links) | amazon.co.uk | amazon.com | Waterstones | Book Depository | Goodreads |

Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers in which scary things happen to ordinary people and is inspired by writers such as Stephen King, Ira Levin, Ruth Rendell and Linwood Barclay.

His first solo novel, The Magpies (2013), reached the No.1 spot on Amazon UK and has sold 300,000 copies to date. This was followed by What You Wish For (2014), Because She Loves Me (2014; also a No.1 bestseller in the UK) and Follow You Home(2015).

He also co-writes with Louise Voss. Their novels are: Killing Cupid (2011); Catch Your Death (2011); All Fall Down (2012); Forward Slash and a series featuring Detective Inspector Patrick Lennon, starting with From the Cradle (2014) and The Blissfully Dead (2015). Read more about Voss & Edwards.

Mark grew up on the south coast of England and starting writing in his twenties while working in a number of dead-end jobs. He lived in Tokyo for a year before returning to the UK and starting a career in marketing. He now writes full-time and lives in the West Midlands, England, with his wife, their three children and a ginger cat, Billie, who was named after an actress from Doctor Who.

When he’s not writing or looking after children, Mark reads a lot, devours TV box sets and spends far too much time on Twitter and Facebook, where he loves chatting with readers. He also wishes he had more time to do the activity he loves most: karaoke.

Author Links: | Website | Twitter | Facebook |