Karen King

The Retreat by Karen King is a psychological/mystery thriller that takes place at a recently renovated villa in Spain. The villa has been transformed into a health and wellness retreat by Jose and his girlfriend Eva. They plan to open to the public soon but before the grand opening invite six couples for five days for a trial run to work out the kinks. Two of the guests are known to them and have shared secrets in their past that has the opportunity to create anxiety for Jose and Eva. As the guests arrive strange things start to happen, small mistakes and mishaps that can make the guests uncomfortable. Despite all the careful planning and implementation Jose and Eva have done to prepare it seems as if some one or something is out to stop them and ruin all their hard work. And then the mishaps begin to escalate. It's a mystery that is quite complicated and will take the entire five days at the retreat to unravel. Who and what wants the retreat to fail. And most importantly, why. Recommended for fun.… (mais)

Disaster strikes at the very beginning of this book, when Phil is in a serious car accident and is left amnesia, not remembering the past two years of his life, which incidentally is the length of time he has been married to Freya. He can remember everything earlier in his life but from getting off the plane after their honeymoon is a blank.
Freya was about to leave him, his violence was out of control but knowing he had lost all memories of his violence towards her, she thought he would be a different person.
Told in Freya and Phil’s POV at first I did think Phil may have changed, he was confused; scared even that maybe even Freya could have tried to kill him. With an intruder breaking in, letting him know they know what he did. It must have been frightening with not knowing what has happened the past two years and trying to piece it together. I made the wrong call on that one, he is a horrid man and does not deserve Freya!
In Freya’s POV she remembers the times he has lashed out since she has been married to him, but he had a way of manipulating her, making her think she was the provoker. She stood by him and walked on eggshells a lot of the time. It was heart wrenching.
As the book goes on, a lot comes out not just from the past two years but things from before that too and the very end had me left with an open mouth.
This was utterly gripping and I could not put it down.
… (mais)

The Family Reunion by Karen King is a highly recommended domestic drama.

Mary's husband Paul passed away after 38 years of marriage and she misses him every day, but she also never told him her guilty, shameful secret. When she was barely 16 she gave birth to a daughter she named Hope. Knowing her father would never permit her to keep the baby, she gave birth alone and then abandoned Hope wrapped in a yellow blanket with a note. She hid nearby to make sure Hope was quickly found, but has regretted her decision for 45 years. Now she has decided to find Hope and introduce her to her two children with Paul, Joanne and Jason.

When she actually finds Hope, the two confirm they are related through a DNA test. Mary learns her first born daughter's name is Cathy and the two immediately begin to form a relationship. Mary is thrilled to share time with her oldest daughter and hopes Joanne and Jason will accept her. When they all meet, however, the tension is palpable. It seems that Joanne and Jason are concerned that Cathy's motives for the relationship may be to take advantage of Mary financially. And then strange things begin to happen...

After a very intriguing opening which foreshadows problems to come, the pace of The Family Reunion slows down while setting all the pieces of the plot into place. The direction the plot takes will increasingly hold your attention after every chapter. The narrative is told through the points-of-view of Mary, Cathy, and Alison, Jason's wife. Joanne and Jason are truly disagreeable characters. At time you will fear that Mary is too trusting and naive. Cathy seems sincere and helpful, but we also know that she has a few secrets of her own.

King does a commendable job placing suspicion on everyone as well as throwing a few red herrings into the plot to keep you guessing. There is a whole lot of secrets, deception, gaslighting going on in the plot, which does make the story compelling. And then, of course, the foreshadowing in the opening of a dark turn in the plot will keep you reading to see who this man is and why he was after Mary. There are several shocking twists and turns in the narrative, but the twist at the ending is totally unpredictable and surprising.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Bookouture via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/01/the-family-reunion.html… (mais)