Blog Tour Review, The Weekend Retreat

THE WEEKEND RETREAT
Tara Laskowski

352 pages
Graydon House
published December 26, 2023

Buy Links: 

Harlequin |BookShop.org | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million | Amazon 

About the book: 

Every year, the illustrious Van Ness siblings, heirs to a copper fortune, gather at their lush winery estate for a joint birthday celebration. It’s a tradition they’ve followed nearly all their lives, and now they are back with their significant others for a much-needed weekend of rest and relaxation, away from the public spotlight.

With lavish comforts, gorgeous scenery, and indulgent drinking, the trip should be the perfect escape. But it soon becomes clear that even a remote idyllic getaway can’t keep out the problems simmering in each of their lives. As old tensions are reignited, the three couples are pushed to the edge. Will their secrets destroy them, or will they destroy each other first? And who’s been watching them from beyond the vineyard gates?

When a torrential rainstorm hits, plunging them into darkness, the answers prove all too deadly…

My Review

The start of this one reminded me a little of another book I read with the rich family and the playful but mean games that were played, but quickly moved away from that memory.  The news reports and stories along with the POVs from someone, the “Party Guest”, with an ulterior motive gave me foreshadowing of what was likely to come.

It was hard to like anyone in the family as they were very entitled and not very kind, but I kinda like that as a trope in a thriller as long as I want to know what is up.  And I was curious of not only what was going on but also who had died.  I appreciated the atmospheric tone of the estate along with the impending storm.  And the memories of the ever-demanding mother just added to the atmosphere.  I was kept guessing as to who was sending the gifts and why and who might be the claimed family member.

Tara Laskowski

Author Bio: 

TARA LASKOWSKI is the author of The Mother Next Door and One Night Gone, which won an Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and Anthony Award, and was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Left Coast Crime Award, Strand Critics’ Award, and Library of Virginia Literary Award. She is also the author of two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders, has published stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Mid-American Review, among others, and is the former editor of SmokeLong Quarterly. Tara earned a BA in English from Susquehanna University and an MFA from George Mason University and currently lives in Virginia. Find her on Twitter and Instagram, @TaraLWrites.

Social Links: 

Author website | Instagram | Facebook