The Resort

I will have to divide my review in two parts: one for the book, and one for the AUDIObook. I've never had to do this before, but the narration by Miranda Raison, Dakota Blue Richards, Joe Jameson, and Pema Monaghan drove me absolutely mad. I will be honest, it wasn't until writing this review did I even realize there were multiple female narrators. The male narrator only comes in once, and god I wish we had gotten more of him. I couldn't tell the difference between any of the characters AT ALL. Not only do the narrators sound exactly the same, none of them do so much as change the pitch of their voice when reading lines for another character, and it is so confusing and absolutely maddening. Typically, narrators change inflection, accents, pitch, etc, but nope! Not these ladies. You can't tell the difference at all and it completely ruined the experience.

Now, on to the book. Ignoring a few very frustrating and obvious plot holes, it is SO GOOD. I was totally hooked and will definitely be reading more from Sara Ochs (provided she has better narrators). THAT ENDING! This is the kind of thriller I like, although it's much better suited for a summer read, so I recommend holding off for warmer weather.
Audiobook: 1.5
Book: 4

A bit of a slow start where it spends maybe too long explaining the relationships between the Permanents, focusing on all but one, who never really gets fleshed out at all.

The mystery builds and leaves you guessing the whole way through with twists and turns I never saw coming.

Unfortunately the end is some Deus Ex Machina situation where it swoops in, fixing everything before we move on to the aftermath and an opening for a sequel. It felt rushed and like the buildup through the whole book was pointless.

Probably not an author I'll pick up again, which is disappointing as I liked everything up to that point.

Solid Tropical Murder Mystery Will Be Problematic For Some. Straight up, this book features an "on-screen" rape and an "off screen" predatory "relationship" between a teacher and a student. And yes, that last bit is a bit spoilery - but it is also something a lot of readers are going to want to know about before they get to that point in the tale. If either of those issues are absolute no-gos for you, you're going to want to avoid this book.

But if you're still here... beyond those two issues, this book was a *great* cat and mouse thriller that has twists almost literally through the last page of the text, and you're going to need to be clairvoyant to catch the last one in particular because it comes that far out of left field, but in a Now You See Me type manner where well, you were just looking too closely.

It also uses its tropical setting absolutely stunningly, in all its beauty... and perils. This book is going to make you want to go to Thailand and find one of these remote island resorts... but just be careful about it. :D And if you read J.M. LeDuc's Eastern Drift, based in Miami but featuring a trip to Thailand itself, near in time to reading this book - as I did - you're *really* going to be tempted to look up pricing for flights out to Bangkok. (Looks like around $3K for a late April 2024 round trip flight, staying a week. Just saving you some time on a casual check. :D)

But seriously, the scenery is both beautiful and visceral in this tale - you're going to feel like you're there as much as you want to be there. Indeed, the scenery is used so well in the tale that at times it actively overshadows the overall plot... but that is actually a great thing in the early stages of a tale such as this, because I in particular almost *want* that to happen in a book such as this. Ground me in the lush tropical setting. Give me some hints of some trouble, but have it overall be about just how amazing this place is. *Then* hit me with the "well... paradise for some may be hell for others" bit. Which Ochs does spectacularly, then proceeds to ratchet up the tension and ultimately action sublimely.

Again, if you can withstand the onscreen rape and offscreen predatory "relationship"... this truly is an excellent book that I sincerely hope the author can replicate in future works. Very much recommended.