The Resort by Sue Watson
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 17th June 2022
Amazon
Audio:
Published: 24th June 2022
★★★ 3 stars
DESCRIPTION:
When a dream trip becomes your worst nightmare…
You’ve been excited about this getaway for months – at last, a chance to reconnect with your husband at a secluded island resort. But when he unexpectedly calls you from the beach, you hear the urgency in his voice. Something is very wrong.
The beautiful waitress from the restaurant last night has been found lying dead in the sand. And the police want to question your husband about it.
Sure, you saw him glance at her over dinner a few times, but you know he didn’t have anything to do with the poor girl’s death. So why is he asking you to lie to the police that he was with you all night? And where did he go in those missing hours?
When he returns to your beautiful sea-view suite, things get heated and he accuses you of being jealous, just like he always does. Yes, the waitress was overly flirtatious with your husband, but you didn’t actually wish her any harm. Not really.
Can you trust the man you married… or are you the one who can’t be trusted?
A completely gripping, utterly twisted thriller that will have you turning the pages all night long! Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Hunting Party and The Girl on the Train.
MY THOUGHTS:
Sue Watson is one of my favourite authors. Not only are her thrillers fast, pacy and exciting but she is an absolute hoot to chat with! So naturally I had high hopes for her latest thriller set in an art deco hotel on a remote island off the coast of Devon. It had all the hallmarks of the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie. Secluded island, an isolated beach, rugged cliff edges and a handful of suspects. In fact, the very setting for this mysterious thriller is inspired by none other than Burgh Island just off the coast of Devon...the very inspiration for Ms Christie herself and where she wrote both "And Then There Were None" and "Evil Under the Sun" - both of which were the two books I was reminded of whilst reading THE RESORT. And it did indeed have a little modern-day Christie-esque feel to it all although it lacked her climatic endings where the suspects were gathered having to endure all possible scenarios before the villain is finally revealed. To step into the shadow of Ms Christie and walk where she had once done so, Sue Watson gave herself some very big shoes to fill.
The prologue opens the way for an intriguing tale to be told as the unnamed narrator watches the island and its majestic hotel disappear from the boat as they make their way to the mainland. It leaves the reader wondering from what was she escaping and what really happened there?
The story then dives into that of three couples - Sam and David, Daisy and Tom, Becky and Josh - each who are respectively introduced through the narratives of the wives. Each of them find themselves at the exclusive island resort, Fitzgerald's, for various reasons - a honeymoon, for healing and to celebrate an anniversary. But not all is well with these couples as they each begin to crumble in the privacy of their rooms whilst maintaining a facade for everyone else.
The couples inevitably become friends - well, the women do and the men basically tolerate the new-found friendships - and end up spending quite a lot of time together in the bar or around the pool. But each of the women also have their insecurities and systematically accuse their husbands of flirting with the friendly and very pretty waitress/barmaid/yoga instructor. None of them women trust their husbands very much either as each of them watch and wonder what their men are really up to.
Then one morning, Daisy is searching for a decent signal to make some phone calls with Sam in tow, and they wander further up the beach in the hope of gaining the longed-for mobile reception. But instead the women discover more than they bargained for when they stumble across the battered body of Stella, their young, friendly and pretty waitress/barmaid/yoga instructor.
All at once, Sam is hysterical while Daisy calls for help. The police arrive and set up a crime scene and question the guests as they endeavour to uncover the truth about what happened the night before when Stella met her untimely death. Was it a suicide? Murder? Or a tragic accident? Rumours begin to fly around and fingers are pointed. Each of the women begin to doubt their husbands, none of whom were with them at the time of the murder. And each of the husbands begin to act suspiciously by all accounts. It's difficult to know who is lying and who is telling the truth.
A very different style of thriller for Ms Watson, in the vein of Agatha Christie but without the same impact, THE RESORT focused more on the marriages and relationships of the three couples than the mystery itself. In fact, Stella's death was more of a subplot to the main one in which the wives spent most of the time suspecting their husbands of something to do with it without the sense of doom or spine-tingling chills. I was more irritated with them more than anything. Sam, a hairdresser who, after a whirlwind romance, married a charming handsome and rich man who constantly puts her down; Daisy, the beautiful and successful magazine art director grieving the death of her unborn child with her younger husband; and Becky, the quiet 40 year old mother who has come to the island with her husband, who controls everything she does and eats, to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary. Each of these women are irritating. Sam is incredibly naive but stupid. Daisy continues to push her husband away when they should be reconnecting. And Becky appears to be weak at the hand of her controlling husband. And then men are equally irritating. Except David. He is the most arrogant, rude, self-absorbed, conceited manipulative prig who is so far up his own...well, you get the picture.
As the story goes, the dialogue is heavy as is the to-ing and fro-ing of arguements between the couples. He said, she said, he gets drunk, she storms off. Too much conversation about their respective love and sex lives than the impending sense of doom or palpable tension I was looking forward to as in many other Ms Watson's previous thrillers. And while the action does pick up a little towards the end, the twists and reveals come out of nowhere as there really were no clues or hints peppered throughout to lead the reader to any sort of conclusion. To say I was hoodwinked is an understatement...there was nothing to really lead me in any direction except to the bedroom to partake in another sexual marathon with Sam and David, who seems to fix everything with a bit of "how's your father".
The concept was clever, the promise of it was intriguing, but the execution failed and I really hate to say that because I love Sue and her thrillers. And I feel awful saying that I was a little disappointed with this one. I would really have preferred more thrills, more clues and more tension and suspense and less drama and monologuing between the couples. Even by the end, I was still left with more questions than answers as everything wrapped up with lightning speed, it seemed, and one character just sort of disappeared into the ether with a vague explanation in passing but after the song and dance they had caused throughout, I felt they deserved a bit more of an ending rather than a passing mention.
I normally love and thoroughly enjoy Sue Watson's thrillers but sadly THE RESORT was not a favourite. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.
However many have loved it where I have not, and you might just enjoy it more than I did.
I would like to thank #SueWatson, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheResort in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue has written sixteen novels (many involving cake), and many have been translated into several languages. Sue is now exploring the darker side of life with her latest thrillers OUR LITTLE LIES, THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR, THE EMPTY NEST, THE SISTER-IN-LAW, FIRST DATE, THE FOREVER HOME, THE NEW WIFE and THE RESORT.
Sue explored the darker side of life for her latest book 'Our Little Lies,' a dark, psychological thriller completely devoid of cake. She's hoping this change in direction will be reflected on the weighing scales.
Originally from Manchester, she now lives with her family in leafy Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – and procrastinating. Her hobby is eating cake while watching diet and exercise programmes from the sofa, a skill she’s perfected after many years of practice.
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