I loved the length of this - novella, which really forces the plot to move quickly. A notorious billionaire offers a substantial amount of money for ten people to solve a riddle. A new twist some great tropes.

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author.

3.0 out of 5 stars A quick read.
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2020
I found this to be a quick mystery to while away an afternoon. The story started well, but as others have stated, it seemed to become disjointed as the story continued. There seemed to be a loss of the author’s empathy or attention to detail. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion

I enjoyed this book. It was interesting. Fast paced. Lots of twists and turns to keep your interest. Hard to put down. Very well written. Interesting plot and characters

Honestly, I just couldn't get into this book. I found it to be boring. I couldn't even finish it, which isn't something I usually do. The premise sounded very promising, but the author failed to deliver.

This book reminded me of the famous Agatha Christie book 'And then there were none', but unfortunately a bad remake

It was well written and I did wish to find out what happens, but there is no depth to the book and details were washed over. The story was very rushed and I felt exhausted reading it.

But don't let that put you off too much, it was a fun read

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for the Arc

I couldn’t decide between 3/4 stars.
The murder island mystery was so reminiscent of classic (Agatha) Christie I was so excited And it started that way but the pace of the story picked up so much speed any murder was just ‘oh ok, let’s move the body and move along’ type response, no who could be the culprit, no investigation, no big reveal of a hidden secret. This in part is because the the final third or so of the book is about wrapping it all up and tying a bow on the reason to leave a happy ending.
I kind of wish the author had never left the island with the story and kept the mystery there but I guess that’s a preference not all readers will share.

Billionaire Henry Hawthorn throws a party for eight rather disparate people who find a series of clues to solve before one of them wins $500,000, Australian $ presumably. They all, of course, have secrets they'd prefer left secret and are slowly knocked off one by one. It did all come together in an unusual way at the end but didn't, I'm afraid, grab or keep my attention to any great degree.It was an ok read. Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the locked-room mysteries. When you put it on a spooky island, even better!! Unfortunately, this one ended up being just a litte too predictable. There was nothing wrong with it but it felt like they had a checklist for how to write a locked-room mystery. Then they just checked the boxes in order.

Thank you Netgalley as well as the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The billionaire in the book is actually Henry Hawthorn not Francis Badeau.

Henry Hawthorn owns an island in Australia and invites 10 guests for his party to solve a riddle for $500,000. However, he has a hidden agenda. Each riddle leads to another guest's death.

This book totally has the Then There Were None vibe which I totally love. The plot was fun and kind of had me guessing what was going to happen next The problem I had with this book was the author glazed over a lot of the book super fast. Someone would be quickly die and the guests who be like "oh he's dead, what is the next clue?"

The other problem I had was the weird last 20% of the book. This part was boring and not like the beginning of the book. A lot of detail was given in this section. I think this kind of detail could have been thrown into the beginning of the book.

I did enjoy the quick pace of the book, but I wish it was a little more in-depth.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I thought this book was very Agatha Christie like! People being invited to an island owned by a millionaire only to find out it wasn’t going to be a pleasant luxury break!

They are all linked in various ways and this adds to the mystery. One by one they are picked out and have no idea of their fate.

The story manifests it’s self and is as shocking as it is sad, though you end up with not a lot of sympathy for most of the characters or the owner.

Good read and it does make you turn those pages!

Many thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was definitely an interesting, fast read. I don't think I've ever read anything like it in its pacing and organization methods, tbh. Some parts were sped up and other parts were slowed down, but generally everything progressed at BREAKNECK SPEED with relatively short chapter breaks. Going into this, I expected 95% of the book would be covering the events on the island, which is common. However, 'Hawthorn Island' only spent about 70% there, at most. Actually, there's a considerable amount of time spent on an investigation related to the underlying plot to the book. That organization threw me for a loop: at least it kind of explains why everything before it happened so fast.

Unfortunately, I think part of this book struggles because everything that happened on the island was breezed through. The story and characters could have been more fleshed out if there had just been enough time. As a reader, it didn't feel like there was enough time to bond more with the characters or invest more emotionally in the story. The suspense and thriller aspect also suffered from this, and the impact of death seemed a bit...cheapened, if I'm allowed to say so. There was too much of it in too short of a time period. Everything just happened too quickly, although many of the characters had so much potential.

Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't think the twists were too predictable, and the characters were distinctive and memorable when they had the spotlight. The premise and underlying plot were reasonable. There really was so much potential here! It's still a very engaging story, so I hope you get the chance to try it.

It has been several years since rich lawyer, Henry Hawthorn, held a party for all his famous associates. But now he is is throwing a party on his island off the coast of Australia for the 'common man'. Who are these select eight people, and why them. But there is a prize of $500,000 for the person who can interpret a series of clues to solve a riddle.
But once they all arrive on the island it is not long before the murders start. Is anyone innocent.
An enjoyable murder mystery

If you are a fan of Agatha Christie then this is for you. A great mysterious who-dun-it with lots of twists and turns and a mysterious sting in the tail. A storyline based in Australia, not to be missed.

This was a fast read and was reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, one of my favorite reads. At times it felt rushed, but overall I liked it. The resolution was satisfying, with a sort of happy ending.

The writing itself felt a little bit self-conscious at times, like the author was trying too hard, but it was easy to get past that. I did find myself not wanting to put it down because I wanted to see what happened next, and that is a mark of a good mystery/thriller.

I'll start by saying the billionaire in the book isn't Francis Badeau it's Henry Hawthorne. The book is predictable in the sense that you know someone has a grudge against everybody that's invited to the island. What's a little harder to figure out is who and why. The 3 star rating for me is simply because of the predictability of the book and my ambivalence towards what I read.

Thank you Netgalley as well as the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Overall decent thriller just a bit too predictable for me.