A combination of Deliverance and Survivor set in Australia, The Island is a brilliantly deranged tale of fear, family and persistent resistance. Adrian McKinty has delivered another psychological thriller that puts parents in impossibly terrifying situations to see how they would react when the lives of their young children hang in the balance.

Tom is a renowned surgeon who’s invited to speak at a medical conference in Australia and decides to bring his kids and new wife Heather along for a family vacation, hoping quality time together will help the kids warm up to his second wife after the tragic death of their mother. During their travels before his big keynote speech, they take what’s supposed to be a quick sightseeing trip to secretive Dutch Island, only to end up in the middle of a heartbreaking accident. Finding themselves trapped and at the mercy of a secluded, closely-knit local family, they must first bargain for then fight for their lives in an unfamiliar and harsh land. Despite incredibly long odds and step-children who don’t trust her, Heather must summon the courage, cunning and survivalist skills necessary to outwit, outplay and outlast those who will stop at nothing to keep her from ever leaving The Island.

As a big fan of Adrian McKinty’s last book, The Chain, I was eagerly awaiting this hotly anticipated novel. And it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it’s another banger of a thriller. An exhilarating and dire “us vs. them” scenario with seemingly no way out but through the danger. The skills that Heather must bring to bear against the island’s inhabitants are impressive, showing that individuals are capable of great feats when their backs are up against the wall. And the family she is battling…oh boy! They are unscrupulous, mysterious and possibly inbred. Definitely gave me flashbacks to the movie Deliverance. All that was missing was the banjo.

The Island is a fast-paced, fucked-up novel for fans of suspense, horror and witnessing people out of their element adapt and overcome the odds. Adrian McKinty has a second straight hit on his hands and thriller fans are the great beneficiaries.

Hm. I don’t know how I feel about this. I read this SO fast. Like, couldn’t put it down read it in 24 hours. The plot was super entertaining and engrossing. But also, it felt so entirely unrealistic and very contrived. The writing at times seemed super juvenile. I wasn’t really surprised by any of the twists. But yet I still couldn’t stop reading. I think I’m gonna go with 3.5 but that may change to higher or lower after I sleep on it.

The story is about an American family from Seattle that goes to visit Australia for vacation. The family is made up of Tom the dad, Heather the 26 year old girlfriend, 14yo Olive and 12 yo Owen. Olive and Owens mother died a year prior and they are not thrilled with Heather. In search of some wildlife one day, the family convinces a local to take them on their private ferry to their private island to see some
Koalas. While there, Tom accidentally hits and kills a deaf girl on a bike. The private island is made up entirely of one family - the Oneils - and if you watched Ozark at all I just kept picturing Darlene Snell. This family reacts to outsiders killing one of their own the same way I imagine Darlene would - wanting revenge. The rest of the book then is an action packed chase of who will kill who first. I’m not going to say anything else to give anything away, all I can say is I would suggest it for a super intense and fast paced thriller, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking.

After reading and loving THE CHAIN, I was so excited to read THE ISLAND, and it did not disappoint! Heather is married to Tom, a doctor, and to the chagrin of his two kids, much younger. The kids aren't thrilled with their new "mom" and they remind Heather of it every chance they get.

When Tom has to go to Australia for work, Heather suggests making it a family vacation, and that's where things start to go wrong. The kids are bored and restless, and the chance to see native wildlife on a private island is appealing to them. There is a ferry and a guide willing to get them to Dutch Island, but it's usually off-limits to visitors. Money changes hands, and the family is off. The family is involved in a horrifying accident that claims the life of a young woman, and the inhabitants want revenge.

What follows is a tense man vs. man and man vs. nature showdown. I have zero survival skills and am always in awe of those who do. This was one satisfying read with dynamic characters and superb plot pacing. Publishes May 17, 2022, and is slated to be a Hulu mini-series event!

Thank you Net Galley for a digital copy of this book and a chance to read it before release! All opinions are my own. If you like Taylor Adams' Eyeshot or JD Barker's A Caller's Game then this is a probably a book you will you enjoy. This is a very fast paced thriller.
A newly blended family takes a trip to Australia for the father to speak at a medical conference. Desperate to find some Australian adventure, they take a ferry ride to a small remote island hoping to see koalas. Everything is downhill from there! I didn't love the dialogue or the relationships, but that isn't really the purpose of the book. It's a quick and perfect for a vacation read if you are looking for something that's fast, entertaining, and has intense action.

Adrian McKinty knows how to freak readers out while still entertaining them in a bold and adventurous story that is The Island.
The narrative sees a family of four taking a trip to Australia where they’re lured to an island to see the local wildlife. What starts off as an innocent family picnic abruptly goes south when an accident brings the family to the inhabitants of the island, who are keen to get rid of the family for seemingly encroaching on their property. The family quickly gets enveloped in a game of survival in one of the most disturbing and engaging stories yet.
Heather Baxter is a strong and inspirational protagonist who takes front and center stage in this fight for survival as she takes care of her angry and rebellious stepchildren while maneuvering through death traps and violent islanders aiming to do unspeakable horrors to her family. Adrian McKinty wastes no time in setting the perilous stage to deliver the maximum horror in such a situation. Her transformation from a subdued mother to a take-charge and action-oriented warrior is delightful to read. Her emotional turmoil is still preserved, simmering under the surface, brought out at the right moments of emotional reconciliation and rehabilitation.
The essence of chaos runs freely throughout the story, giving off a Mad Max vibe as the action ramps up with scarce ammunition and weaponry, allowing the characters to ration supplies and develop ingenious traps to trap and kill each other.
The Island is a superb thriller to lose yourself in as it jolts you along for a wild and disturbing journey through a terrifying scenario. There aren’t a lot of moments for deep character reflections but that might just be in keeping with the adrenaline-coursing chapters that are guaranteed to be as riveting as they are dark.

Full review will be posted with blurb image on https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com

The Island is a fast-paced thriller that kept me engaged throughout. I was flipping pages quickly to find out what would happen to these characters. At first, I wasn’t sure if I cared much for them, but this book has a lot of character development that I wasn’t expecting. By the end, I definitely did and was invested in their relationships and backstories.

After loving The Chain last year and now loving this one as well, I can’t wait to continue picking up this author’s books. She reliably writes very engaging and action-packed thrillers. I might have liked The Island even more than The Chain because of the unique, secluded island setting. I would definitely recommend this thriller!

This was fabulous. Edge- of- your- seat suspense with excellent thrills and twists. I gobbled this up. Could not put it down. I mean, talk about a vacation gone wrong! You've absolutely got to read this book!

And THIS is how you write a book that gets picked up for film adaptation BEFORE it is even published!

Yeah, the rights to adapt this into a Hulu limited series has already been acquired and I can totally understand why.

The Island is everything you would want in a thriller action story or show. The characters are interesting, the pace is great, and the stakes are high.

Initially, it had a slower start, but at about 15% in, things go very wrong and it’s adrenaline and craziness from there.

It all begins with a family trip to Australia. Fun right? The kids just wanted to see some wild koalas, but they get so much more than that when the family pays to visit a completely off the grid and secluded island.

It’s a place that is inhabited by a tight-knit family who don’t take kindly to outsiders, hold grudges, and take the law into their own hands with a thirst for violence. It’s a wild ride that will make your armpits sweat. (Seriously. Or maybe it was just me? 😅)

Basically, The Island is an edge of your seat intense battle for survival following the rule- kill or be killed. I can’t wait to see who they cast as Heather. Whoever they choose will have some badass shoes to fill.

Huge thank you to @netgalley this ARC. Be sure to get it when it’s published on May 17th
and keep your eyes open for it on Hulu. Huge congrats to the talented Adrian McKinty! I’ll definitely be purchasing a hard copy of this for my shelves.

5 STARS! Duuuuuuude!!! What a wild ride! I went into this book blind, and I think that’s the best way to experience it, so I don’t want to give too much away! If this isn’t made into a movie, I will be shocked! I had never read this author before, but I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s style! I will be seeking out more from Adrian McKinty!

I got flashes of the 2003 movie Wrong Turn mixed in with the Negan episodes of Walking Dead, all set on an island in Australia. That’s as much as I will describe the story, but just read it!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

After reading The Chain, I was looking forward to this book. I found it a bit slower paced than The Chain, but I was rooting for the protagonist and was fully invested in the story. There were some surprises and twists that made it a fun and entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is my first novel from McKinty (I do have The Chain on my TBR list) and it was exactly what I anticipated from the synopsis - a fast-paced suspense/thriller. I didn't really connect with the characters, but it was well-written and the action was consistent enough to keep my attention. A quick read that will be great for summer reading.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars. The thrill and the horror!!! I loved this and couldn't put it down after only 20 pages in. This book is about a family who gets trapped on an Australian island. If the sharks and people-eating ants aren't enough, what about the other humans hunting them?

I love how original this plot is! It seems like so many thrillers these days are the sinister neighbor next door or the wife under the stairs, etc. This was so refreshing! I will absolutely recommend this because of that aspect alone. On top of that, I felt it was really well executed. Readers of fast-paced thrillers will definitely enjoy this book!

Soon to be a series on HULU!

Helen is a too young second wife for Tom, a recent widower with two children. She gives her best, however, and tries her hand at a stay at home mom with mixed results. When the family accompanies Tom to a large conference in Australia, Helen is hoping to enjoy some of the rest and relaxation she has been craving.

But the trip to Australia has been a bust so far. The family encounters a small group that invites them to take a side trip to the small, privately -owned Dutch Island. The family is interested and hopes to finally see the famous animals of the outback.

Things go wrong at the outset and before long Helen is forced to run for her life and make decisions that will impact her entire new family. If you like a terror-filled thriller, are interested in the Australian Outback or just want to read this great book before the Hulu series, then grab #TheIsland. #netgalley #NetGalleyReads #hulu #HuluSeries
#LittleBrown&Company

This was… interesting. Reading was definitely entertaining. I felt however it could have been a bit shorter. There were some useless parts in it, like parts of Heather’s past.

I did however like Heather as a character after a while. At first, it annoyed me how she allowed Olivia and Owen to disrespect her but eventually she was a good strong female lead who kicked ass.

I wouldn’t say there were really any twists other than maybe 1. The ending fell flat for me, no big exit. This was just ok for me.

A man, his new (and very young) wife, and two kids visit Australia from the states and impulsively pay to ride a ferry to a private island to satisfy the kids' desire to see koalas. While driving and in a hurry to return to the ferry by their deadline, a woman crosses the road in front of them and is killed. It's all downhill for the family from there.

I'm one of those tiresome people who much prefer McKinty's earlier books, but I certainly don't begrudge him the need to earn a living, which his critically-acclaimed and excellent books weren't achieving. In his second thriller he shows he knows how to write a page-turner, with twists and turns, short sentences, short chapters, breathless action, and high stakes. Character development and plausibility are not all that important so long as the action is packed.

I wasn't entirely persuaded that Heather would be both such a poor judge of character and so smart and resourceful. I didn't enjoy the most gruesome bits. I didn't buy that the unhappy visitors would know something so important about the island that the long-term residents didn't. Also didn't like the dismissal of medications that are helpful, even essential, as if they're just a medical plot against thinking clearly. (That could have been set up in a way that would have worked, but it wasn't.)

What I liked: the times when extreme conditions turned into poetically expressed feelings about the self and the world, and the lightly-drawn link between present-day violence and the ways indigenous people had their land and lives stolen in the past. Some of the writing about the contrasting cultural understanding of the land was really great. And it didn't distract at all from the story's prime directive: move fast and keep it exciting.

If what you want is a thriller, this does the job effectively. Given that's likely what readers are looking for when they pick up the book, I'll give it an extra star.

Heather, Tom, Olivia, and Owen have been a family for one year. Heather, who is only 24, isn’t sure how she’ll ever become a replacement mom for the kids. After all, she’s young and doesn’t make the best choices. Case in point, after the four of them get to visit an island, Tom accidentally hits and kills a young woman. When Heather says they need to leave the island, it’s the best and worst decision ever.

What follows is an almost unbelievable level of cruelty from the island’s sole residents. Even worse, they try to gaslight Heather into thinking that every decision she’s made has been wrong. But these people are truly dangerous, and the kids are going to have to rely on Heather to somehow get them home.

This was a pretty good story that only had a couple of “are you kidding me?” moments. It was better than The Chain and proves the author has got what it takes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Deliverance down under.


Two Chapter 49 in the ARC so I hope I didn’t miss a chapter.

Omg what a thrill ride! My heart was pounding the whole time and I was on the edge of my seat as I turned page after page! This was an adrenaline packed, heart racing book that I could not get enough of. I didn’t know who to trust and I loved every minute of it! Trigger warning there are animal deaths as well as some descriptive deaths.

A dream trip gone wrong, Heather, Tom, and their two kids Olivia and Owen tag along on Heather’s work trip to Australia. While they have some downtime they do a bit of exploring. This kids were desperate to see koalas. They end up at a tourist spot called Dutch Island. Dutch Island is owned” by the O’Neil family.

After an unfortunate accident, the O’Neils take possession of Heather and her family. It’s a fight for their lives as Heather takes charge to save her family. Will they make it off the island?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A family looking for a little vacation excitement found themselves running for their lives on an island after a horrible accident. Can they survive on this almost desolate island off of Australia? The inhabitants of the island have other plans. I enjoyed this intense, action packed thriller from the first page to the last because the plot was very original. I enjoyed the strong female characters and the very vivid details of the islands geography and vegetation. The ending will shock you and leave you wanting more.