3.5 ⭐️

Heather is a newly married young stepmother on a work trip/vacation in Australia with her husband and two kids. One day, the kids pressure Heather and her husband Tom into seeing some animals on a very small island a family lives on that the general public doesn’t go on. With another couple, the family heads onto the island only for everything to start to go extremely wrong.

This was wild. First from the author and yes, you really do have to suspend disbelief. While crazier things have happened, this book is extremely unrealistic. For some reason, I couldn’t put it down once I got past the beginning and got into it. I stayed up way too late reading this one. For me, the best part was reading about Heather and her resourcefulness. The cat and mouse chase is the majority of the story and it kept me on my toes and interested. I liked Heathers relationship with the kids as well. The only complaint I really have is the writing/language. There were some parts or lines that for me didn’t need to be included, especially Carolyn’s and the fart comments. The kids did not always talk how kids talk, the writing generally felt stiff especially with those one or two word lines (I can’t think of the proper word for that). Regardless, this was an interesting, very different read for me and I was entertained and liked the ending. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

This was no Gilligan's Island and no three hour tour! Deciding they needed to see koala's Heather and Tom's vacation takes a sinister curve when the kids decide they must see koala bears. So, even though warned not to, they rake a ferry to Dutch Island and encounter the threatening and vile clan that live there. The O'Neals were a dastardly group but soon they would face Heather, newly married to Tom assuming a superwoman role to battle these horrible people.

Heather and the kids, sans Tom ,who was captured by the O'Neals, escape after being held captive and are out in the wild of this island's terrain. They overcame a plethora of experiences, being chased by dogs, the family with guns and wheels, and other myriad happenings. Implausible you say? Exactly! Heather becomes a superwoman, and soon proves fiction is a fine way to achieve that status.

This was a book that required the reader to extend their disbelief as far as the eye could see with binoculars! All in all however, I was not bored by this story as ridiculous as it often was!

So, if you need something to fill in some time, this might be the book for you. It is fast paced, improbable, and has a number of quite grisly scenes. Thank you to Adrian McKinty and NetGalley for a copy of this book which published in May.

An Exhilarating, Tense, and Spine-chilling Page Turner

The Island is the newest heart pounding thriller by Adrian McKinty, and it does not disappoint. Heather, a massage therapist and underappreciated stepmom, is on a family vacation in Austrailia with her new doctor husband and his bratty teenage kids. Heather doesn't have a proper education, but she has her head on her shoulders with plenty of survival skills. The kids are entitled and resent their new mom, while the father ignores their behavior. This changes as they become trapped on a private island inhabited by the sketchy O'Neil family, and Heather's parenting and survival abilities are put to the test.

"Perhaps they are worse than evil—they are bored"

This novel was filled with vivid imagery and dynamic characters brimming with depth. It is impossible not to root for Heather. I was on the edge of my seat with an increasing heart rate everytime the odds were against her. This was a wild ride from beginning to end. Everything about this story was unique and compelling. It's not everyday that I come across a genuinely original thriller that rocks me this hard. It's action packed and graphic with a surprisingly heartfelt end. There's one twist that was a bit predictable, but the reaction was not. The plot has an engaging design and is incredibly well written. It was interesting to learn that this book's setting is based on a real island. I also enjoyed learning a few pieces of Austrailian history, geography, and slang. For example, I learned about the bunyip, an aboriginal mythological man-eating monster. Somehow this part of the story makes Heather seem even more of a badass. Tired of your typical popcorn thrillers? Look no further because The Island is not your average B rated thriller. I for one, can't wait for The Island adaptation. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a unique and heart racing thriller.

Thank you Little, Brown and Company, Netgalley, and Adrian Mckinty for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am sure this is a good book and I may finish it someday but what got me was the first chapter. Reading that chapter made me feel a horrible sense of deja vu like i had already read that book. It took me a little bit to figure out but the opening chapter was way too much like the opening chapter in The Hunted by Roz Nay, who i am a huge fan of. Don't get me wrong, the premise based on the sypnosis is different but the opening was too similar for me to be able to settle into the story since i just read that book a few months ago.

Great read!! This is a story of a family vacation gone wrong. Great thrill ride with lots of twists. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank you net Galley and the publisher for the ARC

The Island was a book that I was hoping to love based off of previous books I have read by this author. I enjoyed the plot of the book, but struggled to get through some parts of it. I rated it 3/5 stars. It was overall a fast paced thriller, and I was anxious to see how the story was going to end.

4,25 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Island follows Heather Baxter, who marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. After the whole family goes on vacation to Australia, they discover the remote Dutch Island, which is off-limits to other people. Bartering to get their way on Dutch Island, they end up in an accident that sets the residents of the island against them.

I thought that this thriller was a wild ride in the best way! I was really rooting for our main characters and hoping that they would find a way out of their crazy situations because I know I would've been scared out of my mind.

The only thing I didn't like is that at times I felt like the book was bogged down by unnecessary side plots but definitely a fun survival thriller. I will be going back to read The Chain!

This book was an easy 5 stars! It started with action and kept right up until the end.
I loved the characters in this book and they made it easy to root for them! This was so action packed, I read it in one sitting!! 5 STARS!!!

As soon as the ball got rolling on this there were a dozen horror films that came to mind. The dialogue and events were very similar to certain popular horror films. Some of the lines even felt like they were pulled from these films line-by-line. Make no mistake, I would never want to be put in this situation and it would be terrifying no matter what!

Whoa. This book is a wild ride. Yes, some suspension of disbelief is required, but still a good book. If you've ever thought of worst-case scenarios... this is it. Stuck on an isolated island with people who want to kill you. With your children. So many nightmares rolled into one.

This will make a great movie!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing an ARC of this book for review.

Having read and loved The Chain by this author, I very much wanted to read The Island and I was definitely not disappointed.

A family visiting Australia decides to go off the beaten path and pay to be taken to a private island to see the koala bears. When they arrive, there is an accident and the next thing they know they are running for their lives.

This was without a doubt a thrilling page turner and the action never seemed to stop. I know I couldn’t get enough and finished it within 24 hours.

I am looking forward to seeing what this author comes up with next. I’m all in.

*Thanks so much to Little, Brown and Company, and to NetGalley for the eGalley!*

Wow whatever I expected from reading this book, was not what I got. This story was an weird combination of the outback version of Deliverance mashed with GI Jane, with a hint of Home Alone, but in a muderous way. 😂 It should have been a train wreck, but man it really did fit well together. I read it in one setting because there honestly was not a good spot to stop, it was action from the start to the end, and now I have to watch Hulu to see how well they captured the craziness of this story. 😂

I really enjoyed this one!
Perfect for getting out of a reading slump.
The action starts and never stops. I was feeling so anxious by this situation in the best way possible.
The main character felt relatable and was easy to root for. A woman in over her head who uses her skills to step up and kick ass.
Some things are definitely over the top but it was such a fun ride that I just ate it up.
A couple character decisions near the end didn't totally work for me but I still wholly recommend this book especially for fans of No Exit by Taylor Adams.

This was a fast paced insane thriller that I surprisingly enjoyed. A family trip to Australia unleaded many dark secrets. When they happen across an island filled with koalas and kangaroos they didn’t realize they may have stumbled upon their last trip together. It took me a while to like anyone but I was rooting for some of these people and the insane plot made it an exhilarating ride.

At the center of The Island, by Adrian McKinty, is a strong female protagonist, Heather Baxter. It is a story about her imperiled family that she must summon the courage to save.

As the story opens, Heather Baxter has snagged a "trophy husband," according to her friend, Carolyn. Tom, her forty-four-year-old new husband, is a successful orthopedic surgeon -- one of "Seattle's Best Doctors" -- who has been invited to speak at a conference in Australia, so they decide to combine his business trip with a much-needed family vacation. Tom's two children, twelve-year-old Owen, and Oliva, who is fourteen, are reeling from a whirlwind of life changes. Their mother, Judith, suffered from multiple sclerosis, and died when she lost her balance and fell down the stairs in their home. Since then, Owen has been withdrawn, while Olivia has acted out. Tom is anxious for the children to accept Heather who, at only twenty-four, met Tom when she was a massage therapist and he became her client. Despite her lack of parenting experience, he has already relegated to her nearly full responsibility for caring for Owen and Olivia. Exhausted, Heather is determined to win the children over and make the marriage work because she genuinely loves Tom, "despite all his little quirks and weirdnesses," and because he is becoming less condescending in an effort to "be a better man."

Still, his sense of entitlement is on full display when he is unable to rent the vehicle of his choice after he reluctantly agrees to take a drive into the Australian countryside. The children are bored and complain when they fail to spot any koalas or kangaroos in the wild. As the day heats up to 106 degrees and the road narrows to a single lane, they happen upon a food stand. Two men arrive and hear the children griping, so offer to show them the koala caged in the back of their car. Matt and Jacko explain that they live on a private island just across the bay populated by koala, wallabies echidnas, and wombats. "It's like Jurassic bloody Park, mate." Dutch Island is owned by their Ma, who doesn't like visitors. But Tom figures that money might persuade the brothers to let his family take a drive around the island. They strike a deal, but the brothers insist that the visit be short and the Baxters must return on the ferry after taking a few photos. They explain that on the island they "make our own electricity. Grow our own food. No phones. No taxes No law enforcement." From 1910 to the 1980's, the island housed a prison with the correctional agency paying rent to the family. The inmates are all gone, but a few of the old buildings remain. Now the only inhabitants are the twenty-seven or so members of the O'Neill family. Those details should be enough to dissuade the Baxters. Instead, along with the tourists from Holland, Hans and Petra, they also met at the food stand, they embark. As the ferry chugs closer to the shore of the island, Heather grows increasingly wary, but it is too late to turn back so the family sets out to sightsee, not realizing how much they will soon regret making the trip.

McKinty next asks readers to ponder what they would do if they were involved in an accident that brought about a stranger's death. Once they arrive on the island, Tom is determined to get what he paid for. When they encounter an old man who questions what they are doing on the island and warns them to leave immediately, Tom accelerates the rental Porsche just as a woman riding a bicycle appears from a side road. Heather desperately wishes that Tom had agreed to rent the Porsche equipped with radar and an accident-avoidance system. But he didn't. The car strikes the woman, killing her, and Tom is dazed momentarily before he flies into a rage that Heather has only observed on a couple of prior occasions. There is, of course, no cell service on the island. so no way to summon the authorities. All of Heather's instincts tell her that they must hide the woman's mangled body and bicycle in the grass, race to the ferry, and escape the island as quickly as possible. They can call the authorities from the mainland, explaining that they think they hit an animal. But the Porsche sustained noticeable damage and the O'Neill family discovers the body before the ferry leaves the island. The Baxters are informed that the woman, who was plainly oblivious to the danger when she rode her bicycle in front of the Porsche, was deaf. They are marched at gunpoint to a farmhouse where they meet Ma, and Tom attempts to negotiate his family's freedom.

And that's when McKinty's story begins careening at an unrelenting pace. The Baxters quickly find that they are among a family, led by the diabolical Ma, that lives on a remote island because they refuse to subscribe to the rules that govern the lives of other people. The only laws enforced on the island are the ones laid down by Ma, and she believes in "an eye for an eye," so Tom's privilege is of no use to him. No promises of insurance proceeds or cash payouts will dissuade Ma from extracting what she craves: revenge. And thus begins a harrowing series of graphically-described skirmishes, as it falls to Heather to find a way off the island with Olivia and Owen in tow.

Heather grew up on tiny Goose Island in Puget Sound where she was homeschooled, but never graduated from high school. Her parents both served in the U.S. Army and moved to the island, a communal artists' colony founded in the 1970's that attracted veterans suffering, like her father, who served as a sniper, from PTSD. She left for Seattle with a need to see more of the world, and tried her hand at a number of jobs, was homeless for a bit, and eventually, with the help of a friend, became a massage therapist. She was drawn to Tom because he was an older professional man who offered stability and safety. But she never wanted to be a stepmother. In fact, she had never really contemplated motherhood at all. Now two bad decisions make her the only person capable of getting Owen and Olivia off the island alive.

As the story proceeds, McKinty reveals more details not just about how Heather learned about nature and survival growing up on the island, but also about her relationship with Tom and his past, all at perfectly-timed junctures. Tom's true nature is disclosed as Heather begins to realize her own strength and power. In quiet moments, she acknowledges, as she surveys the past few years of her life, that she has been willing to settle for less than she deserves. And resolves never to do that again . . . if she survives. As she finds ingenious ways to evade being captured by the deranged O'Neill clan, she and the children also draw closer, learning to trust each other. Their lives depend on that trust. And those tender moments provide brief respites from McKinty's spellbinding and unwaveringly tense saga, and permit readers to invest in Heather, Owen, and Olivia, each of whom is a compelling and sympathetic character for whose welfare readers will find themselves cheering.

Armed with only a penknife an Aboriginal man she encountered on the mainland gifted her, Heather devises increasingly innovative and deceptive ways to hide from the O'Neills as they tenaciously search for her and the children with dogs and jeeps. She hopes that someone from the mainland might arrive to help and knows that is highly unlikely, so it is up to her to find a way to safety. But can she doe so before time runs out?

McKinty's narrative is gritty, violent, and not for squeamish readers. The sadistic O'Neills use any means available to them, including knives, guns, and even pathfinder ants, to track their prey and punish the ones they capture. McKinty maintains the dramatic tension and suspense throughout the book, keeping readers guessing until the very end who will prevail in an epic battle of wits and strength, as well as how they will manage to claim victory. The Island is an inventive, absorbing, and very entertaining, if exhausting, tale.

Wow! This one blasted me out of my seat. It is one of the most suspenseful, unrelentingly terrifying reads I’ve experienced in some time. I found myself between gasping and holding my breath as the characters and action raced from page to page. I thought Adrian McKinty’s The Chain from last year was such an originally unexpected tale, and it is, but now I have to say The Island surpasses that. One would think that McKinty had a box labeled, “Bizarre Hair-Raisers,” but you might be surprised that the idea for The Island is rooted in the author’s own experience, or as he puts it, “a sort of Deliverance moment” on a remote Australian island. However, there is a tragic twist of the Baxter family outing, a "Sliding Doors" moment of what Adrian McKinty’s might have been.

It has been one year since twenty-four year old Heather Baxter left the small Northwestern community where she grew up to marry Tom, a widowed forty-something orthopedic surgeon from Seattle. They, along with his two children, have come to Australia for a vacation. Well, Tom is there for a medical convention as the keynote speaker and his family is there for fun, or so Heather hopes. But, it’s hard to impress and keep a teenager and an twelve-year-old interested for long, especially since they are far from Heather’s biggest fans. The first part of the trip isn’t too bad, with visits to Sydney and Uluru, but now they are in Melbourne, site of the medical convention, and checked into a house at the beach. The kids are bored and in full moping mode. And, truth be told, Heather was hoping for the hotel, where room service and restaurants were handy.

While taking a drive outside of the city, down the Mornington Peninsula to see if they can spot any native Australian wildlife, Tom gets fed up with the kids complaining about the failure to see anything. So, when they stop at a roadside stand for lunch and two men, Matt and Jacko, from a private island suggest they take their ferry over to the island if they want to see koalas and lots of other wildlife, it does sound appealing. Olivia and Owen are finally excited and are adamant that their father must take them to Dutch Island. Tom gives in and agrees to go. Another couple, Hans and Petra, hears their conversation with the two men and want to join the excursion. So, after negotiating a rather steep price for the trip, both cars load up onto the ferry in high hopes of some unspoiled Australian habitat and the animals dwelling there.

Matt cautions the visitors not to go far, not to go anywhere close to the farm in the middle of the island, and to be back in an hour to catch the ferry back across the bay As the families drove off in opposite directions to explore, I had the same urge as I do watching one of those scenes in a horror movie where the person decides to go down the stairs to the dark, scary basement to check out creepy noises. I wanted to shout, “Don’t go there! Turn around and go back to safety.” The feeling I got in the pit of my stomach was the dread of an ominous outcome. It turns out that feeling was well justified. There’s a good reason this island is not open to visitors, and you might be hearing strains of dueling banjos as you learn why.

Disappointment is again the fare of the day when there are no animals to see as the family drives around the island. Realizing that it’s time to get back to the ferry, Tom turns around and speeds up the Porsche SUV so they won’t be late, and that’s when the accident happens that will lead them into a living nightmare of survival of the fittest and most clever. As the afternoon fades, the O’Neill clan is out to hunt the Baxters down, and the disadvantages the Seattle family face are many. No phone reception, no water, no knowledge of the island, and no one knows where they are. And, when Heather and the children must separate from Tom, it’s nightmare upon nightmare for Heather, trying to keep the three of them alive while Olivia and Owen don’t trust her. There is one advantage Heather and the kids have, and that is the place where Heather grew up was an isolated island, so she does have some survival skills. Heather proves herself quite impressive in taking charge. However, the odds are not good, with the family clan consisting of about twenty headed by the very scary Ma (take Kathy Bates from Misery and multiply 20 times), and it is their island they live on every day, in a house with water and food and weapons. Oh, and vehicles. The O’Neills have those and the Baxters no longer do.

The chase is on, and a savage chase it is. My description of the story ends here, as readers need to discover the rest of this story as it terrifyingly unfolds for themselves. However, the brilliantly developed characters deserve a mention. Adrian McKinty strips the soul bare in all the characters. It is absolutely all left on the ground. As in The Chain, who you are when it is all on the line is who you are. Of course, survival on an island inhabited by barbaric, murderous, crazy people would tend to reveal what those trying to survive are made of. Secrets and masks are the first casualties of the hunt. Heather has never seemed to be anything particularly special or had loads of ambition, although through her memories we see glimpses of dreams. She isn’t the person who would be voted “most likely to survive a manhunt on an isolated island,” and, yet, she rises to the occasion with clear, logical thinking and surprising physical grit. Whether she can hold on and protect the kids is always in danger, so readers might be afraid to like her too much, but she is the most likeable. Tom, her doctor husband, is a little less admirable, but he too will be worn down to what matters most to him. The kids probably make the biggest transition, as their spoiled and bitter natures must change if they are to survive. They are not the best of companions to have in a contest of survival. We know nothing about Hans and Petra going in, but we learn much about their relationship and their strengths as the story plays out. The bad bunch, the family clan members, are detestable, but, damn, McKinty does make them uniquely so. The reader will keep hoping that one of them isn’t as bad as the rest, and, well, you’ll just have to see if that hope is granted fulfillment or dashed into the rocks. The overall point here is that Adrian McKinty is kick-ass at character development.

The Island is the quintessential thriller with more suspense and shock and intensity than you can imagine right now. Don’t be surprised if you feel the heat of the Australian summer sun beating on your neck, find yourself thirsting uncontrollably for a drink of water, or suddenly hear your stomach growl in anticipation of a meal. Adrian McKinty’s writing will immerse the reader into a sensory experience of empathy, with the fear being a palatable taste in the mouth. This story is a gauntlet of terror, and the readers can only hope there is an end and survival at that end. I am looking forward to the Hulu streaming program of The Island, and as usual, I’m so glad I read the book first. This story deserves the experience of readers’ imaginations before it is imagined for them.

This was a quick read. Interesting and tense in a couple spots. It isn’t my favorite book of the year but was a good read for Adrian MCKinty fans. I am looking forward to the next one. It is a 3.5 star rating rounded up.

I’ve not read anything by Adrian McKinty before so I was caught off guard by the gore and horror of this book, but thoroughly enjoyed it as it’s a proper thriller. Definitely left my heart racing hoping they get to safety and loved how the ending played out.

Holy cow this was intense! I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book, trying to figure out how this could possibly end well. It starts off with a bang and really doesn’t let up, and I liked that it was a fairly quick read as I don’t think I could handle much more stress! I liked the pacing in this one, it was steady throughout and did not drag one bit. A perfect situation of a dream vacation gone wrong with just the right amount of depth to the story, this is one heck of a thriller and McKinty delivered from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the digital copy to review.

The Island was the second book that I have read by Adrian McKinty, and like The Chain as my first, this new thriller did not disappoint!! The plot of a family stuck on an island with a bunch of crazy people, had me intrigued from the very beginning. Even though I felt that some things were discussed in more detail than was needed (hence why I rated it as 4 stars instead of 5), I found myself wanting to keep reading to learn what would happen next!! This was a great, fun read!! Much thanks to Net Galley for the ARC!!