This mystery from KMod is a different sort of book than the other titles I have read like The Arrangement series, for example. In a good way! Five writers in an old house with a murderous past and unsettling goings on ramp up the tension. We know these popular authors also have secrets of their own. When the past crashes into the present, will they all have a future? I am even more in the fan club for this author than ever. If you want more substance from Kiersten Modglin, then try this one.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying that I am a fan of Kiesten Modglin's work. I saw A Quiet Retreat on audiobook was available through Netgalley and requested it, then was approved the next day. It was a less than six hour book so I did listen to it quickly, but the story wasn't really holding my interest like most of her books do. The twist wasn't twisty enough for my liking, as I normally don't figure out her books twist early on. This story seemed too predictable, and some plot points felt forced just to make the ending justified. Honestly, it just wasn't my cup of tea. But it won't stop me from reading her other books.

Wow! I love this authors books so much. I have read several of them and am always so amazed how she does it every dang time. This book had so many twists and turns. I mean obviously there's gonna be characters I wasn't a fan of.

"You could scream up here and no one would hear you." So begins A Quiet Retreat, a fast-paced thriller, where events in two timelines both dive quickly into creepy territory. Five authors are invited to a secluded writer's retreat and find themselves isolated and distrustful of one another. As personal items begin to disappear and the group encounters inexplicably strange occurrences, they suspect they're not alone. Unpredictable and mysterious, Modglin's latest is quick and entertaining read.

I recommend listening to the audiobook, which was expertly narrated by Carly Robins.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own..

3.5 stars

ARC audiobook provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“A Quiet Retreat” is a dual timeline mystery/thriller that begins with a simple invitation to a writing retreat. Five authors are invited to the retreat in the Black Hills for a relaxing week where they can work amongst their peers. Shortly after arriving, strange things begin to happen. Belongings go missing, property is broken, and other things start occurring that have each writer questioning their companions. Suspicions mount and the authors find themselves pitted against each other. Who can they trust amongst themselves? As tensions rise and danger lurks in every corner, the question becomes: who will survive the retreat?

This is an enjoyable quick read. The characters aren’t as engaging as I would like them to be, but they aren’t altogether unlikeable (except for one in particular for me). The author’s writing style is easy and engaging, and it kept me engrossed in the story until the very end. Although the isolated retreat story has been told a million times before, the author does a fairly original take on it. The story is told from dual timelines that don’t merge until the very end. The mystery of what is happening in the present is hinted at throughout with plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. When the past and the present finally collide at the very end, it isn’t what I thought it would be earlier in the book. Although I figured it out before the big reveal, it honestly wasn’t that long before. That being said, the twist ending and the motive for the crime just didn’t hold up for me. I thought it let the story down a bit. I felt the story overall was stronger than the ending, and I also thought the revelations at the end were a bit rushed. The ending just didn’t sit quite right with me. However, I still thought this was an enjoyable book and would read other books by this author.

My copy of this book was an audiobook, so I must comment on the narrator. I thought she did an excellent job. Her narrative tone and pace were well-executed. Both her male and female voices were well done. I would recommend the audiobook copy of this book.

Overall, this was fast-paced enjoyable read. I would recommend this book for an adult reader looking for a quick and enjoyable mystery read.

Very quick, very fun to read and listen. I loved the premise and was not disappointed by all the craziness that came after the very promising beginning. The narrator brought the story to life as well. This one's for those who enjoy fast-paced, popcorn thrillers.

A small group of well-known writers have been invited to a retreat. They soon learn there’s a history of murder in the house, so when weird things start occurring, the invited authors start to get creeped out. Sounds like a great premise, right? Unfortunately, for me, the execution fell flat. It isn't until half way through the book that things actually start happening, and yet somehow, even then, it felt slow. Yes, there are some twists, but the reasoning behind all the turmoil is completely unbelievable. I very much enjoy reading Modglin's books, but this one was not my favorite. I thought the narrator did a decent job with this one. Thank you to Dreamscape Media, the author and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to an ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin.

I feel like I just read a literary patchwork quilt. Popular proses pulled from here and there and sewn into one story and it didn't work for me.

Of course, I love the Christie-esque overtones. A handful of popular writers have been invited to a remote, yet beautiful home for a luxurious retreat. All of the writers have their own particular brand of suspicion lingering about them, and strange things start happening...

What's not to love right? Except in the second half of the story flies off the tracks and dives directly into crazy town. It was too much, the pacing wasn't right, it was simultaneously boring and bananas. I wasn't a fan.

This is a really fun take on “And then there were none.” Five well-known authors receive a free stay in a writing retreat in the South Dakota Black Mountains. The house is amazing and, despite their disagreements and small things going missing, they are having a good time. In between the chapters devoted to this, there are others set in the past, when a wealthy woman meets a regular guy and falls in love against her family’s wishes. Neither plot went where I thought it would and both were equally engrossing to the point where I was finding it difficult to wait for more developments. The fact that one of the stories involves the authors of books that would presumably interest the readers of this novel made me more interested in their lives and creative processes. The writing retreat and nature surrounding it is described in such detail as to make you feel you’re there. I’ve been to the area and this added to the atmosphere for me. Carly Robins offers a great performance on the audiobook, giving different voices to all the characters, especially the two women narrating their stories. Five solid stars!
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Dreamscape Media!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for gifting me an audio ARC of the latest thriller by Kiersten Modglin and narrated by Carly Robins - 4 stars!

Five successful writers are invited to a writer's retreat at Black Hills Manor - a chance to get away from the real world and work on their writing. But things quickly seem amiss - property goes missing, there are mysterious lights and noises. Suddenly, everyone is tense and distrusting of everyone else. Until things get much, much worse.

I'm a sucker for a good, atmospheric locked room mystery. Everyone is in the same location when things start happening, so everyone is suspect. There is also an alternating storyline in the past that adds a question on how it will impact the present day action. The narrator did a great job and helped to keep the tension high throughout. A quick, entertaining read!

3.5⭐️🎧

My first book by this very popular author read by Carly Robins. She does a decent job with the narration but I didn’t find the voices very distinguishable.

It has a dual time line.
Five successful authors are invited to stay at a writing retreat. I liked the premise of using crime writers. Odd things start to happen soon after their arrival.
There are a multitude of books set in isolated locations, they tend to be pretty samey. Does this one stand out from the crowd? Not really for me.
This has split time frames. It’s slow setting the scenario. In the later stages it has a decent amount of twists, turns and red herrings which keep my interest. There was some tension towards the end, but not the levels that I’d hoped for.
I didn’t really like any of the characters, I felt they were very slow on the uptake in some scenarios considering that they are crime authors, which irritated me.
It’s an easy listen that kept my attention.

Five authors receive an invitation to attend a writing retreat. It offers a place to get away, mingle with other writers, draw inspiration with the necessities provided. It's held in a house with a history. However, the writers are not told of the actual history which comes with items going missing, foul play, and danger.

I can't go into further details. You'll need to read it. But in true Modglin style you will be sucked in immediately. It's a quick read that kept me guessing and hanging on until the end to know how things would play out. Dual timelines added to the mystery as you wondered how they pertained to each other.

I had an ALC of the audiobook, and easily finished in a day!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for my gifted ALC!

I am a huge Kiersten Modglin fan and have read most of her books. She knows how to pack a crazy thriller into a fairly short book. I sped through this book just dying to see how the dual storylines would end up!

This book is set at a lovely mountain retreat for writers. Imagine being given a week at a mountain retreat. As the week progresses you and your fellow housemates begin to notice strange things and you are not sure who to trust. This may be the longest week of your life... or will it?

3.25 stars

If you loved The Arrangement, you're going to love this one. It has the same vibe, it's pretty short and the ending has the same OMG, Wow, NO Way!!!, Common!! For Real? Not a Change!!! type of a feeling that is KM signature.

It's a good, short, entertaining book.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this nice book!

A creative concept and a quick but enjoyable read! A Quiet Retreat had compelling narratives that jumped back and forth to weave a mystery filled with drama.
While this book had a twist I enjoyed, overall it fell a bit flatter than my expectations.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Kiersten Modglin. This book was an interesting,twisty, thriller with a surprise ending. The narrator did a great job and the different voices kept it easy to follow. I couldn’t put the headset down, listened in one sitting.
I received an ALC for my honest review, from NetGalley. Thanks so much Kiersten Modglin and NetGalley!

The Quiet Retreat is a locked room mystery style story with a dual time line. A group of writers connect at a supposedly quiet getaway but things are not as they same. In the other part of the story, a rich girl from a good family falls in love with the wrong person without the support of her family. How will the stories tie together? The dual story lines are well written and easy to follow, even on audiobook. I enjoyed reading both timelines equally without a preference of one over the other, which is unusual for me. This was a new narrator for me, and she did a great job bringing the story to life. Some parts of the story are definitely a little slow and hard to really get into. However, this does help build up the suspense. I was not a fan of most of the characters, however I really connected with Tennessee and felt he added an edge to the story. Throughout the story, I never had a logical guess at the ending, which I love. The ending was unexpected and full of surprising twists. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot!

Five authors go to a beautiful house in the middle of nowhere for a writer's retreat. Five authors find themselves not only in the middle of a strange mystery, but also in danger.

Five strangers, a story of a young couple with financial and family issues, and what is supposed to be a week of quiet time. A Quiet Retreat is a thriller that intertwines the lives of these strangers when there is seemingly no connection to each other besides their shared profession.

KMod is the queen of twists in what would otherwise be a straightforward novel. This story isn't as shocking in revelation as most of her others, but is just as well written and just as enjoyable!

A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin is an intriguing and fast paced book. I loved the journey we were taken on and, of course, the twists Kiersten created. I did find that I wasn't satisfied with one character's reason for their actions, but not so much so that it ruined the book. I give it 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Carly Robins is a great narrator. She has perfect pace and a very enjoyable voice to listen to.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC.

This has it all! Catty writers being divas, a mysterious invite, a creepy old house with a questionable history, and a mystery from the past!

Blakely is a domestic thriller author. She's been invited to an exclusive retreat at Black Hills Manor. Their only request is that the authors post about it online.

When she arrives, she meets Daniel, a Stephen King-like legendary horror author. She can't believe he's there! There's also a cozy author, police procedural author, and Tennessee Rivers, who writes action thrillers. Blood, guts, death.. MAN things!

Everyone is getting along until things start to go missing and they see and hear strange things that make them think someone is messing with them. Then they're suspicious of each other and why they were invited here in the first place because we all know it isn't for anything good!

We are simultaneously hearing a story from the past but an unspecified time. Two lovers from different sides of the tracks. Her rich and powerful parents are trying to keep them apart but.. are they right in doing so?

As the stories merge we see the history of the house and of the others there and there are some BIG shockers! I had to suspend a lot of disbelief at the end but I'm willing to do so for kooky twists and turns! The motives were questionable but who among us hasn't overreacted?!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen and review. The narration was great!