This had one of the BEST endings/epilogue I had ever read.
Twisty throughout and you never knew which character to trust.
Twisty at the end, and you think it’s all done… but nope! Boom, final twist to mess you up!

I really enjoyed this!

I love multiple points of view in a thriller and it really worked well in this one.

A remote setting is also a fave. This one had many untrustworthy characters. I didn't know who to trust or what to believe. Murders. Storms. Secrets. Lies.

I questioned everything and there were so many twist!

Full cast audio was fantastic!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and RB Media for an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This book was the thriller that just couldn’t quit. Most thrillers dole out questions and information in drips, until finally the tap opens and the story is fully told. This book was more like drinking from a fire hose- it starts off with you asking a bazillion questions, and they just keep building and building until the end. This book would be incredible adapted into a movie. Not only was the scenery and the plot completely cinematic and so well written, but it just keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

If you like answers and plot stability, do not read this book. If you like unreliable narrators, deep backstories, and the certainty that it will all go wrong and maybe not go right (which makes an excellent thriller), this book is definitely for you. It’s hard to gush about this book because it throws you off guard and keeps you there, so I don’t think it is something you’d want to reread multiple times unless you thrive in anxiety. But it was such a strongly crafted story and both made me want to go on vacation to an island in Thailand immediately and also made me never want to go there. And isn’t that what a great thriller is all about?

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC!

The Resort is a rereleased thriller by author Sara Ochs, originally published as The Dive.

The titular resort is on the Thai island of Koh Sang and is staffed by a dramatic cast of young ex-pats who all seem to be running from their pasts. One of those staff members, a dive instructor named Cass, is one of our two main narrators. The other is Brooke, a travel influencer on an unnamed revenge mission. A string of resort-related deaths turns everyone into a suspect. Everyone is sketchy. Everyone has an ax to grind.

This story is…okay. I enjoyed the dual-perspective narrative, though it took me a while to remember which details pertain to which characters because everyone’s hiding something and projecting a false exterior. While I was interested in figuring out what the heck is going on on this island, I didn’t find the story to be PROPULSIVE, which made it feel longer than it is. This could be because the characters feel pretty flat, and it seems like every chapter ends with a new, misguided revelation about someone’s guilt. Honestly, it kinda felt like reading a Fear Street Super Chiller, particularly Party Summer. While I have a special place in my heart for those R.L. Stine books, I didn’t think that’s what I’d signed up for here.

Huge ⚠️ trigger warnings ⚠️ for sexual assault, rape, grooming of minors, suicide, child abuse, gaslighting, mental health stigma, and probably some others I’ve missed.

Despite this, I would still be interested in picking up future work by this author.

Review posted on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5888769387

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Recorded Books Media for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this thriller by Sara Ochs and perfectly narrated by the cast of Miranda Raison, Dakota Blue Richards, Joe Jameson, and Pema Monaghan - 4 stars!

Cass escapes from her troubles to a beautiful, remote island in Thailand. She joins a group of ex-pats, called the Permanents, is a dive instructor, and just got engaged. Life is perfect, right? Well...besides the fact that she finds a dead body on her dive. Soon, everyone's secrets are going to be spilled.

This was a wonderful, atmospheric novel, with a locked-room mystery feel., told from the POV of Cass and Brooke, a beautiful instagram travel influencer, on the island with secrets of her own. I had no clue where this one was going or who could be trusted. And that ending was a shocker! Perfect escape read during the winter. A debut writer that I'm looking forward to reading more from!

I needed this book. I was in a funk and needed an amazing book to pull me out and The Resort did just that. I snuck reading at work, I read way past bedtime. When I was not reading, I was thinking about the book.

The suspense and the thrills kept coming. It seemed that all was wonderful on this island until dead bodies kept showing up. Who dun-it? There had to be more than just who the killer was to this story and there was. Every character had a story and as they came it out it made me wonder what else was going to be revealed. I cannot lie, I had no clue who actually was the killer and when all was revealed it all came together perfectly.

The Resort is a phenomenal thriller with plenty of suspense, a tad of romance, and a great island location. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great thriller/suspense book.

2.5/5 One death, turns to two and then a third that's clearly murder, time to get off the island. Unreliable main character because of Xanax use and past trauma. A lot of tell not show at the end along with I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling and then an epilogue with psych! this is what really happened. I'm eye rolling at this point.

Sara Ochs hit it out of the ballpark with her first novel The Resort; I was hooked from the first page to the last. Cass Morris appears to be living her dream: living on a beautiful island, newly engaged and loving her job as a diving instructor. Cass had a previous life that she keeps secret, yet even after a few years and a new look, she fears she will be exposed, and her new life will be shattered. She is part of the island group known as The Permanents, those who live there full time, they are her family. A beautiful 20+ social influencer named Brooke arrives on the island, with the intention of showcasing its beauty; she and Cass become fast friends. Cass occasionally gets the feeling she has met Brooke- has she? Brooke learns that a beautiful young woman died after a fall from the island's highest mountain.during a solo morning hike just a few days before she arrived; the local Thailand police have declared it an accident. Was it?
The Resort is a gripping and exciting book, I could share so much more, however I'm simply going to encourage you to read it ASAP. I I will share there are secrets galore amongst those on the island, more "accidents," police corruption, romance and intrique. I highly recommend this suspense and action filled debut novel by Sara Ochs. Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Resort. 4.5 Stars

Very good. Keeps you guessing until the very end. Then, with everything wrapping up, there is a major twist that actually makes sense. As out of left field it seemed, it was easily reconciled with the story..

3.5 stars rounded up
The Koh Sang Resort is on a small, isolated island in Thailand. Cass moved there several years ago to leave behind some issues in the US and is now a dive instructor. She hangs out with a group of expats, one of which is now her fiancée. Brooke is a travel influencer vacationing on the island and has become friends with Cass. The story is told from both POVs. Things are great until a dive student turns up dead. Then, Cass and Brooke partner up to investigate the death. The story is told from both POVs. The story started slow, but then picked up after the dead body. I liked the alternating POVs, which made it easy to keep track of what was going on and helped with pacing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for a review.

It's been a while since I've read such a great thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat!

I'm not even sure how to summarize this book because so much happened.
There was murder. There was betrayal. There was angst. There was tension. There was turmoil. There were twists. There were OMG moments.

I loved the setting. Anytime the setting is somewhere remote, I'm all in. My only drawback is that there were SO many characters introduced initially, and more continually introduced throughout the book; so I found myself getting confused pretty easily. I loved the dual POV. The twists were so good (some predictable, but some I definitely didn't see coming). I truly enjoyed every second of this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebook Landmarks for an eARC of this book! All opinions are my own!

Wow. I am in shock from this book. The plot was so wild and I thought I knew how it was going to play out. It did end exactly as I expected. And then the epilogue 🤯 The revenge plot. Everyone having a wild past they are running from. A bunch of broken people creating a life on a resort island in Thailand. What a wild ride this one was. There were quite a few triggers in this book that I think deserve some warning like suicide, mental health, and SA so keep those in mind. But I highly recommend this one for a quick read and a very twisty thriller!

I am so impressed with this very engaging book by debut author Sara Ochs.

The setting:
What could be more pleasurable to read about than the beautiful, laid back living on an island in Thailand? I almost wanted to book a flight and head over for some scuba lessons!

The characters:
There is a really great cast of characters with people from several continents, all with something in their past they are trying to hide, or get away from.

The murders:
Who is killing the tourists? And how tight knit are the group known as The Permanents?

Read this - you won't be disappointed! It's a quick read and the twists and turns will keep you guessing!

I like thrillers that distract me and keep me guessing, and Sarah Ochs’s debut, THE RESORT, does just that. I thought I knew what was happening, only to realize I’d been fooled again. It had elements I’d seen before, but it had a lot of new ideas to make the twists enjoyable.

The book had a good pace. I found myself intrigued by the characters - good and bad - that I wanted to know more about them.

I always like it when a thriller keeps it fresh and keeps me interested. I’ll be watching to see what Sarah Ochs does next!

Thanks, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley, for the gifted arc!

Content Warnings: sexual assault, murder, grief, toxic relationship, self-harm, drug abuse

Thank you @Netgalley and @sourcebooks for gifting me the opportunity to read and listen to The Resort.

“Welcome to paradise. We hope you survive your stay…”

Cass wanted to start a new life and leave bad memories behind so she moved to Thailand. She took a job as a scuba instructor, made new friends and met the love of her life. Everything seemed to be perfect- until it wasn’t.

It took me a second to catch the rhythm as the characters’ POV changed as each chapter did. Once I was able to sort out the characters and the plot began to move along, I was very interested in how events were tied together. There are a few twists that were surprising and the ending was SO unexpected!

Thank you to @bookmarked and @netgalley for the e-galley.

This was a fun read. Everyone has a secret and everyone is hiding behind a web of lies to keep themselves safe. There are two POV - Brooke and Cass. The chapters are short and there are more twists than I could keep up with, let alone guess. What’s even more amazing is this is a debut novel.

This is a true thriller set on an island in Thailand. The story flips between Brooke, a travel influencer and newbie to the island, and Cass a Permanent that fled to the island to escape her past. There’s murder, neon parties, and secrets. Lots of secrets.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I picked this book up on Netgalley at the coolest time--just went I was about to head off on a trip to a Thai island! Unfortunately the Netgalley Shelf app doesn't work in Thailand, so I couldn't listen to it while I was there, but it was fun to reminisce as soon as I got back. The island we stayed on didn't have nearly as much murder as Koh Sang (well, that I knew about).

I always love a book that's set somewhere I know well or have been recently, so the location of the book was perfect. The Resort starts off with a lot of suspense, and I was eager to find out what was really happening with these dead girls.

The author lost me a bit in the middle. I like when characters have a strong backstory, but in this case the backstory detracted from the main plot. She took way too long to get to Cassie's history, and when she did it made no sense. Same for explaining Brooke's vendetta against Cassie.

At the end, I was lukewarm on the reveal--until the epilogue. I loved the premise of the epilogue!! It was somewhat out of place though--to my knowledge, there were no hints at the truth throughout the book.

Overall, this thriller was just okay, and I was mostly in it for the location. I won't count this author out, though. This is her debut, so I feel with a little honing she has a lot of potential.

I liked this book, I thought the story was good, a bunch of people who are running away from their lives end working and living on this resort island and become a self made family. Cass is definitely running from her past and thinks she found a life teaching diving to resort visitors. As our story unfolds and guests start dying you're not sure who to trust and who could be at fault. I thought Ochs did a good job sharing the possible blame around all of the characters and it keeps you wondering who the murder could really be.

*screams internally

First off I can’t believe I guessed the villain right!! However it was a total fluke!

The trouble people could avoid if they just told the truth, stayed faithful, Oh and mind your business! 🤭

I actually also bought the audiobook so I could listen while driving when I couldn’t read. I was obsessed!! I have never read anything by this author before but will definitely be watching for more.

Will definitely be recommending this book to my friends and customers!

The Resort was a thrilling, roller-coaster of a ride. In the wake of White Lotus, there have been a lot of rich-people-doing-bad-things-on-vacation books. That's what I assumed The Resort would be but it surprised me by being a different type of story entirely, much more based on the characters and their background than the setting.

As with most thrillers, I think it's best to go in with less information so that you're truly surprised by the twists and turns that the story takes. The Resort tells the story of Cass who decides to leave her life behind by moving to Thailand where she becomes a scuba instructor. There's a bit of slow burn to this one but once the story picks up, I found it to be so compelling and I was racing to find out what happened. Overall, a very fun, engaging thriller.