The intense humid air smacking me in the face, getting whiplash from taking in the gorgeous views that surround me on this tiny island off the coast of Thailand. I am ecstatic for my first day of scuba diving class. Who doesn't want to learn to go beneath the ocean's surface and be greeted with the calm lull of the water, the fish darting here and there, the coral formations making your heart skip a beat? Yes, you guessed it I am couch traveling by way of The Resort. I sucked this book down like it was my last breath of oxygen in my tank. It is a slow burn that slowly builds until you finally reach the bottom of the sea floor. Where everyone's secrets are exposed, the bodies stack up, and you don't know who to trust.

Cass escaped her life after it blew up. Her face on every newspaper, nightly news, social media account, you name it her face graced it. You do not know what happened, you know it was bad. She found this slice of paradise through her sister. Whose dream it was to travel. She has carved out a living as a scuba instructor and has become one of "The Permanents". Or one of the ex-pats who live on the island full time. This is the island where people come to party and dive beneath the surface. When a woman is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, everyone claims it was an accident. When Lucy, one of Cass's students is found dead. The hotel is claiming another accident has occurred. Too many accidents in too short of an amount of time. Brooke is a travel influencer who felt the island calling. Her and Cass have hit it off. She wants to know if these deaths are in fact accidents or if there is something sinister going on beneath all this beauty.

I was highly entertained throughout this entire book. The descriptions and details have you imagining the stunningly gorgeous beaches, the trail of bubbles leading out of your regulator, and the fear that clinches your chest as you think about the bodies stacking up. Thank you to Sara Ochs and Sourcebooks Landmark for my copy of this thrilling read.

Rounded up from 2.5. I really wanted to love this but I had a really hard time getting into the story and connecting with the characters. It felt off-paced and I struggled to finish. I was a meh read for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC opportunity.

This provided a decent escape, a breezy read that ultimately fell into the "just okay" category for me. The Thai resort island setting and the scuba diving elements added a nice touch, creating a perfect summer read. However, the pacing felt a bit off, and the middle section dragged on. While the mystery itself was alright, I struggled to form a strong connection with the characters or the unfolding events. The ending did throw in a couple of unexpected twists, particularly the one in the final chapter, but overall, the story left me with a rather indifferent feeling upon completion.

🏝️ TAKE ME THAILAND .. we hope that you SURVIVE your stay 🏝️. The Resort” by Sara Ochs is a locked room thriller with an ocean side game of cat and mouse … with a killer!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Koh Sang is a remote resort island in Thailand where people like to go to escape their lives … and hide their pasts. Or so they think 👀!! This island is known for its incredible diving and off the charts parties. But recently it becomes known for being the site of two deaths of female travellers ☠️

This novel follows a group of friends that call themselves “The Permanents” (people from all over the world who work on the island). Every single one of them has something to HIDE and they dance around the truth and each other every day. That is until one of them starts to receive mysterious notes threatening to expose her past … and the cat and mouse game begins! Are the notes and the deaths connected?? And is there a killer on the island that may be closer to the group than they think??

WOW 🤩!!! What a way to start off a new year than with THIS book! It was atmospheric, claustrophobic, chilling and beyond creepy! I was constantly guessing about what was coming next and the MEGA TWIST had me totally flabbergasted!! No better feeling!! 🤯

Thank you kindly to @saraochsauthor @bookmarked @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This killer page turner releases on February 6, 2024!

This book was definitely a surprise to me! I love a good “locked room” thriller, this had a lot of twists and suspense. I give it 4.5/5 stars, really enjoyed and recommend this book!

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

I enjoyed this mystery/thriller set on a remote island. It took a bit for the story to really get to that “page-turner” phase and then had another pull before really picking up! And just when I thought things had been nicely wrapped up…it took another turn!

This was a really unique, neat read - I'm used to alternating POVs, but the stark contrast of a diver vs. an influencer was definitely a new one for me! It had plenty of twists and turns that had you going back and forth between who you thought was guilty - some were ones I certainly didn't see coming. Some parts toward the middle felt dragged out, but I enjoyed the character development and setting details that brought the story to light. I recommend this to any thriller/suspense reader and would love to look at more by Ochs. Thanks for the ARC!

THE RESORT is a wonderful travel destination thriller, set in a remote island in Thailand, told from the point of views, of two people - a diver, and a travel influencer. there are secrets and murders - twists and turns - expats and exotic islands - what’s not to love! This was a solid thriller that I recommended.

This murder mystery set on a resort in Thailand had so many twists and turns I did not see coming! Centered around a group of enigmatic expats and told in dual POV by diver Cass and influencer Brooke- both with their own hidden pasts- as a reader you have no clue who to trust. This read was very atmospheric; as the plot developed, the tension and suspense kept building and building. More is revealed about Cass and Brooke as their secrets bubble to the surface. The fast pace kept me very invested and for someone who often guesses the big reveal, this ending left me shocked!

There was also a bit of personal nostalgia as the book took me back to my travels and time spent on the beaches of Thailand, boating by day and wearing body paint and drinking out of sand pails during the full moon parties at night. I can imagine how warped things can feel when you add in a dead body and barely any memories the next morning. (Luckily I just needed some Gatorade.)

The remote setting and vibes make this the perfect destination read. This action-packed debut travel thriller is one you will want to get lost in on your next vacation!

I had a real hard time getting into this book. I’ll try it again in a month or so but it just wasn’t working for me right now. I’ll give a middle of the road review until I can come back and update it.

Told from the alternating perspectives of two women- a travel influencer and a dive instructor- living on a tropical island, this book is a great vacation read!

I enjoyed this book while reading it but often found I had to go back and look at which character I was reading, which is a little odd because one is basically a townie and the other is a travel influencer, but for some reason both felt a little shallow and I never really identified with or cared for either. I loved how this one jumped in and how it ended, but it dragged a lot in the middle which honestly I think had a lot to do with me not being able to keep the characters straight.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this one but I feel like it didn't really stand out from the dozens of other tropical island type books or influencer character books that have come out recently. That being said, if you're looking for a vacation read and enjoyed "She Started It" by Sian Gilbert or "Reckless Girls" by Rachel Hawkins, this would be a great choice for your next trip!

This books has so many twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat while reading. This story takes place on an island, and fit with the storyline so well! With multiple deaths on the island everyone is pointing fingers at each other. With all the secrets it makes it hard to guess them all. I have never read a book from this author and after reading The Resort, I would definitely read more of Sara Ochs books!

A thriller set on a remote island of Thailand, full of expats with secrets? What’s not to love ❤️

This was a fantastic debut from author Sara Ochs. I do love a story full of secrets and lies. The setting was stunning and will have you dreaming of an island holiday. But people keep dying on this island and everyone is pointing their fingers at each other. Told though the eyes of 2 Americans, we slowly learn what they are hiding, and what they will do to keep their secrets.

I read this in 2 sittings over Christmas. It was a wild ending that wasn’t anything like I expected it to be.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy of this book to read. Publishes on February 13th.

The Resort is located in mysterious and beautiful Thailand. Set in an area far from the famous beaches of Phuket, a small group of expats work a dive shop for tourists. All of the friends have a past to hide but one of them is hiding something deadly. Suspicious deaths mar the beauty of the Island, and I had a hard time trying to figure out who the perpetrator was. There's a lot of action, especially towards the end, when things finally come together. The last chapter was especially jaw dropping! Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

The set up and beginning of this book was well thought out and weave a good story. However the ending felt a little forced and rushed.

The last 3 chapters especially, I don’t really get the motives of why the story went the way it did. I’m not really sure how the group of 4 all got together. Just seemed a bit weird to me.

However I think this story is fine and I think it will be a good addition to the thriller row at the bookstore

No one can fully run away from their past. The world is small, and no matter how far away you run someone will always find you. Cass thought she had done enough to outrun her history. She moved to a remote island in Thailand, changed her name and her looks. There is very little that could tie her to her old life. Yet it seems that someone knows who she really is and they are bent on revealing to the world where she ran to. Brooke came to the island in search of a good story. Her aspirations to be a real journalist just need the right story to help spark interest. Together these two women get swept up in murder that has them both racing to figure out what happened before their worlds are changed forever.
This is a lovely fast paced mystery. The story is told from both Brooke and Cass’s perspectives and is perfectly balanced, allowing both stories to shine through. Readers will enjoy al the twist and turns that are reveled towards the end. This is a perfect winter read to get you in the mood for the warmer days ahead.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

I love a thriller that takes place on vacation. The Resort is a good mix of the behind-the-scenes life as a worker at a resort and the lives of guests, all tied through with a mystery that keeps unfolding. I tore through this book to find out what happened, and it was fun, twisty, and fast-paced.

3 stars

Brooke and Cass share perspectives in this mystery/thriller that has an ending to remember. I wish I had been less excited to arrive at the ending and more interested in the journey.

While Brooke and Cass have pretty distinct situations, I found them weirdly indistinguishable at times. Often, I'd have to jump back to the start of the chapter just to be sure I was on track with the correct character. Every character - Brooke and Cass included - has secrets, and at times, the slow burn to figure out what these are is too drawn out and then is followed up by some sort of explosive revelation (and all of these require TWs: grooming, rape, and child abuse). Readers who have experience in locations heavily populated by expats won't be surprised by what they find at this resort, and Ochs does use this trope - pulling a geographic - well. Guess what? It turns out you still can't outrun your troubles, even when you're trying to do it with a tropical backdrop and mai tais (at perhaps the most irritatingly named bar in all of literature. Frangipani? I've been to a lot of tropical bars, and the GREAT branding options are boundless - this one is just criminal).

The ending is pretty solid, and it saved me from real frustration with the novel overall. That noted, I'm going to recommend this one tepidly. It's not terrible, but there are many other recent mysteries and thrillers that are just more compelling. I do think there's promise in this writing, so despite the lackluster vibes on this one, I'll try more from this author.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This is Ochs’ first book, and I think it is a great debut. It’s a slow burn for about the first half of the book, but once the action picks up, it’s a quick read. The POV alternates between Cass, a scuba dive instructor, and Brooke, a travel influencer. I would recommend this book to my friends.

After a semi-slow start, this a quick paced thriller based on an island near Thailand. The Resort is told between 2 alternating POVs: Cass and Brooke.

There are multiple deaths, who dun it situations and other mysteries going on on the island.

A lot of great twists and turns. Great debut novel! Definitely recommend for the thriller lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.