I enjoyed this secluded island murder mystery. The main characters were both fleshed out really well. It did take a little bit to get interesting, and I think the story would have been better without the epilogue.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A slow start that will eventually suck you in and consume you.

This story is dual POV, set in Thailand at a resort. Hence the title. It follows Brooke and Cass as they are seemingly running from their past and living under a facade of someone else. However.. things start to happen within the resort that lead to other issues that threaten the secrets that both Brooke and Cass have worked to keep hidden.

The Resort is absolutely brilliant! Fast-paced page turner that I read in under 24 hours because I could NOT.PUT.IT.DOWN!

A dead body in the water, the 2nd woman found murdered in just a few short weeks. What is happening on this remote little island? It should be all moonlight parties and fun. Brooke is an influencer, staying longer term on the island. She hasn't been accepted by the permanents, a group of ex-pats from all over that are living there, but she'd love to finally be accepted and invited into their small group. There's also Cass, one of the permanents that is about to marry another permanent, but she has secrets she hasn't told anyone on the island yet and she's getting worried she'll have to.

I loved the remote island feel of this one. It's a little jarring, just how little information you get along the way, because no one has much information on tourists just passing through. I liked guessing Cass's story, and Brooke's, and their purpose on the island. I had so many guesses on who the bad guy was and I liked the twists to keep me wondering. The twist at the very end made my jaw drop. And what a gorgeous cover! This was a fun mystery.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you for this ARC!

I thought it wouldn’t be very good when I started, I couldn’t figure anything out. Then as the story progressed, I had a hard time putting the book down. I just wanted to know what was going to happen next.

This story is dual POV, set in Thailand at a resort. Hence the title. It follows Brooke and Cass as they are seemingly running from their past and living under a facade of someone else. However.. things start to happen within the resort that lead to other issues that threaten the secrets that both Brooke and Cass have worked to keep hidden.

This book was full of plot twists from beginning to literally the last page. Just when you think you have it figured out, Sara basically laughed and said “SIKE!”

I gave 4 stars because I felt the beginning wasn’t super strong in pulling me in. Otherwise I loved it!!

Pub date: 2/13/24
Genre: thriller
Quick summary: Cass is living the good life as a scuba instructor at the gorgeous Koh Sang resort - until she receives a threatening letter and one of her students ends up dead. Can she and traveler Brooke survive this paradise turned nightmare?

How many thrillers set on deserted islands have I read? Tbh I'm afraid to even count, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop reading them. This one focused a lot on developing Cass and Brooke's mysterious pasts, and it worked really well for me. I liked trying to unravel their secrets and predict what they would do next. Ochs' plotting kept me hooked, and I read this one over ~24 hours because I needed to know how it would end. There were plenty of surprises to keep me entertained.

When this book releases in February, I think readers dreaming of summer will love the armchair trip to sunny Thailand!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s unbelievable that this is a debut! Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was experiencing another twist. Cass and Brooke provide the dual POV which adds to the mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The setting of this book, an island resort off the coast of Thailand, was beautifully described. Unfortunately, for me, that was the best part of the book. I was not interested in the troubles and partying of these young adults.

Thank you, Sourcebooks Landmark and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙩 eARC by 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖 𝙊𝙘𝙝𝙨 available February 13, 2024

📖SYNOPSIS📖
For readers of Rachel Hawkins and We Were Never Here comes a searing vacation thriller set on a remote island in Thailand following two mysterious women, a charismatic group of expats, and the one murder poised to bring their paradise crashing down.

Welcome to paradise. We hope you survive your stay...

🌟REVIEW🌟
What a great debut novel. Thank you to @bookmarked and @netgalley for the eARC. I was instantly transported back to the beaches of Thailand while reading this book. Sara Ochs did a fantastic job of placing you on Koh Sang island and the pacing of this thriller was perfect to me. So many people move to remote places to hide their secrets, and boy, were there secrets on Koh Sang. The twists kept coming and I loved it. Even when I thought I had it figured out, alas, I did not.

Thank you @netgalley and @bookmarked for the eARC "Read Now" invitation. I definitely can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy when it releases in February.

This was a solid debut thriller from Sara Ochs. It was suspenseful, although a little hard to believe and entertaining. She is a good writer and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

For a debut novel Sara Ochs did a phenomenal job. Interesting story line with a bunch of twist and turns. Great characters but hopefully not individuals you have in your real life.

Traveling is overrated anyway, right?

The Resort features Cass and Brooke, two women hiding deep secrets. One will do whatever it takes to keep her secret, while the other will do whatever it takes to get her revenge. The Koh Sang Resort may seem like an idyllic escape, but when a body appears and a scuba diving excursion goes horribly awry, the dream quickly becomes a nightmare.

I was eager to find out Cass's secret and I loved how difficult it was to determine her reliability as a narrator. I liked how small bits of her past were revealed along the way instead of being explicitly told what happened. It definitely added to the suspense. While the beginning was a bit slow, the pacing quickly found it's footing and I got sucked in.

I didn't love Brooke as a character. Her motives seemed unrealistic and hard to rationalize. Many of the side character also could have been more fleshed out. They sometimes felt like they solely existed to add suspects, rather than add to the plot. This was especially evident in the last few chapters where a lot of information was thrown at the reader about characters who had been previously ignored. At first I didn't love the ending, but the epilogue was very well executed (if a bit haphazard) and definitely bumped up my rating half a star.

Overall, this was a quick and suspenseful read. If you enjoy page-turners that keep you guessing until the very end, I would recommend this book.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

4/5 unmistakable rings
💍💍💍💍

This novel is narrated via alternating points of view. It takes place on a small Thai island where the characters are hiding from their pasts and suspicious deaths are occurring.

I feel like the storyline had potential, but the execution was lacking. The characters were unlikeable, there was a lot of repetitiveness as the plot unfolded, and, at times the writing utilized awkward wording and phrasing. In my opinion, it was fairly predictable. I also felt that it focused more on shock value than building characterization that informed the actions chosen by the figures in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Sara Ochs for this free ARC digital copy.

I received an ARC of novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A whodunit with several victims. I completely figured out the ending a few times and was completely wrong each time. The characters all have pasts that make them suspects, but the real killer at end wasn't even on my list.....

Interesting novel set on a resort scuba island. I loved the setting and the descriptions.

Great book! Love the authors writing. Descriptions were fantastic, I could really picture the scenes as if watching a movie. The author provides just enough to keep you guessing and wanting to read on to find out what happens next. So many twists throughout the book. Honestly, this was going to be a 4 star read for me until that final twist sealed the deal for 5 stars for me.

Set in a resort on a Thai island, this is a fun thriller full of secrets, lies, and social media. Having spent some time myself on a Thai island, this motley crew of westerners seems entirely plausible. Everyone at this resort seems to be looking to forget their past and reinvent themselves into less broken, more social media friendly images. Overall, a fast and fun read that made me wish I was back in Thailand (albeit at a different, less murdery resort).

Deception and betrayal, dangerous secrets in a tranquil setting sets this novel up for success.

This novel was fast paced and incredibly tense. Set in a paradisal setting, the twists and turns this story took had me reeling and constantly second guessing myself. The dual POV added an extra layer of depth to the cast of characters.

I loved the premise of a travel influencer investigating a mysterious accident alongside a local looking for clues to solve the murders. This novel is well polished and a great debut for this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks landmark for the eArc!

Paradise has a dark side in this fast-paced, hard-to-put-down thriller. There are dangerous secrets hiding within the tranquil setting and seemingly close friendships, and I couldn't get enough of the deception and betrayal.


I love books like this full of relationship drama, mystery, and murder unfolding at an idyllic, tropical island escape location. The contrast of a seemingly peaceful paradise and the ugly side of humanity really sucked me in and immersed me in the island atmosphere and growing sense of menace. There were so many twists and turns in this book that I'm pretty sure I suspected every single character of being the villain at some point. The story followed such a crazy, unpredictable path that I found the ending impossible to see coming. 


The Resort was an intense, guilty pleasure type of thriller that transported me from the cool fall temps where I live to the white sand beaches and turquoise waters of Koh Sang. I enjoyed the suspicious, secretive characters and unpredictable plot and loved how all the elements came together to form a twisty story that was just plain fun to escape into for a few hours. 


Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me a copy to read and review.

I didn't love this but also I didn't hate it. The first 50% was pretty repetitive, but then we are treated to Brooke's reason for being in Thailand and it picks up. The end, sorry to say, I guessed.
Right in the middle with 3 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

An island in Thailand, a cast of savory characters all running from their pasts, and unexplained deaths seemed a recipe for a good read. The story started off extremely slow, picked up in the middle, and then completely fell apart at the end as the author tried to make all of the pieces neatly fit the plotline.