This was a refreshingly interesting thriller-in-paradise. Fleshed-out, interesting characters and solid story.

Fans of twisted psychological thrillers set on remote islands; that keep you guessing throughout; and absolutely take your breath away on the final pages; then, “The Resort,” by Sara Ochs is a fantastic novel for inclusion in your Valentines Day 2024 ‘to be read’ book stack.

Set on a tiny Thai island popular mainly with backpackers and scuba divers, “The Resort,” also seems to attract tourists and staff with problematic backgrounds who seek adventure, anonymity, reclusiveness, and respite.

In this multi-POV and multi-character-driven adventure, nothing and nobody is as they appear. Everyone, it seems, has a hidden past and dark agenda that they want to keep concealed and confidential.

However, when stunning Internet influencer, Brooke, hits the scene on tiny Koh Sang, quietly secluded in the Gulf of Thailand, a ripple of unrest shakes the travel resort. With more and more of Brooke’s bikini-clad photos in front of glorious sunsets filling her instagram site, the permanent staff of the resort become more anxious.

Brooke is definitely giving the island lots of exposure; however, she’s also giving each of them unwanted attention that could cause big problems. She’s nosy, and asking all sorts of questions that aren’t her business and have nothing to do with her travel and tourism work—like how a woman recently fell from a trail summit.

However, just like a virus, it seems that murder and mayhem are contagious on this island. Tourists are dying suspiciously and everyone on staff is a suspect. Who is responsible? Are there multiple killers on site? Perhaps they’re all guilty? Are they that desperate to keep their little remote island off the radar? What’s really wrong on Koh Sang and why?

With a cataclysmic penultimate scene of heart wrenching proportions, “Resort” will ultimately leave readers gasping with horror as the Epilogue unfolds. I absolutely love a fantastic mystery who-dun-it that leaves me breathless at its high octane surprise conclusion. “Resort” checks all my boxes.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Sara Ochs and Publisher Sourcebooks Landmark, an imprint of Sourcebooks for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Resort by Sara Ochs. The story takes place on an island in Thailand. There is scuba diving, murder, hooking up, along with lots of partying and many secrets. This is a thriller, based in a beautiful location. #netgalley #theresort #saraochs #thriller #thailand #scubadiving #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday

Wow, what a debut novel! This was an impressive ride with lots of great twists and turns that kept me engaged and guessing for the whole story. I can’t say how impressed I am that this is the author’s first published work! It definitely reads like a seasoned author who has read and been published in this genre before. It was long enough to get to the point without being too wordy. I never got bored, I was kept guessing the whole time and it's set in a beach resort in Thailand I mean, come on what more could we ask for!Sarah Ochs did a great job weaving together two POVs and keeping the reader guessing. I loved many of these characters and was definitely shocked by the ending. I will totally be following her along and adding her future books to my cart.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Cass has kept a secret from everyone she knows. She tries to forget and move on with her life. This book was very compelling.

The Resort is the debut novel from Sara Ochs. This is a banger of a debut novel! I love the character development and the twists that come out of no where. This is one resort you do not want to book a stay at.

Pub date Feb 13, 2024
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was so good and twisty. I went into it not knowing anything other than the setting and it was so rewarding. There is nothing better than a thriller that you can’t guess the ending. Every time I thought I had the right idea, the plot changed again and steered us in another direction.

It was a wild ride and I loved every minute. Everything wrapped up so well and left me shocked and happy. Four and a half stars for a beautifully written book. I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile.

Take a chance on this one, it’s worth it.

Thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks for the ARC and opportunity to review.

Oh my goodness! What a book! The Resort was an excellent murder mystery. The two storytellers were Cass and Brooke. And then in the end, Neil. The other players were Logan, Cass's fiancé, Greta, Doug, Daniel and Neil. It took place on Thailand's mythical island, Koh Sang. All of these characters were called permanents because most of the inhabitants of the island were tourists, and these seven were permanent residents. Cass had changed her name and gone to the island to evade the rumors that she had murdered her father and sister, Robin. All of the permanents had something they were running away from.

In the beginning, a girl named Ariel had gone to the island and was found dead beneath a cliff. Shortly thereafter, Brooke showed up. She never believed that Ariel's death was an accident. And then one day Cass saw Logan kiss her and assumed he killed her.

The next one to die was Lucy, Ariel's sister. She'd gone to the island to get answers. The night Lucy died. Cass couldn't remember where she was and for a minute thought maybe she killed her. She had taken Xanax and had been drinking champagne so her memory was lost.

After Lucy, Daniel's throat was slit and, of course, he died. All the while, Brooke had been investigating the deaths. Shortly after Daniel's death, she meets Alani, Lucy's best friend. She had traveled there with Lucy. Brooke was an Instagram blogger. She came across Daniel's post and in the picture she saw a picture of Cass who Brooke remembered as Megan. When she was in college, she had gone to a boy's house, his name was Eric, and Megan had been there. Eric had raped her and Megan knew about it but did nothing. So Brooke went to the island with the intention of exposing Cass, which she did. She did it to pay her back for what she had not done for Brooke. Cass hadn't told Logan anything about her past. She and Logan we're living together and when the exposé was revealed he asked her to leave so he could sort things out. She went to Greta's house and that's when all hell broke loose.

Cass escapes from one predator and is found by another, as was the fate of Brooke and Alani. The remainder of the book divulges who killed who, and there was a huge twist ending. The author was very clever the way she wove the story. And the characters were very well developed. I gave this book five stars, only wishing I could have given it. 10.

I will start off by saying that I am definitely a vacation/destination thriller fan! Give me an island and a murder, and I’m ready to read! In all seriousness, this book was really good. I loved the characterization, the setting, the plot and the dual POVs. There were twists and turns—many that were able to be guessed, but great ending!

This book was fine, but unfortunately it feels like I've read it before, and at no point did it grab hold of me and refuse to let go until I reached the last page. Good, but not good enough for a full-throated rave recommendation. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

Thank you Sourcebooks,NetGallery and author Sara Ochs for the opportunity to read,The Resort,an arc ebook. I found it hard to finish this novel,nothing new in this murder,who-done-it that hasn’t been done before. Only the locations change where murders take place. This one happens on a beautiful remote island in Thailand. The characters are youngish,expats,who have run away from their past lives to drink and party constantly along with working for little money in bars,restaurants and a dive shop at a resort. Dialogue very repetitive just to add length to book and background of characters uninteresting.Waste of my time,sorry

Wow, what fantastic debut novel! This was an impressive ride with many great twists that kept me engaged and guessing for the whole story. I can’t say how impressed I am that this is the author’s first published work! It definitely reads like a seasoned author who has read and been published in this genre before.

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

I like how it alternates narrators between Cass & Brooke. Cass comes to this remote island to escape her past & finds a purpose as a Dive Instructor. Brooke is a travel influencer who comes to the remote island for a purpose

Indeed. Well done Sara Ochs. I'll be adding this author to my must read list.

This is the first book I read by Sara Ochs and it won't be the last. Our library patrons can never pass up a great thriller and they will fall in love with her writing style, the story, and the characters.

I was thinking that it's you, him, her, and per usual with suspense I was all over the place and wanting to read the last chapter because I'm impatient. I was good tho and I'm so glad because it was worth the wait. Loved this story! I envisioned every scene as it was written and have pictures in my mind of each character. Great writing I tell ya!

I’ll be putting this in my pile of books to reread down the road as I devoured it so quickly that I’m sure in a year It will be like reading a brand new novel! Two thumbs up from me!

A typical thriller with the requisite big twist at the end. There's nothing new here in Sara Ochs' 2nd book, 'The Resort', also set in Thailand. This is essentially the story of 2 characters, Brooke and Cass, in the past and present, and the secrets they bring with them to the island of Koh Sang in Thailand.

Cass is running from an incident in her past that resulted in the deaths of her father and sister. At the time, she was accused of murder, and her photo was plastered all over the news. Fleeing to Thailand, she creates a new identity, and is so far away, no one could know who she really is, or could they? Until threatening notes start appearing under her door, stating, 'I know who you are, and soon so will everyone else.'
Brooke is an instagram influencer, also fleeing from her past, but able to reinvent herself with her travel blog, full of photos of exotic places, full of bikini clad partiers. They soon meet and become fast friends, each seeing qualities in each other they admire, and wish they had themselves.

The author sets the scene in Thailand very well, as you feel the island and its oozing humidity engulfing the characters as they make one bad decision after another. Cass immerses herself into the culture quickly and becomes a dive instructor on the island, befriending the local expats group, all of which were running from something. Here in Thailand, far from the western world, no one will find them or find out what they did. Very friendly at first, you start to see cracks in the veneer as the body of a guest turns up, then another.  Soon a vicious storm engulfs the island, and everyone is trapped to deal with who and what they've become. As it says on the cover 'Welcome to Paradise, I hope you survive...' Could one of them really be a murderer? As Ted Bundy's neighbors said 'He was such a nice guy, who knew?'
This book is being compared to Rachel Hawkins' books, which I feel are more well written.

There is also some cringe worthy writing here, i.e. 'Exhaustion settles dense in my muscles, but anxiety buzzes just underneath, carbonating my veins.'; and,   'But even as the thought bubbles into my head, it pops with the reality of the situation'. 

The action is fast past and sets itself up well for a screenplay if tweaked in certain spots. Entertaining, but formulaic.

3.5 stars

Very surprising to find out this is a debut. His was a suspenseful and thrilling novel with plenty of twists. I loved the multi POV and thought it was written well. I hope Ochs can keep this up. I look forward to following her writing career.

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

This is an excellent thriller full of mysteries, lies, tension, secrets, and friendships that'll make you think, "Are they friends, or are they frenemies?"

Synopsis: "The Resort" is set on a Thailand island, where a friend group called the Permanents works and resides - all in some way moving away to escape one thing or another in their lives. Brooke, a struggling journalist, travels to the island to dig into the instance of a woman who, according to police, accidentally fell to her death on a hike. Brooke runs into and starts a friendship with Cass, who's running from her own demons. She's alarmed by a resort visitor named Lucy, who reached out to her to ask for help - help with what? Alarm bells ring even more when she finds Lucy's body during an underwater dive soon after she arrives at the resort.

There's another death in the friend group - what is going on? Cass and Brooke team up, looking for clues, history, and motives - who is behind these deaths? Even to the point where they begin to look at each other - which is what I loved about this mystery. In each chapter (a dual POV between Cass and Brooke), I found myself thinking, "Oh, it's gotta be Logan, oh wait, it's gotta be Greta." All I'm going to say is...the epilogue is NOT what I was expecting, and it has me wanting a MAJOR second book!

Fantastic debut novel, Sarah Ochs! I look forward to adding more of your novels to my bookshelf!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were a lot of things that I loved about this story, like the setting, which was unique. I liked the incorporation of the dive shop into it, as, again that was unique. I am confused because I saw this book on good reads and it was called "The Dive" and I like that title better.

The story was confusing to me because there were so many characters and with the switching perspective I kept mixing up Doug and Daniel for some reason. I also am not a fan of unreliable/not forthcoming narrators, but that is a personal preference. I wish Brooke had been more upfront in what she was after rather than keeping it a secret. With so many secrets, the first half of the book was a lot of "I can't let them find out . . . ." from both her and Cass, without getting into any details of what actually were their secrets until much later.

Also, I don't really understand Cass's motivation for saving Brooke. I loved the epilogue though, where Neil was bad. Clever and unexpected.

Such a great debut novel. Dual POV , which I love. Suspenseful and a thrilling ride. Shocking end. I was not expecting that. A must read.