A remote island in the Southeast Pacific is a great place to hide from a sketchy past. The Resort is set on Koh Sang, a resort island in Thailand, where mainly younger travelers flock to party with abandon. Brooke is a travel influencer with a huge following on @BrookeaTrip who arrives at the Koh Sang Dive Resort, ostensibly to promote the island and the resort. While there she meets and befriends Cass, a dive instructor who is a member of The Permanents, a tight-knit group of multi-national expats who work on the island. Every member of the expats has something to bury in their past, some secrets worse than others, that no one else knows about. What the resort and Koh Sang authorities are eager to cover up is that a young woman recently fell, or was pushed, to her death from a cliff on the mountain walking trail. Brooke is suspicious of this unlikely incident, and when a second woman dies on the island she begins to quietly investigate since no one else will. But Brooke needs to be careful…because someone on the island will do anything to keep the truth hidden.


I did something I rarely do while reading this novel – I stayed up far past my usual bedtime to finish it. And it was completely worth it. The story unfolds in chapters alternating between Brooke and Cass as they paint a picture of The Permanents and slowly divulge their past and true reasons for being on Koh Sang. On the surface, it appears that everyone in the group is friendly and congenial, with Brooke and Cass quickly becoming very close friends. But it soon becomes apparent that none of the people in this circle truly knows or even trusts the others.


Without the necessity of flowery descriptions, the author provides the reader with a vivid mental image of Koh Sang. “As soon as we step outside, the sun bites my skin.” The setting and resort feel very real, and the passages describing dives indicate the author’s first-hand knowledge of diving. In some respects, The Resort reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel, with virtually all the characters becoming suspects as unpleasant aspects of their character or history are revealed. The icing on the cake is the chilling surprise at the end. Perhaps the only fault I could find was the title, which doesn’t do the book justice. A cracking good read – highly recommended.

To start, my mind is absolutely blown that this is a debut novel. I was sucked right in from the first page and found it so hard to put down. I thought it was perfectly paced, crazy ride full of tension, drama and shocking twists. I loved the setting and descriptions, it made me feel as though I was there and in the story. The cover is also gorgeous as well as the cover for the UK version, The Dive. I was absolutely shocked by the epilogue and did not see that twist coming at all! I’m hoping there will be more books to come by this author and can’t wait to read more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my early digital copy for my honest thoughts and review!

Cass has finally found a place where she is happy and building a new life. Koh Sang,a tourist destination in Thailand. She is a dive instructor, loves her boyfriend Logan, and has a group of amazing friends she considers family. What could possibly go wrong?
Enter Brooke, just another beautiful influencer. She desperately wants to belong to this group, but why? She seems to have everything, looks, followers, and sponsors. So why does this location and these people seems so important to her?
Told from two POVs, Cass and Brooke, we will soon find out that both of them are running from the past. When ‘accidental deaths’ occur, who could be responsible and why here?
There were more secrets and lies here then there are grains of sand in the ocean. Just when I thought that I understood everything that happened, the author threw in one heck of a twist. The dual points of view kept me reading, and every chapter ended with either a little more information or another twist. A really good debut and I can’t wait to see what the author writes next.

I ended up not making it through this one. I read a little over half and realized I wasn't invested in the story and didn't like any of the characters. This genre is hit or miss for me and this one was mostly a miss. I feel like I'm an outlier, though, because I've been seeing positive reviews everywhere for this one and two of my friends really enjoyed it. It just wasn't for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary digital copy.

A thrilling story with a beautiful backdrop of Thai beaches. Nobody is quite who or what they seem on this small island filled with expats and tourists, making it impossible to know who to trust. Full of twists and surprises, this book had me staying up late and guessing til the very end.

Wow I was just not fully prepared for this book. What an amazing debut thriller.

The atmosphere here of a Thailand fairly secluded island resort is a character in itself.

Cass and Brooke both have secrets and reasons for being there. Cass is a ‘permanent’, a local for the past few years and Brook is a travel blogger there for who knows how long. They collide and boy does it gets twisty!

It took me a few chapters to get hooked but once I was in, I was IN. Read this in one day and I can’t wait to read what this debut author comes up with next.

Oh and that epilogue/ending. I was shook. Loved it!

So thankful
For this early copy!

I devoured this. It had a fantastic setting, a story full of secrets and thrills, it was just an incredibly gripping and fun experience in general. Highly recommended to thriller fans, they will love this one.

Wow, this was really good! Lots of mind-blowing twists, characters who each have something to hide, all in a beautiful setting. There were a few moments that felt a little bit far-fetched, but I didn’t mind because this book was so entertaining. I’ll be looking for more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller set in a tropical destination makes for the perfect beach read. The pacing of this book kept the suspense going until the end. The plot weaves together nicely as it went along. We learn more about each character and sometimes I wondered how this many crazy/secretive people ended up on the same island. I would definitely read this on a beach vacation!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this advanced readers copy.

This was a fast paced, tangled web of a mystery with a beautiful setting and I loved the little nod it gave to the movie, The Island. This started off strong and kept getting better as the pages turned, unraveling the secrets and lies between each of the characters. The only complaint I had was that I could of done without the epilogue. While it did tie up some loose ends nicely, I honestly preferred it ending with that last chapter. That said, this book was highly enjoyable with well developed characters and a mystery that held me in its grip until the final page. Four Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC.

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

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 is a brilliant debut thriller from Sara Ochs. Set on a remote island in Thailand, the story is told from the perspectives of Cass and Brooke, two women with mysterious pasts. Cass, a scuba diving instructor at the Koh Sang Dive Resort, moved to Koh Sang years ago and became friends with "The Permanents," a group of expats who moved to the island looking for fresh starts. Brooke is a travel blogger and social media influencer staying at the resort. When Cass takes her students out for their first dive off the coast of the island, what is supposed to be a life-changing experience quickly spirals out of control when one of her students, Lucy, is found dead. After a woman fell to her death weeks prior, Cass wonders if Lucy's death is not an accident. As Cass and Brooke team up to investigate the deaths, another person is murdered, and dark secrets are revealed.

This was such a fun summer thriller! The author did a great job building the suspense and creating a real page-turner. As the story developed, more secrets were exposed and more questions were raised. I enjoyed the dual POVs of Cass and Brooke, and I never knew who or what to believe. There were so many times that I thought I had figured it all out, but I was wrong. The ending was unexpected and nicely wrapped up any loose strings. Overall, an incredible debut from Sara Ochs, and I look forward to reading her future novels.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the ARC!
I read this book on my way to Asia (not Thailand, but close!), and it grabbed my attention quickly. I liked that there was no time wasted with unnecessary background stories about the characters; it was just enough to like/hate them.

It's a good story, but the plot twist was a little too easy to guess for my taste. Still, I enjoyed it!

So good!! An excellent written story that kept me flipping the pages. The characters were great and everything clicked well. The epilogue was awesome!
5/5

Thank. you NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book!

I was intrigued by the title & description of this book and I was not disappointed. Wow. 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. The story unfolds with twists & turns.

I was satisfied with the ending...but then the epilogue...WOW! That is all I have to say. It's good, I recommend this book

Hard to believe this was a debut! The first few chapters of this story are a little slow. We are getting to know the characters and learn about the dead bodies, and I had trouble connecting to any of the characters. But THEN..... around Chapters 6 or 7, Katie bar the door!!! We begin to learn that there may be more to why influencer Brooke arrived on Koh Sang, a beautiful island off the coast of Thailand. And maybe heroine Cass has a few cracks? We meet those two and several ex-pats who live on the island and are all hiding something. Then a storm comes. And the power goes out. What could possibly go wrong? Good Gravy!!! This ending has so much going on and it is absolutely unbelievable, but don't let that get in the way of a crazy-good story! I could not put this one down! If you want a fun, suspenseful little beach read or just enjoy locked-room type stories, or even female friendship stories, this one is for you! Look forward to more from Sara Ochs in the future!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Sara Ochs and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and various other retail and social media sites upon publication.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

A fun, quick read with a good twist.

Brooke’s character stood out to me as sharp and fantastically internally consistent, and I loved the way both of the girls’ sleuthing contrasted. I do confess to struggling with some of the motives—including Brooke’s, and how she and Cass were connected—as well as Cass’s backstory, but I did love the premise, and thought it was well executed.

I’d recommend to fans of destination thrillers!

3.5 stars rounded up. Very grateful to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the arc!

Cass works and lives on a beautiful island in Thailand with a fellow group of expats that have become like family. The perfect job and the perfect place where no one asks questions about your past since everyone is escaping something.

Brooke is a beautiful travel influencer. Her presence on the island seems logical.

But when "accidents" start piling up, everyone's past and motives start to come into question. Maybe paradise isn't what it seems at all.

***

I didn't go into this book with any expectations. The description was pretty vague, but I was pleasantly surprised as we moved along this slow-burning thriller. The novel is well written and paced. It takes a bit to build up the tension, but I think it works in this case and I was properly engrossed.

The ending, however, veers directly into the absolute bonkers. Everyone's choices, motives, and backstories become more and more absurd. I was shaking my head for about the last 80% of the book, totally unsure how this many crazy people could make so many absolutely crazy choices in one concentrated area. It definitely took me out of the novel and had me doing a lot of head slamming against the wall emoji and ????.

Everything is wrapped up pretty neatly though, and kudos for the epilogue. I knew there was more to that story. Makes me wonder if the door is open for another novel. I would definitely read it, even if it was just as nuts!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exahcnge for an honest review.

There is something so special about our little book blogging nerd group. We feed off of one another for recommendations and know exactly who would appreciate a specific book without even having to meet them in real life .

Well, Cait Quinn, author of The Clinic, told me I HAD to read The Resort. We all know how much I love debut authors, so, why not? I love finding rising stars to swoon over!

Holy Smoke! I wasn’t prepared for this one!

No arm twist needed, I was eager to start this banger, I mean, just look at this cover. It’s stunning!!

Nothing could have prepared me for this wild ride! I loved all the twists and secret exposures. This is a story of deceit, murder and revenge. Are you ready?

Fun Fact: The Resort is actually called “The Dive” in the UK. I wonder what the translation is?

Here’s a little teaser for The Resort:

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

There are three rules to survive a dive at the famous Koh Sang Resort

1 - Breathe normally if something goes wrong.
Scuba diving instructor Cass leads her students out for their first dive off the beautiful coast of Koh Sang, Thailand's world-famous party island. It's supposed to be a life-changing experience, but things quickly spiral out of control...

2 - Always dive with someone you trust.
By the time she's back on the shore, Lucy, one of her students, is dead, another critically injured, and she knows the new and idyllic life she has built herself is about to be smashed to pieces on the rocks.

3 - Don't panic if your oxygen is running out.
Because someone has discovered Cass's dark secret, and on an island as remote as this, there aren't many places to hide. There is a killer waiting, and whoever it is will stop at nothing until Cass's life is ruined and justice is finally served.

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Sara Ochs! The pace throughout was very good, the characters were interesting and the author added a nice twist at the end that I didn't see coming! There are a lot of characters though, so that gets a little confusing at times.
The island of Koh Sang in Thailand is beautiful, remote, and full of adventures. That is, until two tourists die in what are made out to be accidents. Brooke, a social media influencer, comes to the island to investigate the first death and she already has a suspect in mind. She befriends as many of the resort workers as possible and realizes that they all have secrets.