Member Reviews
The Van Ness siblings are something else. Every year they gather to celebrate twins, Harper and Richard ‘s birthday. But this year is different. Their mother is gone, and their younger brother Zack has brought his new girlfriend, Lauren, along with the twins' spouses, Lucas and Elle. This year, the party will be anything but a fun time.
It seems that someone knows secrets about this wealthy family. This unknown person wants some thing, maybe money, or maybe revenge. By the time a terrible storm ends, the Van Ness family will not be the same as when they arrived.
This was a read that kept me guessing. We know from the beginning, that something bad happens, but to which character or characters. Everyone is hiding many,many secrets. Some more than others, but still, this was truly not a pleasant bunch. I finished this in a day on the last Sunday in August. A great outdoor page flipper.
It publishes at the end of December though, so unless you’re in the southern hemisphere, it will also make a great cozy up on the couch thriller.
I loved the plot! I was hooked from the beginning. You have no idea who died so you try to pick up clues from all of the drama and secrets. The Van Ness siblings and their partners are at the family estate/winery for a weekend birthday celebration. Sibling bickering, family secrets, and being trapped due to a storm made this a page turning thriller. For how intense the book is, I did not like the ending.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
Harper, Richard and Zach Van Ness come together with their respective partners for a weekend retreat at the families estate/vineyard. The gathering is to celebrate Richard and Harper’s birthday with a lavish weekend of festivities all planned by Richard’s wife Elle. But not everyone is there to celebrate, as a “party guest” is hiding somewhere on the property planning to exact revenge on the Van Ness siblings. Old rivalries and long hidden secrets start to resurface as the weekend progresses. When a storm hits and the party guests are no longer coming, only the three couples are left at the estate to await another storm that is brewing amongst them and their unknown visitor.
Three couples. Three days. A family getaway to die for.
I don't feel like this book really added anything new or exciting to the genre, but it was well-executed regardless. Fans of mystery/thrillers will have fun with it.
A wealthy family, a mansion of abundance and a family with secrets galore. What more could you want for a fast paced book that keeps you guessing until the end.
3 stars!
I read this in 4 short sittings, I loved the descriptions of the winery and the different types of wines. I also loved imagining the mansion with all of the hidden doors and passage ways.
This was an entertaining family thriller. I found myself thinking how every character is a bit of an asshole (lol). This was faced paced and engaging.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!
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 weekend retreat at your lush family winery. Trapped by a storm. Dead body. Family secrets.
This was a delicious, page-turning thriller that I couldn't put down. I love books about family secrets, when the people around you start to see who you really are. I loved all the twists and turns this book took. Fantastic story, loved this mystery. The ending felt just a little too neat, but otherwise, this was a perfect thriller to curl up with on a stormy night!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!
I loved The Weekend Retreat - it was a compulsive read, with characters with flaws and dark secrets. Will be recommending this to others!
"This isn't the movies at all, where the good guys win and the bad guys lose. This is life, where it's not about who is good or who is bad, but about who has the power, who has the money."
The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski is an exciting thriller about family, wealth, and of course secrets. The Van Ness children reunite one weekend at their recently deceased Mother's estate to celebrate the birthdays of twin siblings' Richard and Harper. Just as a storm is brewing outside, the family finds themselves stuck having to face past traumas, failures, and deceit. When an unexpected guest shows up at the house, will the Van Ness family pull together or will the secrets brought to light prove to be too much.
This was my first time reading Tara Laskowski but WOWOW it most certainly wont be my last. I have already added her other books to my TBR list. This book played out like a movie in my mind. I had to finish it at a record speed. Laskowski went into just enough detail, make me feel like I was right there with the Van Ness family. Page after page I was met with more secrets and more lies and more twists. I really enjoyed the multiple narratives. It gave the book a sense of urgency - always needing to know what the next character is thinking and doing. If you love a fast paced thriller you can read in 1 sitting, then look no further!
Such a fast paced thrill of a read! I really enjoyed how this kept my attention from beginning to end. I was shocked at the ending and never guessed it! Thank you Laskowski for a great read!
The glamourous Van Ness family is gathering for the first time since the death of their matriarch for a birthday getaway at the family vineyard. But an unexpected guest is ready to unmask the darker secrets of this mega-wealthy group, ending in unintended consequences for everyone.
***
The Van Ness family is definitely easy to root against, but that did not make this book unenjoyable. I enjoyed the different POVs (minus the Party Guest), Thought, I wish we got the views of every Van Ness sibling. There's something to be said for experiencing everything from solely the female POV, but in this case, I think delving into the relationship each sibling had with their mother would have served the plot better. Although dead, Kat is a pivotal character, and I do not feel like she was fleshed out enough.
The plot is also relatively predictable. I guessed almost every twist long before it was revealed. Family secret thrillers are becoming a bit formulaic, I suppose. But I loved the atmosphere of the mansion and the suspense built nicely. The ending, while hilariously bonkers, was also pretty satisfying.
Looking forward to see what this author does next!
This was a wonderful book. A great Thor ill er that kept me guessing the whole time. I would recommend this to all thriller lovers!
“The Weekend Retreat” is a mystery thriller by Tara Laskowski. I must admit, the cover and the plot synopsis suckered me into really wanting to read this book. And I really like how the cover has a few too many chairs on it (three couples should equal six chairs -why are there eight - ah, there lies the mystery!). The book is told through the three main females POV - Lauren (girlfriend to the youngest brother, Zach), Elle (daughter-in-law of the matriarch, married to Richard), and Harper (twin to Richard and only daughter, married to Lucas). The three voices are distinct enough to not get confused as to who is narrating, though at times if I put the book down in the middle of the chapter, I would have to go back a few pages to see who was narrating. The opening part of this book had me hooked, then somewhere around the 60% mark, it dragged a bit, then picked up again near the ending. I did feel, like another reviewer, that the ending was a bit too neatly tied up - especially after there was a lot of mystery about characters missing, who had it out for whom, and all the secrets. Are any of the characters likable - not really, everyone has secrets, everyone is not communicating with others, and - I must admit - some of the female characters were a bit too whiny for my taste. Overall, I found this an enjoyable book where I did not figure out “who had done it.” There were a lot of red herrings … and misdirection - so if you like those types of books, this may be up your alley.
I can really get into a rich family thriller, since it's usually easy to root for the bad things to happen with a host of unlikeable characters, but the characters here were, for me, TOO unlikeable. It wasn't as fun a romp/popcorn read as I'd hoped.
Thank you to NetGalley & Graydon House for the ARC!
The Weekend Retreat is a new take on the “group of people stuck on a secluded property with someone maliciously sneaking around trying to get revenge” trope. It’s enjoyable, but not necessarily anything super unique.
TWR follows the Van Ness siblings as they convene at their family’s winery for the twins’ birthday, Richard and Harper 35th. The book is multi-POV with the “unknown party guest” having their own POV throughout the story before they are revealed.
All in all, TWR is pretty good. It’s not life changing but I’d recommend to someone looking for a fairly causal thriller.
3⭐️!
Take an isolated, luxurious estate in wine country, add a birthday celebration, a brewing storm, family secrets, media spies and the most dysfunctional family you could ever meet and you have…The Weekend Retreat. We know from the first chapter that there has been a tragic accident and one family member is dead. We also quickly learn that a narrator, not a family member, is stalking the retreat. So what happens? It’s Harper and Richard Van Ness’ birthday weekend. Their spouses are in attendance, as is brother Zach, his girlfriend Lauren and the ubiquitous housekeeper. Missing is Katrina Van Ness, their recently deceased mother and family doyenne. The weekend begins with a games and ends in tragedy. In between, devastating, long held secrets are revealed. Relationships are forever changed.
The Weekend Retreat is a fast-paced, exciting read. Find a comfortable chair, put your feet up and enjoy! 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Tara Laskowski for this ARC.
I really enjoyed reading this fast paced thriller. This one will leave you guessing all the way until the end. The characters were the type that you just love to hate. I really enjoyed that this story is told from multiple points of view.
The story starts out with the Van Ness siblings and their significant others ( along with all of their secrets) gathering at their winery to celebrate the twins birthday. Secrets never stay hidden forever, have their way of coming back to haunt you. What is supposed to be a weekend of luxury, rest, and relaxation turns into a nightmare.
Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, Action, intrigue, mystery, revenge, murder, great who done it, great plot twist, and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me
This one was a wild ride, capturing my attention at the start and keeping it to the bitter end. The characters were so unlikeable, but that kind of drew me to them, like a car crash you can't look away from. The author did a great job with the twists and turns and pacing.
My one complaint is the ending felt a little bit like a softball, everything neatly packaged with a little bow, when I was expected a big reveal, or one last twist, but other than that I enjoyed it.