Not my favorite book from this author but it still had a number of good twists and turns! Some of the characters were quite annoying and shallow.

2.5 Stars

This felt more dysfunctional family drama than mystery-thriller, although there are plenty of secrets to lend toward suspense. I was curious who the identity of “The Party Guest” was, but with limited characters, it’s not hard to figure it out.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

**Review of "The Weekend Retreat" by Tara Laskowski**

Tara Laskowski's "The Weekend Retreat" is an intriguing thriller that mostly delivers on creating a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere ideal for a story of suspense and mystery. Set against the backdrop of a seemingly serene cabin retreat, Laskowski plots a narrative that cleverly plays on the fears and secrets of her characters, making for some compelling psychological drama.

The book's strength lies in its setting and the initial setup, which are both well-crafted and effective in hooking the reader’s interest. Laskowski uses the isolated cabin and the surrounding wilderness to great effect, building a sense of impending doom that keeps the pages turning.

However, the novel does suffer from some pitfalls. The character development is uneven, with some of the retreat’s attendees feeling more like stereotypes than fully fleshed-out individuals. This sometimes makes their decisions and revelations less impactful than they could be. Moreover, the plot, while initially engaging, tends to meander midway through the book. Some twists and turns can feel forced or predictable, detracting from the suspense.

The resolution also leaves something to be desired; it wraps up the myriad threads a little too neatly and quickly, which might leave readers feeling unsatisfied after the build-up of such intense suspense.

Overall, "The Weekend Retreat" is a solid read with a great premise and setting that might appeal to fans of psychological thrillers. It earns a respectable three stars for managing to create a gripping atmosphere and some genuinely suspenseful moments, even if it doesn't always maintain its momentum.

3.5/5 stars - Another solid suspense/thriller from Laskowski. For those that drama among the wealthy, a locked room feel, growing paranoia and claustrophobia being stuck due to a storm, then this is the book for you!

Thank you to Netgalley for this book. I was sent this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was very interesting and had me hooked the entire time. None of the Van Ness children were like-able characters. In this story we are following Lauren, Elle, Harper, Lucas, Richard, Zach, and The Party Guest. Lauren and Zach have been dating for six months and are going to his family’s ancestral home to celebrate his twin siblings birthday. In the span of three days this story unfolds. Harper is the twin to Richard and older sister to Zach. Harper is the head of an all women beauty company and comes on fire for shouting at her employees using a megaphone. Harper has been married to Lucas who isn’t thrilled to be spending the weekend with her family. Elle and Richard are the other couple and Richard is the oldest sibling and head of their families wine company. On the first night of celebrations Harper has Lauren taste grape juice disguised as wine. Harper explains that they do it to all the woman that Zach dated and that it was a joke, though Lauren doesn’t think it was funny. None of the Van Ness children think themselves as cruel except for the people around them. Money certainly comes with power and when Harper’s assistant shows up and reveals herself to be their cousin and that they are not real Van Ness’s a fight breaks out and when she is cornered she murders Richard with a glass shard and falls to her death from the balcony. Lauren and Zach don’t last long after that and two years later Elle and Zach are together raising RJ, Elle’s son with Richard. Lauren works for Harper who rebrands and is still married to Richard. The plot was very good but I really didn’t like any of the characters. But it was still a good book that I enjoyed

The Weekend Retreat is a variation on a book I usually enjoy. One part vacation thriller, the other part family drama. In the book, three siblings (one set of fraternal twins, and their younger brother) assemble at the family's Finger Lake area estate/winery to celebrate the twins' birthday. But you will not be shocked to hear that resentments emerge, secrets are revealed and one of the siblings end up dead.

The book uses the now-popular Big Little Lies format to let us know that a tragedy has occurred, but then moves backward in time to show us what happened and who did it.

The Weekend Retreat was a perfectly pleasant read, but as there are so many books with very similar plots, it was not a standout among them for me. I think at this point you need to have a unique spin on the concept!.

I liked this book. I am a big fan of thrillers so this was right up my alley. I liked the twists and turns the story took. It really kept me engaged throughout.

A family with massive amounts of wealth, they are rich both materialistically and when it comes to the secrets they keep. A weekend retreat to celebrate birthdays is anything but relaxing. In fact, little do they know, the situation is going to turn far more bleak than they are prepared for.
This is one thriller that falls away from the cliched thriller genre. Laskowski pulls the reader into the lives of the rich and infamous then douses it with gas and sets it aflame. Family drama, influencer woes, and relationships that are far more than what meets the eye. Jealousy is just one components to the relationships that are precariously balanced to keep the peace and not make known that nothing is what it seems.
This is one read that shows that what is done in the dark will be brought to the light in an intensely dangerous way.

“𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭. 𝐃𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐭.”

A vineyard set mystery during a storm with a family behaving badly? Yes please!

Tara Laskowski is a new author to me, and I was impressed overall with this book. Laskowski does a great job at creating a ton of tension throughout the story, with family members keeping secrets, taunting games, an approaching storm that could cut off the winery from the rest of the world, and an uninvited hidden guest who seems bent on revenge. It’s easy to get to know the females in the story - Harper, Lauren, and Elle - as you get their point of view, but I found it harder to care as much for the males, since you never get to see what they are thinking. The characters aren’t overly likeable, and they spend a lot of their time bickering and fighting, but it fits with this type of story well. I loved the gothic setting of the estate and the reference to the ‘old Clue movie’ from Zach with Richard quipping “Harper Van Ness, on the terrace, with the butter knife;” as a fan of the movie, I squealed in joy. I did wish there was a bit more shock to a few of the reveals, especially since with the heightened tension with the storm, but overall it was a quick fun read.

The Weekend Retreat is a story of tradition, family, power, lies, and manipulation. With its family drama, it would make for a perfect tv adaptation, or a great summer poolside read. Thank you to Graydon House and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was an all-around fun book to read. I enjoyed the fresh storyline and was unable to predict what came next! I think anyone who loves suspense and a quick read will enjoy this book!

The Weekend Retreat is an engaging thriller that takes you through the dark secrets of a fictional, prominent family.
Every year, the infamous Van Ness siblings gather at their luxury winery estate for a birthday celebration for twins Harper and Richard (the younger brother Zach never gets such parties). This a tradition they've started again to honor their mother’s death. With lavish comforts, gorgeous scenery, and indulgent drinking, the trip should be the perfect escape. But the partygoers can’t escape their problems and all their secrets are coming out. The situation is exacerbated when an unknown person leaves frightening gifts. The weather leaves the family stuck in the house and they have to come to terms with their secrets.
This is Tara Laskowski’s best book that I have read. The Mother Next Door and One Night Gone were average reads. The Weekend Retreat brings up the darkness, the horror, and the consequences that the other books lacked. The Weekend Retreat looks at the women of the family and how the world worked regarding them. We see neglect, stress, and lies that these women are subject to as well as those who subjugated others. This tale had more buy-in than the other novels.
The one negative I have about the book is that I figured out who the perp was halfway. The clues are subtle but readers who love this genre may see it like I did. But here’s what makes the book so good, Laskowski creates an intriguing story that makes you want to keep reading. You want to know more about the characters, the secrets they keep, and why they have those secrets.

I had a difficult time getting into this book. I listened to the audio. There are three different female narrators but I couldn't distinguish who they were. Their voices were all so similar. Overall, I didn't like any of the characters.

This book was a fun read. It definitely fell in line with other books by this author in terms of the feel of the story as it was being told. Overall it was an enjoyable read and definitely one to add to your TBR!

I have enjoyed this authors books in the past! Overall I thought it was a good read. It is a bit predictable at times, but a lot of books are these days and wouldn’t discourage me from reading it. The book is full of unlikeable characters so of that is something that bugs you I wouldn’t recommend it.

Every year, the three Van Ness siblings gather at their luxury home and winery to celebrate the birthday of twins, Hannah and Richard. This is the first get together since the death of their mother. This year the youngest brother brings along a girlfriend, hoping to get engaged over the weekend. It sounds like it could be a lovely weekend, but with all the secrets, backstabbing, lies, tension and more, they get pushed to the edge and two people end up dead. (Not a spoiler, the announcement opens the story).

The Weekend Retreat is a slow burn story, which is not my favourite style, but it works. There are six people at the celebration, which seems to be more of a test for various people. I really didn't like any of the characters very much. They all had secrets, were users, thought they were better than everyone else and nasty to one another. Having said all that, I was still drawn into this story. There was a seventh person there, one who was watching them, and I wasn't sure what he or she was after. As the weekend progressed a storm hits, the power goes out and Ella, one of the wives disappears. I don't want to say anything more about the plot as you need to go into it with little information. Who was killed is a mystery left to the end, why it happened had me nodding my head and I closed the book satisfied with the story. It was a well written and plotted story, with unlikable and unreliable characters, but I wanted to know what would happen to them and who was killed. If you enjoy a slow burn, suspenseful story, with family vindictiveness and revenge, then you will enjoy this one.

I had a hard time getting into this one. A group of siblings' and their partners spend the weekend at their late mother's estate to celebrate the birthdays of the twin siblings. When they get there, it becomes obvious that they are hiding secrets from each other, and there is also an uninvited guest who plans to ruin the weekend. We learn pretty early on that the weekend went completely wrong and ended tragically. I think the reason this book was difficult to get into was because the characters were really unlikeable. I couldn't allow myself to root for any of them, and I often found the male characters too similar to tell apart. They also switch POVs between the female characters pretty often, which took some getting used to. Much of the action happens later on in the book, but they do focus more on the power dynamic between the characters.

I think this is a great choice for fans of Lucy Foley or Lisa Jewell. It’s rich people behaving badly in a winery setting with lots of Manhattan references. Did I have to suspend disbelief a couple of times? Absolutely. Did I enjoy the social media nods/loosely veiled DeuxMoi references? Also yes! I think it would be a great vacation read, and the paperback format is perfect for tossing in a beach bag. Totally enjoyable reading experience!

This book is full of tension, family drama, secrets, and deceit. Add on top of that a mystery narrator and a surprise storm and you have all the ingredients for a truly entertaining thriller! Most of the characters, especially the Van Ness siblings, are unlikable which works so well in this book. Usually unlikable characters can be hit or miss but it’s a definite win in this situation!
Set at the Van Ness family winery and estate, the siblings and their significant others gather for a lavish birthday celebration. It is the first year they are all together since their mother passed so the responsibility to keep traditions alive falls on them. Quickly, tempers flare, secrets are spilled, and nothing goes as planned. You will never guess who the mystery narrator is until the very last second.
I loved the setting and truly couldn’t put this one down. Although the estate is sprawling, there is a locked-room mystery vibe due to its seclusion and the storm effectively cutting the family off from the real world for a time. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, people behaving badly, long-buried secrets, and surprise twisty endings, this book is for you!

ead Completed 1/23/24 | 2.5 stars
This was fine, but not good. I was interested in this after reading the author's previous book, THE MOTHER NEXT DOOR and hoping for more growth and potential in her next book, but this felt far less cohesive.

THE WEEKEND RETREAT mostly suffered because it had too many POVs. There are four of them, all of them female, and while the personalities were different, I still had a really hard time getting the hang of them for way too long. They also just weren't that interesting or unique, some of them blending together, some of them just plain bothering me.

The other issue I had was the pacing. The beginning was just slow and boring, and if I hadn't read another book from Tara Laskowski, I probably wouldn't have finished it. I don't really like thrillers with insufferable, spoiled characters from rich families and these characters didn't interest me at all. This trope/concept can work for me if the characters are well-developed but they never really got there.

The ending had a twist, but I saw it coming quite early so it wasn't really surprising. My other issue its hat it wasn't really done well. If there was more connection to it in the beginning or some wild consequences in the end, it would have landed a bit more, but it just wasn't satisfying enough.

I can see some readers liking this but there's been better and this just didn't do it for me!

A solid, twisty thriller that will have you glued to the drama of the Van Ness family as they celebrate a joint birthday weekend at the vineyard. Hear Tara talk about the characters, her inspiration, and much more at killerauthorclub.com/killer-episodes.