This was such a fun locked-room mystery! I love following the rich and elite with their own issues and problems, unlikable characters who I just can't help but love the most, and a riddle I have to figure out before anyone else does (which I didn't figure it out before they did)
I loved this.

It's the yearly birthday celebration of the Van Ness twins, at the family estate. All the siblings and their partners meet Zach's girlfriend, Lauren, for the first time. As they are all trying to discover their dynamic together things start taking a turn, scandals are released, family secrets are being overheard, lies are being told, and someone will stop at nothing to make sure that everyone is exposed before the weekend is over! This will be one birthday that is sure to be remembered, and two unfortunate souls will not make it to sunrise. Great read, it kept my attention at every turn.

I am finding it very difficult to finish reading this book. Unfortunately as others have said there is no one likeable.

I love a stuck on an island, in a chalet vacation mystery. Unfortunately this did not make the mark for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of The Weekend Retreat.

I really enjoyed this book. It was rich people behaving badly. Which is always entertaining. I finished reading this book in less than 24 hours. It had me hooked from the beginning. It was my first book by this Author but it won’t be the last.
I would recommend this to anyone that needs a good fast paced thriller to read.

This was mostly a miss for me. It was an intriguing plot and the summary had me interested, but I found that I didn’t particularly enjoy, or like any of the characters. I had a hard time differentiating between the different characters and couples and the constantly switching POV made that more complicated. I thought the beginning could’ve used more suspense to lure you in, although it did pick up later. Even the winery setting was dull to me, which was a bummer. I did love the cover, and thought the playlist at the end was cute!

Thanks to NetGally and Grayson House for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the mystery/thriller aspect of this book, I didn't find myself liking ANY of the characters, so that made it a bit of a slog. I picked it up and put it down many times at the start. About halfway in it finally got going, and I couldn't put it down. Lesson learned - sometimes you've got to push through.

This book was a good read- very suspenseful. I thought I had it figured out but it wasn’t who I expected! Lots of twists and turns. I give it a 3.5/5 stars

Thank you for the ARC for my honest review.

This was a fun book, a great trapped in place mystery with a nice little twist. I liked the multiple POV, enjoyed the mystery although I guessed the villain early on, there was enough interesting suspense in the rest of the story that I was happy to see it play through.

This book was not what I expected but it packed a punch that left me engaged! This is one of those 'unputdownable' stories that I would highly recommend, with a twist that is purely enjoyable!

The Weekend Retreat tells the story of three siblings who return to their family's estate for a birthday party. Tensions are already high between members of the family, but during the weekend, secrets and revenge plots help things unravel, ultimately culminating in an uncomfortable confrontation, huge secret reveal, and unfortunate murder.

I gave The Weekend Retreat a three star rating because I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend or read it again.

I love a good locked-room mystery, and Tara Laskowski's contribution to the genre is definitely a pretty worthy one. "The Weekend Retreat" features a trio of wealthy, entitled siblings, their significant others (all of whom are just a little bit on the outside of the glitz and glamour of the Van Nesses themselves), and the malevolent, mysterious figure who's hell-bent on making them pay for their lives of wealth, entitlement, and snobbery. The vineyard surrounding the ancestral home, and the home itself, are presences of their own, and all of the aspects add up to an atmospheric, tense, full-throttle read; while the ultimate denouement is a little out of left field, it doesn't completely destroy the rest of the book. This would be a great read for a snowy afternoon!

THE SCANDAL OF IT ALL!

This book reads like Clue meets Succession with a stylish twist of Liane Moriarty. I loved it! But it really does have everything you are looking for in this type of book:
-unlikeable characters
-unreliable narrators
-multiple POV
-family drama
-eat the rich
-twins!
-a lavish estate with a winery, hidden passages and rooms
-murders! blackmail! bribery!
-riddles, twists, and games!

I will absolutely be reading more from this author and thought this was just a delightful introduction to her work for me.

The Weekend Retreat // Released Dec 26th

#ad I received a gifted advance copy of this book. Many thanks @tlcbooktours #partner

LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS ONE!

The Van Ness family returns to their family vineyard for the twins birthday party. Bringing their spouses, this weekend will end up being so much more than anyone could predict.

A superb locked-room thriller about a family where everyone has secrets and one person who is determined to expose them at any cost. I love locked-room thrillers and so loved this book!

It’s a fast read with short chapters, but those chapters hold no punches. Action packed, this was a hard one to put down. Excellently written, you’ll be drawn in by the characters and stay for the drama.

This is one of those fun type of reads. I recommend to every thriller lover esp those who enjoy locked room ones.

Thank you to Graydon House and NetGalley for my ARC of The Weekend Retreat! The premise of this book was good and I enjoyed the pacing, however most of the characters were pretty unlikeable. Although the twist wasn’t predictable, I found it rather boring. 3.5 stars rounded up for being a pretty engaging read.

a slow-build, locked-room family drama that accelerates in the last 30% of the book

“The Weekend Retreat” is the story of the wealthy Van Ness family, who’s gathered at their family winery estate in the Finger Lakes for the weekend. But soon, old tensions are simmering — and it becomes clear an uninvited guest is watching the family.

This was a fun combo of a family drama and locked-room mystery. I can’t ever recall reading a book where every character was SO suspicious! They were all hiding something, and the twist(s) at the end were wild. If you enjoy books with rich people behaving badly, you’ll be into “The Weekend Retreat.”

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. Unfortunately it wasn’t for me. It was a slow burn and characters that I couldn’t keep straight. I gave up at 20%.

Ridiculously wealthy, dysfunctional family? Sign me up! This was a fun one to read. The Van ness siblings and spouses gather at the family estate/winery to celebrate the 35th birthday of twins, Harper and Richard. No one likes anyone, everyone has an agenda, what could possibly go wrong? Yes, there are a lot of books with similar plotlines out there, but Tara Laskowski did a good job of throwing unexpected twists at you, and as I mentioned before, this was just so much fun! Could have done with a bit more character development, but still very enjoyable. This is my second book from this author and I'm looking forward to more!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Tara Laskowski and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Family dysfunction made better and worse by copious amounts of wealth. The setting of this one was the biggest draw for me, but I am getting tired of the 'secrets' being affairs...which happens in almost all the books I read.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

This book is everything a m=good mystery thriller should be. I found the majority of the characters very unlikeable, however, I really enjoyed the plot.

The book introduces us to the 3 Van Ness siblings: twins Harper & Richard, and younger brother Zach, who are all rich, spoiled, and the heirs to a winery fortune. They all come together at the family estate for an annual birthday celebration, and with them are their significant others: Lucas (Harper's husband), Elle (Richard's wife), and newcomer Lauren (Zach's fiancée). Every year the twins celebrate their birthday as a family, and every year it is extravagant and flawless. Except this year is the first time getting together since their mother died, and this weekend "retreat" will be "killer". Literally. We find out early on in the story that (at least) one of the Van Ness siblings dies during the weekend retreat, but we don't find out who (or why) until the very end.

Elle is the party planner and hostess for the weekend, and is trying her best to make everything perfect but family drama, fate, and a raging storm are all working against her perfect weekend. Lauren is meeting the family for the first time, and just wants everyone to like and accept her. Harper is a generally horrible person and spends most of the book being rude, bitter, manipulative, petty and deceptive. There is drama between pretty much every character, and everyone it seems has a secret or two they are not sharing with the group.

I thought all 3 Van Ness siblings were awful, any of which I wouldn't have minded being the one who died, particularly Harper. Lauren seemed alright at first, but then became less likeable as the book went on. Lucas was the most endearing of the group, but even he wasn't someone I was rooting for. Elle was trying to do something nice for her husband, and took a lot of crap from Harper through the book, but she came across very shallow and needy with gold-digger undertones. I was pretty much just cheering on the killer by the end of it.

I enjoyed the twists in the plot, and the descriptive beauty of the house and the estate. I am a sucker for big old houses with secret tunnels and corridors. The identity of the killer was not who I was expecting it to be, and their motives were a refreshing twist. I loved the suspense woven into the plot, and the gripping sense of doom.

I will definitely recommend this book to my mystery/thriller friends!

The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski is an exciting thriller about family, wealth, and secrets. Every year, the wealthy Van Ness family celebrates the birthday of both Harper and Richard, who are twins, at the family estate for a weekend of rest, relaxation and fun. Elle, who is married to Richard, makes all the plans, since she was close to the matriarch (deceased mother), and knows exactly what to prepare, as well as games to play. Of course, Harper hates Elle, since she never had the close bond of her mother, Katrina.

Harper, Richard and Zach are the heirs of the Van Ness family; Lucas is married to Harper, Elle is married to Richard, and Zach plans to propose to Lauren during the celebration. Harper is the most arrogant, and nasty character, which causes resentments among the family; with Richard controling the money, working close with Harper. Even Lauren has her own secrets. The POV’s center between the three women (Harper, Elle and Lauren), with a terrible storm coming, and so many twists and turns along the way.

What follows is an intense, exciting thriller with tensions rising, and everyone being pushed to the edge; as well as the many secrets that could destroy the family. On top of all of that, there is another POV with an unnamed person, “Party Guest”, who we learn more about closer to the last quarter of the book. Who is the Guest, and why is this person hell bent on destroying the Van Ness family?

The last quarter of the book becomes wildly exciting, intense, intriguing, as secrets are revealed and the danger escalates. The Weekend Retreat was a terrific thriller, that kept me glued to my seat, so not to miss anything. The Weekend Retreat was so very well written by Tara Laskowski.