Cressida Fawcett has an eleven-hour train ride ahead of her. Someone has been killed and obviously, there is a killer on the train. While it seems very likely that the victim's wife was the killer, as she had means, motive and opportunity, Cressida is not quite convinced.

The locked-roomed trope is one of my favorites. With a speeding train, and only so many passengers, it was rather fun trying to guess the identity of the killer right along with Cressida.

Cressida is not just among strangers on the train ride, Detective Andrews and his partner Kirby are on the train as well. Perhaps with the three of them, they can figure out the killer before the train reaches its destination.

Death on the Scotland Express is the enjoyable fourth book in a delightful cozy mystery series. As a diehard series fanatic, I have enjoyed this series from the first book, Death Among the Diamonds . However, these cozy mysteries are written in such a way that they each serve well as standalone novels.

Besides being a cozy mystery, this is also a period piece, as the setting was during the early 1920s, and that makes this book and the rest of the series truly enjoyable.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

This is very much my kind of book but after fighting to make the ARC readable and coherent, I have given up. I’ll try to track it down now that it’s out.

The Weekend Retreat was a great thriller. It was an easy and quick read that was somewhat predictable but still enjoyable. It gave me Succession vibes as the wealthy siblings are messy, conniving, and backstabbing. They all have things going on in their lives that they don’t want their other family members to know about and they need more money or power to fix their problems. They will step on anyone in their way to get what they want. It was an exciting concept and the aspect of being trapped in a house with your disfunctional family during a storm seemed kind of played.

This was such a fun read! Locked room mystery with many twists. I loved the atmospheric location of the book and enjoyed this cast of characters. Great read!

I really enjoyed this one, family dramas that are full of unlikeable characters are highly entertaining for me, mostly because they all end up turning on each other and that is always fun to read about. The Van Ness family is gathering at their winery for the adult twins’ 35th birthday party, and this year there is a ‘party guest’ as an additional narrator that is up to no good. A storm blows in only adding to the chaos of this event, and I loved all of it. This is told in multiple POV’s, including the party guest. There were several things going on in here with each of the characters and this can always be difficult when listening via audio. In this case I was grateful for the slow start to get everything sorted so that when the pace picked up I was able to keep up. The audio was great too and I loved this one overall.

Thank you to Graydon House for the digital copy to review.

You will like this book if you like: rich families behaving badly, multi-character POVs, atmospheric books with a hint of mystery, unsurprising twists 🍇🎰

I think this book was let down by flat characters. It’s been a week and I’m struck by how forgettable the characters are. Overall a good beach read, but it dragged in places.

"The Weekend Retreat" is an absolute gem in the suspense genre! The intricately woven tale of a wealthy family's weekend getaway kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The Van Ness siblings provide an interesting glimpse into the dynamics of an affluent, yet toxic, family.

The atmospheric setting of the winery estate, with its lavish comforts and stunning scenery, serves as a perfect backdrop. The plot twists are brilliantly executed, adding layers of complexity and surprise that left me guessing until the very end. It dragged a little in some parts, but I was immersed and invested.

There is strong character development, which is a must for me in order to enjoy a story. Each member of the ensemble cast is skillfully crafted, with flaws and virtues that make them intriguing, even as I disliked most to the point of being annoyed with them. The story becomes a pressure cooker, pushing them to the edge, and the author masterfully navigates the complexities of their relationships. I had to see how it would end. Things get dark in more ways than one which adds an extra layer of danger.

If you're a fan of page-turning mysteries with well-developed characters and unexpected twists, this novel is a must-read!

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.