A slow start and a slow burn but still a great read. Harper . . . She is quite literally the worst. But in the best way - her character added that much needed tension and drama to every scene. And that twist at the end! Whoa. Didn't see that coming! Loved it.

Entertaining locked room style mystery. Not about a weekend retreat (which is getting to be an overdone premise) but a family party gone awry.

The Van Ness siblings and their significant others gather at their remote family estate winery. The matriarch of the family passed away, and now twins Harper and Richard are celebrating their 35th birthday and younger sibling Zach has brought his girlfriend (who quickly becomes his fiancee after arrival) Lauren. There is also a mysterious, unnamed "Party Guest" who is another narrator. We alternate between the females and the party guest, as the evening slowly unfolds and becomes more ominous. Everyone is keeping secrets, and some of them turn out to be deadly.

Although I didn't find the identity of the villain, nor any of the events to be all that surprising, the journey is quick and it kept me engaged throughout to see how it would all unfold. I do enjoy stories of wealthy people behaving badly, and this one had that for sure. I'm not always the biggest fan of stories that begin with the ending incident (in this case it is a report of two deaths at the mansion) but this book was all right because the foreshadowing wasn't excessive, it just piqued the right amount of interest rather than giving too much away.

The setting has a gothic feel with the hidden rooms and passageways, and while the mystery itself wasn't spectacular, the reading experience was entertaining enough to recommend this book.

If you enjoy psychological thriller books with a twist, then check out The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski. This book contains everything from sabotage, deceit, and affairs to wealth, murder, and imposters.

Join the Van Ness siblings and their significant others on a weekend they will never forget! The family comes together at the Van Ness estate to celebrate the twins, Richard and Harper, turning 35 to honor their late mother's tradition. But as much as some try, the weekend just keeps getting more off course…

This was my first time reading anything by Laskowski, but it will not be the last. I thoroughly enjoyed her prose, character development, and plot structure. There was SO much deceit and twists thrown in, but it all felt very natural and believable! This book was told with 4 different points of view--but all of the characters were so different, so it was easy to keep each POV straight.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This family drama evolves at the Van Ness estate where the adult siblings come together for a birthday weekend celebration. We quickly realize that each sibling and spouse each has their own secrets and agenda items. We learn about the mischievous ways of their recently passed mother and how Elle, a spouse, really clung on to her wants to keep the estate alive and well. We have Harper who has created her own empire that is beginning to shatter. And Zach who is recently engaged and wanting to fit in with his twin siblings. Lauren, his fiancé, is new to the family and estate and very interested in digging in to the family secrets with a possible paycheck at the end of it.....many twists and turns! Great read!

Full of family drama, this domestic thriller is perfect for fans of readers who enjoy rich people behaving badly, complicated family stories, secrets, lies, betrayals and lots of twists. It was also excellently narrated by one of my favs, Karissa Vacker. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Weekend Retreat hooked me! This was such a fun read I had a hard time putting it down. Great concept and execution by Tara Laskowski.
While the story played out well, I feel the character development was lacking with most characters. I needed more insight into these seemingly unlikable people to better understand their actions and feel any sympathy.
Still, I was impressed with the story line and the twists that kept me turning pages! Good read!

The formatting of the book really made it hard for me to get into. There was no clear separation between chapters. The headings appeared randomly throughout the book. It is not formatted correctly. I made it through only 5% because I got annoyed. I’ll end up buying this book to give a proper review.

The start of this one reminded me a little of another book I read with the rich family and the playful but mean games that were played, but quickly moved away from that memory. The news reports and stories along with the POVs from someone, the “Party Guest”, with an ulterior motive gave me foreshadowing of what was likely to come.

It was hard to like anyone in the family as they were very entitled and not very kind, but I kinda like that as a trope in a thriller as long as I want to know what is up. And I was curious of not only what was going on but also who had died. I appreciated the atmospheric tone of the estate along with the impending storm. And the memories of the ever-demanding mother just added to the atmosphere. I was kept guessing as to who was sending the gifts and why and who might be the claimed family member.

A claustrophobic thriller but also a domestic family drama. As the story unfolds, so do the characters. Not everything or everyone is as they seem. It’s a slow burn in the style of season 1 of White Lotus. There’s a bigger picture but the characters get in their own way with their constant bickering. I thought this was handled very smartly by the author.

‼️‼️‼️‼️ARC REVIEW‼️‼️‼️‼️

Thank you to the author, the publishing team and Net Galley for allowing me to review this advanced reader copy!

The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski
Release Date: December 26, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I really enjoyed this mystery. It had a slow start to give the reader a basis of the setting and the characters. Around the 35% mark it started to pick up for me.

This book is set at a family birthday party and it has multiple POVs which I always love. The dynamics of this family are dysfunctional to say the least.

Honestly, all the characters are pretty awful people, so I didn’t find myself rooting for any of them. I was guessing what horrible thing the family would do next. The narrators are also all unreliable which is a mystery I enjoy because it keeps me wondering if any of the information is true.

The Van Ness siblings with their significant others are gathering at their winery estate to celebrate the twins, Harper and Richard’s thirty-fifth birthday. Lauren, Zach’s girlfriend is nervous and eager to fit in, Elle, Richard’s wife, is all about making the gathering and party perfect, and Harper is eager to get the weekend over. Little do they know, there’s a surprise guest bent on revenge, however they hardly notice any strange occurrences with all the snipping and one-upmanship going on between them. For the most part this was not a likeable bunch, and all had secrets. As the weekend goes on rivalries and tensions escalate. A perfect storm is brewing!

The story is from the POVs of Lauren, Elle, Harper, and the unknown “Party Guest”. Of the three women, I only liked Lauren. Harper was a straight up self-centered witch and Elle was conniving and annoying with a “sweetheart” veneer. Lauren wasn’t an angel either, but I found her to be the most likable/relatable. I felt for the “party guest” once their identity and motivations were revealed.

The Weekend Retreat was a real page-turner and I finished it in one day. While I did figure out some of the reveals, I was surprised by who was behind the revenge plot.

Lauren is headed to Zach's home to meet his family for the first time. Under normal circumstances, this would be a stressful situation. But when your boyfriend's family is one of the richest, privileged "old-money" families in the country, it ups the anty just a little.

As expected, the weekend starts off a little rocky. The family is still reeling from the recent loss of their mother, and everyone seems to have secrets they keep from each other -- including Lauren. It all comes together as a recipe for a fantastic read. Really, I couldn't put this one down!

Lawskowski perfectly imagines the power players in this very wealthy family. There are notes of Succession with many dark twists. Special thanks to Netgalley and Graydon House for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin trade publishing and Tara Laskowsi for the access to the advanced copy to review.

The Weekend Retreat came out on December 26th, 2023.

What do you get when you combine a wealthy vindictive family with family drama bubbling under the surface,, a vast winery estate, and an incoming violent storm? You get The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski!

The Van Ness family has a tradition where they visit the winery estate to celebrate their birthdays; this time it's celebrate famous twins Richard and Harper's 35th birthday. After the tragic death of their matriarch, Katrina Van Ness, this will be the first time the family has come together. But tensions rise as unresolved resentments and conflicts bubble to the surface.

- Richard, who has stepped up as the leader of the family business and takes care of all financial affairs,
- Harper who started her own online cosmetics business that is going through a bit of bad press.
- Elle, Richards wide who married into the family, but is trying to step into the void Katrina Van Ness left.
- Lucas- Harper's husband who has many successful businesses under his belt and is fiercely competitive
- Zach who is the younger brother of the twins, golden child and has a habit of being fiscally irresponsible.
- Lauren, Zach's girlfriend who he brought to the estate to meet his family for the first time.
And finally, there's the mysterious party guest who is the key to the whole affair.

What drama is the family hiding? When will this powder keg burst? And who is the strange party guest? I'll leave that dear reader, for you to find out!

After reading The Weekend Retreat, I'm going to be on the lookout for more of her work! This tale gripped me from the very first page and would not let go until I finished! The cast of characters were so lively and vibrant; a mix of unlikeable characters, but who I could still sympathize with... to an extent. The setting was perfect for the story, a large opulent manor with sprawling estates, but with secrets hidden in plain sight (a great metaphor for the family), as well as the storm rolling in, adding to the tension. I also really enjoyed switching the character's POVs. I've found this can be hard to do and keep the characters feeling like separate beings, but this author does this masterfully. Also loved the playlist at the end of the book. The songs seemed quite fitting :)

What can I say? I thoroughly enjoyed this piece. If you like rich people drama with an idyllic winery setting full of secrets and betrayals, then you'll love Tara Laskowski's The Weekend Retreat!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are delightfully unlikeable. Everyone has secrets. And they are all coming out over the weekend. I think the POV changes between the female characters and the guest really add to the story. I think we learn just enough about the characters personalities and what drives them to understand the choices they make. While I figured out aspects of the plot, many were still a surprise too me and it was a fun quick read. My favorite kind of domestic thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This is an interesting rich people behaving badly mystery/thriller! The multiple POVs kept me guessing and the “party guest” was especially interesting. Characters that you love to hate, this was a great thriller!

I’m super excited to be part of the blog tour for this new title by Tara Laskowski, The Weekend Retreat. This was a suspenseful read, focusing on a family coming together to celebrate a birthday, but some people are going to end up dead. What is the backstory on these characters? Who hates them so much that they are ready to kill? Grab this one to find out – I promise you won’t be able to put it down!

Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!

Great writing, I wasn’t able to guess where it was going (not that I was trying too hard) and I really enjoyed the plot. The characters were well written, you loved to hate them. A twisty mystery we all love.

I loved the story. You learn a lot about each character and that they all have secrets. Felt like it was a little slow to get to the main mystery.

I’ve always enjoyed Tara Laskowski’s work and The Weekend Retreat was no exception. The turns in this one genuinely surprised me - a rare feat!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing Graydon House for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Tara Laskowski - 4 stars!

The matriarch of the Van Ness family died, and the children haven't been back to the winery estate home since. But they all gather to celebrate the birthday of the twins, Harper and Richard. Harper brings husband, Lucas; Richard his wife, Elle; and their youngest brother, Zach, brings his girlfriend, Lauren., who is meeting the family for the first time. The three couples are all looking for some relaxation time, but with everyone keeping secrets and old tensions coming to the surface, it's anything but relaxing.

This was an atmospheric thriller, complete with brewing storm and mansion with loads of secret passageways and tunnels. Told in multiple POV, we learn all the secrets and even hear from a mysterious party guest, who definitely has ulterior motives. I liked the short chapters and kept telling myself, just one more. Loved the twist ending! Another intriguing read by this author!