Ahead of her wedding day, Jen plans a trip to Clachan Geal, a remote Scottish island, for some of her oldest friends, a new friend, and two sisters-in-law. They're stranded on the island together until the helicopter comes back for them. Old baggage, hidden secrets, and long-time grudges make for a tense hen weekend made worse when the private chef hired to cater to them is found dead in the kitchen.

Firstly, the narration on this is wonderful! Sarah Barron does a tremendous job with all the different characters.

The Cliff House is a tense thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, wondering what in the world is going on, most of the time. I'm rating it 4 stars and not 5, because it tends to ebb and flow. One minute, it's all go - someone is dead, they're being taunted, no one can use their phone to get help, they're running around a Scottish island in the damp darkness... And then you've switched points of view and someone is just having a flashback or memory that moves so much slower that it's a bit of a shock. By the end, I understood the choice to have so many different points of view, but during all the switching, it did start to wear on me and I wished for fewer characters. The climax with the big reveal and the ending were my favorite bits of the book. A thriller with <spoiler> a legitimately happy ending </spoiler> is hard to find, so I was really pleased with it.

This will keep you guessing. I thought I knew a few times how it was going to end only to be thrown in a different direction. Definitely recommend for someone who enjoys a good thriller.

Twists upon twists!!! Love the winding storylines of characters that all intersect at a unique point in time. I was hoping for a different result in some ways, although, it was great to be surprised and discover new information that changed the trajectory of the story too.

Narration was good for the most part, but narrator also sounded bored which didn’t help with the suspense building. Would have LOVED to have been swept away by the narration to feel the intensity at peak times.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early audiobook copy of The Cliff House.

So, I am usually a big fan of secluded, trapped on an island or in a house type mystery-thrillers and for all practical purposes this was the perfect set-up. A bachelorette/(hen) party in a secluded spot - seven women, all with big secrets and then a murder and a kidnapping/disappearance - it was a great plot. I enjoyed the journey, untangling the connections between the women, the revealing of the secrets and the small twists spread throughout the book, but the final twist and ending was bit disappointing and left me wanting more.

This was my first Chris Brookmyre book and although I didn't love it, I did really like the writing style, strong character development, pace and voice of the writing. I'll definitely be checking out more of his work.

Overall, a not bad book, great audio narration and an enjoyable psychological-thriller, even if it wasn't a five-star for me.

3.5 stars rounding up!

What a fun book! So dark and twisty and kept me guessing the whole time. I love claustrophobic thriller settings like this. Remote island, seven women, lots of secrets… what’s not to enjoy? I will say I think the big reveal was a bit obvious but I have a feeling readers are supposed to have that understanding early on so all the other surprises hit a bit harder. A lot of unexpected revelations that all somehow made perfect sense.

I thought all the characters were really well thought of and fleshed out. I could understand and sympathize with all of their feelings and decisions even if it was at direct odds with how I felt about the others. I also LOVE that they were all “older” women who acted their age. I often find books revolving around this age group feels quite juvenile to me but this definitely hit the mark.

I loved the ending! It was so satisfying but messy enough that it didn’t feel unrealistic.

The narrator was also fantastic.

Thanks NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for this arc!

It's rare to find a psychological thriller that can hold my attention at the same level throughout the book. "The Cliff House" by Chris Brookmyre is one of those rare books. This is even more impressive when you realize that there are seven main characters, each of whose perspective we are treated to, each with their own secrets to hide. The island we find ourselves on is atmospheric and so well described that it's easy to picture the forest, cliffs, and cottages, even while you're busy getting lost. Brookmyre's characters are well-defined, fully-fleshed, and perfectly believable, and the plot is so deeply tangled that even while you're guessing at one part, another is slowly unraveling. One of the most satisfying and suspensful thrillers I've read in a long time.

This was my first introduction to Brookmyre, and I'm excited to read more of his work. Narrator Sarah Barron did an exceptional job.

I was lucky enough to have been gifted an ARC audiobook of "The Cliff House" in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley!

The Cliff House as an audiobook is so confusing. There are so many characters and different plotlines. I couldn't keep track of anything. The audiobook narrators are also hard to understand, I tried to listen at a higher speed but couldn't. The story itself is very slow, and I was not too fond of the main character.

I am excited I had the opportunity to listen to this book in September (aka the start of the spooky season in my eyes). This story of a hen weekend on a remote island that makes it inevitable for secrets to come out was an intriguing plot line, and overall I think Broomyre delivered on this. I think there were a multitude of plot twists and just as I felt satisfied with one resolution, another one popped up. It felt like it was teetering on the edge of too much but never fell over the cliff (ba dum tsk). While I was able to guess some of the plot points early on, I came nowhere near being able to figure all of them out so I was still surprised multiple times throughout my listen.

As for the audiobook of this story, I loved that the narrator had a Scottish accent and felt as if it really helped set the scene for the story. However, as a story with so many different perspectives, I felt like it was sometimes hard to distinguish between which viewpoint we were hearing based on the dictation in the narrator's voice, especially if I had to stop in the middle of a chapter. I may also be a little biased and I am a true lover of an audiobook with multiple narrators.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good, easy to listen to thriller.

What happens when 7 women all with a secret go to an isolated location for a hen party? Well of course those secrets come out and intertwine with the others. Even the one person no one knows is intertwined.

While I did figure out who was involved in the crime, it was interesting to see how the stories played out and came to a conclusion.

I was able to listen to an advance copy thanks to NetGalley. I adored the narrator. The brogues accent really made you feel like you were stranded on the Moors.

Thank you, NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was the first time I've read anything written by Chris Brookmyre.
I thought it reminded me of a cross between The Long Weekend and In a Dark Dark Wood.
The characters were well written and I quite enjoyed them. I didn't find the twist to be predictable at all and I love that.

The narrator was perfect and I would listen to more books read by Sarah in the future.

Six women travel to Clachan Geal, a remote Scottish island, for a bachelorette party. The women, some old friends, some new acquaintances, are renting out the luxurious mansion on the private island, where it will be just them, a personal chef, and the property manager. The whole thing goes awry quickly. Before dinner but after drinking several cocktails, the chef is discovered dead in the kitchen, clearly murdered, and one of the women is taken, threatened with death by The Reaper. The Reaper claims one of the woman is not who she appears to be, and if she doesn’t tell her secret and unless she tells her secret, the hostage will die.

The beginning is a bit slow as we get to know all the women and see the situation from each perspective. I’m not sure if listening to the audio helped keep everything straight or hindered it. It took me a while to really figure out who was who and how they were all interconnected. The narrator did a good job, but there are a lot of characters and a lot of information.

The relationships and dynamics between the women were well-done. Each of course has her own secrets and her own reason for not confessing, and the reader is privy to all of them. Well, almost. I’m not sure I actually liked any of the women though, which is maybe I wasn’t as concerned about what was going on as I could have been. That being said, there were some good twists and surprises. And an ending that made me smile.

Thanks to Highbridge Audio and NetGalley and Chris Brookmyre and narrator Sarah Barron for an enjoyable advanced audiobook The Cliff House. 7 Women 7 Sins 1 Night of Judgement. It ends up being 72 hours alone on an island these women have each got secrets but who’s are the most damning? It will be a race to save each other and not everyone is quite what they seem. It’s well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Solidly among my favorite of this type of locked room mystery where everyone is a suspect and they can't escape because they are trapped on a remote, hard to reach location. In this instance, it's in the Scottish Highlands for a bachelorette party and things go bad quickly when someone goes missing on the first night. Twisty and fast-paced, this was good on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Ruth Ware or Alice Feeney. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

A bachelorette party on a private island sounds glamourous but quickly turns deadly in this locked room style mystery.

I had the text version of this book and struggled a bit getting into it, but having gotten and flown through the audiobook, it must have been related to my schedule or attention span rather than the book because I ended up really loving it!

I loved the description and cover of this book. I loved that it pretty much jumped right in and the characters meeting up and the airport lent itself to an easy introduction to each of the characters as part of the story, without making it feel like you need to take notes and make a cheat sheet to remember which character is which. This book also pretty quickly jumped into the action and was pretty twisty throughout. Toward the end I did feel like there was a pretty ridiculous amount of super dark secrets coming out-- one person with a big serious secret sounds believable, a group of women each with smaller secrets seems reasonable, but all the women having crazy dark sides was a little much. Still, the writing was good, and I enjoyed it. I would definitely read more from this author.

The only thing I didn't love about this book is that the setting is so perfect for a really creepy, isolating vibe, and I didn't feel like I got a ton of the setting shining through. The island could have been its own character and was largely ignored save for a couple environmental details at the end.

Six women are booked in at a luxurious, yet remote, Scottish island retreat for a hen party, and each of them have secrets that could be exploited for money or lead to murder.

This is the first book I've read by Chris Brookmyre, and I have to say I did enjoy the intriguing, yet somewhat overwrought, mystery. The setup is familiar: a group of people are isolated on an island and begin getting picked off or disappearing one by one. I have to say I was suspicious of one situation because I am a huge Clue (the movie) and Agatha Christie superfan- make of that what you will.

I don't want to give too much away, but this is an interesting, if flawed, novel. For fans of locked-room mysteries!

I received an audiobook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Chris Brookmyre and HighBridge Audio for an audio arc of The Cliff House in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced (except quotations).

“Jennifer is forty-two and getting married for the second time, but that doesn't mean she can't go all out for her bachelorette weekend. She's taking her closest friends to the kind of place that has a years-long waiting list for a booking: three days of super-exclusive luxury accommodation on a remote Scottish island. So excited by the complicated means of transport required to get to the island, no one gives much thought to the implications for getting off again, especially if the weather should turn. But why would they? They're in for a time they will never forget. Just not for the reasons they imagine.

When one of the party mysteriously goes missing on the first night, Jennifer realizes she has made a terrible mistake: she has assembled this disparate bunch of women and the only thing they have in common is her . . .

Get ready for a locked room mystery like no other. One that asks: how well do you really know anybody, even your oldest acquaintance? And what if your best friend is really your worst enemy?”

I am obsessed with thriller/mystery/suspense & this synopsis, plus the cover art had me salivating to read this book.

There are a host of characters that you will feel all of the appropriate feelings toward based on how they’re written. None of them are good and none of them can be trusted, but which one is the worst & why? Estrogen tensions run high in this twisty story. And there is a twist ending you will never see coming (except you might – if you’re anything like me! LOL).

Very solid 4/5 Stars and I would recommend it for anyone who is a fan of this genre!

I hadn’t heard of Chris Brookmyre before this, but I will be looking up more by them after reading this one. I found some of the twists to be predictable and some were completely surprising. I didn’t love any of the characters, but I thought that was kind of the point. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator, I thought she did a great job bringing this Scottish story to life. Jen is getting married and for her Hen weekend she and five of her friends including her former sister in law and future sister in law are going to a nice resort on a remote Scottish island. This get together brings old friends with lots of secrets together. When everything goes wrong they will all have to decide how desperate they are to keep their secrets and what exactly their friendships are worth. The story was a little slow at the beginning but once it picked up it became impossible to put down.

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. It’s one of the few books with twists that are totally unpredictable and the end is a total shock.

The Cliff House - Chris Brookmyre

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

What fun! I enjoyed the relationships between these 7 women (all were hiding shocking secrets which are revealed as the story unfolds).

Murder, music, alcohol, sex videos, revenge and murder as well as an exotic location and nail biting cliffhangers - this wonderful beach read has em ALL!

I was so thrilled by this novel that after I finished it I immediately bought an audiobook and a kindle book by the author of this title; this writer is new to me, so I was especially thrilled to discover a new favorite.

The Cliff House by Chris Brookmyre was an explosively thrilling and twisty tale that dropped one unexpected bomb after another, making this a highly recommended, 5 star read!

Jen is about to get married for the second time and is meeting up with six other women for her hen party. The women include three well-known friends, her soon-to-be sister in law, her former sister-in-law, and a friend Jen has made within the past year. Events turn dark quickly when the chef at their secluded luxury resort on a small Scottish island is found dead in the kitchen with his throat slashed. The resort host, Lauren, wonders what dangers followed these women to the remote location. And just as the women think the very worst has already happened, the one boat off the island disappears, the Wi-Fi and phone lines are cut, and one of the women disappears. Did the guests just walk into a deadly trap? Or did one of them come with deadly intentions of her own?

The events in the story unfold in a brilliant manner. As the women pair up to find their lost companion and a way off the island, readers learn about the secrets, lies, and deceit that unknowingly tie the pairs together. Traveling around the Scottish island in the dark of night, each character flashes back to events in their past that make them wonder if their time has come to pay for their sins. And if so, who has come to collect?

Thank you NetGalley, Chris Brookmyre, and HighBridge Audio for the opportunity to listen to this thrilling, dark and twisty tale! It was a delight!

A great who dun it. Definitely kept me guessing. It took me a little while to adjust to listening to the narrator’s accent. It was beautiful i’m just personally not accustomed to hearing it.