This is a fascinating thriller by Australian author Brooke Hardwick, the mystery takes you through to the end of the book.
As I followed the storyline my mind raced and filled with differing emotions. The main character is complex, confused and altogether likeable as well.
Kate tries to understand her past, she escapes to a remote island to seek help with both her personal and professional life. Kate’s mind holds secrets that she struggles with but wants to learn, the suspense, the twists and turns all make for a great story.
Huge congratulations and thanks to Simon and Schuster., NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Fog by Brooke Hardwick is such a chilling and addictive read! From the very start, you’re wrapped up in this eerie atmosphere that keeps you on edge the whole time. The mystery is so well done, with twists that totally catch you off guard. The characters are relatable and real, and you can’t help but get invested in their journey. Hardwick’s writing makes you feel like you’re right there, lost in the fog with them. It’s creepy in the best way but also packed with heart.

This book felt like a fever dream, in the best possible way. Hardwick plays with time, characters and locations until the reader starts second guessing everything.

The remote island therapeutic writers retreat makes for a suspenseful and eerie location as the characters attempt to unpack their trauma and work through their writers block. The cast is diverse, with murky motivations, and everyone's grip on reality starts to feel nail bitingly tenuous.

I found the pacing a bit slow in the middle of the book, but overall this was a gripping and thrilling debut work. Hardwick did a wonderful job of weaving together confusing and disorienting threads into a satisfying and twisty conclusion.

Thank you Simon and Schuster (Australia) for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Kate has lost everything. Her memory, her husband and her baby. From here she goes to a remote island for a 10 day writers retreat. The events that follow are dark, chaotic and thrilling. This book definitely needs to come with trigger warnings as dark themes are explored throughout this book such as domestic violence and infant death/infanticide. I understood this book was a thriller, but I didn't expect it to be as dark as it was.
The writing style was not my favourite. Lots and lots of questions were asked in paragraphs as we were reading, it was a common theme and not one that I enjoy. In saying that I still think this was a great debut and would consider reading more from this author again. Thankyou for the ARC.

I was happy to receive an advanced copy of The Fog (Via NetGalley). Thrillers aren't usually my go to genre, but the blurb for this one intrigued me. I really enjoyed this creepy, atmospheric, gothic thriller that kept me guessing and intrigued. Ewan was an excellent character, and I could read more stories about him. I also really enjoy stories where the weather is its own character! The story was fast paced, interesting characters (many of which I hated, but in a good way), and sprinkled with Celtic folk lore. An enjoyable read.

The ending let the book down for me a little. I struggle to understand how Kate, so recently out of such an abusive relationship that she mistakes that sex with Cormac as anything but abusive, would fall straight back into another long term relationship (even with our hero Ewan). For me, a better ending would have been Kate finding some independence and herself again after everything she'd been through.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the opportunity to read and review this book. Sadly I wasn't able to get to it in time, but I opted to borrow it from my library so that I could review it anyway.

This book was intense and chaotic. At times I felt it was difficult to keep up between what was currently happening and what was a flashback. Although, I guess that may have been intentional given that the main character was suffering from memory loss. The setting - Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland - was deliciously gothic and a really good choice, I think it matched the narrative well.

It took a while for me to get into the story but towards the end I was keen to finish. I didn't love the final twists, I felt like the first twist would have been enough to satisfy the mystery, and that the second and the epilogue were a bit too much and too convenient.

Overall, this was a good psychological thriller and a great debut - congratulations to Brooke Hardwick. I will be interested to see what other stories Brooke creates in future.

PS to the publisher: I think that the inside of this book could do with some trigger warnings.

The Fog is an exciting psychological thriller by Australian author, Brooke Hardwick. Kate travels to a remote island off the coast of Ireland, to attend a writer’s retreat which specialises in treating writer’s block. The small group of participants are subject to unconventional methods to encourage their love of writing to return. They stay in an isolated mansion, overlooking the cliffs, to ensure there are limited distractions from the outside world. Kate has experienced trauma in the past, which resurfaces at the retreat. What follows is a creepy and unexpected turn of events. I loved this atmospheric story and couldn’t put it down! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for my ARC.

I do love a good psychological thriller, and this certainly had all the elements of a good thriller story. My only gripe would be the repetitive thoughts of our MC - though I do understand that was part of her persona.

Without giving spoilers, this story draws on the pain of four broken writers with writers block who attend a retreat to help them get their mojo back, only this retreat uses unorthodox treatments on a remote island. They must undertake all assignments over the ten day period, keeping journals of their thoughts, feelings, and resurfaced memories.

Though this story has several characters at the retreat, it’s told from Kate’s perspective. We jump back and forth as she begins remembering things she’d blocked out.

I found the story to be a quick and easy, for lack of a better word, read, though if you have triggers, this may not be the book for you. It does delve into some pretty tough topics. Other than that, a compelling story that kept me riveted

Excellent book, loved it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

In this spine-chilling gothic thriller, a woman on the brink travels to a remote writers’ retreat to uncover the secrets of her past and lands herself in a deadly situation that could destroy her future.

This book was dark, twisty, unsettling and a great read. If you enjoyed The Guest List by Lucy Foley, this has similar vibes.

We are waiting on a couple of readers to finish so we can delve into THAT ending! 🤯 A little nuts? Yes. Did I eat it up? Absolutely!

A great debut from Brooke Hardwick.

The Fog by Brooke Hardwick is a dark, atmospheric thriller that plunges readers into the remote, eerie Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland, where protagonist Kate attends a writers’ retreat designed to heal trauma. The isolated retreat quickly reveals sinister undertones as Kate and other participants experience unusual and intense “therapies” under their enigmatic host, Cormac. Each character, grappling with personal trauma, is forced to confront buried memories and secrets, and the story layers suspense with themes of manipulation and psychological control.

Hardwick masterfully uses the island’s foggy, desolate setting to deepen the novel’s gothic allure, making Rathlin feel as much a character as the people caught within its mist. The plot unfolds like a diary, blending flashbacks with present fears, which heightens tension and keeps readers guessing about both Kate’s past and her current danger   .

Ideal for fans of psychological and gothic thrillers, The Fog is a chilling exploration of memory, trauma, and trust, culminating in a conclusion that is as thought-provoking as it is unsettling.

All the way through, you feel the eeriness of the location of this retreat for writers’ block. Isolated at one end of an island, the retreat offers a program that is supposed to treat the cause (trauma) and thus unblock the writer in just ten days.

Our heroine, Kate, doesn’t understand where her husband has gone and hopes this retreat will give her answers. As the program progresses, we find out through flashbacks just what has happened to Kate. There are several other participants in this program and come to know their ‘blockages’ too. The suspense continues until the final revelations.

I enjoyed this but the plot twists at the end were rather unbelievable and melodramatic which was a shame as the rest of it was intriguing on many levels.

The Fog was a great read. It was full of suspense, drama, mystery, and crazy twists.
I love a good seclusion style thriller, and The Fog definitely didn't disappoint.

Brooke's writing drew me in immediately, I just couldn't put it down. The storyline was compelling and mysterious. The characters were interesting and complex, especially Kate, Cormac, and Ewan.

The ending was full of crazy twists that I didn't see coming at all.
I highly recommend.

This was a strong debut thriller from Brooke Hardwick, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and Brooke Hardwick for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This book is dark and contained some mental health issues. I did enjoy reading the book.

Kate is a member of a writing group. She is suffering from grief and big chunks of her memory are missing. She has not been able to finish a book she has started writing. When her writing group sends information to Kate about a writing retreat Kate decides to apply hoping it will help her get over her grief and start writing again.

Kate’s application is successful, and she travels to Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland to attend a ten-day retreat for writers who are having trouble with writer’s block.

The Island is very isolated only four participants attend the retreat. They all have issues and none of them are happy with the treatments recommended to help them get over their writer’s block.

A psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns. Kate’s memory starts to return, and she is very afraid.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster (Australia) Publishers for a chance to read this E-Book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Podcast review at www.artdistrictradio.com
https://smartlink.ausha.co/art-district-rss-podcasts/the-fog-by-brooke-hardwick

An atmospheric psychological thriller set on Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland. The narrator, Kate travels to the remote island for a writers retreat run by a local, Cormac Boyd. Kate has memory loss, and her husband has left her after their baby daughter’s death. There are three other writers in attendance for the 10 day program. The events are tense and sometimes chaotic, it’s hard to know what’s important and sometimes what’s real as Kate begins having flashbacks to the events with her husband.
I was drawn into the story and wanted to know what was going on. The conclusion draws it together and was cleverly done. But the writing did annoy me, lots of paragraphs filled with questions - a style that I find so irritating, it’s okay once of twice but over and over… way too much of it here. So I think it could’ve been shorter and written in a tighter fashion, it would’ve added to the tension for me anyway.

Trigger warning: infant death
In The Fog, Kate travels to a remote island in the Irish Channel for a ten-day writers’ retreat. She and a small group of select authors are each desperate for release from their writer’s block. The therapy incorporates mythology of the island and some highly unconventional methods. It triggers repressed memories in Kate and increases her attraction to the retreat director. While the weather grows wilder and wilder, the therapy grows more and more intense. Each writer is pushed to their limits as the end of the ten days approaches. Kate needs to understand exactly what happened before to move forward in the future. But can she handle the truth? And what danger has she put herself in?
The Fog is a dark, atmospheric gothic thriller interweaving events in the present and the past. It is a strong debut by its Australian-born, widely-travelled author. Recommended. 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a honest review.

The Fog was not at all what I expected and I was waiting for ‘a fog’ to descend on the island and cause havoc. Not sure why but probably because I went in to it with only a brief skim of the synopsis or maybe because of the title. Although there were a couple of areas that I skimmed over when I found it to be overly detailed I could not stop reading this once I started.
Kate took the opportunity to apply for a 10 day writers retreat that was meant to help her to overcome her writers block.. The retreat was held at an isolated island and there were only 3 other guests, the owner and the handyman/cook.
She knew that she would have to search deep into herself to find the reasons for it but she was not ready for the memories that rose up. Kate was thrown into a number of tasks that led to more and more disturbing flashbacks that had Kate wanting to flee but there was nowhere to go. As all the guests start to fall apart as they also face demons the final twist on the last night that blew me away.

If you're looking for something dark and intensely atmospheric, welcome to The Fog.

If psychological thrillers are your thing, settle in dear reader. This debut novel from Brooke Hardwick will not leave you disappointed.

Kate has writer's block and chooses to go on a 10 day retreat to lift the block and start writing again. It quickly becomes clear that Kate has a little more going on than just writers' block. She has flashbacks from the marriage she escaped. No spoilers, but I feel I have to mention trigger warnings of coercive control, abortion and gaslighting. There are other characters who are there for the retreat - all with their own "stuff" as to why they could be locked in a writer's block. The other characters all fit in well and add to the story without it getting too complex. Mind you, with these other personalities, at times it felt like a crazy circus!

I like how the book marks time with Day One, Day Two, Day Three etc. The counting of days adds to the the suspense and anticipation of the inevitable Day 10. Another element of this novel I enjoyed was the unsettling mythology attached to Rathlin Island.

This book was not for me, it was a too dark and psychological. However I'm here to write a review, and from that perspective, this book will keep you turning the pages. If psychological trillers are your thing I can highly recommend The Fog.

I want to thank NetGalley for a digital ARC copy in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

#TheFog #NetGalley