The Family Retreat: 'Few psychological thrillers ring so true.' The Sunday Times Crime Club Star Pick

Product Information

Jess has a high demanding job not just as a partner in a GP practice but also volunteering for the safeguarding team.

Jess and her family have rented a cottage for the summer. It’s the perfect chance to unwind and spend time together. But there are secrets lurking under the surface, just waiting to emerge…This idyllic Dorset cottage might just be the perfect escape. But when the neighbour hints at a dire predicament, Jess puts the idea of sun-kissed, sandy bliss on hold. Like a door nudged ajar, the lure of solving someone's problems invites her in.

The author asks intelligent questions, she excavates – why is Jess’ father behaving in this out of character way; what is it that contributed — maybe caused — her sister’s anorexia, and why is fellow holiday maker, Helen, so aggravatingly perfect? I was drawn to this novel when I saw an informed review of the novel, describing it as full of psychological ‘aha’ moments. And it is. In the review it said that it has “an astuteness that most other books would miss, whatever their genre....” I adore how Bev Thomas writes! The love affair began with A Good Enough Mother and continues here with The Family Retreat-an emotional look at family, the lies we let ourselves believe and the sacrifices family demands from us. If I did trigger warnings then I wouldn’t know where to start as there are some very difficult subjects covered here but I don’t and every single distressing situation is handled perfectly by an author who completely understands the dynamics of relationships within families.At the end of the evening, we parted company. The birthday woman was leaving early in the morning. I was also leaving the next day. None of us saw each other again. I don’t remember their names, but I do remember the magic of that connection. For all of us, the anonymity was liberating; we had no shared past or future and, as a consequence, we could talk freely without judgment or repercussions.

On the final part of my trip I went on a two-week bus journey from San Francisco to New York, during which I told my fellow passengers about wanting to write fiction on my return to England. Not knowing me at all, they were unanimously encouraging and supportive, and when I returned home with no job, money or flat, it was helpful to remember their unbridled enthusiasm. Being away can sometimes allow us to realise our strengths, aspirations and dreams. It’s here that the voice of the super-ego is silenced. We can experience the joy of playing a game of no judgment or consequences. The critical voice is usually our own, but sometimes it’s those of others who, because of legitimate worries or concerns, might be less eager to champion a risky decision.This is a well-paced tale where tension builds slowly over the course of the book. I adored the sweeping, dramatic setting which could be picture perfect one minute and a brooding, angry, dangerous threat the next. There’s a sub-plot featuring Jess’s parents which I thought really added to the story. Making characters that already felt real to me even more believable. With the extended absence of husband Rob (away on a business trip in the US), with the strange behaviour of her father, with the pressure to return to work, with two young children to look after and the need to fit into a new community, it’s no wonder that Jess has the weight of the world on her shoulders. In the cottage next door Helen her husband James and there two children Ollie and Lexie have also come to spend the summer in Helen's mum cottage whilst she is away. Even though James can only visit at weekends due to setting up is own business. Rob manages to find a beautiful but tiny cottage Dorset for a month even though Jess is reluctant at first but as soon as she arrives it felt like home. The cottage is set in a small hamlet just outside the local village.

There is also the local farmer Pete and his wife Joyce and their eighteen year old son Loe who has learning difficulties. In the adjoining cottage is Penny and her father Phillip.I liked the development between all the characters they felt real and gave a good insight into where they all were mentally in their lives. Having said that I didn't necessarily like all the characters, but then not all characters need to be likeable and at times it felt like there were too many stories all trying to be told in the one story to do any of them real justice, it could easily have been split into two books. On the matter of characters, I didn't really like any of them that much, which makes for a difficult read. I imagine I was supposed to like Jess, but for someone as bright as she was supposed to be, she "missed" a lot of signs, and she was very self-centered. Her husband was a bit of an idiot, and her parents and sister just pissed me off. Helen was really interesting (although I did see through her story from the start), and I liked both Joyce and Philip. I enjoyed the author's observations; her characters were rich and detailed, and I found their behaviours to be astutely depicted. The description of the women in the story having to manage men's emotions, to dim their own feelings to make room for the men in their lives was interesting food for thought, making me think about instances from my own life. The story was compelling and engrossing. But Jess' intrusive behaviour is validified, and we wouldn't have had all the drama, otherwise, I suppose. There is also some great social commentary along the way. You can tell that the author has experience in psychology as she uses Jess to get into other people's dilemmas, and I did enjoy the concept of seeing [or not seeing] problems from the outside. For me, the creeping fear and tension created by Jess's thoughts really made the book work. I liked the fact that I knew that something was going to happen, I loved the slow exploration of events and the fact that what seemed to be the obvious conclusion really wasn't.