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The Retreat cover art

The Retreat

By: Mark Edwards
Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
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Summary

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

A missing child. A desperate mother. And a house full of secrets.

Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive.

Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily. But within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of eerie events.

When Lucas’s investigation leads him and Julia into the woods, they discover a dark secret—a secret that someone will do anything to protect...

What really happened that day by the river? Why was Lily never found? And who, or what, is haunting the retreat?

From the bestselling author of Follow You Home and The Magpies comes his most terrifying novel yet.

©2018 Mark Edwards (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

What listeners say about The Retreat

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

More comic book than literature

Yet another book about a missing girl and distraught mother. At least this one is not told from the mother's perspective.

Mark Edwards does come up with some great plots for his books but his style of writing really isn't the best. Rather like a schoolboy essay I think. Some quotes from this book to illustrate what I mean:

• "It had been the worst Christmas ever"
• "It took all my strength"
• "It was the worst day of my whole life"
• "It was the best present she'd ever had"

That's probably how I'd write myself if I tried to write a book. Also, he didn't really develop the personalities of the characters so that we as readers could empathise with them. Nothing very deep and meaningful in this book.

Simon Mattacks reads the words very well, but doesn't give me the feeling that he is personally engaged with the plot either.

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52 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • RS
  • 04-06-18

I'm sorry, but this is just not great

2d characters, flat vocabulary, absurd story (in so many ways). Real disappointment. And a really jarring narration to boot!

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41 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • J
  • 06-06-18

Weak story, even weaker narration

Having read several books by this author, this was sadly disappointing, the plot was predictable and the narration was dire! The 'Wolverhampton' accent ranged from Liverpudlian to Mancunian via strong Birmingham (rather than Black Country)
I have made a mental note not to purchase anything by this narrator!

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Boring!

I didn't finish this. I was expecting a good read/listen after reading the reviews, but was bitterly disappointed.
I do not recall ever taking the time to write an unfavourable review, or feeling that let down or "cross" by a novel, but felt it only fair to warn others.
I am not going to waste my time stating why I thought it was awful, just my opinion.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Got silly towards the end

The book starts off well enough, but it soon started to become too far fetched. Almost gave up but don’t like to do that. I was glad when it ended

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15 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • AB
  • 18-02-19

Reasonably enjoyable...

This had been on my 'to listen to' pile for quite some time. Finally, I got round to listening, but felt a little underwhelmed once I'd finished.
It's an interesting enough story, but there was always a niggle in the back on my mind that things just happen to fall into place all too easily, and the ending just seems so unlikely.
That said, it was okay, and the narration was very accomplished.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another great book again by Mark Edwards.

Can I also give 5 * for Simon Mattacks the narrator he is amazing. I really enjoyed this book can't wait for his next one again !!

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story and great ending!

it was so refreshing to listen to a story that didn't have complete doom and gloom at the end. This was a satisfying story because the ending came together so well......which is very rare these days. most authors strive for shock and devastation, so it was refreshing to go through all the ups and downs as the story unfolds to feel great at the end and not deflated. Already recommended.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommend this story

Absolutely thoroughly enjoyed this story. Cleverly written to keep you guessing until the end. Did not want this story to finish .

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read which keeps you in suspense throughout.

Great Read which keeps you in suspense throughout. A good ending too. N enjoyable experience

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2 people found this helpful