I love high concept thrillers with vivid and evocative settings and a cast of characters living lives I can only dream of so, having read and loved "The Villa", I was immediately intrigued by the concept of this book, with its isolated and secluded Wellness Centre setting and an almost cult like figure in the form of Wellness Guru, Ariel Rose.

And overall it ended up being a solid 3 star thriller for me. The concept and mystery drew me in immediately and I knew there had to be a twist or two along the line which kept me reading, unfortunately what knocked it down was the characterisation of main character, Hollie which just didn't work for me at all.

I really dislike characters who are written to handle their trauma by using alcohol as medicine, it makes for a contrived unreliable narrator trope which for my reading preference is really irritating. With Hollie we also had another pet peeve of mine, her inability to communicate effectively, making for more contrived ways to keep the plot moving forward.

Normally I wouldn't have continued reading as the main character is obviously a major figure throughout, however the dual timeline with other character perspectives broke up Hollie's chapters and added enough intrigue to keep me on the hook and keep reading to figure out what on earth is going on.

The final reveals of the truth of the situation did stretch credulity and required a lot of suspension of disbelief. It also didn't all quite flow and come together in the way that "The Villa" did. However overall I can say enjoyed the ride, it was what I needed at that moment and I will go back and read "The Escape" next as having read two books now from Ruth Kelly I can see the patterns of style, tone and pacing and setting and I like it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a digital review copy of "The Ice Retreat" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.