Title: The Writing Retreat

Author: Julia Bartz

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Why I read it: Book club selection for February

The Writing Retreat follows Alex, a struggling author, as she participates in a once-in-a-lifetime experience – a month-long writing retreat with her favorite feminist horror author, Roza Vallo. The catch? Her former best friend and current rival, Wren, is also invited. Upon arriving at the retreat, it becomes obvious that not everything is what it seems, and Alex quickly realizes that she must uncover the truth or risk losing her life. It plays out as a closed-door mystery, with the reader left questioning every detail that is revealed. 

Much like Alex realizes the writing retreat is not what it seems, I found this book not to be what it seemed. The plot description was pretty straightforward, and I was expecting a run-of-the-mill story about a writing retreat gone deadly, but boy, was I in for a surprise. 

In traditional thriller and mystery fashion, there are a slew of shady characters, and you are left to figure out who you can trust. I figured out pretty quickly who was up to no good, but the way in which the events unfolded kept me engaged. There were definitely parts I did not see coming that helped keep the pages turning.

I enjoyed this book, however, there were so many things that didn’t make sense or didn’t fit. For starters, the introduction at the beginning, where Alex and her coworker hook up, felt so out of place. I can see what the author was trying to do, but why include that piece and then casually throw it in at the end? There were multiple times I was scratching my head, wondering why the author made a particular choice. The disconnect of several plot elements and the many things that could have, and honestly should have, been tightened up in editing made parts of this book so confusing. This is the author’s debut novel, so I can cut her a little bit of slack, but the editors should have caught more of these things.

Another qualm I have in this is how it ended. Once again, the ending felt rushed! I have read so many mysteries and thrillers lately where it seems like the author wants to find a way to wrap it up quickly, and things jump around and don’t make sense. I found the ending to be anticlimactic and out of character. Keeping spoilers aside, I felt the main villain here would have made a grander exit. 

Something I wasn’t expecting was the emphasis on the supernatural and how many times throughout the book I couldn’t tell what was real and what was imaginary. I thought that added a lot to the air of mystery.

Also, it is worth mentioning that consent just doesn’t exist in this book, as someone in my book club pointed out. So, if you do end up reading this book, be wary of that. With that, I want to mention my disappointment in how the author chose to explore Alex’s sexuality. It was a key theme throughout the book, however, each of her experiences was shrouded in negativity. There was a real missed opportunity in not allowing Alex and Wren to explore more of that side of their relationship. 

I finished this story pretty quickly as I kept turning the pages in anticipation of what was coming next. When I finished the book, I was left with a feeling that something was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. All in all, I was completely engaged, at some points horrified, yet I was thoroughly engrossed in the story, and I’m glad I read it as it was truly a unique reading experience. 

TL;DR: Would I recommend it to a friend? Maybe. It’s unique and at times really intense, but it’s a fun thriller nonetheless.