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Isolation Island
IT'S A PRIZE ANYONE WOULD KILL TO WIN...
Ten celebrities have arrived to take part in the most gruelling - and lucrative - reality survival show ever two weeks completely alone on a remote Scottish island, in the depths of winter.
With a production team that seems incapable of keeping them safe, a gathering storm and the unrelenting gaze of hidden cameras, the contestants are stretched to the limit as they try and outshine their fellow competitors and hide their darkest secrets.
But when a contestant winds up dead, it soon becomes clear that the players are not just fighting for the prize, but for their lives.
Ten celebrities have arrived to take part in the most gruelling - and lucrative - reality survival show ever two weeks completely alone on a remote Scottish island, in the depths of winter.
With a production team that seems incapable of keeping them safe, a gathering storm and the unrelenting gaze of hidden cameras, the contestants are stretched to the limit as they try and outshine their fellow competitors and hide their darkest secrets.
But when a contestant winds up dead, it soon becomes clear that the players are not just fighting for the prize, but for their lives.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 24, 2024
About the author
Louise Minchin
6 books34 followersHere is a little bit about me. I am an author of fiction and non-fiction, a journalist, and a TV presenter.
I was Chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023.
Currently I present Rip Off Britain, the BBC’s leading consumer affairs programme and regularly appear on Morning Live on BBC One. I presented the UK’s most watched morning programme, BBC Breakfast for 20 years, leaving in 2021.
I have taken part in several other TV shows including Gladiators, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Time Crashers and Celebrity MasterChef where I was delighted to reach the final. I have played a newsreader in Spook, Torchwood and Silent Witness.
I love being outside and am an endurance athlete who have competed in Norseman, the toughest triathlon in the world.
My first book, Dare to Tri, is my journey from the BBC Breakfast sofa to representing the Great Britain Triathlon team in my age-group at World and European Championships.
My book Fearless, Adventures with Extraordinary Women reflects my passion for celebrating women’s success in sport and endeavour. In each chapter I took on a different challenge with a courageous woman, to tell their incredible stories. It won the People’s Book Prize for non-fiction in 2024.
My debut thriller, Isolation Island, is set in a gruelling reality television show on a remote Scottish Island was published in September 2024 was shortlisted for two crime writing debut awards. It was inspired my my experience on I'm a Celeb.
My second thriller Last Breath is about a free-diving world champion from Finland whose best friend disappeared in mysterious circumstances. It was inspired by my own experience of free diving under ice in the dark which I wrote about in Fearless.
It will be published on 11th March 2027, and I would be very grateful if you pre-ordered now.
Many thanks
I was Chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023.
Currently I present Rip Off Britain, the BBC’s leading consumer affairs programme and regularly appear on Morning Live on BBC One. I presented the UK’s most watched morning programme, BBC Breakfast for 20 years, leaving in 2021.
I have taken part in several other TV shows including Gladiators, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Time Crashers and Celebrity MasterChef where I was delighted to reach the final. I have played a newsreader in Spook, Torchwood and Silent Witness.
I love being outside and am an endurance athlete who have competed in Norseman, the toughest triathlon in the world.
My first book, Dare to Tri, is my journey from the BBC Breakfast sofa to representing the Great Britain Triathlon team in my age-group at World and European Championships.
My book Fearless, Adventures with Extraordinary Women reflects my passion for celebrating women’s success in sport and endeavour. In each chapter I took on a different challenge with a courageous woman, to tell their incredible stories. It won the People’s Book Prize for non-fiction in 2024.
My debut thriller, Isolation Island, is set in a gruelling reality television show on a remote Scottish Island was published in September 2024 was shortlisted for two crime writing debut awards. It was inspired my my experience on I'm a Celeb.
My second thriller Last Breath is about a free-diving world champion from Finland whose best friend disappeared in mysterious circumstances. It was inspired by my own experience of free diving under ice in the dark which I wrote about in Fearless.
It will be published on 11th March 2027, and I would be very grateful if you pre-ordered now.
Many thanks
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 398 reviews
August 20, 2024
Release Date: 12th September 2024
Ten celebrities, one desolate island off the coast of Scotland to be the home of a new reality survival TV show, the prize of their dreams, what could possibly go wrong?
It quickly becomes apparent to the celebrities once they're left on the island to survive that the production team are not as health and safety conscious as they would all like, raising concerns for their safety the celebrities become paranoid and when a deadly storm hits the island, they feel far from safe, made even worse when one of them is found dead, unsure what is going on the remaining celebrities find out they really are fighting for survival.
I can not give this debut novel enough praise, from the concept, the setting and the characters, told through the perspective of the journalist celebrity on the island, Lauren and her enquiring mind. This is such a well written book, with believable characters, that I honestly felt like I was watching the show play out for real.
It's one of those books that has you gripped from the start and plenty of intrigue, with a good pace throughout that you can't put down, but also don't want to end.
If you like the idea of reality shows with plenty of jeopardy, then this is definitely the book for you.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.
Reviews also published on:
Instagram || Threads || BSky || Coffee and Kindle Blog || The StoryGraph || Amazon || Bookmarks
Happy to make friends on all socials
Ten celebrities, one desolate island off the coast of Scotland to be the home of a new reality survival TV show, the prize of their dreams, what could possibly go wrong?
It quickly becomes apparent to the celebrities once they're left on the island to survive that the production team are not as health and safety conscious as they would all like, raising concerns for their safety the celebrities become paranoid and when a deadly storm hits the island, they feel far from safe, made even worse when one of them is found dead, unsure what is going on the remaining celebrities find out they really are fighting for survival.
I can not give this debut novel enough praise, from the concept, the setting and the characters, told through the perspective of the journalist celebrity on the island, Lauren and her enquiring mind. This is such a well written book, with believable characters, that I honestly felt like I was watching the show play out for real.
It's one of those books that has you gripped from the start and plenty of intrigue, with a good pace throughout that you can't put down, but also don't want to end.
If you like the idea of reality shows with plenty of jeopardy, then this is definitely the book for you.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.
Reviews also published on:
Instagram || Threads || BSky || Coffee and Kindle Blog || The StoryGraph || Amazon || Bookmarks
Happy to make friends on all socials
August 27, 2024
This is another gameshow thriller where 10 celebrities are on a Scottish Island with their dream prize up for grabs.
The author was on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here so her experience of being on a show like that really helped to make this stand out from all the other game show thrillers out there!
It was maybe a little too descriptive at times and the ending was rushed. However, it was an enjoyable and easy read and a fantastic debut.
The author was on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here so her experience of being on a show like that really helped to make this stand out from all the other game show thrillers out there!
It was maybe a little too descriptive at times and the ending was rushed. However, it was an enjoyable and easy read and a fantastic debut.
July 8, 2026
A fun read, good twists which I didn't guess and a short book. The location and a storm hitting really added to the story.
March 26, 2026
Isolation Island doesn’t reinvent anything — it spots And Then There Were None, gives it a reality TV glow-up, and immediately throws it into the ocean.
Ten celebrities. Remote island. Big storm rolling in.
At this point I wasn’t asking what happens next so much as alright… who’s going first?
I gave up on names early and switched to a more practical system:
#2: definitely not making it
#5: corpse-in-waiting
#8: here for vibes, not survival
Much easier.
The setup is basically Survivor, but without boring things like safety rules, medics, or basic human oversight. Just a group of rich, media-trained adults happily signing up for dangerous, unsupervised challenges like liability law is more of a suggestion. Completely normal behaviour. No notes.
The cast feels like someone ordered the “thriller essentials” starter pack:
you’ve got the troubled protagonist, the walking red flag male, and — somehow — the influencers, who are annoyingly the most capable people on the island. Dark times.
Naturally, nobody explains their motivations, because we’re still pretending that hiding basic information counts as suspense. It doesn’t. It just makes everyone seem vague on purpose.
The first half drifts by in a soothing loop of:
find wood → boil water → question life choices → repeat
Less “tense survival thriller,” more “light bushcraft with existential dread.” It takes so long for the first death to show up I assumed it got lost on the way to the island.
When things finally do start happening, it briefly turns into a decent mystery… before remembering it only brought one twist and awkwardly shoving it into place like flat-pack furniture.
To be fair, the island is doing most of the work here — storms, creepy ruins, nice atmosphere — while the characters mostly contribute by being wealthy and mildly unbearable.
Logic, meanwhile, has fully left the chat. This isn’t suspension of disbelief so much as firing it into space and waving goodbye. No oversight, extreme challenges, wildly incompatible contestants… and not a single lawyer appears? Incredible. Inspiring, even.
The writing’s easy enough to read, though the tense shifts pop up randomly like jump scares, and the editing feels like it clocked out halfway through and never returned.
Final Thoughts
⭐ 2 stars — I finished it, which feels like a personal achievement given the circumstances.
At this point I’m convinced modern thrillers are built using a simple formula:
remote location + terrible people + light murder
Shuffle it, print it, done.
Much like me with this particular trope.
Ten celebrities. Remote island. Big storm rolling in.
At this point I wasn’t asking what happens next so much as alright… who’s going first?
I gave up on names early and switched to a more practical system:
#2: definitely not making it
#5: corpse-in-waiting
#8: here for vibes, not survival
Much easier.
The setup is basically Survivor, but without boring things like safety rules, medics, or basic human oversight. Just a group of rich, media-trained adults happily signing up for dangerous, unsupervised challenges like liability law is more of a suggestion. Completely normal behaviour. No notes.
The cast feels like someone ordered the “thriller essentials” starter pack:
you’ve got the troubled protagonist, the walking red flag male, and — somehow — the influencers, who are annoyingly the most capable people on the island. Dark times.
Naturally, nobody explains their motivations, because we’re still pretending that hiding basic information counts as suspense. It doesn’t. It just makes everyone seem vague on purpose.
The first half drifts by in a soothing loop of:
find wood → boil water → question life choices → repeat
Less “tense survival thriller,” more “light bushcraft with existential dread.” It takes so long for the first death to show up I assumed it got lost on the way to the island.
When things finally do start happening, it briefly turns into a decent mystery… before remembering it only brought one twist and awkwardly shoving it into place like flat-pack furniture.
To be fair, the island is doing most of the work here — storms, creepy ruins, nice atmosphere — while the characters mostly contribute by being wealthy and mildly unbearable.
Logic, meanwhile, has fully left the chat. This isn’t suspension of disbelief so much as firing it into space and waving goodbye. No oversight, extreme challenges, wildly incompatible contestants… and not a single lawyer appears? Incredible. Inspiring, even.
The writing’s easy enough to read, though the tense shifts pop up randomly like jump scares, and the editing feels like it clocked out halfway through and never returned.
Final Thoughts
⭐ 2 stars — I finished it, which feels like a personal achievement given the circumstances.
At this point I’m convinced modern thrillers are built using a simple formula:
remote location + terrible people + light murder
Shuffle it, print it, done.
Much like me with this particular trope.
May 14, 2025
It feels like the author wrote two separate books and then spliced them together. We have so many questions unanswered: what’s the deal with this reality show?; where did Frank go?; why are they only live for 5 minutes?; were the producers trying to kill them on purpose?
All the action happened in the last 100 pages and it was somewhat predictable. The ‘twist’ isn’t impactful because we only found out about the suspected killer 2 pages ago.
All the action happened in the last 100 pages and it was somewhat predictable. The ‘twist’ isn’t impactful because we only found out about the suspected killer 2 pages ago.
May 18, 2025
the book had so much potential but lacked a plausible plot. A murder mystery that doesn't make much sense by the end.
May 2, 2025
twisty and a great murder mystery
July 22, 2024
The blurb hooked me in, I love a reality TV show! It started off really strong, couple of almost accidents, tension and mistrust growing between the contestants and then it lost momentum for me. The narrator got boring and annoying to read, suddenly turning into a forensic expect wannabe. The first half that I enjoyed didn’t really have anything to do with the second half sadly and the ending was a bit of a let down.
August 7, 2024
Ten celebrities put together on a remote Scottish island. Their only chance of winning is to survive two weeks completely alone, their every move filmed for the entertainment of those at home.
From the outset we can see a mixed cast, deliberately assembled to cause tension. Upon their arrival the production team throw surprises at them, waiting to see how they will cope. Our main viewpoint is that of Lauren, an investigative journalist whose obsession with exposing the truth about an A-list celebrity has almost cost her everything.
Things tick along relatively calmly, with one or two characters removed from events early doors to allow us to focus on a core group of contestants. Then one of the stars is found dead.
Tension immediately ramps up as people scramble to hide their secrets - and there’s plenty of them. With suspicion high, it only gets worse when another star is discovered dead. You’d expect this to be easily solved…but the production team have been knocked out of action (conveniently) by a major storm.
As with all natural events, they die down sooner or later. By the end of the book we have a pretty good understanding of what happened, and Lauren is left with a choice that suggests there could be more to come from this story.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this in advance of publication in exchange for my honest feedback.
From the outset we can see a mixed cast, deliberately assembled to cause tension. Upon their arrival the production team throw surprises at them, waiting to see how they will cope. Our main viewpoint is that of Lauren, an investigative journalist whose obsession with exposing the truth about an A-list celebrity has almost cost her everything.
Things tick along relatively calmly, with one or two characters removed from events early doors to allow us to focus on a core group of contestants. Then one of the stars is found dead.
Tension immediately ramps up as people scramble to hide their secrets - and there’s plenty of them. With suspicion high, it only gets worse when another star is discovered dead. You’d expect this to be easily solved…but the production team have been knocked out of action (conveniently) by a major storm.
As with all natural events, they die down sooner or later. By the end of the book we have a pretty good understanding of what happened, and Lauren is left with a choice that suggests there could be more to come from this story.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this in advance of publication in exchange for my honest feedback.
April 17, 2026
Not for meeeeee, enjoyed the initial concept of the game show but that disappeared swiftly boooo. Didn’t vibe with any of the characters and even the murders weren’t working for me sobs
September 22, 2024
The pacing was really strange. I enjoyed reading it and devoured the book in a day for its readability and tension.
But I expected more twists and turns whereas there was only really one big reveal which felt shoehorned in. The concept was great and felt like there could have been a great book about surveillance and celebrity culture. But ended with lots of potholes and none of the characters were particularly engaging, even the protagonist.
Still a 2 because I had a good time reading it.
But I expected more twists and turns whereas there was only really one big reveal which felt shoehorned in. The concept was great and felt like there could have been a great book about surveillance and celebrity culture. But ended with lots of potholes and none of the characters were particularly engaging, even the protagonist.
Still a 2 because I had a good time reading it.
October 4, 2025
This was a good book, started slow for me, as you get a idea of the characters. Further on it gets more intriguing and becomes a page turner where you can’t put the book down.
After two murders on the island you want to know what happens.
The ending the first time made me confused so I had to re read another time to figure out the ending.
After two murders on the island you want to know what happens.
The ending the first time made me confused so I had to re read another time to figure out the ending.
September 22, 2024
Discover the locations in the novel here
I do love a novel set on an island. The ultimate locked room thriller.
When a novel is about a reality show set on one of these islands, then I am in!
This is the fictional Monk Island where the contestants have to dress up in habits and do whatever they are told. Things start off quite slow and the journey to the island is when we discover who is coming there and why. Who would join a show like this and why? Lots of juicy back stories to enjoy. This also made me really want to get to the island and find out what is going to happen.
Friends/relationships form slowly and my mind started to wander. It’s a good study of human interactions in a very strange set up. I found this part very interesting as it was a great way to get to know the characters as well as guess what might happen and how…
The challenges and games are one thing but I was honestly wondering what these poor people would have to do next. The sense of fear and foreboding was there from the start. I found that my knowledge of Louise’s TV experience would filter into this, making it very visual and snappy and I wasn’t wrong.
Then the island is hit by a fierce storm. Oh this was a good bit and where the book REALLY ramped up! Cameras go off, electricity goes off, there is no way to reach the mainland or someone to get to the island – isolation island becomes the very symbol of isolation……
Pounding rain. No visibility as far as the eye can see. Fear amongst the contestants. Then a dead body is found.
Oh this got really exciting and dramatic then. Think of a car going through the gears. faster and faster….
Ha! This was quite the ride.
Isolation Island is the place to be! Just have a lie down when you’ve finished 😉
August 16, 2024
Ten celebrities are taking part in a reality show. They've been left at a monastery on a Scottish island, with no way to leave, and cameras following their every move. When a storm knocks out the communication tower, they are left stranded, leaving the celebrities completely alone, tensions start to rise. And then one of them dies...
It took me a little while to get into this one. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe because I'm not a fan of reality TV shows? Maybe because the first part of the book focused on who each celebrity was, and them all meeting each other on the island? It wasn't really until the big storm hit that it started becoming interesting, and I started feeling invested in the story.
I did actually end up enjoying it, but I do wish it had been just a little longer as I'd have liked to have seen the aftermath once Lauren told her story of what happened on the peer.
A great debut, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
It took me a little while to get into this one. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe because I'm not a fan of reality TV shows? Maybe because the first part of the book focused on who each celebrity was, and them all meeting each other on the island? It wasn't really until the big storm hit that it started becoming interesting, and I started feeling invested in the story.
I did actually end up enjoying it, but I do wish it had been just a little longer as I'd have liked to have seen the aftermath once Lauren told her story of what happened on the peer.
A great debut, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
May 16, 2025
ughhh this ended up being disappointing. i read this because my grandma told me she stayed up to finish it but upon speaking with her, she was also disappointed and i misunderstood her staying up late to finish it as she really loved this book, so i don’t feel bad about writing this review 😂😂 the premise was really good - basically a thriller version of celebrity treasure island - and i was excited at the start especially with the introduction of the characters, but why did we get to know none of them and their personalities? so weird. also why did no challenges really happen? it just got straight into the thriller? also the plot line was leading in such a cool direction but what i wanted to happen didn’t happen, pacing was extremely off, and it didn’t feel spooky and i was not gripped, i could easily put this down. also the ending was rushed, and i wanted to know what happened after the island…but guess we will never know
July 5, 2024
I got a review copy of this from NetGalley and I read it very quickly as it was fast paced and easy to read. It’s not a particularly new premise - reality show gone wrong - but the characters were intriguing and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. The behaviours of the production company seem a bit far fetched but it makes for a good story!
July 5, 2024
A bloody thrilling debut that I devoured feverishly! Thanks to Netgalley for the preview copy. I predict a tv reality show turned bloodbath smash hit!
July 26, 2024
In this book we follow Lauren - a somewhat washed up journalist who has essentially ruined her career by chasing one particular story. Then she is offered a spot on a reality tv show. Her management are telling her that this may be a good way to restart her career in a way, but she has been given some inside information that the guy who is the focus of the story she's been chasing will be on this programme too, which she thinks will be the perfect opportunity to catch him out. Think Big Brother mixed with I'm a Celeb but on a remote Scottish Island. There are definitely lines lifted from Big Brother, i.e. 'You are live on TV please do not swear'.
For me this book really felt like two separate halves. The first half is basically the 'celebrities' arriving on the island, finding their way around and undergoing a couple of tasks. Most of the characters in this section of the story just came across as whiny entitled celebs, moaning about a situation they signed up for. Because of how irritating they came across I thought maybe most of these would be killed off as we are told in the blurb that the celebs end up fighting for their lives - so I thought maybe it was intentional that they were so annoying.
The second half of the story is much more the murder mystery thriller part. I enjoyed this half a lot more, with the whodunit atmosphere. It was intriguing trying to figure out who might be next and who the murderer was - was there someone else on the island with the celebs or was it one of the celebs?
Due to enjoying the second half a lot more I would give this book a high 3 out of 5.
For me this book really felt like two separate halves. The first half is basically the 'celebrities' arriving on the island, finding their way around and undergoing a couple of tasks. Most of the characters in this section of the story just came across as whiny entitled celebs, moaning about a situation they signed up for. Because of how irritating they came across I thought maybe most of these would be killed off as we are told in the blurb that the celebs end up fighting for their lives - so I thought maybe it was intentional that they were so annoying.
The second half of the story is much more the murder mystery thriller part. I enjoyed this half a lot more, with the whodunit atmosphere. It was intriguing trying to figure out who might be next and who the murderer was - was there someone else on the island with the celebs or was it one of the celebs?
Due to enjoying the second half a lot more I would give this book a high 3 out of 5.
October 7, 2025
This book from the beginning was giving I’m a celebrity ( 2021 in wales at the castle) vibes with a mixture of the traitors…
Little did I know until I researched the author that it was actually written by someone that experienced I’m a celebrity at the castle in wales… talk about small world.
This book was very different to what I’m used to reading but at the same time was intriguing all the same. Was definitely a page turner and kept me guessing and I can honestly say I didn’t expect the twist at the end. Very good read.
Little did I know until I researched the author that it was actually written by someone that experienced I’m a celebrity at the castle in wales… talk about small world.
This book was very different to what I’m used to reading but at the same time was intriguing all the same. Was definitely a page turner and kept me guessing and I can honestly say I didn’t expect the twist at the end. Very good read.
May 1, 2025
I was really intrigued by this book. The premise was interesting and I’m a big fan of the author and her accomplishments so I was excited to read her first fiction book.
A group of celebrities arrive on a Scottish destination ready to take part in a brand new survival reality series. Are they taking part for the right reasons? What secrets are they hiding? When a major storms hits, the contestants are on their own but that is only the start of their problems. One of them ends up dead but was it an accident or was it deliberate? Lauren is determined to find out but she gets more than she bargained for along the way.
I really enjoyed this book, think “I’m A Celebrity” gone wrong! It was a fun, fast paced read. Yes, it was predictable at times but that didn’t take anything away from the story. If anything, it made it more interesting as it took you down a different path each time. I would definitely read another book by this author and would recommend this one to others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC.
A group of celebrities arrive on a Scottish destination ready to take part in a brand new survival reality series. Are they taking part for the right reasons? What secrets are they hiding? When a major storms hits, the contestants are on their own but that is only the start of their problems. One of them ends up dead but was it an accident or was it deliberate? Lauren is determined to find out but she gets more than she bargained for along the way.
I really enjoyed this book, think “I’m A Celebrity” gone wrong! It was a fun, fast paced read. Yes, it was predictable at times but that didn’t take anything away from the story. If anything, it made it more interesting as it took you down a different path each time. I would definitely read another book by this author and would recommend this one to others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC.
June 20, 2025
Not usually a fan of murder mystery books but I enjoyed this one!! Quite a few secrets uncovered in this tale. Was written in a different style than I’m used to so took a minute to get used to however from page 50 onwards I was hooked and throughly enjoyed.
Read
February 20, 2025A bit slow to start with but once into the book. Kept me guessing until the end.
January 25, 2026
This book was amazing!!!
I could not put this book down always wanting to read more and the endless twists and turns were amazing!
Very easy read would recommend to everyone.
I could not put this book down always wanting to read more and the endless twists and turns were amazing!
Very easy read would recommend to everyone.
March 16, 2026
Great wee murder mystery. 10 celebrities are stranded on a Scottish island for a reality game show. The big Hollywood star has a dark past and an investigative journalist is there to expose it. However, a huge storm blows in and suddenly people start dying. Interesting characters - although cannot abide when authors feel the need to write Scottish characters using phrases such as “hen”!! 😡
Apart from that a real page turner - although I guessed the twist - which never happens 😂
Apart from that a real page turner - although I guessed the twist - which never happens 😂
August 25, 2024
Wow, for her first mystery novel Lousie Minchen has done the job well. While I'm not a fan of reality type shows, the prologue to Isolation Island had me hooked. It’s a creepy, chilling start, and the book is quite visceral at times as the novel gains momentum.
Lauren Brooks, investigative journalist, throws herself into the deep end by joining a group of celebrities on a remote Scottish Island for a reality game show. Think - I’m a Celebrity get me out of here, but dark, very dark.
Then? Wild weather ensues, cutting off all power and one by one celebrities turn up dead. Throw in a few red herring along with the dead bodies piling up, wrap it up in a twisted ending. It’s a nice, quick bring along on holiday type of read. Unless maybe your holiday is to a remote Scottish Island. I hope Louise continues to write atmospheric thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lauren Brooks, investigative journalist, throws herself into the deep end by joining a group of celebrities on a remote Scottish Island for a reality game show. Think - I’m a Celebrity get me out of here, but dark, very dark.
Then? Wild weather ensues, cutting off all power and one by one celebrities turn up dead. Throw in a few red herring along with the dead bodies piling up, wrap it up in a twisted ending. It’s a nice, quick bring along on holiday type of read. Unless maybe your holiday is to a remote Scottish Island. I hope Louise continues to write atmospheric thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 14, 2024
Ten celebrities have been picked to take part in a reality show on a remote Scottish Island. As soon they arrive they realise the production team may not be able to keep them safe and when a storm blows in and all communication is lost and a contestant winds up dead it is clear they are fighting for more than just the prize but to survive.
This was a decent quick read thriller in an atmospheric isolated setting. It started off slow but once it picked up it was fast paced and kept me engaged throughout. I did not see that ending coming at all.
Thank you to Netgalley, Headline and Louise Minchin for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a decent quick read thriller in an atmospheric isolated setting. It started off slow but once it picked up it was fast paced and kept me engaged throughout. I did not see that ending coming at all.
Thank you to Netgalley, Headline and Louise Minchin for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 2, 2025
4.5 🌟 talk about an ending!
I was really happy with this book. A suspenseful and thrilling read!
What drew me to this book? Straight off the bat it reminded me of tv shows such as “Alone” , “Survivor” and “I’m a celebrity; get me outta here” and so my curiosity was already peaked.
The story is fast paced and it was easy to race through it. There are characters you will love to hate and also characters you would hate to love.
I throughly enjoyed this book and appreciated the nice blend of elements of darkness and the use of humour.
I subtracted half a gold star rating for the MC not being as crafty and smart consistently throughout the book.
I was really happy with this book. A suspenseful and thrilling read!
What drew me to this book? Straight off the bat it reminded me of tv shows such as “Alone” , “Survivor” and “I’m a celebrity; get me outta here” and so my curiosity was already peaked.
The story is fast paced and it was easy to race through it. There are characters you will love to hate and also characters you would hate to love.
I throughly enjoyed this book and appreciated the nice blend of elements of darkness and the use of humour.
I subtracted half a gold star rating for the MC not being as crafty and smart consistently throughout the book.
October 21, 2024
Thank you for the publisher for the ARC.
This was a nice and entertaining read for the fall season. The concept of a reality show with a mix of reality "stars" on a remote island even though not as unique but really fun to follow along. It was exciting, thrilling and very atmospheric. Really cool debut and i would love to read more from her.
This was a nice and entertaining read for the fall season. The concept of a reality show with a mix of reality "stars" on a remote island even though not as unique but really fun to follow along. It was exciting, thrilling and very atmospheric. Really cool debut and i would love to read more from her.
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July 2, 2025This would’ve been more satisfying if the whole game show was set up by the ex-wife to bring down Nate. Because you’re telling me that out of the handful of celebrities on the island, 2(+) had a prior connection to Nate?? Need a part 2 I think?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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