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The Wellness Retreat
Not yet published
Expected 8 Sep 26Jaimie Vane’s promising career as a cellist came to a screeching halt when chronic illness took over her life, leaving her dealing with a disability her doctors don’t understand.
Then her vibrant sister Sybil, an influencer turned wellness consultant at an exclusive health retreat, leaves her a series of distressing messages that contain hidden cries for help…and a voucher for a free stay. Determined to find her sister, Jaimie finds herself chartering a tugboat across the frigid winter sea to the black-sand shores of Creag Dhubh, the tiny island that houses the elite Saoghal Spa and its enigmatic founder, Cyan Blache.
Searching for her sister under the premise of being a regular guest, Jaimie is pushed far out of her comfort zone, both physically and mentally, by the group healing activities and luxurious treatments. As time wears on and Sybil is nowhere to be found, Jaimie is shocked to find herself feeling…better. There is something at Saoghal, in the treatments and tinctures and the black mud itself, that has her chronic fatigue and pain melting away. And as she gets closer to the people around her, including the ethereal Cyan Blache, whose perfection seems to defy reality, she finds herself with more questions than answers.
But everything comes at a price, and transformation, it seems, requires sacrifice. When Jaimie’s investigation leads her to discover that something darker than mud baths and salt scrubs is twisting the residents of Creag Dhubh into something more than themselves, she must face an evil beyond reckoning in order to escape with her life.
Then her vibrant sister Sybil, an influencer turned wellness consultant at an exclusive health retreat, leaves her a series of distressing messages that contain hidden cries for help…and a voucher for a free stay. Determined to find her sister, Jaimie finds herself chartering a tugboat across the frigid winter sea to the black-sand shores of Creag Dhubh, the tiny island that houses the elite Saoghal Spa and its enigmatic founder, Cyan Blache.
Searching for her sister under the premise of being a regular guest, Jaimie is pushed far out of her comfort zone, both physically and mentally, by the group healing activities and luxurious treatments. As time wears on and Sybil is nowhere to be found, Jaimie is shocked to find herself feeling…better. There is something at Saoghal, in the treatments and tinctures and the black mud itself, that has her chronic fatigue and pain melting away. And as she gets closer to the people around her, including the ethereal Cyan Blache, whose perfection seems to defy reality, she finds herself with more questions than answers.
But everything comes at a price, and transformation, it seems, requires sacrifice. When Jaimie’s investigation leads her to discover that something darker than mud baths and salt scrubs is twisting the residents of Creag Dhubh into something more than themselves, she must face an evil beyond reckoning in order to escape with her life.
432 pages, Paperback
Expected publication September 8, 2026
About the author
Dawn Kurtagich
12 books1,693 followersDAWN KURTAGICH IS AN AWARD-WINNING HORROR AUTHOR.
Her debut novel, THE DEAD HOUSE, was a YALSA Top 10 Pick, An Audie Award Nominee and an Earphone Award Winner. It has been optioned for TV by Lime Productions. She is also the author of THE CREEPER MAN / AND THE TREES CREPT IN, NAIDA and TEETH IN THE MIST, and BLOOD ON THE WIND. Her adult debut novel, THE MADNESS, was pre-empted in a two book, six-figure deal and was published in August 2024. Her next adult novel, DEVIL’S THORN, was announced in 2024, another two-book, six-figure deal, forthcoming in 2025.
By the time she was eighteen, she had been to fifteen schools across two continents. The daughter of a British globe-trotter and single mother, she grew up all over the place, but her formative years were spent in Africa—on a mission, in the bush, in the city and in the desert.
She has been lucky enough to see an elephant stampede at close range, a giraffe tongue at very close range, and she once witnessed the stealing of her (and her friends’) underwear by very large, angry baboons. (This will most definitely end up in a book . . . ) While she has quite a few tales to tell about the jumping African baboon spider, she tends to save these for Halloween!
When she was sixteen, she thought she'd be an astronomer and writer at the same time, and did a month-long internship at Cambridge's prestigious Cavendish Laboratories. At the age of 25, she received a life-saving liver transplant. Her doctor’s still have no idea why her original liver (Leonard) failed. She is enjoying life with her new liver, Lucy.
She leaves her North Wales crypt after midnight during blood moons. The rest of the time she exists somewhere between mushrooms, maggots and mould.
Her debut novel, THE DEAD HOUSE, was a YALSA Top 10 Pick, An Audie Award Nominee and an Earphone Award Winner. It has been optioned for TV by Lime Productions. She is also the author of THE CREEPER MAN / AND THE TREES CREPT IN, NAIDA and TEETH IN THE MIST, and BLOOD ON THE WIND. Her adult debut novel, THE MADNESS, was pre-empted in a two book, six-figure deal and was published in August 2024. Her next adult novel, DEVIL’S THORN, was announced in 2024, another two-book, six-figure deal, forthcoming in 2025.
By the time she was eighteen, she had been to fifteen schools across two continents. The daughter of a British globe-trotter and single mother, she grew up all over the place, but her formative years were spent in Africa—on a mission, in the bush, in the city and in the desert.
She has been lucky enough to see an elephant stampede at close range, a giraffe tongue at very close range, and she once witnessed the stealing of her (and her friends’) underwear by very large, angry baboons. (This will most definitely end up in a book . . . ) While she has quite a few tales to tell about the jumping African baboon spider, she tends to save these for Halloween!
When she was sixteen, she thought she'd be an astronomer and writer at the same time, and did a month-long internship at Cambridge's prestigious Cavendish Laboratories. At the age of 25, she received a life-saving liver transplant. Her doctor’s still have no idea why her original liver (Leonard) failed. She is enjoying life with her new liver, Lucy.
She leaves her North Wales crypt after midnight during blood moons. The rest of the time she exists somewhere between mushrooms, maggots and mould.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
So you take an elite spa in a building that used to be both a prison AND an asylum, and you add a remote Scottish island in wintertime, plus a dash of Scottish folklore, and you have the recipe for my perfect book! Not gonna lie, I was googling this to see if it really existed so I could experience it for myself!
Jaimie, a former cellist with a severe case of fibromyalgia, basically rots away at home until she realizes that her flighty sister, Sibyl, has sent her a coded email asking for help. Thankfully, that sister has also sent her a voucher for a free two-week session at the miracle spa where she works, so Jaimie musters up all her strength and heads to the remote and stormy island.
Sure, she's looking for Sybil but first she takes time for a few days of relaxation and luxury spa treatments and art therapy with a handsome instructor. I don't blame her.
But wait, is it her imagination or are the mud baths actually healing her pain? And is that art therapist interested in her? Maybe she can put off searching for Sibyl just a bit longer...
Finally she actually starts looking for answers and discovers [spoiler] and [spoiler] and then [spoiler]!!
Such an atmospheric and engrossing read! I loved it!
Thanks to Hanover Square Press for the ARC! Please make this spa happen!
Jaimie, a former cellist with a severe case of fibromyalgia, basically rots away at home until she realizes that her flighty sister, Sibyl, has sent her a coded email asking for help. Thankfully, that sister has also sent her a voucher for a free two-week session at the miracle spa where she works, so Jaimie musters up all her strength and heads to the remote and stormy island.
Sure, she's looking for Sybil but first she takes time for a few days of relaxation and luxury spa treatments and art therapy with a handsome instructor. I don't blame her.
But wait, is it her imagination or are the mud baths actually healing her pain? And is that art therapist interested in her? Maybe she can put off searching for Sibyl just a bit longer...
Finally she actually starts looking for answers and discovers [spoiler] and [spoiler] and then [spoiler]!!
Such an atmospheric and engrossing read! I loved it!
Thanks to Hanover Square Press for the ARC! Please make this spa happen!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Jaimie is suffering from a chronic illness when she finds out that her sister Sybil is missing. This takes her on a journey to a exclusive health retreat. It gives off the creepiest vibes. The book is part mystery and horror. Everyone has secrets. I think it gave me nightmares but I loved it. Absolutely chilling.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Hi! I'm the author of this novel. For trigger warnings, please see my website here: https://www.dawnkurtagich.com/trigger...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews