The Retreat: A gripping psychological thriller

by D.K. Warren

She survived captivity once. Now someone's recreating her nightmare—and baiting her to live it again.

Forensic psychologist Dr. Ava Locke still checks locks at 3 AM. Still wakes from nightmares of her hellish abduction. When the FBI calls about a missing woman at an isolated mountain retreat for trauma survivors, every instinct screams RUN.

But when duty calls Ava answers.

At Pinewood Haven, nothing adds up. Professor Elliot Ward can't remember how he arrived. A staff counselor vanishes from a locked room. And someone is leaving mysterious notes with private details of Ava's captivity.

Snowed in and unable to leave, the danger escalates.

More survivors are targeted. Their past trauma twisted into something darker. And whoever is orchestrating this nightmare has been planning it for years.

Having spent years learning to overcome her past, will Ava survive facing it again and stop a predator with a twisted desire to make her the next victim who never escapes?

74 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2025

Reviews

[Shellyann Paape · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone went to a lot of trouble to get Dr Ava Locke back into their presence.

People are coming & going with no memories of the event. Their past traumas being rebought to the surface. Can they survive this? Or will any of them not make it out alive?

[Tina Lincoln · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treatment can help
When Dr. Ava Locke is called to go to a treatment facility at 3 am, she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for by answering that call! After going through her own psychological issues, taking care of patients, and dealing with this location, things are driving her mad! Or is she...
Someone is going through a lot to get people there who have been through their own trauma. The one question is, can she get out of their with her mental capabilities in tact, or will she be a patient again...
This was a great short story, that had my interest, and was hard to put it down until I finished it.
Wait until you read the ending!!
Thank you, D.K. Warren, for a great story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and this is my honest review.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Retreat: A gripping psychological thriller), my second read from author D.K. Warren. When I finished The First Victim (Dr. Ava Locke Series Book 1 I was surprised to find that I'd missed this book published in November of 2025. I enjoyed going back in time from The First Victim and its outstanding suspense story-line and learn a little more about the main character. I was given a complementary Kindle copy of this book and am voluntarily reading & reviewing it. I look forward to reading more from this author as they're published. I hear Book 2 is already in the works. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[Myra McCulloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit repetitive at times however the idea was good.

Psychological experiments set up to develop and break trauma victims brings together the characters in this book.

Ava Locke is called in by the FBI when a woman goes missing from a trauma retreat. What follows is manipulation and Ava's own demons threaten to overtake her. Will she uncover the perpetrators before it is too late?

Thank you for the opportunity to read your book

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

the pulled me right in .. very little repetition though it was necessary in the situation.

I would be interested in ... let's say " more " marked this author to follow

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable, but interesting nonetheless.