May 2, 2022
Bestseller Pearse’s so-so sequel to 2021’s The Sanatorium takes British police detective Elin Warner to an isolated luxury resort off the coast of Devon, a setting much like the first book’s Swiss hotel. Elin used to investigate major crimes, but after she suffered a breakdown because she couldn’t catch the man who killed two young girls, she was assigned to less significant duties. Now, she’s dispatched to Cary Island, the site of a wellness retreat, where one of the guests has fallen to her death. The fatality appears to be an accident, with the victim’s last moments captured on video and no indication that anyone pushed her. But after another guest’s body surfaces, with ample evidence of foul play, Elin probes whether the deaths are related and whether they’re connected to the island’s grim history, which includes the slaughter of a group of teenagers on a school outing 20 years earlier. The plot twists and characters are unremarkable, as is the familiar story of a traumatized police officer getting an opportunity for redemption by catching a killer. Hopefully, Pearse will broaden her repertoire next time. Agent: Charlotte Seymour, Andrew Nurnberg Assoc.
June 10, 2024
The Ledger family--sisters Jo, Hannah, and Bea, plus their cousin Maya and numerous partners--have planned a trip to a luxurious island wellness retreat, but Bea backs out at the last minute, claiming work commitments. When her dead body is found on the island, the family is baffled as well as grief-stricken, and Elin Warner is sent to look into the circumstances of her death. More deaths occur, and Elin finds connections to the island's creepy history as both a school for troubled boys and an Outward Bound site where several teenagers were murdered decades earlier. Pearse's second "Elin Warner" series installment (after The Sanitorium) is chockablock with coincidences and far-fetched connections that may be too much for some listeners to swallow, but there are plenty of twists and dysfunctional family dynamics to entertain those who can suspend their disbelief. Elizabeth Knowelden capably narrates, including some fast-paced, suspenseful scenes. VERDICT Recommend to fans of the author or Lucy Foley.--Stephanie Klose
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