Reader’s Retreat
Kalah is used to saving lives from the safety of her poison control cubicle, but a winning contest entry pulls her into a real-world nightmare. Invited to a private Florida island for an exclusive book preview, she and six other readers find themselves trapped in a tropical paradise turned hunting ground. As the guests vanish one by one, Kalah must use her professional instincts to survive a killer who is following a very specific, deadly script.
- Kalah - Nurse
- Sean - Kalah’s stalker
- Donna - Runs a popular Facebook book group
- Jack - Real estate agent
- Phillip (DarkLord) - YouTube reviewer specializing in horror books
- Ruth - Runs a popular Facebook book group
- Tommy - Literary agent
- Dwight - Social media book reviewer
- Leon - Island caretaker
- Jonathan - The author of Death Island
- Jonathan invites the group to the private island to read and review his debut novel, Death Island.
- Leon tells them that the author will join them on Thursday, and a plane will take them home on Saturday.
- The island resort is crumbling and unsafe so Leon prepares a villa for each guest, though they are more like tiny shacks with no running water.
- Leon gives everyone e-readers and says five chapters of the book will be delivered each morning.
- Ruth walks with a cane due to a previous back injury that affected the nerves in one of her legs.
- Chapters 1–5 of Death Island: A group of kids visits the island, suspects it might be used for drug running, one member goes missing, and they start finding severed fingers.
- Kalah takes a walk at 3:30 a.m. and senses someone following her in the woods.
- Chapters 6–10 of Death Island: The group enters a cave, finds wall drawings, and discovers a human arm missing all its fingers.
- Jack finds a bloody finger on the trail behind their villas.
- Jack, Tommy, and Kalah search for Leon but find his cabin empty.
- Dwight goes off to explore the resort ruins and doesn’t return.
- One year ago: Kalah’s stalker, Sean, repeatedly calls her at work and harasses her over the phone.
- Present: While Jack, Kalah and Tommy are exploring the island, someone shoots Tommy and he falls off a cliff and dies.
- Phillip goes missing.
- Jack, Kalah, Donna, and Ruth explore further, discover a jungle bungalow, and Jack finds a gun.
- One year ago: Kalah notices a car following her after work and fears it might be Sean. Kalah gets a flat tire, runs toward a park, and hears Sean calling after her.
- Present: The group wakes to find Donna missing.
- Dwight appears with his hands tied and a gag, explaining that someone threatened him with a knife, bound him in a cave, and he partially freed himself and escaped.
- Jack reveals he is Jonathan, the author of Death Island, and that the severed finger was staged to promote the book.
- Jack explains that Leon, a former resort handyman, killed a guest who had raped his fiancée after the owner ignored it, then fled and hid in the island caves.
- When Jack discovered Leon on the island and heard his story, he allowed Leon to remain as a caretaker.
- The group goes to the cave where Dwight was held and discovers Donna’s body.
- They find Leon’s body in his house.
- Suspicion escalates within the group, and Kalah accidentally shoots Jack in the face, killing him.
- Dwight, Ruth and Kalah return to the cave to hide while they wait for Saturday.
- One year ago: Sean pursues Kalah through the park; she sets a poisonous snake in his path, keeps running, hears him scream, and calls 911.
- Present: Ruth shoots and kills Dwight.
- Ruth hits Kalah over the head and ties her up.
- Ruth tells Kalah that Sean was her husband and she believes Kalah lured him away from her.
- Ruth killed the other men to save them from being led astray by Kalah and she killed Donna because she didn’t like her.
- Ruth says Sean was bitten by a snake; she reached him in the hospital just before he died, and he said “Kalah,” so she blamed her.
- Ruth faked her leg injury.
- Ruth leaves Kalah where she will be taken by high tide.
- As the tide washes Kalah off the beach, she collides with a bloated body - Phillip.
- Kalah clings onto Phillip’s body to help keep her afloat.
- Ruth is the one who followed Kalah through the woods the first night on the island.
- The salt from the water helped fray the ropes and Kalah was able to free herself.
- Kalah lures Ruth to her by starting a fire and cooking food.
- As Kalah approaches, Ruth shoots her in the left arm.
- Kalah stabs Ruth in the leg and tells her that the stick was coated in toxic sap, giving her only a day or two to live.
- On Saturday, Kalah hides on the shore, watching the scheduled plane land, wait an hour, then depart.
- Kalah returns to the caves, aware authorities will eventually arrive, uncertain whether she will leave and face the consequences of killing Jack or remain and take Leon’s place.
I enjoyed Reader's Retreat, especially since I'm a sucker for the trapped on an island trope. The setting creates a great sense of isolation, and the tension is definitely there for most of the story. A big part of what kept me hooked was Kalah; she’s so clever and scrappy that she was incredibly easy to root for as things started going south.
The book did hit a bit of a snag for me after the murderer was revealed, though. It felt like there was way too much running through the jungle without much substance, which made the plot drag right when it should have been peaking. There were also a few weird moments where things felt like they were being set up for a big payoff that never happened. However, the very end was a total shocker, which definitely helped make up for the slower middle stretch.
This is a great book for anyone who loves a trapped on an island book!
- Kalah - Alive - Deciding whether to remain on the island or face the consequences of killing Jack
- Tommy - Dead - Shot by Ruth
- Donna - Dead - Beaten to death by Ruth
- Leon - Dead - Killed by Ruth
- Jack/Jonathan - Dead - Accidentally shot by Kalah
- Dwight - Dead - Shot by Ruth
- Phillip - Dead - Killed by Ruth
- Ruth - Dead - Presumed dead after being stabbed with a poison-covered stick by Kalah
- Sean - Dead - Killed by a poisonous snake bite
- Murder
- Gun violence
- Stalking
- Rape
Publisher: Writer Layne Publishing
ISBN: 9798289419453
Publication Date: August 1, 2025
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
