The Alpine Retreat
The Sorgente, an exclusive wellness retreat in the Swiss Alps, promises celebrities a tech-free escape. But for crisis manager Chloe and other elite guests, this paradise becomes a prison. First, their technology is confiscated. Then, a massive avalanche traps them in the remote lodge.
The group wakes to find one guest attacked, and soon, the bodies start piling up. With the aerial lift broken and paranoia setting in, the survivors realize a killer is loose among them.
- Chloe - Celebrity "fixer"
- Brie - Chloe’s assistant
- Emmitt - Former boy band member
- Livvy / Olivia - Wife of a Member of Parliament
- Jade - Fitness influencer and gymnast
- Patrick - Actor
- Roberta - Patrick’s wife
- Renard - Staff member at The Sorgente
- Carri - Pop star
- Paula - Plastic surgeon
- Aloisia - Manager of The Sorgente
- Lionel, Max, Nils, Lars and Jan - Security staff at The Sorgente
- Lilli - Staff member fired just before the avalanche
- The only way up to The Sorgente is via sky tram.
- Upon arrival Renard tells everyone to deposit their phones and valuables into individual boxes for safekeeping.
- During dinner on the first night, an avalanche breaks through the dining room.
- The avalanche takes out the electricity and heating.
- Aloisia sends Chloe to get medical supplies.
- As Chloe approaches the medical room, someone knocks her unconscious.
- Chloe and Aloisia go to check on Jan in the security office and find him dead.
- Aloisia notices that the two guns normally stored in the security office are missing.
- Aloisia, Chloe, Lionel and Jade go to the staff lodge and look around. When they check Lars’s room they find Nils dead.
- They also find a book with initials and numbers in it and Chloe pockets the book.
- Aloisia tells everyone about the two murders and the missing weapons.
- Aloisia, Chloe, Max, Lionel and Sylvie hide and wait for someone to try and break into the safe at midnight but no one does.
- They hear a shot in the foyer and run out to find Lionel has been shot.
- Aloisia, Chloe, Max and Roberta go to the kitchen to take inventory of the remaining food and find a body in a locked chest freezer - it’s Lars.
- Chloe, Aloisia, Roberta and Jade save Carri from an overdose.
- When Carri wakes up she insists that she didn’t take drugs; she only drank from a bottle of cognac she stole from Lars’s office.
- Emmitt admits that he tried to smuggle in opiates but they were confiscated by security.
- Chloe works out that it was Sylvie who had access to poison the bottle.
- Chloe looks out the window and sees Renard pointing the gun at Max so she goes outside to try and de-escalate the situation.
- Sylvie admits to poisoning the cognac bottle because Lars was keeping everyone there prisoner.
- Lars was finding and hiring people who were desperate for jobs and then took 90% of their wages.
- Lars escalated to raping the female employees.
- Lars paid off the security team to keep staff in line.
- Renard killed Lars because Lars admitted he sexually assaulted Sylvie.
- Renard gives Chloe the gun and Max lunges at her to take it.
- Max points the gun at Chloe and demands she hand over Lars’s book.
- A wolf appears and mauls Max to death.
- Renard, Chloe and Sylvie head back to the foyer where they are met by Aloisia.
- They tell Aloisia everything so she locks Renard and Sylvie in the storeroom.
- Chloe confronts Aloisia about knowing what Lars was up to.
- Chloe tells Aloisia that she will not be paid off to keep quiet. Chloe wants the truth to come out, and if Aloisia plays along, Chloe can help her make sure her career is not ruined.
- Ambulances and police arrive.
- Aloisia proceeds to tell the police the truth about everything.
- Epilogue: Patrick receives five years for possessing a firearm with intent to cause violence.
- Chloe is happy with the new direction her business has taken: fighting for those who’ve been wronged.
The Alpine Retreat by Sarah Goodwin is an engaging survival thriller told entirely from Chloe's point of view.
The story moves at a medium pace, and while I felt there were a few plot holes, I was able to overlook them for the overall enjoyment of the story. The writing was very immersive, thanks to the several smaller threats the characters faced beyond just the killer on the loose, which really added to the tension. The twist was refreshingly unique and interesting - I didn't see it coming.
What really set this book apart from other survival stories was the character dynamics. The large cast of characters didn't show great distrust for one another and generally did as they all pleased instead of trying to stay together.
My only complaint is that after the big reveal, the story felt a bit boring as it took several chapters to wrap everything up in a neat bow.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves survival thrillers.
- Nina - Dead - Buried in the avalanche
- Jan - Dead - Bludgeoned to death by Renard
- Nils - Dead - Shot with a rifle by Renard
- Lionel - Dead - Shot by Renard
- Lars - Dead - Smashed in the head and placed in a chest freezer by Renard
- Max - Dead - Mauled to death by a wolf
- Carri - Alive - Last seen being taken away from The Sorgente via ambulance
- Chloe - Alive - Rebranding herself as someone who does good
- Patrick - Alive - Serving a five-year prison sentence
- Livvy - Alive - Serving a suspended sentence for stealing jewelry from The Sorgente's guests
- Emmitt - Alive - Possibly reuniting and touring with his band
- Aloisia - Alive - Managing a wellness retreat in Spain
- Renard - Alive - Facing manslaughter charges
- Sylvie - Alive - Free from prosecution and reunited with her mother
- Murder
- Gun violence
- Alcoholism
- Drug use
- Sexual assault
- Animal death
Publisher: Avon Books UK
ISBN: 9780008732837
Publication Date: January 15, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
