Retreat
the addictive rollercoaster thriller
Published on 7. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-4087-2282-4 (ISBN)
Description
'The Talented Mr Ripley meets How to Kill Your Family. Sharp, funny and has a twist you won't see coming' Eve Kellman
Even for a con artist, Liz is about to take things way, way too far . . .
Liz has always had a knack for charming people and gaining their trust. That's what makes her such a talented con artist. But lately the pressure's rising - Liz's past crimes have started snapping at her heels. So she leaps at the chance to escape to the Mexican coast to decorate a socialite's new villa, planning to lie low, enjoy paradise, and behave herself for once.
When Liz is mistaken for her absent employer, Isabelle, she can't help getting drawn into this glamorous seafront community. But dangerous secrets lurk beneath the surface, and it's not long before Liz realises that this time, she might be in over her head . . .
Spoiler: it's going to be carnage.
'Sexy, breakneck, full of surprises. A wild ride' Mary Kubica
'Written with enormous verve, this effervescent story featuring the resourceful - if amoral - Liz glitters like the diamond on her finger' Daily Mail
'Try not to drop it in the pool at the jaw-dropping twist' Ellery Lloyd
'A fiendish tale of trouble in paradise. Expertly paced, tightly plotted' LA Times
'This book was a great read. Who doesn't love a well-written bad girl?' ***** Reader Review
'Razor-sharp' Wendy Walker
'This book was so much fun to read! One big twist and turn after another' ***** Reader Review
'A dynamite read' Rachel Sargeant
'A whirlwind. I read it over the course of a few hours' ***** Reader Review
'Seductive and satisfying' Vikki Patis
Even for a con artist, Liz is about to take things way, way too far . . .
Liz has always had a knack for charming people and gaining their trust. That's what makes her such a talented con artist. But lately the pressure's rising - Liz's past crimes have started snapping at her heels. So she leaps at the chance to escape to the Mexican coast to decorate a socialite's new villa, planning to lie low, enjoy paradise, and behave herself for once.
When Liz is mistaken for her absent employer, Isabelle, she can't help getting drawn into this glamorous seafront community. But dangerous secrets lurk beneath the surface, and it's not long before Liz realises that this time, she might be in over her head . . .
Spoiler: it's going to be carnage.
'Sexy, breakneck, full of surprises. A wild ride' Mary Kubica
'Written with enormous verve, this effervescent story featuring the resourceful - if amoral - Liz glitters like the diamond on her finger' Daily Mail
'Try not to drop it in the pool at the jaw-dropping twist' Ellery Lloyd
'A fiendish tale of trouble in paradise. Expertly paced, tightly plotted' LA Times
'This book was a great read. Who doesn't love a well-written bad girl?' ***** Reader Review
'Razor-sharp' Wendy Walker
'This book was so much fun to read! One big twist and turn after another' ***** Reader Review
'A dynamite read' Rachel Sargeant
'A whirlwind. I read it over the course of a few hours' ***** Reader Review
'Seductive and satisfying' Vikki Patis
Reviews / Votes
PRAISE FOR RETREAT * - * Multitalented Krysten Ritter is back with a sexy, breakneck thriller that immerses readers in the sometimes-glamorous and sometimes-deadly life of a con artist. Full of surprises and edge-of-your-seat scenes, Retreat is a wild ride -- MARY KUBICA, author of SHE'S NOT SORRY Written with enormous verve, this effervescent story featuring the resourceful - if amoral - Liz glitters like the diamond on her finger * DAILY MAIL * Smart, sexy and wickedly fun: this is everything you want in a sun-drenched thriller. Ritter can really write - you'll race through Retreat in a day, rooting for its sparky anti-heroine (just try not to drop it in the pool at the jaw-dropping twist) -- ELLERY LLOYD, author of THE CLUB The Talented Mr Ripley meets How to Kill Your Family; this is sharp, funny and has a twist you won't see coming -- EVE KELLMAN, author of HOW TO KILL A GUY IN TEN WAYS Retreat begins by showing what smooth-operating scammer Liz is capable of. But as Ritter thickens her plot and ups the stakes, swapping con tricks for corpses, the book turns into a mystery, one that its antiheroine tries frantically to unravel . . . A fiendish tale of trouble in paradise . . . Expertly paced, tightly plotted * LA TIMES * Razor-sharp and utterly shocking -- WENDY WALKER, author WHAT REMAINS A must-read for fans of the popular 'rich people behaving badly' subgenre of thrillers. Those who enjoyed The Last Flight by Julie Clark and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty will enjoy Ritter's new novel * LIBRARY JOURNAL * A sultry, shocking and sizzling tale of duplicity and desperation - a dynamite read -- RACHEL SARGEANT, author of THE PERFECT NEIGHBOURS A sleek, sun-drenched noir that sees identity to be as fluid as morality. This serpentine psychological thriller feels straight out of Hollywood's murkiest corners. It's the perfect pick for book clubs who love their drama stylish, seductive, and surreptitious -- WOMEN.COM Sun-soaked and razor-sharp, Retreat serves up women's wrongs in a seductive, satisfying fashion -- VIKKI PATIS, author of THE WAKE Agile plotting . . . Gripping * BOOKLIST * PRAISE FOR KRYSTEN RITTER * - * A phenomenal, haunting debut -- GILLIAN FLYNN, author of GONE GIRL Actress Ritter makes a triumphant fiction debut with this pulse-pounding thriller featuring a sympathetic, broken lead character . . . Pitch-perfect * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED REVIEW) * Krysten Ritter made a name for herself by portraying some of the fiercest female characters in pop culture history. It should come as no surprise, then, that her debut novel carries that same level of strength and complexity on every single page * POPSUGAR * Packed with suspense and moves at a cracking pace * DAILY MAIL * Ritter has created an appealingly feisty yet vulnerable heroine . . . An excellent debut * THE TIMES * Dark, disturbing, and compulsively readable -- RUTH WARE, author of ONE BY ONE Bonfire is a stone-cold stunner - the writing is dazzling -- BLAKE CROUCH, author of DARK MATTER A suspenseful, psychologically gripping story * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY * An expertly plotted page-turner * MARIE CLAIRE *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Dimensions
Height: 127 mm
Width: 198 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
196 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4087-2282-4 (9781408722824)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Krysten Ritter is an actor, a director and the author of the internationally bestselling novel Bonfire, which received a Publishers Weekly starred review and which Gillian Flynn called 'a beautiful, haunting debut'. She's best known for starring in Marvel's Jessica Jones.