Author: Ruth Kelly

Ruth Kelly is an award-winning journalist who has ghosted a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers – most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth’s debut thriller. She’s drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show Big Brother.

#BookReview The Ice Retreat by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheIceRetreat #RuthKelly #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Ice Retreat by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheIceRetreat #RuthKelly #PGCBooks Title: The Ice Retreat

Author: Ruth Kelly

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 21, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

From bestselling author Ruth Kelly, The Ice Retreat is a spine-tingling thriller set in the world of controversial wellness treatments. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Sarah Pearse.

HEALER?

Meet Hollie Jenson, presenter of the smash-hit docu-series Bad Medicine, which exposes the perils of extreme therapies. Her next a new retreat run by wellness guru Ariel Rose, who claims to have discovered the secret to healing pain through her three-day ice rebirth treatment.

LIAR?

Acting on a mother’s plea to find her son, who vanished soon after his stay, Hollie ventures into the Swiss mountains where the retreat occupies a former observatory. There she will search for the boy, and hopes to expose Ariel as the charlatan she believes her to be.

KILLER?

As the isolation of the valley sets in, Hollie finds herself in an increasingly dangerous situation. There is much more to the retreat than meets the eye, and she must confront explosive secrets from her own past if she is to ever make it out alive . . .


Review:

Ominous, sinister, and intense!

The Ice Retreat is an eerie, suspenseful tale that takes us into the life of Hollie, a young investigative journalist who, after a desperate mother asks her for help to find her missing son, travels to Switzerland to uncover what’s really going on at a wellness retreat that seems too good to be true.

The prose is sharp and crisp. The characters are secretive, determined, and multilayered. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style, builds and unravels quickly into a foreboding tale of lies, secrets, abuse, deception, drama, manipulation, desperation, experimentation, and murder.

Overall, The Ice Retreat is another dark, taut, unnerving thriller by Kelly that did a wonderful job of keeping me mystified, surprised, and guessing from start to finish while at the same time reminding me that everything is not always what it seems.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ruth Kelly

Ruth Kelly is an award-winning journalist who has ghosted a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers - most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth's debut thriller. She's drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show Big Brother.

#BookReview The Escape by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheEscape #RuthKelly #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Escape by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheEscape #RuthKelly #PGCBooks Title: The Escape

Author: Ruth Kelly

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 23, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

The grander the house. The darker the secrets.

From bestselling author Ruth Kelly, The Escape is an electrifying winter read for fans of Lisa Jewell and Sarah Pearse.

The Perfect Escape

When struggling influencer couple Adele and Jack post a crowdfunding video online, they’re amazed when a mysterious benefactor offers to buy them an idyllic 17th century French château. It’s the lifeline they need to leave all their troubles behind and patch up their relationship after a rocky period.

The Influencer

For Adele, it’s a dream come true. She will post videos from the fairy tale setting, renovating the grand building as thousands of online subscribers follow their journey. But the château is not all it seems and the local community is far from welcoming.

The Sister

Then Adele’s videos suddenly stop. Her sister Erin travels to France to make sure she’s okay but the couple have vanished. Between the obsession of Adele’s fans, the unsettling history of the building and the claustrophobic secrecy of the nearby town, Erin must unravel the shocking truth behind why the anonymous investor gifted Adele and Jack their dream home in the first place . . .


Review:

Dark, ominous, and unnerving!

The Escape is an intense, well-crafted tale that takes us into the life of Erin, a young woman who, after her social media influencer sister vanishes without a trace, travels to France to uncover what truly happened inside the run-down French chateau she was gifted to renovate by a mysterious benefactor.

The writing is sharp and menacing. The characters are self-involved, adventurous, and exposed. And the plot is an intricate, tension-filled tall full of mischief, mayhem, secrets, deception, manipulation, shocking revelations, lies, indulgence, depravity, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Escape is a sinister, atmospheric, twisty whodunit by Kelly that does a splendid job of highlighting just how vulnerable and susceptible technology and social media makes us and reminds us just how far some people are willing to go to protect the ability to keep their deviant proclivities consistently available and hidden from normal society.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ruth Kelly

Ruth Kelly is an award-winning journalist who has ghosted a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers - most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth's debut thriller. She's drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show Big Brother.

#BookReview The Villa by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheVilla #RuthKelly #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Villa by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheVilla #RuthKelly #PGCBooks Title: The Villa

Author: Ruth Kelly

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Aug. 15, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 432

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

A Villa in Paradise

It’s destined to be the ultimate reality show: Ten contestants. A luxurious villa on a stunning private island. Every moment streamed live to a global audience who have unprecedented control over those competing for the cash prize.

The Journalist

Coerced by her callous editor to enter the show undercover, Laura is a journalist told to get the inside scoop on her fellow contestants. But once the games begin, she soon finds herself out of her depth and at the mercy of a ruthless producer – a woman willing to do anything to increase viewer numbers.

Reality TV to Die For

There is more to every contestant than meets the eye, including Laura. They all have secrets they’d like to keep buried, and the pressure in paradise quickly reaches boiling point. How far will the contestants go to secure audience votes? How far will Laura herself go? And would somebody really kill to win?


Review:

Seductive, sinister, and captivating!

The Villa is a scheming, disturbing tale that sweeps you away to a secluded island and onto the set of the latest reality TV show where a varied cast of characters have gathered, tensions are high, money is coveted, deception is rife, everyone has a hidden agenda, and sex, violence, despicable behaviour, and death are definitely not out of the question.

The writing is crisp and edgy. The characters are self-obsessed, ambitious, sleazy, and competitive. And the plot, using a mix of narration, police interviews, and viewer feedback, is an enticing, suspenseful mix of twists, turns, secrets, deception, manipulation, obsession, greed, jealousy, voyeurism, gossip-mongering, red herrings, malicious intentions, and murder.

Overall, The Villa is a cunning, entertaining, satisfying read by Kelly that is a eerie reminder of just how low people are willing to go for their five minutes of fame and fortune.

 

This novel is available September 25, 2023.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ruth Kelly

Ruth Kelly is an award-winning journalist who has ghosted a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers - most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth's debut thriller. She's drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show Big Brother.