Book Review - The Ice Retreat by Ruth Kelly

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Title: The Ice Retreat

Author: Ruth Kelly

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Pan

Publication Date: 24th October 2024 

Rating: 4 Stars

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 target: 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 . . .

This was the first time I've encountered a Ruth Kelly book, and I'm impressed. 

I'll admit the ending had me slightly befuddled but also open mouthed as I really would have never imagined the truth of the Ice Retreat.  

In fact the whole of this type of treatment, sounds rather cold and scary, and as Hollie who knows Science knows, shouldn't work.  Hollie is determined to debunk this place as a fraud at best, and possibly a cult, as that is what she does - makes documentaries about bad medical practices. 

I loved the whole creepy feeling about this story, especially once Hollie is at the retreat, trying to determine the truth.  And she has an ulterior motive for targeting this particular retreat, which had me guessing for a large portion of the book. 

Definitely got my blood pumping and adrenaline pumping towards the finale, as I wasn't really sure who to trust at all.   We get the story from three main view points, all quite different and unique, and I was totally hooked on finding out the truth. 

A really great book, that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. 

Thank you to Pan and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.