Psychological Thriller Review: The Resort | Sara Ochs

That feeling after finishing a book with a seriously twisted ending is unlike anything else! My mind is buzzing—I turned the final page of Sara Ochs’ debut thriller, The Resort and started paging backwards now that I had the final reveals to see what I didn’t pick up on. What an ending! Is it too soon to say I hope there is a sequel?

About the Book | The Resort

A searing vacation thriller set on a remote island in Thailand following two mysterious women, a charismatic group of expats, and the one murder poised to bring their paradise crashing down.

Welcome to paradise. We hope you survive your stay…

There are three rules to follow during a vacation at the famous Koh Sang Resort

1 – Leave the past behind.
When Cass sets foot on the coast of Thailand’s world-famous party island, she’s searching for an escape. With dark secrets following her every move, Koh Sang becomes the perfect place to hide.

2 – Always be careful of who you trust.
Now, years later, Cass is a local dive instructor alongside the Permanents, a group of expats who have claimed the island as their own. The Permanents don’t linger on who they were before the island. Simply because, like Cass, they all have something to outrun.

3 – If someone discovers who you really are, run.
But suddenly, a dive student is found dead and paradise comes crashing down. Because this isn’t the first mysterious death on the island, and it won’t be the last. Someone knows who Cass is and they’re ready to make sure justice is finally served. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review | The Resort

I have been wanting to read this book since it published, but I had to painfully wait to read it with my little Saturday book club. It was worth the wait because I definitely wanted someone to discuss this book with after finishing! It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. The pace, plotting, tension, and brazen twists pushed the story to places that were thrilling and unexpected, even in a hot market for psychological thrillers!

One of my favorite aspects of this book was that Ochs was unafraid to write flawed characters. I don’t think there was a character in the book that wasn’t flawed, and that added a layer of reality to the story that made it even more gripping. I’d argue that most of the characters have done something bad, but who is the worst? You’ll have to read to find out…

Narrated in alternating chapters by the two female protagonists, Brooke and Cass—there was an eerie feel to the story at all times because it was clear there were a lot of secrets being kept from the people on the island and from the reader. The hints at some of those secrets are peppered throughout the story, and the reveals are carefully timed for maximum effect.

Brooke is a travel influencer who has arrived at the small, remote island of Koh Sang, Thailand. After talking her way into a better room in exchange for social media coverage (with perhaps a bit of creative manipulation of the resort owner), Brooke is settled in for the next few weeks. On her first day she befriends a dive instructor for the resort named Cass. Not only is Cass a fellow American, she’s also an easy friend for Brooke who is used to the lonely influencer life. Over the past few weeks they have formed a good friendship. Only Cass doesn’t know that Brooke isn’t from the west coast, she’s from Kentucky. And that’s not the only secret Brooke is hiding…

Cass has been working at the resort for a few years now, and she couldn’t be happier with the life she has created. She’s engaged to a man named Logan originally from Scotland who owns a local dive bar on the island. She’s now become the newest member of a small group of people who live and work on the island that refer to themselves as “the Permanents”. They are a close-knit group who have chosen to leave their pasts behind for island life. They don’t talk about their backgrounds, and that suits them just find. Isn’t island life about living in the moment?

But things are not as idyllic as they seem on the surface. Several days before Brooke arrived, a guest at the resort fell off a cliff and died. It seems like it must be an accident, but a newcomer at the resort approaches Brooke and suggests that it wasn’t. Not long after that exchange, the newcomer is found dead at the bottom of the ocean. Cass is the one who finds her while on a dive, and she’s shaken. Cass has been uneasy since she first received an anonymous note suggesting that someone knows who she really is. How is that possible? Cass has worked hard to fully separate from her old identity. When another death occurs not long after, it’s clear that something dark is going on. But on an island where everyone is hiding their past and their secrets, who is responsible?

This is one of those books that it’s best if you go into without more information than provided here (or in the synopsis). I hate saying that, but it will give you the best reading experience. I was instantly sucked into the book—the setting leapt right off the page, and the plot moved almost without me realizing it from serene to so tense it could snap. I was suspicious of basically everyone throughout the entire book. No one (including the two protagonists) should be marked as safe.

Part of the fun in reading The Resort are the slow reveals of the secrets. And when I say everyone on this island has a secret, I mean everyone. Even the ones who seem the most innocent! What the reader needs to figure out is who is just enjoying island life and living in the moment, leaving behind worries or pain from their past, and who is hiding something much darker? We learn early on that both Brooke and Cass are hiding something. They also form a sweet friendship that made it hard to know how their secrets might fit in to everything. Brooke is able to get the reserved, shy Cass to open up, and Cass is able to bring Brooke in to the fold. Brooke even has a crush on another dive instructor! But as with any good psychological thriller, there is a lot more to unfold…

The ending is twist-y and delightful to read. By the epilogue, my jaw was on the floor! Ochs has proven herself to be unafraid of making bold decisions about the fates of her characters, and I applaud that. It made for a great book with a stellar ending. I left it wondering if perhaps there could even be a sequel? There is plenty more to explore after this book ends, that is for sure!

Thank you to Sourcebooks for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Author | Sara Ochs

Sara Ochs is an author, law professor, and avid traveler. Born and raised in Upstate New York, Sara and her husband now split their time between the United States and Sweden.

When she’s not turning one of the many places she’s visited into the setting of her next thriller, she can usually be found trip planning.

Sara’s debut novel, a thriller set on a remote Thai island, will be published as THE DIVE in the UK and territories in July ‘23 and as THE RESORT in the USA in February ‘24.