The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

Book Description:

A SECRET BEACH.
A HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME.
WISH YOU WERE HERE?

THINK AGAIN…

‘We’re tipping it as one of 2021’s best reads’ Marie Claire
‘Totally addictive, clever and atmospheric’ Erin Kelly
‘Tense, unnerving and emotional’ C. L. Taylor
‘Packed full of intrigue’ Heidi Perks

You wake on a beautiful, remote island.

Sparkling blue seas, golden sunsets, barely a footprint in the sand.

Yet this is no ordinary escape.
 
Next to the wreck of a plane, a stranger paces. Another sharpens a knife, scoring a list of the dead onto a palm tree. Others watch from the shadows of a campfire – all with untold stories, and closely-guarded secrets…

This is no ordinary holiday.
This is no ordinary island.
This is no ordinary beach read.

Gripping, twisty and full of sun-soaked atmosphere, THE CASTAWAYS will whisk you far away to the island – and never let you go.

My Thoughts:

This is a book that quite a few of my book friends have recommended to me and I can totally see why.

The story flicks between Erin and her sister Lori. Lori’s chapters are then and Erin’s are in the present day. This way we get to see the lead up to a tragic event as well as the aftermath in the present day. It’s hard to know what more to say about the actual story as it is definitely a case of the less you know the better the reading experience will be.

With a story like this one, location is the key and the author brings to life the isolation of being on an island. Whilst I could envision the hot sun and leafy surroundings, in some ways it felt like a summer paradise but in other ways it also felt menacing. There is definitely a sinister edge, more so the closer to the truth of what happened on the fateful day of the plane crash.

The Castaways is a story that will certainly mess with your mind. You won’t know who to trust and it had me racing through the pages to find out exactly what did happen on the day in question as well as to Lori. I would say it’s the perfect beach read but you may think twice about reading this anywhere other than the safety of your own home!