My rating: 2
I received an advance review copy of the audiobook The Resort by Sara Ochs from NetGalley and RB Media in exchange for feedback. Thank you!

I’m a sucker for a pretty cover, and I thought the plot description sounded compelling, so I put in a request for this book. The narrators did a good job, and I listened to the full 10.5 hours. 

Although I really enjoyed the first third of this book, in the later sections I found myself frustrated with the plot and characterization. 

I finished this book because I had received an ARC and wanted to give a complete review, but if not I would have dropped it when

Cass’s family backstory was revealed. I had many issues with the portrayal of mental illness and mental health in this book, but I found Cass’s father particularly unrealistic and harmful. I think it is a tired and dangerous strategy to rely on the stigma of a condition like bipolar to make a character irredeemable.

Overall, this book fits the formula of a tense thriller set in a gorgeous location with a mysterious cast and plenty of plot twists. It reminded me a bit of Alex Michaelides‘s The Silent Patient, which was eventful enough to keep me reading but (in my opinion) ultimately unsatisfying due to its prioritizing unpredictably over a rich narrative.