Book Review: The Island by Adrian McKinty

My Rating:

3.5⭐

24-year-old Heather Baxter marries widower Dr. Tom Baxter who is in his 40s and is the father of two children, 14-year-old Olivia and 12-year-old Owen, by his first wife. When Tom is invited to be a keynote speaker at an Orthopedics conference in Melbourne, Australia they make a family vacation out of it. Owen and Olivia are not too fond of Heather and often openly hostile in the face of her efforts to befriend them. On a day out, at the kids’ insistence on checking out the wildlife in the vicinity, the family finds themselves touring Dutch Island, which is a private island normally closed off for visitors. They are ferried across by members of the O’Neill family who ”own” and reside on the island. A car accident on the island triggers a series of events that has the family fighting for their own lives and desperately looking for a way off the island as their day trip turns into a survivalist’s nightmare.

The Island by Adrian McKinty is a fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller that is hard to put down. I enjoyed the atmospheric setting and the intense and vivid imagery of Dutch Island. Needless to say, I finished it in less than a day. Some scenes are violent and disturbing and animals are harmed, so you might need to pace yourself before attempting to read this. The main characters aren’t particularly likable, which was a bit of a problem for me and the writing was choppy in some of the scenes. However, despite a few OTT moments (which are not uncommon in most thrillers), this is a gripping read that does not disappoint as far as thrills go! Suspend your disbelief, don’t overthink it and enjoy the ride!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book is due for release on May 17, 2022.