I’m pleased to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for dark and chilling thriller The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz. Thank you to Anne Cater and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
About the book:
The Hunting Party meets Misery in this dark, atmospheric feminist tale, set in the world of publishing, about a book deal to die for.
There was no radio. No phone. No connection to the outside world. We were completely on our own.
Alex, a struggling young writer, is delighted to join four other hopefuls at a month-long writing retreat with Roza Vallo, the controversial high priestess of feminist horror.
At the remote Blackbriar estate, they discover they must complete an entire novel from scratch, and the best one will receive a seven-figure publishing deal. Alex’s longed-for dream now seems within reach.
But then the women begin to die. Trapped, terrified, yet still desperately writing, it’s clear there is more than a publishing deal at stake. Alex must confront her own demons – and finish her novel – to survive.
It seemed so perfect, but turned out to be every writer’s worst nightmare…
About the author:
Julia Bartz is a Brooklyn-based writer and practicing therapist. Her sister, Andrea Bartz is a New York Times bestselling writer (most recently with We Were Never Here.)
She is the author of the popular Psychology Today blog ‘My Pleasure: The New Science of Sex, Dating, and Self-Care’ and previously ran the Brooklyn literary blog BookStalker.
Her fiction has been published in the South Dakota Review, FictionDaily and InDigest Magazine and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
The Writing Retreat is Julia’s first novel.
@juliabartz #TheWritingRetreat @OneworldNews
My Review:
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz is a wild and atmospheric debut novel that had me gripped from the very first page. The main focus of the story is Alex, a struggling young writer who is delighted to be asked to attend a month long writing retreat, hosted by Roza Vallo, a controversial author of feminist horror,
The remote and atmospheric Blackbriar estate is a character in its own right, with the tension almost palpable as Alex and four other hopefuls find themselves competing to complete an entire novel from scratch – with the winner picking up a seven figure publishing deal. With her longed for dream almost within reach, Alex must face her own demons as one by one the women begin to die. What had started out as every writer’s dream is now a nightmare that she may not come out of alive…
The Writing Retreat is a dark and twisted thriller that draws you in from the outset, the story twisting this way and that, moving along at a cracking pace as the tension begins to build. I have to admit it is a slightly bonkers read at times but is so entertaining that I happily suspended my disbelief as the story moved towards its thrilling conclusion.
Julia Bartz has written an exciting and shocking tale of mystery and suspense that I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. A feminist thriller that keeps the shocks and surprises coming throughout, The Writing Retreat is a debut novel that I would recommend.
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz is available to purchase now:
Cal Turner Reviews 