Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the sophomore book by Julia Bartz, sister of the also-talented Andrea Bartz! All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 3 stars!
Thea works as a social worker at a psychiatric unit in NYC. When a catatonic woman shows up, Thea knows she is familiar to her and comes to realize that there is a link between this woman and Thea's own traumatic past. When the woman regains lucidity, she says she has no clue how she got there or what happened. Then just as suddenly, she's gone. Thea is determined to find her and ends up in a remote center in New Mexico, where a couple holds retreats to uncover attendees' issues. Forced to participate, Thea finds herself not knowing who she can trust and what is real.
I was a fan of Bartz' debut, The Writing Retreat, and this one seemed to be made for me - cults, secrets, remote locked room mystery. But I found it slow going and the second half seemed to veer off into way too much of everything. I liked the tension in parts and was anxious to find out the truth, but it seemed to get bogged down with just a lot. Give it a try if you like locked room mysteries - lots of people are loving this one! I'll be anxious to read her next as well.
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