A Book A Week

It's the height of summer here in South Texas, but that doesn't mean I'm staying indoors. In fact, I spent much of the holiday weekend outside, working in my flowerbeds and tending a rack of ribs on my smoker. Naturally, I had my AirPods in and an audiobook playing. This time, it was The Break-Up Retreat by Camilla Sten. It was my first novel from the author, and I was hooked from the very beginning.

Journalist Isobel Anderssen is searching for the kind of story that could make her career. Her latest lead is the Himlafall Clinic, a secluded retreat tucked away in the Swedish woods that promises to help women recover from devastating breakups. But beneath the façade of a wellness retreat, Isobel suspects something far more sinister is happening. Rumor has it that one woman checked into Himlafall...and never checked out.

Armed with a fake identity and a fabricated breakup story, Isobel checks herself into the clinic determined to uncover the truth. But almost immediately, her carefully crafted plan begins to unravel. The nurse who was supposed to be her inside contact is nowhere to be found. Her smuggled cell phone is confiscated. And the clinic's enigmatic founder, Dr. Martina Hastings, has an unsettling ability to see through Isobel's carefully constructed lies.

Whatever is happening at Himlafall, it's becoming increasingly clear that Isobel isn't the one in control. And if she can't uncover the truth before her cover is blown, she may become the clinic's next disappearance.

The Break-Up Retreat has everything I crave from a summer thriller. Camilla Sten crafts a novel full of mystery and intrigue, anchored by a complex protagonist who is forced to confront her own life, relationships, and emotions. Add in an atmospheric setting that casts a lingering sense of unease over every page, and you've got exactly the kind of story that makes it impossible to stop reading—or, in my case, listening.

Amid the more traditional thriller elements, Sten weaves in thoughtful explorations of mental health, relationships, and womanhood, giving the novel an emotional depth I wasn't expecting. Peyton Mader's narration brings every twist, revelation, and moment of tension vividly to life, making for an audiobook that's easy to become completely immersed in.

My favorite part of the read was that I never quite knew where the story was headed. Every time I thought I had it figured out, Sten steered the novel in a new direction. That's exactly what I want from a thriller, and it left me eager to read more from her. 

For more information, visit Amazon and Goodreads. 

(2026, 53)