Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Year: 2022
Synopsis: IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY VACATION. A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT CHANGED EVERYTHING. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE CAPABLE OF UNTIL THEY COME FOR YOUR FAMILY.
After moving from a small country town to Seattle, Heather Baxter marries Tom, a widowed doctor with a young son and teenage daughter. A working vacation overseas seems like the perfect way to bring the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are so over their new mom.
When they discover a remote Dutch Island, off-limits to outside visitors, the family talks their way onto the ferry, taking a chance on an adventure far from the reach of iPhones and Instagram.
But as soon as they set foot on the island, which is run by a tightly knit clan of locals, everything feels wrong. Then a shocking accident propels the Baxters from an unsettling situation into an absolute nightmare.
When Heather and the kids are separated from Tom, they are forced to escape alone, seconds ahead of their pursuers.
Now it’s up to Heather to save herself and the kids, even though they don’t trust her, the harsh bushland is filled with danger, and the locals want her dead.
Heather has been underestimated her entire life, but she knows that only she can bring her family home again and become the mother the children desperately need, even if it means doing the unthinkable to keep them all alive.
REVIEWS
“BEST THRILLER OF 2022”
The New York Times
“Unrelenting suspense. It reminded me a little of Jaws.”
Stephen King
“This summer’s major literary thrill ride…. Adrian McKinty is a master.”
USA Today
“One of this summer’s best standalone thrillers.”
The Boston Globe
“Thriller fans, think nothing can shock you anymore? Check out The Island. It’s an adrenaline rush from beginning to end.”
Reader’s Digest
“A tense, adrenaline-fueled thriller.”
Time Magazine
“The locals aren’t always friendly in vacation hot spots, but on the closed-to-the-public island Tom sneaks his family in to for fun, they’re out to kill. Maybe Disney World next time?”
People
“What a shock it was to discover how deeply invested I became in the fate of the characters of The Island, a propulsive, insane story, about an all-out struggle for survival between an Australian family and a group of American interlopers. . . . Heather, who starts as a clueless young bride who expects her older husband to take care of her and has no love for his children, becomes not just a Charlize Theron-worthy badass but also a great stepmother who helps two damaged kids come into their own.”
The New York Times Book Review
“Deliverance meets The Road Warrior in this harrowing survival thriller . . . McKinty is a master of suspense.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Expertly choreographed and breathlessly exciting . . . both the peril and the family are like no other. The Chain was McKinty’s breakthrough novel and this one could be every bit as big.”
Booklist (starred review)
“Wow, this book left me breathless and on the edge of my seat from the very first page—this is thriller writing of a high order. Gripping and unpredictable, prepare to be hooked and pumped full of adrenaline as McKinty deftly weaves a compulsively readable plot with characters that you are rooting for. No one does high- stakes tension like McKinty. Put The Island at the top of your TBR—you won’t regret it.”
Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium
“Heart-stoppingly tense and unpredictable, The Island twists a family vacation to a nightmarish breaking point. Adrian McKinty has written another irresistible and pulse-pounding thriller about the surprising places evil hides and just how far we’ll go for those we love.”
Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her
“The action is frenetic and relentless . . . entirely satisfying if you’re looking for a reliable nightmare or two.”
Toronto Star
“An exciting thriller that… pulls readers compulsively onward.”
Kirkus Reviews
“McKinty delivers another skillful, blade-sharp page-turner.”
James Swallow, bestselling author of Nomad
“A pulsating, nerve-shredding thriller. I loved it!”
M. J. Arlidge, bestselling author of Eeny Meeny
