Book review: The Couples Retreat by Mercedes Mercier

The Couples Retreat by Mercedes Mercier is a departure from her two previous novels featuring psychologist Dr Laura Fleming, and I really enjoyed this latest book. She’s left prison here (the setting for her previous books) and we’ve journeyed to Kangaroo Island – incidentally a place I’d love to visit. The setting and sense of place here is very strong, but the island’s isolation and the onslaught of a raging storm also makes this is a locked-room mystery and (setting-wise) I loved that Mercier able to to reflect both the impending threat and the sense of pampered luxury.

About this book

At a secluded beachfront mansion on Kangaroo Island, three wealthy couples gather for a weekend of partying and luxury indulgence. But beneath the glitter and excess, deep rivalries and explosive secrets fester between the old friends.When they wake to a shocking murder scene, they are gripped first by fear, then by suspicion. With ferry services suspended due to a storm, the survivors and the killer remain trapped on the island together.

Thrust into the biggest case of her fledgling career, rookie police officer Emily Quinn quickly discovers that the locals are mistrustful of outsiders. When her dangerous ex-boyfriend tracks her down, Quinn's past and present collide in spectacular fashion, threatening not only her new life, but the investigation of the most gruesome crime in the island's history.

My thoughts

We’ve got two narrators – Emily Quinn, a probationary constable on her first job following graduation from the police academy… who feels she has something to prove, following in her father’s footsteps (who was also a cop). And there’s Ashley, who’s holidaying on the island with her husband and two other couples. Quinn’s chapters are written in third person, so while she’s our host, we’re outside looking in. Whereas Ashley’s chapters are written in first person; so we’re right there with her. I pondered on Mercier’s decision to do this… why she gave us more access to Ashley and her thoughts.

We learn Ashley and Nick are ‘new money’ who designed exercise wear and they’re about to make a fortune through an investment or buy-out. The other two couples include two men Nick knew at university… old money and both rather entitled because of it. They’re accustomed to not playing by the rules and they – along with their wives – rankle Ashley. Interestingly she has a whole online group chat going with other friends… sharing the OTT antics of her fellow travellers.

There’s a sense of impending doom here… with an undercurrent burbling away amongst the friends and a looming storm, ultimately resulting in dead bodies, which Mercier describes in a prologue.

Quinn is thrown into the deep end on the investigation but doggedly makes several breakthroughs… one of which puts her life at risk. Adding to her troubles is an obsessive ex who’s stalking her.

I enjoyed this. Quinn’s a great character – hopefully we’ll meet her again (a spoiler I realise, given I’m suggesting she survives!). For most of the novel [in her self-talk] she refers to herself as Quinn, trying to distance herself from ‘Emily’ who she describes as shy and full of self-doubt. But ultimately she references herself by her full name, combining the two as if  two parts of herself are coming together and I very much enjoyed her professional and personal journey.

** Read and reviewed in Goodreads and Netgalley, e-book in early April 2026. Posted here after attending local event with Mercier and purchasing a copy of her book**