There's a strange tension brewing at the resort, with relations between the hotel and the locals threatening to spill over into violence. This is nothing though compared to the strained atmosphere between the two families. They haven't been friends for long and they are starting to realise they don't really know each other at all.

Two days after their arrival a monsoon threatens to hit the island, and one of their party has gone missing. The tensions that were slowly simmering come straight to the surface, and it becomes very obvious that something is not quite right at Turtle Cove. There seems to be a lot of animosity between the resort's staff and the island's locals. The rising storm is making it difficult to search for the missing person, and it also means that no one can travel to and from the island. When a body is eventually found their paradise getaway turns into a tropical nightmare overnight.Can music, hard work and life overcome darkness, venality and ignorance? The journey to The Cove is a trip worth taking, with a Shakespearean climax that will leave you quivering. Married couple Lou and Adam decide to go away for a weekend with their two kids Raffy and Laila, and are joined by the couple's newfound friends Noah and Eliza, and their twins Chloe and Sam. The two families plan to spend a glorious weekend at a private island resort called Turtle Cove. The resort lies beneath a dormant volcano on the north-easterly tip of Pulau Kalah in Malaysia, and as it offers both adventure and in-house childcare it is practically perfect.

A short, mysterious prologue introduces us to a forbidding, rural North Carolina cove in 1957, and is followed by the main story, which takes place toward the end of WW I on the same rough and haunted turf. Laurel Shelton, an ostracized young woman, believed to be a hexed witch that causes harm and doom to others, lives with her brother, Hank, a disabled soldier recently returned from battle. Hank is engaged to marry a woman whose father needs to be convinced that Hank isn't also possessed. Into their solitary existence comes a mute flautist, Walter, who changes the course of their lives. Reels you in and doesn't let you go. Full of lies and secrets, The Cove is a gripping thriller and a must-read' Heidi Perks With this information, Laurel confronts Walter. He admits that he really is a German stranded in America. Jurgin Walter Koch is his birth name. Despite this reveal, the two still wish to be together. In fact, after the war, they’d like to travel to New York City and marry. Murder has always felt like such a wilful destruction of your own being. The ultimate ending of another’s life, yes. But, more than that … it’s the ruination of any part of your character that you might justifiably argue was moral and right.” If you are keen on an escapist thriller, then this is, without doubt, the book for you. It is an intriguing read with stunning scenery and colourful characters that will keep you guessing.

And, like, don't get me wrong, it's FINE. But so much of the story was caught up in marriage drama and women in their late 30s bemoaning their lives as wives and mothers and, like, cannot relate AT ALL.