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Book Summary and Reviews of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

by Lisa Unger

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • Published:
  • Nov 2022, 400 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.

What could be more restful, more restorative, than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, complete with spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah's loving and generous tech-mogul brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It's his birthday gift to Hannah and includes their spouses and another couple. The six friends need this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R, far from the chatter and pressures of modern life.

But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare. A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep. How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? And who is the new boyfriend, crashing their party? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"This is Unger's 20th novel, and she builds tension skillfully from Page 1...Hidden history and 21st-century technology collide in a breathtaking thriller." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"For fans of creepy, cunning locked-room thrillers based on controversial social norms. Readers will revel in the search for genealogical justice amid best-kept secrets, while wondering who will live and who will die." - Library Journal (starred review)

"Embedded in a riveting novel of suspense is a revealing examination of the dangers inherent in public DNA sharing...[Lisa Unger] is in good form here, in her twentieth outing, and her fans will be eager to dive right in." - Booklist

"With so many relationships and characters to keep track of, Unger overwhelms the plot...Loose ends and a crescendo of violence at the end do little to redeem the book. Unger has done better." - Publishers Weekly

"Lisa Unger is a brilliant writer, on the top of her form. Here, she delivers yet another stellar thriller, packed with tension and twists, but also laced with nuanced insight and characterization. On this weekend away, the cabin and its owner are disquieting, the weather is menacing but the threat level is truly amped up by the disturbing family dynamics and a backstory that grips." - Gilly Macmillan, bestselling author of What She Knew

"Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is a deliciously tense ride that takes a deep dive into the meaning of family and the price we'll pay for those we love." - Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of One By One

"Master of suspense Lisa Unger ratchets up the tension in her twentieth spellbinding outing, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. Blending an adrenaline-fueled plot and an expertly drawn cast of characters, Unger is at her atmospheric best in this wickedly chilling story of a getaway gone wrong. In Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, Unger yanks readers down a dark, twisty path teeming with secrets, obsession, and revenge—I still can't catch my breath. If you pick up just one thriller this year, make it this one." - Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest

This information about Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Cloggie Downunder

A page turner
4.5?s
“What’s interesting is the families that pretend to be happy, that have a carefully constructed facade, just barely propped up by secrets and lies. One breath and it all falls down.”

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is the twentieth novel by award-winning, best-selling American author, Lisa Unger. In today’s high-pressure world, what could be better than a weekend getaway in a secluded cabin in the woods in Georgia? Hannah’s brother Mako is treating them all: Hannah and Bruce, Hannah’s best friend Cricket and her new man, Joshua, Mako and his wife Liza. What they find on the Friday afternoon, though, is more like a mansion: every luxury, including a hot tub, a chef and waitress.

Hannah hopes Bruce will take a break from work; Bruce hints at problems with her brother’s gaming software franchise; Mako seems intent on playing the magnanimous host; Liza is struck down with a migraine just when she would like to be connecting with Mako; Cricket thinks she’s falling in love; and their host, Bracken Jameison, is looking forward to some interesting viewing from his cameras.

No one is expecting that, within hours of their arrival, one of their number will be missing, with fresh blood indicating this is no benign walk-off-in-a-huff.

Unger sets a scene with so much potential for conflict: Hannah, anxious about leaving her toddler for the first time, and worried about Bruce’s uncharacteristic behaviour; Liza holding a guilty secret whose consequence might break her marriage; Cricket’s anticipation about her brand new relationship clashing with her ongoing attraction to her ex; a new beau on the scene who is an unknown quantity; an unsettling murder/suicide story about the cabin; a cabin host whose disregard of his guests’ privacy might be something other than titillation.

Then there’s the disgruntled PA bent on revenge. Add to that the intrigue generated by the apparently unrelated narrative, set twenty years earlier, of a boy named Henry whose origin and connection are a mystery. Also, for some, troubling DNA test results. And the edges of a hurricane that will, in all likelihood, cause a power outage. Lies and secrets, red herrings and distractions, all make for plenty of tension that keeps the reader guessing right up to the nail-biting climax. A page turner.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Legend Press.

Karen Vincent Kos

Question about ending
My question is Mako has DNA from murderer. Was his mother Sophia raped by the murderer?

Elizabeth@Silver's Reviews

Elizabeth@Silver's Reviews - Very long, creepy, not a favorite
A storm is brewing outside and inside of the luxurious weekend cabin.

Is everyone who they say they are?

Is everyone telling the truth?

We meet three couples away for the weekend.

You will ask yourself if everything appears as it is presenting itself.

You will wonder what is up with all of these characters.

This book was actually confusing, not at all a favorite, and one I was not anxious to get back to.

Too many things were going on, and there were too many unlikable characters.

It did get a little better around 70, but was creepy throughout, had disturbing scenes and plot, and was a bit long.

I hope it is a better read for you. 3/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

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Author Information

Lisa Unger Author Biography

Photo: Tanya Sharkey

Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty novels, including Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, Last Girl Ghosted, and Confessions on the 7:45 — now in development at Netflix, starring Jessica Alba. With books published in thirty-two languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is regarded as a master of suspense.

Unger's critically acclaimed novels have been featured on "Best Book" lists from the Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times and many others. She has been nominated for, or won, numerous awards including the Strand Critics, Audie, Hammett, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Lisa Unger's Website

Other books by Lisa Unger at BookBrowse

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