The Bay

By Allie Reynolds

Review

When Kenna arrives in Australia to surprise best friend Mikki, she's stunned to discover Mikki's about to marry Jack, a man she's only just met. With Mikki and Jack heading off on a surfing trip, Kenna decides to tag along rather than spend her holiday in Sydney alone. The spot they plan to surf, Sorrow Bay, is so remote hardly anyone knows about it. The waves are huge and at first it seems idyllic but after meeting Mikki's surfer pals, doubts begin to surface in Kenna's mind. They all have secrets to hide and Kenna senses something's terribly wrong with the group. Can she persuade Mikki to return home to the UK or is she too deeply involved with these people to pull free? The situation is about to turn deadly. 

Having loved author Allie Reynolds' debut novel Shiver, I knew The Bay would be a blast. . . and I wasn't disappointed. The descriptions of Sorrow Bay and its remoteness were fantastically atmospheric and added to the sense of helplessness and desperation as Kenna's plight worsened. It was an unsettling read and you were never sure who could or couldn't be trusted. Yes, it had similar vibes to Alex Garland's The Beach but it also stood up on its own merit and was a thrilling page-turner.

★★★★☆

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Headline
• Publication Year: 2022
• Author: Allie Reynolds
• Genre: Psychological Thriller

Synopsis

The waves are to die for. It's a paradise they'd kill to keep.

There's a darkness inside all of us and The Bay has a way of bringing it out. Everyone here has their secrets but we don't go looking for them. Because sometimes it's better not to know.

Kenna arrives in Sydney to surprise her best friend, shocked to hear she's going to marry a guy she's only just met. But Mikki and her fiancé Jack are about to head away on a trip, so Kenna finds herself tagging along for the ride.

Sorrow Bay is beautiful, wild and dangerous. A remote surfing spot with waves to die for, cut off from the rest of the world. Here Kenna meets the mysterious group of people who will do anything to keep their paradise a secret. Sky, Ryan, Clemente and Victor have come to ride the waves and disappear from life. How will they feel about Kenna turning up unannounced?

As Kenna gets drawn into their world, she sees the extremes they are prepared to go to for the next thrill. And everyone seems to be hiding something. What has her best friend got involved in and how can she get her away? But one thing is rapidly becoming clear about The Bay: nobody ever leaves.