This is our Mystery Book Group selection for March. A "transformative spa experience" awaits those who visit Tranquillum House, one of Australia's most exclusive resorts.
Run by a woman who was transformed herself by a near death experience, Masha Dmitrichenko wants her guests to be truly changed by their time at Tranquillum.
The guests for this session are a former sports star, a family held together by a son's suicide, a romance writer dealing with bad reviews and hot flashes, a lottery winning couple, a divorcee, and a lawyer. They're all at a place in their lives where getting away someplace for ten days and putting themselves in the hands of helpful strangers seems like an almost life saving opportunity.
There are alternating chapters for the characters in which we find out more about them, but more interestingly, how they see the others. One character sees a housemate as a looney. She's certain he's a serial killer. Another is stunningly handsome and he can't possibly have any problems, but he's at a crossroads. A family lies to each other about the son and brother they lost. A young couple suddenly have all the money in the world, but not each other. A man has no connections except for the dog he's lost. A woman is glad to have others take care of everything for her, taking a break from her broken marriage.
The suspense builds slowly, almost unnoticeabley. How weird to be made to drink every drop of required smoothies. Why are there daily blood tests? Why is the yoga studio in an underground windowless room? Everyone's suitcases were searched for "contraband" food and drink and electronics. It seems harsh to spend the first five days in "noble silence", having no opportunity to get to know staff or fellow guests. Counseling sessions are unnecessarily unkind.
Everyone is taken by Masha, who seems to be everything they want to be. There's an impulse to try to please her, but nothing they do is enough.
What starts as a feel good leisure spa experience quickly becomes something else. It's impossible to leave, no one has ever left before the ten days are up. This group is an experiment for Masha. An experiment that goes very wrong.
The characters were very well drawn, I felt as I knew and cared about everyone by the end.
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