*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Headline in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

There was just something about this debut that made it impossible to resist. Then again, I do have a weak spot for a thriller with a remote setting... Also, while it's true I don't like watching this type of reality TV, they are somehow always surprisingly fun to read about. Isolation Island is all about a celebrity survival show set on a remote Scottish island, and this alone has SO much potential. And I have to say that the plot definitely delivered for me!

Isolation Island takes place on a remote Scottish island, and when I say remote I mean completely abandoned and no soul in sight. This means that the ten contestants are 100% on their own once the show starts, because there will be no crew on the island. And before I forget: it is also the middle of winter, so not exactly the most comfortable place to be basically trapped on. Oh yes, the setting was without doubt the perfect backdrop for this story, and I loved the role its surroundings played in the plot. The island definitely added the perfect ominous vibe to it all!

This plot can actually roughly be divided into two halves. The first part is 100% reality TV focused, where we get to meet the ten celebrities that are part of the show as they arrive on the island. The introductions of so many characters slowed down the pace a little, and I admit it took me a little while to warm up to the story. Once the show started and the characters faced their first tasks, the pace improved and I started to enjoy myself. Like the contestants, you start wondering about the conditions of the island and if something more sinister might be going on... But the main focus is still on the TV show and the contestants.

The second part reads mostly like a murder mystery. As the premise of Isolation Island already reveals, someone ends up dead along the way... An accident or in fact a murder? This is the question the remaining contestants are all asking themselves, and our main character Lauren decides to investigate. She is an investigative journalist after all... As for the characters in general: I do think most of them were a bit underdeveloped and too much built on cliches, although I guess it was fun to see them pitted against each other. The story is told through Lauren's POV, who I had mixed thoughts about as she could be quite frustrating at times.

The story can get quite dark and tense at times, and there is for example focus on abuse, toxic relationships/friendships and addiction along with the already mentioned violence and murder. Not something I expected in Isolation Island, but it was interesting to see how everything was incorporated into the plot. The twists were effective, and I wasn't able to guess who was behind it all... The writing style took some time to used to though, but once I did it was really easy to keep turning the pages. Especially once things starting going south and the winter storm arrived!

If you like a good reality TV thriller with a remote setting and bad weather trope, I can definitely recommend picking up Isolation Island. True, the story feels slightly disjointed with the first half being mostly reality TV focused and the second mainly a murder mystery, but if you enjoy both subgenres this shouldn't be too much of a problem.