Review: The Final Chapter - January Gilchrist

Review: The Final Chapter - January Gilchrist - August 2025

I'll be honest—I dove into The Final Chapter with sky-high expectations. After devouring Julia Bartz's The Writing Retreat, I was hungry for another atmospheric writers' retreat mystery with that delicious locked-room tension. The premise had everything I wanted: creative egos clashing in isolation, dark secrets lurking beneath polite smiles, and a remote Blue Mountains setting steeped in Australia's most chilling criminal history. Unfortunately, what promised to be a page-turner ended up feeling more like a rough draft than a polished final manuscript.

The setup is undeniably intriguing. Three women converge at an exclusive retreat, each carrying secrets heavier than their luggage. Desley Barron, struggling to revive her dying writing career, arrives desperate to prove herself. High-profile author Colette Halifax is hiding from a career-threatening scandal. And Maia McKenzie isn't there to write at all—she's hunting the man who nearly killed her mother. When a snowstorm traps them inside and a body appears, the stage is set for psychological thriller gold.

The problem? The execution doesn't match the promise. While some characters intrigued me, most left me frustrated—none more than Desley. I wanted to reach through the pages and shake her. Her relentless self-deprecation and doormat tendencies were maddening. Stop playing the victim and do something, I found myself muttering repeatedly. A protagonist wrestling with insecurity can be compelling, but Desley's passivity tested my patience until the final pages.

Ultimately, this retreat fell short of the destination I'd hoped for. It's an average thriller that fans of the genre might enjoy despite its flaws—but it won't haunt you long after closing the cover.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4nNHSbr