The Wilds

A Novel (Detective Elin Warner Series, Book 3)

By: Sarah Pearse

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

“An atmospheric chiller with shocking twists.”—Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

Detective Elin Warner unravels the mystery behind the disappearance of a young woman in a propulsive new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium

Since the dark events that scarred her childhood, Kier Templer escaped her hometown to live life on the road. She and her twin have never lost contact until, on a trip to a Portuguese national park, Kier vanishes without a trace.

Detective Elin Warner arrives in the same park ready to immerse herself in its vast wilderness–only to hear about Kier’s disappearance, and discover a disturbing map she left behind. The few strangers at an isolated campsite close ranks against Elin’s questions, and the park’s wild beauty starts to turn sinister.

Elin must untangle the clues to find out what really happened to Kier. But when you follow a trail, you have to be careful to watch your back...

Sarah Pearse brilliantly introduced audiences to Elin Warner in The Sanatorium, with her exploits continuing in The Retreat; here, the series concludes with The Wilds, where the unanswered questions plaguing Elin are finally resolved.

©2024 Sarah Pearse (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“An atmospheric chiller with shocking twists.”—Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

“Sarah Pearse always delivers a riveting read! The Wilds is a page-turning, unpredictable, and brilliantly plotted thriller that had me double-checking my locks.”—Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins

“An absolute winner! The Wilds gives us everything we crave in thriller writing: A roller coaster of a plot (who doesn't just love a mysterious map to be decoded?), a strong and thoroughly appealing protagonist and an addictive literary voice painting rich portrayals of the characters and the ominous locale in which Detective Elin Warner finds herself. This is a one-sitting read; plan your day accordingly.”—Jeffery Deaver, #1 international bestselling author of the Colter Shaw series

Twists you don't see coming

Loved this book as the last one in this 3 part series. Hoping author writes a 4th installment. Plot lines that weave through all 3 books make it a must read. Just when you think you have it figured out, you don't.

Well worth the wait…

Loved it from the beginning to the end! Plot was interesting and kept my attention the entire book!

Best of the trilogy!

I've really enjoyed all three books telling Elin's tale, and this last one is my favorite. If I could have, I would have listened/read in one sitting. I bought both the Kindle and Audible editions, and enjoyed being able to go back and forth between the two. I only had the audio edition for the first two. The narration by Elizabeth Knowelden is top notch, and the story kept me hooked to the end. I loved the twists and turns; one twist in particular took me completely by surprise.

Sarah Pearse weaves a gripping psychological thriller that takes hold of your imagination and builds suspense until you're fully in its thrall. She builds characters who are real: not just likable, but also relatably imperfect, complete with depth and messy feelings. In this latest installment we see further emotional growth for Elin, personally and in her relationships.

This time the mystery is set against a breathtaking backdrop of the national forest in Portugal, and brings back
a couple familiar characters. It confronts some difficult themes without being maudlin or preachy. I was especially intrigued by the role of maps in this book. I found myself wishing I could create documents of the type she describes; ones so beautifully mapping places of emotional significance.

I am going to miss Elin, and hope maybe someday we will get to revisit her world through the words of Sarah Pearse.

Just….wow

Sarah has done such an amazing job with this book. So beautifully written and, as always, the twists are always something you didn’t see coming. I was stressed, excited, happy, sad and everything in between. Sarah Pearce made me love reading again with The Sanatorium, and this just gets me more excited for her future novels.

Sarah Pearse does it again

the narration is fantastic
the story is deep and winding
I was hooked from the beginning

More great storytelling

Wonderful book however I enjoyed the other two stories by Sarah Pearse more. This is the first audiobook of hers I’ve listened to and the narration is really well done.

Beautiful

I love this author and this series. This book especially is deeply emotional. It’s been very thought provoking. Towards the end I cried so many times. Definitely one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. ❤️

Very Entertaining

This was a bit of a departure from the other two books (thus far) in the series.
But I liked it, per usual: excellent prose, thorough character development, wonderful atmospheric details so that the reader feels the places in the story.
I enjoyed the dual perspectives in this case and the plot in general.
I just found something to be missing when it all wrapped up.
With the first two books I couldn’t put them down; literally couldn’t wait to get home and back to listening but that was not the case here.
It’s solid but not exceptional or particularly special like The Sanitorium and The Retreat.
The narration is exquisite, five easy stars there.
I just hope the next book has more originality, or is scarier or something.
This one is good. But it’s not fantastic.

Good overall

Good narration and story line. Not as gripping as her past 2 novels however. Main critique is that there wasn’t enough recap on past novels since some of the storyline was carried over to this book

Another great book by Sarah Pearse!

Great performance and intriguing storyline. I was hooked from the beginning and loved the different twists and turns!