Desert Isle Keeper

Secluded Cabin, Sleeps Six sounds exactly like what it is – a mystery revolving around a gullible group of people who allow themselves to be lured into a dangerous situation.

Hannah and Bruce have it all – or so it would seem on the surface. They’re upper-middle class Floridians with a beautiful baby daughter, a loving extended family and plenty of money. Bruce’s company, a tech troubleshooting firm, keeps him busy and Hannah has a growing concern about the seeming distance in their relationship recently, but for the most part they know they are lucky. Most people would kill to be in their shoes.

Cricket has been friends with Hannah and her family since high school. She’s been so much a part of their lives, it’s like Cricket’s actually kin. She hasn’t, however, been as lucky as they are, and while Cricket does okay career-wise, love has eluded her. Until now. Joshua is to die for – he’s everything she has ever dreamed of in a partner and she can’t wait to introduce him to the people that matter to her most.

Mako has been killing it in life and in love. His company is extremely successful, providing him with wealth and privilege, and he adores his lovely and kind wife Liza. The friends who supported him as he built his company, especially his beloved sister Hannah, her husband Bruce, and their good friend Cricket, are a large part of what has enabled his prosperity, and he is determined to share some of his bounty with those he loves. To that end he rents a luxury cabin in the mountains and invites them all to enjoy a decadent weekend getaway.

Six young, beautiful, successful people. An opulent, picturesque setting. Everything looks perfect. But of course, looks can be deceiving.

I’m gonna get the content warnings out of the way first. This is a mystery, so there are some dark subjects discussed; among them are sexual assault and harrassment, rape, voyeurism, murder and suicide. The issue of enabling is also discussed – how often is our silence on something that is uncomfortable a quiet endorsement of things that are unacceptable?The role genetics plays is also discussed: Are we born with a predisposition for evil or do our choices define us? The author does a good job of showcasing how most of us are products of both, how we are all flawed and that the line between good and evil is a lot thinner and murkier than we often believe.

With the exception of two characters, our motley crew is pretty damaged, and it’s a credit to Ms. Unger’s talent that I liked many of them in spite of that. Cricket is a party girl, caught in an abusive relationship from her past. The man is married and often either cruel or dismissive of her feelings, hooking up with her for sex and follwing the encounter with insults and scorn. She doesn’t know what it will take for her to step out of that dynamic, she just knows she is getting increasingly desperate to do so. Mako has a dark side that he tries to counterbalance by clinging to good people like Liza and Hannah, but he has a tendency to drag them towards his own evil rather than walking into the light with them. He fears someone knows just how far he’s fallen and he’s determined not to let them make him pay for his mistakes. Liza lives her life mindfully, optimizing peace and calm and selling that to others via her role as an influencer – until issues with Mako make her tumble. Now it looks like she has made a mistake she will have to take violent measures to get rid of. Hannah’s surface life is suburban perfection – but there is an incident from her past that haunts her, a moment where she fears she made a wrong choice and cost another woman everything. Bruce has a secret that could destroy his marriage; he isn’t sure that revealing it is the solution but he is becoming increasingly concerned that keeping it is an even worse option. Joshua made some poor choices which have left him at the mercy of a fairly bad person. He’s not sure how to get out from under them, he just knows it has to happen soon.

Those are the guests, but as isolated as the luxury retreat is, there are other people in those scenic woods with them. Bracken, the resort owner, has long felt like an observer of life rather than a participant in it. He has a dirty little secret that has allowed him to take his examination of others to a whole new level but now it seems someone has discovered it and he’s not quite sure how to handle that. Trina, an unexpected and uninvited extra staying in a small cabin near them, has daddy issues that are the mother of all her problems – and she has some pretty serious problems. Henry, racing towards the scene for fear the situation is about to explode, suspects something pretty terrible about someone he loves and he isn’t sure how to fix it.

And then there are the alleged ghosts, victims of a tragedy from a long time ago in that location. Is history about to repeat itself?

I really liked the nuance the author uses to show us that most people are a mix of good and bad traits, right and wrong decisions, and a combination of genetics and choices. Our DNA might give us superficial beauty but it can’t turn us into great people. It might make us smart but our choices are what make us righteous. I liked the arc of flawed people learning to do better and the irredeemable meeting justice. I also appreciated the pacing and how the mystery unravels – we begin with a sense of menace and a lot of possibilities as to what is causing that until we reach an explosive conclusion.

Secluded Cabin, Sleeps Six is not going to be for everyone. The flawed protagonists do some truly despicable things and only two of the characters are genuinely ‘good’ people. But this tale is a wonderful mystery that asks a lot of intriguing questions about right and wrong and just what makes a person choose one over the other. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dark, nuanced suspense novel.

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