Book Review: The Namaste Club by Asha Elias
The Namaste Club by Asha Elias
Publisher: Harper Audio
Release Date: July 1, 2025
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Just inland from Florida’s sun-splashed Treasure Coast is the Namaste Club yoga center. An exclusive oasis of palms, lakes, and adorable guest villas, it’s perfect for getaways where Shakti, a serenely blond Instagram influencer, holds yoga retreats for well-heeled Miami ladies. The Namaste Club is a place of reflection, a place of release and redemption…or at least, that’s the sales pitch.
This weekend, however, is Transcendence Week, and a new bunch of South Florida burnouts have arrived. There’s Indira, fabulously wealthy after her divorce from the fast-frozen fruit king of Florida. There’s Indira’s bestie Jessica, also divorced and trying to get her groove back. There’s Barbara, heir to a massive family fortune, who’s taken a vow of silence for the retreat that will be sorely tested. And then there’s Carol Anne from Vero Beach, a happy tradwife and proud gun owner who recently did something…inadvisable; she’s just here while things cool off in her hometown.
And then, of course, there’s Daniel, the toned, man-bunned apprentice yoga instructor. He’s cute if you like that sort of thing. And many of the rich ladies do.
Last but not least, there’s Bubba, the retreat center’s resident twelve-foot American alligator. Before Transcendence Week is over, Bubba will have his moment of glory as well— when one of the visitors winds up in his jaws.
Who will be living their best life? Who will get their comeuppance?
The Namaste Club follows a motley crew of characters who come together for Transcendence Week at the Namaste Club. There are divorcee best friends Indira and Jessica, conservative gun-toter Carol Anne, Barbara, who’s chosen to take a vow of silence during the retreat, and Daniel, the hot yoga teacher in training. They are led by their young, blonde yoga instructor with a fake Indian accent, Shakti. They share the resort with a twelve-foot alligator named Bubba. By the end of the week, one of the attendees ends up dead in Bubba’s jaws.
One of the blurbs for this book said that it’s White Lotus meets Nine Perfect Strangers and as fans of both, I have to agree. It’s got a serious murder mystery plot line that is interspersed with moments of hilarity. It wasn’t so funny as to be madcap, which I appreciated. I’m not a fan of screwball humor.
Like Nine Perfect Strangers, we know up front who was killed. Then the story goes back to the beginning of the week and goes from there, tracing what led up to the person’s death. It was well-plotted and took some surprising turns towards the end.
This is Asha Elias’s second book. Her first, Pink Glass Houses, is a satire about PTA moms. I’m definitely reading that soon. I think she may be the next Liane Moriarty!
