Three friends Sam, Margaret, and Diana decide to go on a weekend away up in the mountains to get away from it all after all three have suffered from breakups. It is for them to refresh themselves and get them ready for a new chapter in their lives. But what is supposed to be an innocent get way. Turns out anything but.
When they stop for gas their rental car keys goes missing and the lodge, they rent belongs to Harrys ex wife and Diana strangely goes missing.
Thank you, Penguin Michael Joseph, for a copy of The Perfect escape by Leah Kohen. I was looking forward to reading this because of its intriguing storyline. Yes, I thought it started off well and it had a sense of mystery about it which pulled me in and gripped me from the first page. I kept trying to guess who Diana really is. But I personally thought that the second half was full of cliches, and I got confused who character was and who did what and with whom. That found I got a bit lost towards the end. 3 stars from me.

This book was mediocre for me. Very slow start; over 20% of the way in before things start to happen. I didn’t like any of the women. Why do modern writers feel they need to use bad language? It spoils the book.

Three friends, on impulse, head off for a few days break a few hours drive from New York. All of them have recently left their partners and view a "girls weekend" as the ideal therapy. But when they lose the car keys and have to spend a night in hastily booked accommodation things start to go wrong. An evening of heavy drinking leads to one the three going missing and, what's worse, is a body is subsequently discovered in the woods outside the bar they were drinking at.
The tension steadily builds and gradually all the secrets these three women have previously hidden come to light. It's fair to say none of them emerge smelling of roses.
An enjoyable read but the lack of depth given to the numerous characters meant this reader was not really drawn in to the tension and drama. For that reason only 3 stars.

After bonding after recent break ups,Diana,Sam and Maddie go on a trip together,not a good idea as they don't really know each other.
They suffer car problems and have to stay in a town where Sam's ex lives.
The next morning someone is dead and things get very complicated in more ways than one.
An enjoyable read but I found it hard to like anyone and was a bit slow in places.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph U.K

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.
Sadly what seemed intriguing turned out to be very predictable same old, same old. Shallow characters with no depth. Highly annoying. Heavy use of Americanisms so I spent half my time googling for not all of them to be found. . The earliest women feel a baby move is at least 16 weeks not nearly 15 and for a first will be later. It reads like an old American soap opera. Not for me

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was underwhelmed by this book, it felt like a recycled plot that was poorly executed. I have read better thrillers with same premise. This one lacked believably and also I was not really engaged with any character, in fact I found no character even likeable, s therefore I really didn't care what was happening for why. Sadly this book missed the mark for me.

A real page turner - this thriller has you suspecting everybody and jumping at all dark corners and creaking doors. I didn't feel any great sympathy for any of the characters - which in a way helps, as they all came under suspicion and I could enjoy their turmoil and torment.

Best read fast, gorge on it and then move on.


Spoiler Alert!

I have foolishly thought about some of the plot and come across some rather glaring holes - don't read this bit if you have not read it BUT how on earth could Lars not have realised that Harry had died - there must have been media coverage of Erin's trial, or if that had not happened, of the actual murder?

Diana, Maddie and Sam go on a trip together as they have bonded over recent break ups. The trouble is they don’t actually know each other very well. When they lose the rental car keys, they have to stay over in a town which turns out to be where Sam’s ex lives. By the morning someone is dead and lots of things are not what they seem. This was enjoyable but I didn’t really like any of the women particularly which stopped me having any real connection with the book. The twists and turns were fun, though, Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

The Perfect Escape was an easy to read story that got a bit more fantastical and unbelievable as it progressed. Most of the twists in the story were telegraphed and it was just a case of connecting the dots. Enjoyable escapist read for a winter afternoon.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for the advance copy of this book.

Sam, Margaret and Diana take a long weekend trip to a cabin, just to get away from it all. All three are in relationship break-up mode, all for different reasons.
When they stop to refuel, the car key mysteriously vanishes, and they have to find a place to stay overnight until they can arrange for a duplicate key. But after a night out at the local tavern, one of them does not come home. When the other two report her missing, all sorts of complications arise.
Now while A Perfect Escape is an easy enough and entertaining read, it got more and more far-fetched as the book progressed. Sam is annoying, Margaret is strange and it’s a wonder Diana, who is a complete mystery, wants to spend 5 minutes with either, never mind a long weekend. I am struggling even now to remember the denouement.
Many will, I expect enjoy this book.

Sometimes we lie to others, sometimes to ourselves, mostly white lies to avoid offence or to cover up our failings. When do these lies become dangerous to all concerned? An absorbing story of friendship and love with an underlying tension. I really enjoyed this book as it twisted and turned from each person!s point of view. A great read especially the final twist!

A very twisty and dark thriller. Three friends go away for the weekend after each going through relationship breakdowns. However, car trouble forces them to stop at a town en route to their destination, and certain coincidences make them wonder if there is something darker at play. A gripping thriller with twists and turns to the very end.

Sam has recently spilt from her husband Harry. She had very little say in the decision and is understandably still very upset.
Margaret is separated from her husband, Laura but they still share their marital apartment.
Diana is also separated from Brandon who is controlling and violent.
These three become friends with Sam being the pivotal member of the group and decide to go away together for a weekend in a cabin with a hot tub.
Margaret hires a car and is driving them out of New York to Saratoga Springs when Diana insists that they stop for petrol.
The gradual unfolding of the plot and the many secrets each of the characters eventually discloses was excellent. The book twists from one if the women to another and only really in the final couple of chapters do you realise just how little of their lives we were originally shown.

This novel pulls you in from the get-go and refuses to let go until the final page. Tense, exciting and intriguing. But you have to concentrate - there's a lot going on! Indeed, at one point, one of the characters says, "This is getting too complicated." But keep going - it's worth it and anyway, chances are you won't have a choice in the matter because the story, despite being complicated at times, will pull you along. Plus, towards the end, a scene so touching it brought a tear to my eye. A true page-turner.

Three friends head out to the Adirondack Mountains for a break. They all have issues ,or impending divorces and so they all need a change of scenery. Well, of course they don't have an easy time of it and things start to go wrong. They have to stop off somewhere strange overnight they hadn't planned on. They go for a drink in a bar and well, not all of them will leave.

A good 'what on earth happened kind of novel but it didnt read as strong as some others in the genre. I couldnt tell the female characters apart sometimes which made things a little confusing at times.

I did read on to see what happened to Diana though and the story as a whole was very interesting!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story follows three friends who go on a road trip but after stopping on route and the key to the car going missing things start to take an interesting turn. One thing I liked was how the characters were described with just enough information about their lives and partners., but not so much that you got confused or felt it unnecessary information. The pace picked up towards the end with plenty of twists and turns. The chapters weren’t overly long which I personally like. I also liked the fact that any loose ends were tied up at the end of the book so there wasn’t any wondering what happened next.

A fairly enjoyable thriller once it picked up the pace. It felt rather slow at the beginning but I stuck with it and am glad.
I did work out who had done what early I into the novel. The ending was slightly unexpected and will raise moral questions which is good thing.

I liked this but I didn't love it. The plot was interesting but I did find the pacing a bit slow.

My biggest issue is that I couldn't differentiate between the two main characters Sam and Margaret - their voices were so similar that I would regularly be halfway through a chapter and forget whose perspective I was reading from. Weirdly the side characters like Alex and Lars were way more developed than the main characters.

I did think the plot was good. I actually really liked the ending, I had guessed parts of it but there were some really good surprises there too.

I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this book as I don't think it stood out in such a saturated genre but it was a good story and I did enjoy reading it.

Initially, 'The Perfect Escape' treads familiar terrain, in that it starts with three friends escaping to the Adirondack Mountains to escape their actual or impending divorces. The trip is ill-fated from the outset, with Diana, Sam and Margaret losing their car keys and having to stay in a cabin that is not on their planned route. After a night out at a bar, Sam and Margaret realises too late that Diana is nowhere to be seen but this is just the beginning of their living nightmare.

Although occasionally cliched, this latest ‘cabin in the woods’ thriller is an easy read, although none of its female cast are originally likeable, and I would definitely like to give other novels by Leah Konen a try. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this review.

A good book that I read fairly quickly. Three friends take a trip which they think is going to be a mini-break but turns out differently. A great twist which I didn’t see coming kept the story interesting.