Overall the story concept was interesting. However, the execution was messy. The characters were unlikable. I, especially, struggled with maintaining empathy for Ruth. I found myself frustrated with her and wanting to skim over her internal dialogue which felt like they prattled on for too long. The story of the couple who owned the farm felt out of place and almost unnecessary.

They have been friends since childhood and every year they take a long weekend break to unwind and enjoy each others’ company. This year is the first since the death of Rob, so four couples have become three. As the women head to Dark Fell Barn, a remote place they’ve found on the web, the men find excuses to delay their arrival, leaving Jayne, Ruth and the much-younger Emily to have a bit of a girls’ night on Friday. When they arrive at the barn to discover no mobile signal and a road only passable by the farmer’s Land Rover, there’s one extra surprise: a note, seemingly from Rob’s wife, Edie, that puts the women on edge and the brakes on the weekend plans.

Hi ladies,

Your weekend starts here! I hope you have a great time! I didn’t come along because I know I’m not welcome. This is goodbye. I’m going away. But I wouldn’t want you to forget me.

By the time you read this, I’ll have killed one of your husbands.

E

At first, The Long Weekend seems like your average, run-of-the-mill thriller that doesn’t require anything from the reader beyond enjoying the ride. We are introduced to the three central characters – Jayne, Ruth and Emily – as they travel to Dark Fell and deal with what they find there. These women are friends by circumstance: their husbands have been friends since childhood, and the women have become part of the gang organically. As a result, they have little in common, though all are carrying their own burdens, and each has reason to believe that the letter might be more than one of Edie’s practical jokes. To compound this, the farmer who owns the barn in which they are staying is suffering from dementia, and has begun terrorising guests as everything he knows crumbles around him.


As the story progresses, alternating between multiple points of view – the three women, the farmer and his wife, Edie’s teenage daughter, Imogen – Macmillan soon makes it clear that this is not your average thriller as she pulls the carpet from under our feet on more than one occasion. Not everything is as it seems, and there is much more meat on the bones of The Long Weekend than we, as readers, originally anticipated. Suddenly we have a mystery to solve, and burst after burst of adrenaline as the revelations keep on coming. This is one of the most surprising books I have read in a long time, the kind of book that laughs in the face of your preconceptions and makes you realise that, no matter how well-read you are in any given genre, there is always an author and a book out here that will make you feel a bit less smug and reignite your love for the genre.


Macmillan’s characters pop off the page, in no small part because of the baggage they each carry. The book explores topics as diverse as childhood abuse and post-traumatic stress, dementia and the strain that having a baby can put on the marital relationship. Condensed into a single weekend, there’s hardly time to take a breath as Macmillan drives us relentlessly towards the climax. All of the clichés apply here: page-turner, edge-of-your-seat, rollercoaster; but in the end the most important thing about this novel is that it keeps us entertained from the opening page to the satisfying conclusion.


The Long Weekend is my first look at the work of Gilly Macmillan. I can say with some confidence that it definitely won’t be my last. Well-written, with a cast of characters that feel we already know and a finely-crafted mystery, it’s a fast-paced thriller that impresses and surprises at every turn. This is the domestic thriller at its finest and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The blurb definitely drew me in and on first impressions I was really intrigued. It was a bit of a slower pace then I would have liked. I found it dragged a lot and then something would happen and it would drag till the next twist which was a pity. The description of the setting was perfect and I could really imagine it in my mind. To begin with it’s the women that you get acquainted with and each of them have there own stuff going on whereas you don’t really get to know the men all that well. But really none of the characters are very likeable and there really isn’t anything endearing about them. I found the switch from character to character could be confusing at times. I did find the main aspect of the storyline a little far fetched but overall it was an ok listen.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for the opportunity to read #TheLongWeekend

The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan

When a group of friends embark on a long weekend away to a remote cabin in the hopes of having a relaxing time away, everything begins to go wrong right from the outset. As the three wives arrive at the barn to await the arrival of their husbands, a mysterious note is left for them, warning that back home one of their husbands has been murdered. Let the chaos begins....

This book was simply brilliant. The main star of the show, the plot, was well constructed by the author so that although the reader may believe they know what is going on, there is also a twist to the story that keeps us on our toes. It was a fast-paced and intense story-line that captured my attention from the first page. Alongside this, the use of the different characters and how the author explores each of their individual worries or troubles adds to the overall depth of the book. Furthermore, none of the characters are particularly likeable and, although I didn't expect myself to actually root for any of them, I was surprised to find myself wishing for all three of the wives to have a happy ending, even though it was entirely unlikely. The characters were incredibly well constructed as well, the author does a brilliant job at allowing the reader to get inside each of the characters minds so we understand the thoughts and feelings behind all of their actions. This really adds to the intensity of the drama, especially in the scenes at the barn, or with Imogen, where their terror is a huge theme.

I did, however, only rate this 4 out of 5 because unfortunately I did guess (about half-way through) who the killer was and, therefore, was just slightly disappointed at the end. Although, this was my own fault for completely over analysing this book and spoiling it for myself! I did still think that the reveal at the end was clever and there were certain aspects that did still surprise me. Overall, I would highly recommend you grab yourself a copy of The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan, you won't regret it!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I liked this book, but didn't love it. I enjoyed the fact that it kept me guessing - the ending wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be. There's nothing worse than guessing the ending, one chapter in.

I didn't think many of the characters were particularly likeable - this can be okay, but I found some of them irritating. I didn't think it was a particularly easy read, as there was no real semblance of chapters, and with the flipping POVs, you really did have to be paying attention. I appreciate that this added to the story, but for me, I found it quite hard to keep on top of things.

I enjoyed this book, but can completely understand the mixed reviews.

After reading some mixed reviews I was worried I was not going to enjoy this book, But I found it to be not too bad the plot line was clever, and had a few moments I was left on the edge of my seat with suspense.

The book does have its moments and I can't say it is in my top five best books this year but I still enjoyed the writing and the story and I would recommend it to certain friends that like this style of the book.

Couldn't put this down, the tension started almost straight away. The author writes this so well with no obvious plot lines along the way.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙂𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙣

This was my first read by Macmillan - a tense psychological thriller based on a weekend away for a group of friends and their husbands. Told through several different perspectives, including the unknown perpetrator, this was very dark in places with a creepy setting and plenty of secrets and drama.

The story was fast-paced and compelling with a well thought-out plot which should have made it a real page turner (and probably would make a great Netflix series) BUT there were literally no.. chapters. It was incredibly difficult to differentiate between perspectives/timeframes with nothing separating the book into chapters, sections or even just natural breaks. I'm guessing this is probably due to being a pre-publication review copy and I'm sure would be rectified in the final copy — but reading a book that is one big chapter of 400 pages was stressful for someone whose favourite feature in a book is short chapters, and unfortunately did take away from my enjoyment.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (3/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

I enjoyed The Long weekend, it was a twisty, well written thriller, that had me hooked almost instantly. The character development was sometimes patchy, with some characters having good development, and others not so much. With an atmospheric setting, it kept you on the edge of seat and built the story well.

I enjoyed The Long Weekend, it had twists and turns galore. I marked it down a star as it faltered a little near the end and I wasn’t entirely satisfied by the last chapter.

Loved this - beautifully written, creepy and intriguing. I was drawn in by the idea of three women locked together in a remote location with a mysterious, ominous note. Brilliant set-up, and the rest of the book more than delivered

This is a very layered mystery thriller. It starts with 3 women heading to a remote farm a day ahead of their husbands, the men of which are lifelong friends. The women don’t have the closest, nor healthiest dynamic and even the car journey there has its challenge. The husband of the couple that manage the barn they are to say in has dementia, which is making his behaviour harder for his wife to manage, and he often goes out late at night & behaves erratically. The situation takes a very dark turn from the moment the women arrive to find a courier has delivered a card, suggesting one of their husband’s recently deceased friend’s widow has exerted revenge on them, and plans to kill one of their husbands. With no mobile signal, and terrible weather no one can make contact to ascertain whether this is a hoax or something truly sinister.
There are so many twists and reveals that the story keeps you on your toes. None of the characters are particularly likeable, with whopping flaws. I did struggle to retain which wife was with which husband, which might have been just me, but it did make my reading stutter, as the scenes switched from the women at the retreat to the individual men and Eddie, the widow. The ARC had no chapters, so there was the added blur where you couldn’t tell which character was furnishing you with their point of view. Added to this, Macmillan kept you guessing which character was scheming murders, with more than one character displaying psychopathy.
You could argue some of it is rather farfetched, but the depth of each character’s flaws, their darker history and background, makes for very engaging reading. Each character develops and reveals hidden unpalatable or complex depths. So long as you’re able to run with some dubious plausibility it makes for a very entertaining and dark read. Quite atmospheric and easy to picture yourself at the remote barn amidst its isolation and exposure to the elements. Ideal escapism on a dark night.

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, would recommend....

As soon as I saw the line from the letter, I knew I had to read this book and that it woukd be wonderful., I was right. it was utterly captivating, I couldn't work out what was coming next, or who was narrating. The way the atmosphere and tension develops is genius. I never saw the ending coming, and I liked the way it wasn't a happily ever after ending. Brilliant.

Great twists and turns ..but…

By the time you read this, I'll have killed one of your husbands.

I loved the synopsis of this psychological thriller and was excited to read it. I did enjoy the characters and plot and the way it was narrated by different characters then as you got further into the story it turns around and smashed your assumptions into small pieces! I had to go back and read earlier sections to understand what I had read previously, I did think that was very clever.
In some ways I felt the second half was missing something and rushed through to the conclusion. All in all though a great book and only marked down a star for this.

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
#TheLongWeekend #NetGalley.

A twisty thriller! Very enjoyable, lots of guessing and detective work required. A great setting that made you feel you were there!

3.5⭐️
Wow! What a hot mess! This was crazy and I really don’t know what to say. This author writes a great mystery-suspense.
Can you get 4 couples together and all get a long? And what if most of them are obsessed, crazy?
Parts of this didn’t work for me and other parts were good. At times it was too much. Overkill?? There is definitely a shock factor a couple of times. Will I read another by this author? Absolutely.
Thanks Century via NetGalley.

I love when books pull out a twist that makes me go back and read parts again to check what I missed and also to check that the bait and switch actually makes sense. I really enjoyed this book and loved the ending as well. All these people are horrible and who doesn't love horrible people!

Another unputdownable murder mystery. From the very creepy setting at the start this book keeps you on your toes throughout. Excellent plot with lots of twists and turns. I liked the way it was written from different points of view especially when you were unsure which side of the story you were getting. Definitely worth a read.

A group of university friends all meet up at a remote cottage following the death of one of their group on their first holiday since the tragedy. But when none of the wives can get hold of the husbands following a threat things start to spiral. I enjoyed this thriller - it was interesting how the plot all worked itself out. It did have a lot of characters and without chapters or character names it was sometimes difficult to work out from whose point of view it was from. I loved the setting and the insight into all the couples. They all had the flaws and it was working out who was the most damaged. It was definitely a weird friendship group. Overall a good thriller with a good plot.