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Book review


The long weekend
By Gilly MacMillan
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By the time you read this I will have killed one of your husbands…

What an intro! Literally couldn’t put this book down, an exciting fast paced story which had me completely hooked right until the end.

Ruth, Jayne and Emily head off to Dark Fell Barn for a weekend getaway with their husbands arriving the following day. The note they find tells them otherwise. The weekend unravels before them with some twisted turn of events that shocked me and had me gripped.

I loved the twists en-route which I did not see coming at all. So much was happening at once waiting for it all to come crashing together.

A fabulous read for anyone who loves a twisty thriller. One of my fav reads of the year and a wonderful way to finish 2021! Grateful for the opportunity to read and review before publishing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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You hit the ground running with this one. The story is told from a number of perspectives which can be confusing, especially as the book is one long chapter. The only downside to that is there is no natural place to take a break (if you wanted one)

This is a well written story that keeps you thinking all the way through. There is even a ‘hang on a minute!’ moment as the story unfolds.

I would recommend this to others and thank NetGalley and Random House UK for this ARC.

3 women stranded in a remote barn with no phone reception or internet are the basis for this pacy mystery thriller. A note threatening to kill one of their husbands means no escape from the twisting tentacles of the plot pulling them and the reader further in.
Great page turner and highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the book in exchange for an honest review.

A dark, atmospheric and tense psychological thriller, as a group of couples embark on a weekend trip at an isolated farm. This is a well plotted story that would make a great film or TV show. It explores old friendships, relationships and group dynamics, while examining love, betrayal and resentment. There were plenty of plot twists and red herrings to keep you guessing whodunnit.

The lack of chapters and the multi point of view characters without signposts made it quite difficult to start with but this was done to hide the identity of the murderer, and as the story unravelled it was easier to identify the narrators, who kept me guessing until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the digital ARC to review.

This is a solid thriller of a book about 3 friends who are travelling to a remote cottage in Northumberland where the plan is, they will be joined the following day by their husbands. They’re an interesting trio; brought together by their husband’s friendships so, with little in common and all of whom have secrets.

The story gathers momentum as strange things occur and there’s twists and turns aplenty.

The only reason I’m scoring a 3 Good Read as opposed to a higher score is, it’s a challenge to get through, purely down to the lack of clear chapters and without the clarity of breaks in chapters and/or characters, it’s really hard to work out where you are in the storyline. I’m hopeful this is a preview hiccup and that it will be sorted prior to publication as it’s a big obstacle for the reader.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House U.K., Cornerstone for the opportunity to preview.

Three women, Emily, Jayne and Ruth go on a long weekend at Dark Fell Barn. Their respective partners will join them later. The barn is an isolated spot miles from anywhere. With no phone coverage or internet. When they receive a note left by a by a motorcycle courier when they arrive that shocks them. It reveals that one of their husbands has been murdered. They believe that the note is a hoax at first and just hope that their husbands arrive. But without contact to the outside world tensions run high. And weird things start to happen. Each individual women with their different circumstances have secrets to hide and who is telling the truth?
Thank you, Random House Cornerstone, for a copy of The Long weekend by Gilly Macmillian. Although I like the idea of this storyline and I struggled with this book throughout. I couldn’t connect to it due to the several point of views and there was no separation between them and no chapters. I felt I was just reading one long paragraph of one person and not the several different characters in the book. I didn’t find the book flow very easily and because of that it did not enjoy it as much as I wanted too. Or it would have been a great tense thriller. 3 stars from me.

This book is a real page turner once you have established where the characters sit in the story. Mixed writing with some written in the first person and some in third person. Those who go away on couples weekends could probably relate to the complex relationships.

Would read this author again.

A rollercoaster of a story! This book moves at pace, there is a lot going on at once a
& at times it can be hard to keep up, saying that it is worth the ride… lots of twists & turns, you think you know what’s going on and who the culprit is and then there’s another curve ball!

Three friends are on route to a secluded weekend break to be joined the following day by their husbands, however when they arrive they are in for a shock which triggers a series of events that impact each of them.

I enjoyed this book, however struggled with the jumping around between character narrative (no chapters) it all merged (this is why I rated 3 & not 4 stars)

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for the digital ARC,

I enjoyed reading this book, the baseline plot, the twists that came when you least expected them, the characters that developed as you read through the pages.
It was unusual that there were no chapters and initially I was confused but I think the lack of seperation between what was happening all added to the intrigue and certainly kept me focused.
I look forward to reading books by Gilly Macmillan in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Random House UK, Cornerstonefor an ARC in return for an homest review.

The twists and turns in this book kept me gripped. Just when you thought you had worked it out, it all went in another direction. Gripping and could not put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Three couple friends decide to go on a long weekend. Until the husbands of the couples decide to not come along until later after the women. So, the three women, Jayne, Ruth, and Emily, arrive at their off grid destination to find a letter and parcel waiting for them. The letter says that one of their husbands is now dead, and signed by E. They assume it’s from Edie, a female from another couple friend whose husband, Rob, died earlier in the year, so naturally wasn’t on the weekend getaway. The women try to get a phone signal but are unable to. That one letter sets off a whole chain of events, and secrets are exposed and exacerbated.

This was a great story, with lots of characters to familiarise with. There were lots of secrets, twists, and turns throughout the whole story. And we don’t find out the perpetrator until quite far in the book, and I was unable to guess. There were also lots of smaller strands of stories interwoven with the main story, which gave it depth. Overall, a great story.

This is a dark, fast paced and atmospheric thriller that will raise your heart rate and keep you guessing because there is so much going on.

There are several unreliable narrators, who chop and change so regularly without a new chapter or line break you have to really concentrate on who they are. Include an isolated barn, no phone signal, a terrible storm and a threatening letter and you have the makings of an intriguing read.

If you are looking for a gripping psychological read then look no further.

4 star rating

I won’t précis this book as it has been done by better writers than me! Suffice to say it’s a psychological whodunnit!

The initial storyline sounded so promising, a weekend away for three couples, a last minute cancellation by the guys and a letter for the girls on arrival saying that by the time they read it one of their husbands would be dead!

To say it’s cliched is an understatement! They are in a remote location, they have no phone signal, there’s a terrible storm…… and so it went on. It was just too unbelievable for me.

I also found the fact that there were no chapter headings, it just jumped from narrator to narrator and I had to try and work out who was doing the talking each time - and it jumped from person to person frequently.

It didn’t hold my attention at all and I only finished it because I felt obliged to.

Sorry, just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for an advanced reader copy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I have not previously read anything by this author before and I have to say I am very pleased I have now. The beginning was a bit slow and I did wonder if I would stick with it, but then it picked up and then was completely riveting . The female characters were well drawn and I found myself identifying especially to Ruth. Full of twists and turn, it was atmospheric and thrilling. I loved the ending too - fitting and complete. I shall definitely look out for Gilly Macmillan’s other books.

When three couples set off for a weekend away in a remote barn each of the husbands drops out, leaving their wives to fend for themselves when a snowstorm hits and they have no phone connection. Upon arrival at their destination a letter awaits, informing them that one of their husbands is about to die. So far so dramatic but from then on the story just didn't hold my interest partly because I found it rather far-fetched. In addition it wasn't an easy read as it jumped about so much with no chapter separations. It was also irritating trying to keep up with the different points of view. Nevertheless I did read to the end. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review The Long Weekend.

Bit of a slow burner for me, and never quite got me hooked. Too confusing with no chapters and jumping from one character to another. I usually love her books but this one was just not for me at all. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Three couples were heading off for a long weekend in a converted barn. However, one by one the husbands drop out, and message their wives that they would follow them to the barn to next morning.
On arrival at the barn, the 3 wives discover a note left for them by another friend of theirs who was not joining them on the weekend getaway. The note informs them that one of their husbands is now dead at the hands of the letter writer. Is this for real? Is it a sick joke? The 3 women don't know what to think.
We follow the 3 women in both their thoughts and actions, as paranoia & panic takes hold during the evening & into the night.
I enjoyed this book, but did find it a little confusing at times. I kept getting the characters mixed up for some reason, and forgot who was married to whom. Despite this, I would recomend it to anyone who loves a bit of suspense & mystery.

I really wanted to love The Long Weekend but it was far too much of a slow burner for me. The book jumps all over between characters and sometimes it’s hard to work out who’s point of view you are currently reading, especially as there are no chapter separations. I found this strange and slightly hampered the reading experience for me. Too slow going without any real action only happening in the last 10% of the book so it’s only 2 stars from me. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House and the author for the chance to review.

This was a very twisty, somewhat dark and unsettling read.

When I read the premise of this book, I was excited. Three women plan to spend time away with their husbands at a retreat however their husbands are not able to come until the second night. When they arrive they are greeted by a bottle of champagne and a note saying "By the time you read this, one of your husbands will be dead".

What's not to love?

My only concern with novels such as these is that the characters either make or break the book. When there are so few characters like there are here, they really need to stand out and they definitely do here.

I didn't find any of them particularly likeable but that somehow added to the story!

It was a really enjoyable read and thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I've really enjoyed a lot of Gilly Macmillan's previous books, but unfortunately this one didn't quite hit the spot for me.

Three women - ex-army Jayne, Ruth, a doctor, and Emily, the youngest and newest to the group - are connected via their husbands, old friends since childhood. There was a fourth couple, Rob and Edie, but Rob recently died in tragic circumstances. A planned long weekend in a remote country location goes a little awry when all the men are held up for one reason or another, and when the women arrive at the converted barn they have booked, they're in for an unwelcome surprise... and panic swiftly ensues.

The setting - the isolated, ominously named Dark Fell Barn - was very atmospheric, particularly the "lost in the storm" parts, and I enjoyed the sections concerning the owners of the barn, farmers John - slipping inexorably into dementia - and Maggie.

The "husbands" have very generic one-syllable names - Mark, Paul, Rob (honourable exception: Toby) - which for me made it initially hard to remember which was which, especially as we don't really meet them for quite a while but only hear about them. The women did have distinct personalities and issues (though I couldn't help but see the missing Edie - who all the men are or were at one point in love with - as looking like anything other than the Desperate Housewives character of the same name).

I'm not sure why the plot never really grabbed hold of me - plenty happens in it, and I had no idea how it would turn out - but somehow it just didn't and I found it dragged a bit. However, I'll certainly read another book by Gilly Macmillan in the future as I've loved her previous work.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.