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.

Read this on holiday in pretty much one sitting.
Intelligently written thriller with strong characters and a great twist at the end which I didn't see coming.
Recommended.

Netgalley and publisher Penguin Michael Joseph kindly let me read an ARC in return for my honest opinion. Unfortunately I was unable to take even the slightest pleasure from reading this book and was sorely tempted not to finish it but trudged through to the end - by that time, I was actually no longer interested who the killer was after literally anyone had had a turn of being suspected. None of the characters are in the least likeable, almost all of the protagonists are really warped, lying psychos pretending not to know each other in order to further their own twisted agendas despite being closely interconnected. The story plays in a drab American backwater.

I quite enjoyed this book, and was interested to find out what happened. The main three female characters all had difficult relationships, and lots of secrets from each other, so there were lots of twists in the plot, and the ending was unexpected. However, they weren't very likeable and I couldn't differentiate between them very well, so I didn't care too much about them, or their boyfriends.

A really addictive twisting thriller where three good friends, each dealing with the mess of a break up from their marriage, plan a break away from their daily lives and husbands. After an unplanned detour and a drunken night out in a new town, the three become two as one of the women mysteriously disappears, and another becomes the lead suspect in the murder of a local man.

Excellent book that pulled me in from the start. There was enough tension to keep me turning the pages and the twist was completely unexpected.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. The story is a clever one, full of twists and surprises, and the reader ends up assuming that none of the characters is actually telling the truth. I didn't feel that the female characters had sufficiently distinctive voices, so sometimes it was difficult to follow who was speaking. In spite of that, I would recommend this book.

This was a fast paced and punchy thriller that kept me engrossed. I didn’t feel like it was particularly emotionally deep, but that didn’t matter. It was fun and kept me guessing, and I read it super quickly!

The Perfect Escape by Leah Konen


Sam's husband has just left her , so she and two friends Margaret & Diana decide to go away for a girl's weekend trip.
Things don't quite get off to a good start and they end up in a town they hadn't planned on going to. It all goes downhill from there. Big time.
I enjoyed the story and the characters , a good plot with twists you don't see coming.

A fun read for sure, but ultimately I found the twists too clearly signposted and spent much of the book wondering how they would come together - and that coming together was not quite as compelling as I would have hoped! That said, Leah Konen is clearly talented and I would certainly read more books by her in the future. This one did keep my engaged!

I loved this! Don't think I've read a book with so many twists in it, I didn't have a clue what was going on! Three friends go for a trip away together, but it starts going wrong when they lose their car key and end up having to stay over in a town they don't know. Then when one of them goes missing they start to realise that all isn't as it seems!

I'd highly recommend this book, I didn't put it down until I'd got to the end.

The front cover of this book and the description really drew me in. I felt this was going to be a great holiday read.

On the upside, the writing is easy to read and the pace is steady throughout the book. I think this will be a popular read over Christmas, when people want an easy book to plow through while the weather is chilly.

Personally, I found the number of both coincidences and twists beyond the realm of possibility. I love a good twist - it just has to be plausible. From the car keys initially going missing to where the girls stay and who they meet...it's utterly incredible. I can't say more without giving away plot points.

The characters never seem to ask very many questions. Also, none of the characters are particularly likeable. I don't mind disliking a protagonist and I especially forgive unlikeable characters where the writing is really strong (The Talented Mr Ripley as an example) and we understand why it's important that all the characters are unlikeable: it's essential to the plot. Here, I just couldn't connect with any of them.

I would certainly read another book by Konen because I like page-turning authors and she definitely has that.

Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph, NetGalley and the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the way that Konen's writing kept me engaged throughout. The way in which the plot was set up was really clever and I found that the plot twist at the end was very unexpected. As well as this, all of the characters were likeable, and I liked the way that Sam, Diane and Margret's friendships developed throughout. Overall, I would give this four stars

This is a thrilling, intense story about three women in their thirties who decide to go for a break to Saratoga Springs, following difficult breakups with their partners.
On their journey, Diana, Margaret and Sam find that everything is starting to go wrong. Originally the hired car keys become lost, followed by other items going missing, and they are forced to stay part way on the journey. When Diana fails to return to the mysterious hired rental house after a night out, the tension and pace increase dramatically.
Characters are well developed and suspicions increase as various secrets unfold, you begin to realise that some of the characters are not what they seem. The plot is twisty with a fast pace. and I became completely absorbed in the story unable to put down. With a mysterious house, several dubious characters, and too many coincidences arising, this book is a real winner.

4+

There are three members of ‘Sergeant Diana’s Lonely Hearts Club’, there’s Sam whose marriage to Harry is over almost before it’s properly started, Margaret whose marriage to Lars can only be described as ‘on the rocks’ and finally there’s Diana who is separated from husband Brandon. They set off for a perfect escape to Saratoga Springs for unwinding, relaxation, a hot tub, a glass or three of wine all designed to enable Sam the chance to accept things, embrace the acceptance and move on. However, a couple of hours into the drive it all starts to go wrong beginning with a set of car keys in Catskill, New York. Sam thinks this is serendipity but is it manipulation?

Currently there are a lot of books with ‘perfect’ in the title and some are less than perfect. However, not so with this one as it’s action packed from start to finish. We have so many debacles starting with the Great Car Key Debacle, there’s a twilight zone of exes and the moving on debacle, the who can we trust debacle and the who is the big fat liar debacle. The characterisation is very good, all the characters are interestingly flawed, some more than others, all carry baggage some of which is weighty. Emotions run high, we run the whole gamut with everything from sadness, hurt, bitterness, regret and lust. There’s plenty of tension, it’s a bit creepy at times, there are a number of shocks and the revelations keep coming and oh boy, do they keep coming!! We have duping and manipulation by the bucketload in the creation of a perfect plan with a perfect escape and one individual who has performed a major number! The twists keep coming right to the end which makes it so darn entertaining and unpredictable even to my devious mind! I do figure one thing out but that’s about it!!!

Overall, if you want an enjoyable, well written psychological thriller then look no further.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Enjoyable read. It did keep me guessing. The writing style was easy to read and I did want to keep reading.
I felt I really got to know the characters. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and quite gripping too. I liked the main characters and how they both narrated the story. The ending wasn’t as spectacular as I would have liked but the extra twist was quite clever.

Really cleverly written, this story if three friends on a weekend break that took a completely unexpected turn was a gripping read. Kept me guessing right till the end and the final twist was brilliant!