Firstly the cover for this is fantastic it immediately draws you in and makes you want to devour it! Secondly.. the premise of the story sounds so captivating I was so excited to read it!
I struggled a little with the lack of chapters but did enjoy getting to know the characters and understanding where Gilly was going in the book. I loved the location as my dad is from Northumbria so it made me feel very homely reading about all the locations and settings and imagining them all. This did keep me entertained but I found it slightly far fetched at times but overall a good read I’d still recommend!

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was the first book that I have read from this author. Whilst I liked the story and thought it was well written, I was confused by it having no chapters and the way the story kept changing. Was this the style or just the ARC not being fully edited, was what I thought! I kept having to read paragraphs again to see whose story it was about.This lessened my enjoyment for a lot of the book and for this reason I deducted a star in my rating.
In the last part of the book however, the pace picked up and with twists and turns, the unravelling of the plot was exciting and kept me interested. Overall 3.5 stars

I know this setting has been done many times before - remote house, no phone, bad storm - but I still found it to be a good page turner with a different plot. The lack of chapters is going to be like marmite, but I personally found it a reading challenge and soon got used to the constant changing from one character to another. As the story progressed it became a real domino effect of one disaster after another and I liked the individual stories within it. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century for letting me read and review this book.

3.5 stars

When three friends arrive at the barn they gave booked for a long weekend ahead of their husbands, there is a letter waiting for them that threatens to ruin their lives, not just their weekend away. With no phone signal and a storm incoming, the three friends all try and come up witht he best way to get themselves out of the situation, without much success! They all have their own secrets and issues that the others don't know about, but their common is to find out if their husbands are ok.
There is also a thread running throughout narrated by the unknown character who has set the whole thing up for their own ends.

The plot for this story was interesting enough and the women were all realistic characters, I did start to get a bit fed up of the mystery character though. I think they were kept secret a bit too long and the lack of chapters made it feel little bit relentless.

Is your husband safe? ★★☆☆☆

Ruth, Jayne and Emily arrive in Scotland for a long weekend, already tired of small talk and ready for their husbands, who gave all been delayed, to arrive. However when they get to the lodge there is a letter waiting for them. A letter claiming one of their husbands is about to be murdered. The letter is seemingly signed by Edie, one of the original members of the friendship group who was widowed in a terrible accident the year before.

With no phone signal and an incoming storm, the three women gradually start to panic in different ways. Ruth turns to alcohol, ex-soldier Jayne starts to experience PTSD blackouts, and Emily, the much younger newcomer, wants to try and walk to the farm in the storm. Is it an empty threat or are their husbands really in danger?

The plot is interesting particularly as we don’t know whether all or none of the husbands might be involved and it keeps us guessing until the last moment. The women are all complex characters with relatable problems and we root for them as they gradually open up and share their worries and secrets.

However, the killer comes across as an underdeveloped and slightly comic book villain and their fixation on Imogen is odd and erratic. There is also a real disjunct between this point of view and the true identity of the killer. Whilst we never truly know one another such an unhinged personality could not hide successfully behind any of the faces of the group.

A light thriller which lacks a developed villain.

It isnt often a book makes you take a very large intake of breath followed by a loud 'Oh My God' but this one did!! My son came rushing into my bedroom to check i was ok lol. What a book! I loved it and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen. My only downside was there was no chapters and I had to keep rereading bits as I didn't realise it was a different person but apart from that really enjoyed it

I was immediately drawn in, and right from the start I could tell it was going to be one I enjoyed. However, as I read I realised there were no chapters! Because of this I felt a bit confused at times as the perspectives chopped and changed with no warning.
The books is basically spilt 50/50 and takes place on the Friday and Saturday of a couples holiday.
I Enjoyed the second half( Saturday) so much more flew through that in a day, I just couldn't put it down.
I, like the book kept chopping and changing as to what I thought was going on. It's very gripping and takes you on a wild goose chase as everyone seems to have a secret and is an untrustworthy narrator. I did guess some parts but was completely shocked by others. I think if it wasn't for book having no chapters it would have been more enjoyable read as at times it felt like a bit of a slog, specially part one.
So summed up I really enjoyed it, and would recommend if you love a slow burn. My rating is somewhere between 3.5 and 4⭐

I found the story really interesting but hated the layout, and that's why I had to knock a star off.

I enjoyed the relationships between the wives and loved that everything isn't always as it seems, people put up a front for others. There were also many twists and turns, and most were believable for "real-life". The pace was good, so it kept me interested throughout.

My biggest issue was the layout - there were no chapters. Plus, it switched from one pov to another between paragraphs, which meant I had to reread sections to figure out who was talking.

Overall, a very entertaining read delving into the secrets people keep close to their chests along with a murder mystery main plot. I can't wait to read more from Gilly.

The long Weeken did not live up to my expectations

The constant jumps between characters, without any indiction who is speaking gave me a headache and I did not enjou reading this

What an amazing book . The most tense and suspenseful book I think I’ve ever read . The group of friends along with the accommodation family certainly had their individual stories to tell and it was extremely well written all the way through this novel . I cannot rate this book highly enough and will definitely be recommending it to my friends and I can’t wait to read more from this author

This predominately psychological suspense explores toxic relationships and the resultant emotional damage. It features several viewpoints, but many are unreliable narrators, and it leaves the reader wondering who to believe. The story's structure adds to the reader's confusion as there are no distinctive chapter headings or indications that a different person is speaking before they do.

The story's ethos is an addictive medley of poignant and suspenseful. All the characters are believably flawed, and many are not likeable. The claustrophobic settings add to its unpredictability. The pacing is slow, but it's still a page-turner with a dramatic conclusion.

I received a copy of this book from Century Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I struggled at first as I wasn't sure who was narrating and when. I soon settled into a very tense, tight thriller where all kinds of secrets come to the fore. You think you know your friends? Think again.

I hadn't read one of the author's books before and, although the premise of this one sounded brilliant, I have to admit I didn't enjoy it much as I expected to.

The novel is about three couples who rent an isolated barn for the weekend. The men are old friends, the wives less so. After the husbands are all strangely delayed, the wives then find an extremely disturbing message from a "mutual friend" advising that she has killed one of their husbands. The discovery of this note sparks a torrid of suspicion, hidden lies and deceit.

I usually love the 'friends stranded somewhere secluded in peril' plot, but, while there is no doubt this was very cleverly plotted and thought out, it fell slightly flat for me. Possibly I have read too many of these type of books recently, but I couldn't warm to any of the characters and I found myself skipping parts.

The story is told from multiple view points (including a mystery unnamed person), but these are separated only by paragraphs, not different chapters. So, for me, at the beginning especially, this was confusing and I kept having to try to re-establish what was happening and who was 'speaking'.

The mystery element did work well and I was keen to find out the identity of the unknown narrator, which kept me reading.

Although the style of writing with the numerous narrators separated only by paragraphs wasn't for me, I would read another of the author's books in the future.

Thanks to publishers Random House UK, Cornerstone and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book - I’d say overall it was a decent read but I wasn’t completely captivated - I think maybe as I’ve read quite a few books recently with the ‘group of friends go on a trip and end up in danger’ theme.

I liked the writing style, I liked the good level of detail and there were definitely a few twists concealed that I wasn’t prepared for. However, I did get a tad confused with the storyline at points and also felt that the pace was unnecessarily slow here and there.

Not one of my favourite books but a book that is intriguing in places.

Big thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What's the book about?

Three couples decide to rent a barn for a long weekend of relaxation in the remote countryside. Their trip goes horribly wrong when the women who arrived ahead of the men find a devastating note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered. There is no internet or cell service, so they can't check on their spouses either. Friendships are shattered as the situation escalates and secrets are gradually revealed.

My thoughts:

It took a while for me to get into the flow of the book, especially since there were no chapters or breaks/segways to different settings. I enjoyed the buildup and the foreboding atmosphere that pervaded every situation. The lovely countryside landscape descriptions and the very believable flawed characters were highlights for me..

Three couples plan a weekend away together as they do every year but at the last minutes the men all have excuses as to why they cannot travel on the Friday but that the wives should go on ahead as planned. When they reach the remote barn conversion they are greeted by a note from Edie to state that she is going to murder one of the men and that she will never be seen again.

What follows missing a thriller that leaves you not knowing who to suspect from one minute to the next. It took me a little while to get into the style of writing but once I did I could not stop reading.

Three couples are planning a long weekend away. The fourth couple have been hit by tragedy. With the three husbands delayed, the wives set off to their rural and remote house for the weekend. On arrival they receive a gift with an awful note saying that the writer has killed one of their husbands. Dismissing it as a joke, the women decide to enjoy the weekend, but things soon begin to become very sinister. Twisty and turning, this is a gripping read.

The Long Weekend was a good story that I read over a weekend. What started off as a seemingly ‘run of the mill’ wild weekend story soon became something more intriguing as the stranded wives start to fear for their husbands and you start to find out about their backgrounds and their relationships.

The characters were not particularly likeable, in fact other than the daughter they are all pretty unpleasant. However I felt that this gave the story a different edge. You weren’t really rooting for any of the main characters, yet still I was compelled to see how it all played out. The story is told from multiple points of view not only the main characters but also a mysterious third voice who is clearly unhinged. There was also a third strand to the story which was that of the farmer and his wife trying to make a living against the odds which was quite moving.

I found this quite a clever twisty story. The numerous unreliable narrators did get a little confusing at the start, but it soon became clear. I have a read a few of the novels by Gilly Macmillan and have always found them to be very enjoyable and this was no exception

Gilly Macmillan never disappoints with her stories. Not only is this tale tense but keeps the reader guessing whose point of view it is written from until quite late in the book. The relationship between the three women at the Northumbrian holiday let is not that of three great friends. They are the wives of long-time friends and with a night without their partners there smoothing the way there is much tension and lack of empathy. A nasty welcome to their stay fractures what was supposed to be a fun weekend from the start.
Well written, cleverly crafted with strong characterisation it kept me riveted.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Gilly Macmillan/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

“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.”

My thanks to Random House U.K. Century for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Long Weekend’ by Gilly Macmillan in exchange for an honest review and for an invitation to take part in their blog tour.

This is the third novel I have read by Gilly Macmillan in recent years and again found it a gripping psychological thriller that successfully combines a number of plot lines.

I always feel that this kind of thriller is best approached ‘cold’; so just a few details. Three women arrive at an isolated Northumbrian farm for a weekend getaway. Their husbands will be joining them in the morning. Yet a package awaits them, accompanied by the above unsettling note.

Naturally there’s no phone signal, no access to the internet, and a storm about to hit. The situation quickly spins out of control as they try not to panic while ascertaining who wrote the note (the recently widowed member of their group with a reputation for pranks is the main suspect) and which husband (if any) is the target.

Of course, they do daft things like wandering around the desolate landscape seeking mobile phone reception and the like.

While the couples appear to be a tight knit group of friends there are undercurrents and secrets that come to the fore during the events of the weekend.

Macmillan uses the narrative style of swapping often between various points of view though only one, initially unidentified first person perspective, is clearly up to serious shenanigans. Trying to discover the identity of that voice added to the ongoing tension.

Yes, at times things were rather over the top, but psychological thrillers often have a touch of the Grand Guignol about them. It is part of their escapist appeal.

Overall, I felt that Gilly Macmillan did well in building up the tension during ‘The Long Weekend’ and delivering on shocks and twists to the point I could not stop reading as I had to discover the outcome. It’s basically what I seek in this kind of clever thriller.