Thanks to Gilly and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Long Weekend before the publication date.

Since her teenage years as the only girl at boarding school, Edie has always been a siren, able to attract every boy to her. Known to be mischievious, some of her tricks were nasty with serious consequences for those on the receiving end.
Now widowed with a teenage daughter, she still has that ability to draw in the male population, pulling their strings like a puppeteer.

Three couples are booked to attend a long weekend at the remote Dark Fell Barn, which is owned by John and Maggie Elliot.

Jayne and Mark are former army intelligence officers.
Ruth is a doctor, married to Toby, an art history professor.
Emily is the newcomer, 10 years younger than the other wives and married to Paul, a wealthy business man.

All 3 men have known Edie since their boarding school days.
Within the days before the gathering, each has declared a commitment on the Friday and will not join the wives until Saturday.

Arriving at the barn, there is a gift and a letter from Edie waiting for the wives. In it, she says that one of the husbands will die.
Is it one of Edie’s bad taste jokes or is it serious?
With no phone connection and no method of transport, the women are stranded.

This is a well written book which had me guessing to the end. Gilly has created a creepy atmosphere throughout as the story unfolds and exposes the secrets which each of the couples has.

This was a very clever thriller with some interesting twists at various points in the story, Emily, Ruth and Jayne are supposed to be having a weekend break along with their husbands who are longtime friends however each of the men have an issue that prevents them leaving on the first day so the women go ahead with the plan that the men will catch them up the next day. Their destination is a remote barn conversion some distance from the farmhouse where they had to park, upon arrival they are horrified by a note claiming one of their husbands will be dead before tomorrow however a big storm and lack of phone signal leave them unable to contact anyone and problems between the women slowly escalate. I loved the multiple points of view on this as the various characters fell apart as the story developed and the setting was authentic although hard to mentally picture at times. There’s plenty of flaws among the characters and the story weaves together well leading to a very satisfying conclusion. 9/10

The combination of secrets held, isolated and wild-weathered locations and the chance that at least one of the men has been murdered all add up to a great read. The descriptions of the countryside, the horrendous weather and subsequent flooding and the isolation of the barn from other people, from phone signals and from each other are chilling to the bone and the mystery of who, if anyone, has actually died keeps the suspense running to the last few chapters. My only criticism would be that the middle sections slowed the pace considerably and it too a while for the story to pick up again.

ayne, Ruth and Emily are heading to a remote barn in Northumberland for a weekend away. They should have their husbands with them but at the last moment each of them was called away and promised to make the trip to the barn the following day. Once the women arrive at the farm responsible for running the barn they realise how isolated the place is. There's no direct road to the barn, the farmer has to drive them there in a four wheel drive. Phone reception is non-existent and there's no landline. Combined with this a storm is on the horizon.

When the women arrive at the barn they find a letter and gift addressed to them all.

The content of the letter causes a host of reactions from the women in their need to find out if it's content is real or a hoax and if their husbands are safe.

This is an extremely well written thriller which has you jumping to conclusions which then come crashing down as the story progresses. None of the three women are particularly likeable and as the story develops we discover that they all have secrets. Initially we are lead to believe that the women are friends, slowly we come to understand that they are friends simply because of their husbands life-long friendship.

The bleakness of the landscape, the remoteness of the barn and the encroaching storm, combined with some local folklore really add to the sense of menace. You can really feel the terror the women must feel, along with a complete sense of hopelessness.

I loved the sound of this book. However I really struggled to get into it. The characters did not stand out for me, and what is with the lack of chapters ? Call me old fashioned, but I think there is a reason we have chapters in books. If they are managed correctly they can add excitement to a book, I know I often think I'll just read another chapter, even though it's really late, but I am so into the book I am reading I want to just read another one, with the format with this book, I didn't know when to stop reading, so I stopped when I wasn't grabbed, and found it hard to restart again. Sorry this was not the book for me, hope others enjoy it more.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This book I though was a bit confusing at times, it seemed to jump from one person to the other. Everyone has their own pov which was great but with no chapters I found this a bit odd. It dosnt take it away from the book as it was absolutely brilliant. Great storyline and the characters where brilliant. I look forward to reading more from this author. Definitely a 5 star read.

I really enjoyed this, and read it quite quickly because I couldn't put it down. The author had me fooled for quite a while, and the story is absolutely packed full of twists and turns that I didn't expect at all.

This was a really good dark and atmospheric novel. It is a bit of a slow starter but keep going. Loved it. Highly recommended xx

This book has so many twists! It is a real page-turner, with so much going on with all the characters. The suspense is kept up all the way through the book. The ending was quite melodramatic, and all the questions were answered.

Well paced psychological thriller that kept me guessing.

The setting was great with the location almost being used as another character. The plot and characters are well written.

Thoroughly enjoyable and unpredictable read.

This was a very dark and twisted read that really took off once we got to the Sunday part of the story.

I found the Saturday part a little confusing as I thought the narrator was someone else... Not sure if that was the intention though?

Would recommend.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion

A group of friends are spending a long weekend at an isolated barn conversion booked by Jayne. The idea is for them all to have a relaxing break but none of their husbands arrive. A letter does arrive to them that have been delivered by a courier. It tells them that one of their husbands is dead. Is this a cruel trick or is it true? Missing this year this year is Edie, who was the glue holding them together. Has she sent them the message? On a really stormy night and two of the women try to get down to the farmhouse below. The owner of the Barn does not want them there as his illness is getting worse but can he help them when they get lost? This is a frightening situation that they are all in. The story makes you feel all the tensions that they all have. The narrative starts to be told by the murderer himself and who it is a real surprise. Edie’s daughter is in real danger from the person she has always trusted.
This is an amazing read that is told with real tension and the description of the stormy night makes it all realistic and frightening. You can make up your own mind about the murderer. Was he calculating and cruel or did he have a mental problem?

This is deliciously tense and twisty. Very clever!

Felt the climax spiralled out of control in a rambling, strange way, but it never allows the tension to drop, definitely worth a read!

This is one of those books that I'm finding hard to review!

I found it very hard to get engaged in the first half of the book and at times it was slightly confusing as more characters were introduced and different POV were added however it defiantly picked up the pace when the story moved away from the barn and the characters returned home.

Would of loved to have had more of the characters of John and Maggie and their plight as having personal experience of a loved one with Lewy Bodies Dementia, this would have really made the book for me and brought more awareness to the condition.

There are a lot of layers to the story that unravels as the story progress with lots of red herrings to boot.

Three women arrive for a weekend getaway at an isolated countryside retreat. They only have one night to spend together before their husbands arrive – surely nothing can happen in that time? Well, they’ve no phone reception, the weather is horrific and someone they thought was a friend has left a note that has put the beejesus in them (you’d feel the same way if you received that letter). Quite quickly they realise they’re stranded and as unhappiness and fear sets in, so too do the tiny fractures of their friendship, all too easily broken. Dark Fell Barn no longer feels like an idyllic place to relax, it’s become a prison. Most of the group have been friends for a lifetime but someone’s decided their place in the unit isn’t enough… and they want more. You’ll jump from one suspect to another as Gilly’s tale is gradually unravelled until that oh so satisfying conclusion. If you haven’t read any of her books, I strongly recommend starting.

Gripping, unpredictable, engaging and completely impossible to put down.
Just some of the ways I’d describe this book. I have loved how it has been written and have been completely caught up in the pages. I have loved the characters and the way this is written. Definitely a book I’ll be recommending.

I stayed reading this book until well past 3am its just an amazing read full of surprise and intrigue .

An excellent book to read. There were some good twists and turns along the way and much of this was unpredictable. Thank you for the chance to read this one, Netgalley.

#TheLongWeekend #NetGalley
I really loved Gilly's books. I wait for them for a year to read a new book. This book is great. Loved it's suspense. Definitely tell my everyone about this one. Read it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone Century for giving me an advance copy.

"The Long Weekend" is a brilliant page turner of a thriller. The narrative is delivered by different characters throughout the book and at times it is not clear who the narrator is. This adds to the tension. How Gilly Macmillan came up with such a convoluted tale is beyond me but I am grateful that she did. Many of the characters lie at different times, plus there is a man with dementia and an alcoholic to confuse matters further. The characters are interesting and the settings, especially Dark Fell Barn, are atmospheric. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.