One of my favorite authors, Mary Kubica, gave this a 5 star rating so I was really excited to get an ARC!! Thank you!
All in all this was a good story. I love a mystery book that comes along in different perspectives and bounces between time frames. I like trying to figure out what happened and put the pieces together before the book comes to it.
The main characters, the 3 girls, I can't say that I like them or that I side with any of them. But that's ok - I can still enjoy a book without caring about the characters. In fact, it helps when/if something bad happens to one of them... They've been friends for 20 years and seem to have the same dynamic as they did when they were teenage friends - one of them is the leader and the other 2 vie for her attention. They're having the same fights but over adult matters. The girls we meant to go on a trip to resolve this, but no one actually wants to talk about their issues or work anything out. They're incapable of actually talking about their thoughts and feelings. This frustrated me (as an adult woman)!!!
The mystery unravels as one woman regains her lost (blackout) memories. It was slow and frustrated at times but it had me interested. I love how it ended - not something I would have expected.

This was a good but not great book. I love reading mystery/thrillers that bounce between different perspectives. The storyline itself was good - but I just didn't connect with any of the 3 friends, and I was "over" all of their fights. It was repetitive and boring. Adding in this Marco character was interesting, it changed the vibe. There were a lot of things at work but each thing seemed to fizzle out. I did like the last chapter though. ;)

This book was just ok for me. I had a really hard time connecting with the characters. They were all supposed to be best friends but most of the time they spent going against one another. I never felt that they were truly best friends. I enjoyed the story line of one of them going misssing and the fact they had meet a stranger and that he could have been responsible for her disappearance.

I picked Girls' Night Out up because I needed a light read and was after a bit of escapism. Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke delivered on both levels.

Ashley, Natalie and Lauren have been friends forever, but the friendship has been stretched to the limit over the past 12 months. To try to save them, Ashley arranges for them all to spend a few days away from their Californian lives to head down to Tulum in Mexico.

Reading Girls' Night Out is like listening to Dr Phil analyse and explain every action of three middle-aged women who have more money than sense. Ashley is a little nervous that her purchase of a Porsche might have put her friends off-side, while Lauren can't work because she's still so distressed about her husband's sudden death a year ago. Luckily the substantial life insurance payout enables her to wallow in luxury.

Natalie just wants to escape the highly successful company that she and Ashley built together so she can spend more time with her family. Ashley doesn't seem particularly fond of her own family, so she's less willing to accept the generous buyout offer they've had from Revlon.

The writing style is very chatty and the reader isn't called upon to remember any details or think about what the motive of each character is - the writers remind you or explain it at each step.

A very relaxing poolside read.

Really loved the very real depiction of female friendship as life intervenes and we drift apart. The three female characters were each engaging in their own right but the dynamics and interplay between them was captivating. I voraciously read the book start to finish, and loved that he ending delivered. It’s a perfect page turning summer read!

Great summer beach read! Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren used to be so close in college, but due to disagreements in life and the business Natalie and Ashley co-own, they've drifted apart. Ashley invites the others on a Mexican vacation to try and resolve their differences and reconnect. But no matter how hard they work at it (or how drunk they get) they can't seem to forgive each other. Adding to their problems, there's a local guy named Marco that Ashley starts hanging out with, making the other two resentful of the time she's spending with him when the vacation was about their friendship. Something about Marco just doesn't seem right. Then on their last night of vacation, Ashley disappears. Natalie wakes up soaking wet on the beach with no memory of the night before or how she got there. Did Marco kidnap Ashley? Did Natalie hurt her best friend and business partner?
I like how the story goes back and forth before and after Ashley's disappearance to tell little clues of what happened. The description of this laid back vacation town made me want to go there also. Thank you to Liz Fenton, Lisa Steinke and NetGalley for the chance to read this great book.

Couldn’t put this book down. Read it in twenty four hours. Overall, I liked the book but had difficulty liking any of the main characters. I was also disappointed with the ending. I was hoping for more details on what happened to the main characters.

I really don't like to give bad reviews..... but , this book was just a fail for me. Shallow and whiny characters that were unlikable and really hard to warm up to added to a repetitive dialogue which in turn results in a barely readable story. I forced myself to finish the book to give a fair review. The dialogue between the three friends was redundant and just stupid. I just could not get over their their superficiality and as other reviewers mention I did not believe these three had been friends for two decades. The character of Marco was ridiculous and the ending where you find out what happened is unbelievable. It was hard to keep the three women separate in my mind sometimes and the authors hit you over the head with the arguments between the women about the Revlon deal and one of the women's husbands death by heart attack. I am surprised at all the 4 and 5 star reviews although the story line had potential and the setting was described brilliantly I would have to pass on this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and give an honest review.

I struggled with this book. 3 was definitely a crowd for this group of friends and most of the book was these women bickering back and forth about the same 2 to 3 topics. I didn't find any of the characters to be particularly likable and all of their issues seemed to be well overblown. The Marco character was horrible and added nothing but more conflict for the trio of women to argue about as if they already didn't have enough to fight about. None of the "surprises" felt like surprises to me and it dragged on and on and on. I forced myself to finish the book as I really lost interest about half way in, but at that point had committed. I would read another book by these two authors, this just was not my cup of tea.

I loved the mystery and thrill in this book! I felt the characters were well developed and also the fact that the suspense in this book kept me up way past my bedtime to read "just one more chapter". Sometimes you really never know someone as much as you may think. This book was fast paced and definitely kept my attention from the beginning, which is always a plus for me. I cannot wait to see what book is in store next from these amazing authors!

Girls’ Night Out was a delightful and fun summer read. Part psychological thriller, part drama this novel gives you a first row seat into the mysterious disappearance of Ashley while on a girl’s trip to Mexico. College friends Natalie, Lauren agree to meet Ashley in Mexico on a whim, hoping to repair damaged relationships and business agreements the week was expected to be fun and relaxing. Things take a serious turn when Ashley is missing and no one can remember the details of the previous evening. Alternating between the memories of Natalie and Lauren and between past a present, the girls race to recreate their vacation and find their lost friend. The story divulges details from troubled marriages, secrets and raw feelings as the women struggle to put hurt aside and come together for each other.

Girls’ Night Out had me eager to read and excited to turn the page. Women of all ages can relate to troubled friendships and feeling left out, which makes each of the three characters come alive to readers. Each chapter revealed new layers to three very complicated stories that were immensely intertwined. Friendships are complicated, marriages are tricky and business relationships are often sticky, but how we perceive them is unique and Girls’ Night Out did a fantastic job of showing how easy it is to “get in our head” and how quickly these details can add up to trouble. I really enjoyed Girls’ Night Out as a fun summer thriller!

Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 friends vacationing in Mexico to rekindle their friendship = 1 disappears + 1 with memory loss + 1 walked away after a fight.

What really happened the night prior??

This is my second book by the authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. The build up of the story from the beginning kept me stuck to this story. The authors had created a bubble of suspense between Ashley and Lauren who had stopped talking a year ago. I really wanted to know why they did so. Then there were continuous arguments between Ashley and Natalie regarding selling their company.

The plot kept taking those narrow twisty lanes with cobblestones where I kept tripping up wondering what was the truth between these friends. The authors did a marvellous job to bring that aura of mystery with Natalie's blackout, with wisps of memory returning back over the next few days.

The book kept going back and forth in time lines, so I had to be super vigilant of the chapter headings. Each of the girls had their own reasonings for the fights and disagreements, sorry to say but they made no sense to me. Either I am too mature or that immature!!

They could have just sat down on a weekend in a spa and hashed out their problems with each other instead of going to Mexico and dying. There was physical and mental abuse shown, and I wondered why they were defending the same men. The plot of sex addiction was also brought forth.

By the end of the book, I was so far lost, I wanted to knock the women like two coconuts clunking and tell them - get over it and look at the crap you are spouting!!

One can't obtain clarity by drinking hallucinogenic agents and visiting exotic places. One needs to sit down and search for answers deep within oneself. No shortcut to life!!

What a suspenseful read!

This is one of those books that will have you turning the pages as quickly as you can. I read the first few chapters and had to set it down due to 'adulting' but then I read the rest in one sitting because it was that good!!

They always say 'three's a crowd', right? This book explores that with 3 friends who are no longer as close as they used to be. Ashley and Natalie run a business together and used to be very close with Lauren. Something happened a year ago, that turned their friendship inside and out and Lauren doesn't really speak to either of them. However, Ashley finds the perfect spot in Mexico and invites Natalie and Lauren to go with her in hopes of renewing their friendship. All 3 women have secrets about their lives that they aren't willing to share with one another. Ashley goes missing in Mexico and that's when the secrets start unraveling. You'll just have to read the book to find out what happens!


Lauren and Natalie were very unlikeable characters to me. I absolutely loved Ashley! I loved how each chapter was written with the focus being on one character, and back and forth between the days leading up to Ashley's disappearance and after. This is a domestic thriller at its' finest!!! The last chapter was BRILLIANT. All I can say is fantastic job, ladies!! I can't wait to read any and all other books you ladies write!

Special thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing an early reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Suspenseful and emotion filled, Girls' Night Out tells of a girl's trip gone wrong from three friend's point of view. I found myself saying just one more chapter every night to find out what happens next! Liz and Lisa deliver another great easy read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
This is the first book I read from the duo of Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke and it didn't disappoint.
Girl's Night Out is a drama filled mystery. The suspense of finding out what happened to Ashley kept me flipping the pages. The relationship between the three main characters is beyond tense but when you add a strange man into the mix, the questions about what happened were nonstop. You will read the three women's points of view in the book, which was very interesting and added to the suspense.
I would recommend this book to my book friends and look forward to reading more from Liz and Lisa!

“Girls Night Out” by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke is a captivating, intriguing, intense, edgy and thought-provoking novel. The Genres for this story are Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Mystery, Suspense and Thriller.The timeline of the story is in the present and goes back to the past when it pertains to the events or characters in the story. The setting of the story takes place in Mexico. I love the way both authors vividly describe the breath-taking beauty and scenery of the setting, and landscape. This makes a perfect background for the story.

The author describes her characters as complex, and complicated. There are secrets, betrayals, lies and twists and turns. Ashley, Natalie and Lauren had been good friends for twenty years, and have grown apart. What seems to exist now is a toxic, dysfunctional, relationship riddled with anger, hostility and jealousy. Each of the three have their own significant problems. Ashley brings up the idea of having a “Girls Vacation” in Mexico, hoping that the three can work out their differences. What starts out as a promising premise, slowly turns into a nightmare.

The ancient and beautiful scenery described in Tulum Mexico has me ready to pack my bags, and book a flight. The relaxing views, or the historic architecture to explore, sounds worth the journey. What better place to be than with old friends? Originally that was Ashley’s idea to mend fences and friendships during such a vacation together. The problem is, does anyone really know everything about their friends?

After a night of drinking and arguing, Natalie finds herself on the beach, wet from the water and full of sand, with a terrible headache.Natalie doesn’t remember why she is on the beach or what happened. She goes back to her room and finds that Ashley is missing. Frantically, she goes to Lauren’s room, and both start looking for Ashley.

Both Natalie and Lauren regret their behavior and have feelings of guilt as the search for Ashley goes on. The Mexican police is called and each of the girls is questioned thoroughly. The key may be in Natalie’s blocked memories.

I love that the authors discuss the importance of friendship, honesty, loyalty, and communication. I want to hug my friends this minute, and tell them how I appreciate them. I would highly recommend this amazing novel to readers that appreciate suspense, mystery and adventure. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

This is a book about three women trying to glue their friendship when one of them goes missing. The mystery of he disapperance keeps the story going and it made for a good read.

Girls’ Night Out is a story of a friendship torn apart by something none of them could have ever controlled. Can they find their way to back to the friendship they once shared? Ashley, who jumps in without thinking is a little overbearing; Natalie, a rule-follower; and Lauren, a widow who blames Ashley for the death of her husband. Ashley plans a trip to Tulum, Mexico for the three of them…what could possibly go wrong? Read this interesting storyline to see what happens on the girls’ night out.

I feel like I most connected with Natalie as I am a rule-follower who doesn’t take a whole lot of chances.

I read and enjoyed The Good Widow by the same authors and look forward to reading more thrillers by Liz and Lisa.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy.

Who wouldn’t want to read about three friends vacationing in beautiful Mexico?! Women will be able to not only relate to the characters, but also to their relationships and complicated friendships with each other. The book has a couple suspenseful twists and turns keeping the reader guessing. I liked the book and would recommend it.

Thank you netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read this in exchange for my review.

Natalie, Ashley, and Lauren have decided to go on a trip to Mexico together to work on their friendship. There have been having arguments lately that have kept the relationship drifting apart. This trip was meant to bring them together. Will it? Natalie ends up waking up on the beach, not remembering what had happened the night before. She stumbles back to the hotel to find that Ashley has gone missing. Can Natalie and Lauren work together to find her? Can they heal their friendship?

Am I the only one who got a "Hangover" vibe in the beginning? I mean, it's not humorous, but drinking and on vacation, waking up forgetting where you are and losing a friend? All I could think about was the Hangover. Things did change when the storyline got more intense as time went on. I will say I do have a hard time following along with a multiple point of view storyline, especially one that jumps to different timelines as well. This really lost me in this story. I tend to hyper-focus on books, and keeping track of the timeframe and who's talking at the same time bothers me. With that being said, I really enjoyed the juicy friend drama scattered throughout. It was a nice edition to your typical mystery/thriller/suspense novel. In all, it was middle-of-the-line for me. This would make for a really good women book club read or best friend read. I have heard great things about their other books so I will try them out soon!

3.5/5 Stars