The Girls Weekend (unforgivable to have left off the apostrophe!) is a stand-alone thriller by a new author to me, but one who has written several other contemporary fiction novels. It was perhaps a mistake to read another Friends Reuniting Locked Room type mystery so soon after The Guest List, as this suffers by comparison, although I find it interesting that in that book I didn’t mind all the characters being awful, but here the unlikeability, especially of the narrator, did bug me.

June Moody, an English professor at a smalltown California community college, is shocked to receive an invitation from her old college frenemy Sadie, to a reunion weekend at her lavish Washington home. Now a hugely successful children’s author, and married to June’s former boyfriend, Sadie seems to have it all, and June refuses to go, until her boyfriend dumps her and her best friend Em persuades her that the trip to catch up with their other friends, crazy pregnant Amy and rebellious cannabis-seller Kimiko. After a drunken first night, they wake with sore heads and hazy memories to discover that Sadie is missing - and that they each have a motive to want her dead.

This is all told in first person present (yuck) from June’s point of view, so I was surprised that the author would make her so unpleasant. She’s prickly, resentful and jealous, quick to shame others, with some really dodgy ideas about mental illness, which she trivialises at every turn. Early on she condones a student who wants to write a bullying story about a classmate being a cannibal, without even changing the name, which June thinks is fine as the victim is popular and so somehow deserves it. She’s barely arrived at Sadie’s house when she’s agreeing to meet up with Ethan the husband after midnight.

The other friends aren’t much better - they get drunk and trash their so-called friend’s dressing room because someone spiked their drink and supposedly released their inhibitions. Decent people just wouldn’t do that. There’s a spoiled teenage daughter whose life has apparently been ruined by the series of books and movies about her namesake, her good looking older boyfriend and a mysterious gardener hiding a secret of his own. I try to avoid amnesia plot lines, as they’re just so annoyingly contrived but didn’t read the blurb carefully enough before requesting this. This hasn’t helped change my mind about them.

I was rather disappointed by the rather “meh - is that it?” ending. There weren’t enough suspects so when the perpetrator is finally revealed you’re not all that surprised - I was hoping for more of a twist. It’s all a bit convenient and everyone’s happy ending is nicely spelled out in the epilogue - surely that would throw in a last minute twist? Nah, she plays it straight.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. The Girls’ Weekend is published on August 11th.

This was good!

The Girls Weekend was one of those suspenseful books that kept me up at night. I loved the characterization--the author threw in several personality types to make it more enjoyable. Even though there were five college friends who got together, t he fact that two of the girls who were always competing against each other in school, and only one ended up living the life of luxury--finding the success they both wanted added another intriguing element. The tension between the characters was electrifying.

I loved what the author did with this book and I highly recommend it!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc of The Girls Weekend. While I enjoyed this book there is something missing that I can't pinpoint.. Perhaps i'm in a thriller reading slump. I did like this author's writing style - I found it a little predictable but I read a lot of thrillers so its sometimes hard to fool me!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie's birthday is approaching and she invites her college friends to join her for the weekend at her San Juan Islands home. June wants to see her friends, but is hesitant to see Sadie, as she had a crush on Sadie's husband.

June agrees to join in and the trip starts of a little rocky, but add in a little booze and fun, they relax and see to have a great time...

That is until they wake up the next day, and Sadie is missing. None of them have any idea where she is, or even what happened the night before. They have no memory and start to think they were drugged. Everyone's a suspect.

This one kept me guessing until the end!

A fun girls weekend with old friends turns into a nightmare when one of the five girls, Sadie, disappears one night leaving a trail of blood in her wake. Unfortunately, the friends' recollection of what occurred that night is spotty. They all feel like they were drugged, because they only recall bits and pieces of what occurred that night (though for some reason none of them decided to go get a drug test). How do you figure out the truth when you can't remember anything? How do you know who to trust?

I am usually not a fan of unreliable narrator stories, but this one more inventive than most. The friends had not spent time together in many years, and all of them had a motives to harm Sadie. To be honest, after reading how Sadie treated her friends, I don't really understand why any of them would have agreed to go to her home for this girls weekend. However, this made for a lot of tension.

Spoiler alert: I actually thought that based on the type of person Sadie was portrayed as that she had faked her own death. I was wrong. Her body was discovered and the twists and turns really became to pick up.

This story is told through June Moody, who had plenty of motives to kill Sadie (Sadie is a more successful writer than June; is very wealthy; and is married to the man that proposed to June many years ago - Sadie basically has June's life), and quickly becomes the police's prime suspect. She is determined to piece together what occurred that night based on her bits of memory and what others remember. Once the friends start to work together a bit, they develop a strong theory of what happened that night, which leads to the ultimate climax.

All the twists and turns kept me captivated. It was hard to put down. I did feel like the end was a bit anti-climactic, but it was an overall thrill-ride. The epilogue was nice but meh. I kept wishing that the author would tell us if June Moody took this girls weekend experience to finally become the successful writer she always wanted to be. I would have preferred that epilogue over the "who loves who" ending. I really enjoyed the book overall though, and it made me think twice about planning the girls weekend I want to do with my college roommates next year.

Five friends (people) get together for the weekend, and when someone goes missing everyone is a suspect...
Unfortunately I can't make it sound any more interesting than that.


This is a fast and interesting enough read.
I will say I did not predict the ending, which was a nice change, however, that doesn't mean the twist was very good.
This "who done it" genre is tough to write and while I did finish this book in record time, there are many other thrillers that are better.
While I would not necessarily recommend this book, I did enjoy it... enough.
Its just forgettable.

The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman is a "locked-in" style mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie or Lucy Foley. Between partying-induced amnesia, a remote location, and a girl's weekend away from it all, this one reads more like a Hollywood Blockbuster than a classic mystery novel.

The concept is intriguing, and the author does a wonderful job hooking the reader with a typical whodunit plot. Although a slow-burn story at its heart, the one has well-developed characters, strong writing, and a lot of twisty surprises to keep the reader wondering who the killer is and why he/she decided to take a life.

The Girls Weekend is the perfect starting point for anyone interested in softer mystery novels that are both easy reads and riveting storytelling.

Just the title alone had me excited to read this book. Who doesn’t love a good girls weekend? June voices the story beginning with her reluctance to join the reunion with her 4 college friends. See, she has always had a jealously based friendship with Sadie, who is hosting the weekend at her estate. And also happens to be a rich, successful author married to June’s ex. After a night of drinking and too much fun (highlighted by chunks of missing time), Sadie has disappeared and June is a paranoid suspect.

The story is full of dysfunctional and manipulative characters and so much fun! Great weekend summer read.

I received an advanced copy of this book from net galley. The plot sounded like one I could get into who doesn’t enjoy a good mystery. Book starts off slow and predictable. I could not get into the book. I gave it several goes it just was not for me

I don't know about you, but I love a good thriller in the summer! I pretty much love them anytime, but something about the warm air and the longer days makes me crave some fictional drama. Emphasis on the fictional part!

I stumbled along the synopsis for The Girls Weekend and knew it sounded like a perfect summer thriller for me! The publisher was kind enough to send it my way and I have been patiently waiting to read it until publishing day inched closer...but alas Coronavirus has pushed out yet another pub day for an author.

In The Girls Weekend we follow five friends, June, Emily, Kimiko, Amy, and Sadie. The girls are invited to Sadie's huge estate in the San Juan Islands for Amy's baby shower. While June is excited to see her friends, she is less than thrilled to have to see Sadie. While she and Sadie were friends, they were also in constant competition with each other. June puts this behind her though and heads to the party. The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone's a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie's husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.

I really enjoyed this one. It was well paced and the story was just fun. There is a good amount of build up and setting the stage before the meat of the story begins and Sadie goes missing. I thought this was a really good way to build a bond with the characters and learn a bit more about them. Many thrillers throw you right in while I enjoy that, we typically do not get to know the characters well. In The Girl’s Weekend we get to know all the characters for about half of the book first. While many of us have seen and read the twist before, I thought it was very well done and it was still exciting.

A big thank you to Crooked Lane Books and the author for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. Get this one on it's new pub day August 11th. Link to pre-order the book is listed below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XM3MGB4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1


This review has been posted on my Goodreads page and will be posted on my Instagram closer to the new pub date.

I come away from this novel with the same thought with which I commenced: if Intuition tells you "don't, " then heed that. Don't be molded by social obligation or peer pressure. After all, isn't that what we tell our kids?


Community college professor June Moody's Intuition told her "No," but she didn't listen. That could have cost her life.


Take one unreliable narrator, then magnify that by five, six, seven....June is the only actual narrator, but as the reader soon discovers, nobody tells the truth, or at least, remembers truth. I couldn't empathize with most of the characters except possibly gardener Leo, but surprisingly, despite that, I found the novel quite riveting: as in, "oh wow, I can't stop reading. "

The Girls Weekend: 3.25/5 stars

Quick synopsis: June, our narrator, is invited to reconnect after many years with her best friends from college -- Em, Kimiko, and Sadie-- on a Girl's weekend at Sadie's massive estate. Without giving too much away, someone ends up dead and everyone is a suspect. The trouble is that no one can remember what really happened that night...

Overall: This was a solid thriller that I would recommend if you're a fan of the suspense/thriller genre. At times, this reminded me of a more sinister version of the movie, The Hangover. I did guess the killer, but it didn't take away from the story. Other than June, the characters weren't particular likeable or well developed, and I think multiple narrators might have pushed this story into 4-star + territory. Also, can we talk about how creepy this cover is?! Love it.

Thank you to NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book but I struggled to get into it really. I could not really click with any of the characters and they seemed a little not believable to me. Their reactions to events was a little too odd and as the story progressed, I found myself not that interested to find out what happened to the missing character. I don't like to find myself getting bored enough to skip around and glaze over pages but I felt like that's all I wanted to do for the last few chapters, just to get to the end of the book.

This is a kind of closed room mystery story. Five women are reuniting for a weekend for a baby shower. They are friends since college but are only loosely in contact. They are spending the weekend at Sadie’s impressive house. She has become a famous author like J.K. Rowling and all that merchandise stuff made her very rich. June, our main narrator, felt always like being in competition with Sadie and she must admit that she envies her perfect life. Especially because Sadie is married to Junes ex. Then, after the first day Sadie goes missing.

There is a lot going on between the characters. It seems that all of them have reason to be mad at Sadie. We don’t have much time to get to know Sadie and all characters except June stay flat. I liked the start and the buildup but after Sadie’s disappearance the story went south for me. I foundthe women’s reactions very strange. Somehow the story did not gain tension and speed for me. It all felt just strange and weirdly told. I was almost not interested who did something to Sadie. Of course June suspects one friend after the other of killing Sadie and at the end there is a surprise twist.

This book is entertaining enough but I just did not care for it. It is not a new and unique story and the author does not manage to get a new twist to this locked room mystery. I did not enjoy the writing, it was a bit dull and the mental health problems of one of the women are handled like a minor matter. Cutting yourself is not just a phase, like the author let one of the characters say. I struggled a bit with finishing it because it lacked tension and I just did not care for the characters.

3.5 stars. This was so fun, just the right thing to get lost in right now. I had all sorts of theories as the story progressed, and suspected absolutely everyone at one point or another. Toxic friendships, love triangle, drunken night where no one remembers anything--so much juicy drama here to sink your teeth into!

Five college friends get together for a reunion, hosted by June’s old nemesis Sadie (control-freak, successful author), at her fancy secluded home. It’s literally a nightmare from hell weekend when their host ends up missing, presumably dead. It’s a mystery as to what happened the night she disappeared, as everyone’s mind draws a blank after drinking what may have been laced with a date rape drug. Blood can be seen on the wall. A rug has been used to cover over a dark red spot on the floor. A small statue is missing. Hmmm. Told by narrator June, this story will keep you guessing, and have you playing detective through scenarios that unfold during that fateful weekend. An entertaining, quick mystery/thriller I read in a day.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Girls Weekend
Author: Jody Gehrman
Genre: Suspense/thriller
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Their reunion just became a crime scene . . .

June Moody, a thirty-something English professor, just wants to get away from her recent breakup and reunite with girlfriends over summer break. Her old friend and longtime nemesis, Sadie MacTavish, a mega-successful author, invites June and her college friends to a baby shower at her sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. June is less than thrilled to spend time with Sadie--and her husband, June's former crush--but agrees to go.

The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone's a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie's husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.

I feel like this is the sort of situation I would get myself into: it starts with an invitation I really have no desire to accept—but I do because I get guilt-tripped into it—I’m miserable at the event because I really don’t even like these people, and, just my luck, someone winds up dead. And we’re all suspects. Yep. Just my luck.

I was just as much in the dark as the characters were about what had actually happened. Except…I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have cleaned up the crime scene or not told the cops we thought we’d all been drugged. So that bit was a touch hard to believe. Other than that, I really had no idea who did it, as everyone had a motive for wanting Sadie dead—she was that unlikable.

Jody Gehrman is a professor of English and Communications. The Girls Weekend is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.)

#NetGalley #The Girls Weekend #Crooked Lane Books

Five friends from college that have drifted apart get together for a weekend. Some of them were close and some barely friends, what could go wrong with this weekend? They each have secrets and a few grudges. After a night of heavy drinking they wake to find one of them missing and a blood spattered wall. None of them can remember much about the evening. Is one of them a killer? This book had a good plot and a few good twist and turns. I enjoyed it.

I love a good thriller/mystery and this checked some boxes for me. It was a quick and enjoyable read, filled with a good amount of suspense and drama amidst good friends on a getaway. I look forward to more by this author.

Ok I am never going on a Girls Trip or Weekend after reading this book. Missing friend, blood stains and many other ominous signs. It was. A great read but yeah no trips.