The Weekend Away is a great thriller! I was hooked from page one and there were so many twists... including one final one at the very end that I did not see coming!

Another home run for Sarah Alderson! Had similar vibes to Friends Like These, a very good thing indeed. I flew through this--reading up to the 60% mark and past 2 in the morning on the first night I read it. Took all my strength to stop.

It is funny though because the setting of the book is nothing like I expected based on the cover! It's a smart cover b/c it tells you it's a fast-paced, beachy read... yes! But not a literal beach read. I assumed the girl's trip would be to a sunny, beachy place, but they're in Lisbon, so it has a "bad shit goes down in old European city" feel instead. Orla and Kate rent an Airbnb for the weekend, the first girls getaway in four years. It's Orla's first weekend away from husband and baby, and Kate is her party girl friend who immediately throws them into a wild night. When Orla wakes up the next day, severely hungover from who knows what, Kate is gone. The police think she's overreacting--Kate probably left, hooked up with someone, and is with them--so Orla searches on her own. Well, with the help of the Uber driver who dropped them off at the bar the night before--he acts as her unofficial translator and driver as she zigzags across the city to find clues.

Similar to Friends Like These, The Weekend Away plays off of messy women, complicated friendships, and new stages of life vs. old. A huge amount of conflict is derived from how much Orla has grown up--and Kate hasn't. A ton of the conflict, both for Orla and the reader, comes from Kate being SO frustratingly selfish and over the top. You do wonder why Orla would ever have been friends with such a tornado of a person. But it's good conflict--this is one of those books where you find out secrets about the missing person and it changes everything. (Because of course Kate has secrets)

I was turning pages and making guesses and everything culminated in one of my favorite things--the gut punch ending! Highly recommend.

Hooked from the very first page to the very last. Brilliant premise where two friends go away for a fun weekend but only one of them returns alive. Full of unexpected twists, loved it!

This was a quite enjoyable read, but not anything I havent read before, I was hoping it would be a bit different.
I would recommend this to someone who doesn't normally read thrillers or even read ar all that much. Lots of people only pick up books to read for their summer holidays, and in that instance this would be perfect! It definitely has its place and I'm sure it will do very well!
Many thanks to netgalley for the ARC

I really enjoyed this deep dark thriller of a story of two old friends who go away for the weekend together but during the trip Orla wakes up and finds her friend Kate missing. Stuck in a foreign country alone Orla must try and work out where Kate has gone and as secrets and lies start to unravel Orla questions how much she knows about her best friend. This kept me guessing till the very end and was a great read.

As soon as I started reading this one, I could not put it down and ended up finishing it within the space of four hours. The book got in to the nitty gritty story line quite quickly and within the blink of an eye, I was on the hunt to find out what happened to Kate, alongside Orla. There were so many people you could pin-point in having an involvement in Kate's disappearance, some of them just being super sick people, some of them being genuine people you can trust.

When all was revealed, I kind of felt dissatisfied that I was reading a thriller that wouldn't end in closure and would always leave us hanging... well, was I wrong... Sarah did leave us on one heck of a cliffhanger but I wasn't expecting it AT ALL. The twist came so unexpectedly, when I had finished it, I wanted to throw my phone across the room - I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!!!!

Please, Sarah, we need another book on Orla and Marlowe!

The Weekend Away isn’t a bad book but there’s too many like this. The thriller genre is crowded...authors you NEED to stand out!

Just an average thriller with average adventures and characters. Enjoyable and perfect for laying in the pool with!

3.5

Wow! Loved this book! A twisty tense engaging psychological thriller that keeps you guessing from start to finish!
Kate and orla go to Lisbon for a girlie weekend they are childhood best friends who have been away together lots of times!
The weekend away doesn’t go as planned! A mix of drugs, male escorts, scorned partners,and a disappearance make for a thrilling read, as Kate battles to find the truth in a foreign country but in doing so puts herself at great risk! Lots of twists and turns that keep you enthralled as the mystery deepens, you just can’t wait to hear the next development and see where the story goes! A surprising conclusion, would be fantastic to read a sequel to this book!
Thank you net galley for this early read.

I didn’t get much sleep last night and haven’t moved off the sofa today thanks to this book. I enjoy a book with characters that I can identify with - a couple of best friends who have known each other since their twenties making different life choices, (one with a baby and still getting her head around the monumental life change) but still whenever they get together it’s like it’s been no time at all. A lovely relaxing weekend away - ha!!!!!! The author keeps the pace going all the way through with twists and turns.. Until the last few pages - and even then you are left with a question - or is it a question?. (Although my kindle had a wobble glitching and not letting me read the last bit one page so have had to download the novel again so I can double check).

I’m hoping this isn’t the last I read about Orla and Marlow.

I enjoyed the fact that this book was set in a different country ,and it grabbed me from the get go.The characters were well drawn and believable ,there were twists I didn't see coming.No spoilers but I found I had to give up on guessing who did what I couldn't work it out.Good book,I liked it.

Another cracking read - I stayed into the late hours trying to read this one.
This is the story of great friends Orla and Kate - they have been friends forlike ever! Every year they go away for a short break together - however over the last couple of years it just hasn't happened. So when Kate suggests a trip to Lisbon she finally agrees. The 2 head off for a weekend of memory making. After the girls go out for a night out, Orla wakes up the next morning with little memory of going to bed - she walks into Kates room and finds her missing - maybe she has gone out for breakfast - but Kate doesn't return - what on earth has happened to her, where can she be. I totally had no idea what was going on and didn't didn't guess what was happening. Really great read.

The Weekend Away had it all! A triumph for Sarah Alderson.

When 2 friends go away for a girls weekend as they have so many times before. Both are looking forward to getting away from it all. But getting away has very different meanings for them both. And when one goes missing it’s another kind of trip entirely.

With amazing suspense, characters you’ll love and hate, drama on steroids and the a-ha moment coming when you should have worked it out but haven’t, you’ll wish this weekend would never end. A must read.

Special thanks to netgalley and Avon Books for this fantastic read! 4.5 stars. No, 5!

Best friends know each other right? They share secrets and tell each other everything. Do they, have they been doing that? Well when Orla and Kate decide to go to Lisbon for the weekend it seems like a repeat of one of their other previous European trips away. Yes their lives have become very different Orla has a newborn baby and Kate is going through a messy divorce. But they are still best friends aren't they?
So when the two friends decide to go out for dinner, Orla the sensible one in every way and Kate the party animal, no man is safe kinda girl, should Orla be surprised when she wakes up the next morning and Kate has disappeared? Without giving anything away the book is about tracking down Kate and uncovering a whole pile of lies and deceit.
Plenty of characters here to be discovered, some seemed likeable others not so much. Overall I think once you got 40% into the story it started to pick up pace and became the thriller I had been expecting.
The writing for me was a little inconsistent. Parts I found myself thinking why does Orla keep droning on about that and making bizarre decisions and then parts of the story raced and regained my interest. I liked it, I didn't love it. I thought Orla's character was weak. I loved Kate and Konstandin well developed and believable.
I thought the ending was a little weak and maybe left open for book two.
If you are looking for a quick and enjoyable read on the beach this one may be of you.

I was pretty excited I got this book for a review, but it let me down.

Two longtime friends go on a weekend away together, as they have done many times before. When their night of partying ends it isn't so fun anymore. Orla wakes up in the morning not remembering much of what happened the evening and night before. She tries to see where her friend Kate is but she can't seem to find her and starts to panic. Because she can't remember a thing and feels extremely weird she thinks she was drugged. She goes on a quest to find her best friend, but no one seems too interested in helping her. Until she meets up with one of their Uber drivers, he helps her out. Together they discover what happened and who was involved, it all is a bit obvious to me and it annoyed me a bit.

In the first few chapters, Orla claims not to remember the names of the men they met the night before. The book is written from her POV and it is extremely frustrating to read she doesn't remember the guy's name and to read the name a couple of lines after it. There a few more similar inconsistencies in this book, I won't go into detail as I might reveal too much of the story. The writing is a bit up and down for me, I liked some of it, but not all of it, but I didn't hate it either. I think it has to do with the inconsistencies. I didn't like the character of Orla, she is gullible and frantic, horrible combination. The other characters are a bit too out there for me to be believable.,

Overall, I enjoyed The Weekend Away, and I was surprised at its conclusion. Konstandin quickly became one of my favorite characters, and Sebastian's role added a believably creepy layer to an already twisted tale. The author did a good job of describing Orla and Kate's friendship in years past so that the action in present day was more meaningful and grave.

Two elements, in my opinion, became a little distracting:
--Orla's cheeks or face "flame," "flush," "heat," "warm" or are described as "hot" or "overheated" often enough that it began to feel repetitive. In many cases, the accompanying description was sufficient to convey her embarrassment and/or shame.
--Also repetitive is the mention of Orla's gut, i.e. "the worm in my gut," "worry burrowing into my gut,"' "a buzzing feeling in my gut," "a worming gut feel," and "my gut feels very iffy" (to name a few).

Very quick and easy read. Finished in 2 days. I had higher expectations for the book based on description. Started out as decent mystery but I started to get annoyed with the two forty something character s trying to relive their 20 something youth. Kate was very immature and I got very annoyed with the character of Orla putting herself in some stupid situation s with some not so nice characters. Plot did have lots of twists and turns thinking one thing when it was another. Disappointed in the ending. Left you hanging. No closure.

Orla and Kate have been best friends for years, but work, relationships, and Orla's new baby have meant that their lives haven't been as intertwined as usual lately. But with Kate in the middle of a messy divorce, and Orla experiencing intimacy issues within her own marriage, the two of them decide to fly to Barcelona to reconnect, have some fun, and leave their daily responsibilities behind them for a few days.

On their first night out, it's clear that Kate is out to party. When they meet two men in a bar, Orla is livid when Kate wants to bring them back to their holiday apartment. And when Orla wakes up the next morning with hazy memories of the night before, and there's no sign of Kate, it becomes clear that something is very wrong.

Can Orla retrace their steps and find her friend? Or will she find something much darker?

I enjoyed this book with its twists and turns, and I liked that it took an unexpected route (I thought I knew what the deal was and had my theory about Kate was fully formed, but was genuinely surprised). Some plot elements were a little convenient - the mysterious taxi driver who goes out of his way to help Orla despite having only met her once, for example- but on the whole, it was well-plotted and well-written, and I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read! I had taken a bit of a break from thrillers as I had read a few that were a little too formulaic, and it was nice to step back into the genre with this book. Sarah Alderson has penned a gristly, twisty story about two friends on holiday in picturesque Lisbon with Orla waking up to a terrible scene: where’s Kate, and what happened last night?

An engaging, suspenseful read that readers are sure to devour in one go.

Many thanks to NetGalleyUK and Avon Books UK for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

A good thriller is one of my favorite books to read outside in the sunshine over the summer. Every year there are lots released which tick this tick this box and 'The Weekend Away' is definitely one I'd recommend. There are plenty of twists and turns to the story which will keep you hooked until the very end.

When Orla and Kate go for a weekend away in Lisbon things very quickly start to unravel. I found it difficult to connect to the characters at first - Kate seemed like a terrible friend and I couldn't understand why Orla would go away for a weekend of parting and drinking when she had a young baby at home. Somehow I'd forgotten the tagline of the book so when I found out the fate of one of the characters I was still shocked.

I found that Orla made a series of bizarre decisions, the police were frustratingly unhelpful and what sort of husband leaves his wife staging in a foreign city with a stranger? Even though I found the characters frustrating all the plot points were nicely tied up at the end.

If you are looking for a quick and enjoyable read this summer then I would recommend this book - even if it wasn't my favorite thriller.

Not bad. It didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat but maybe it’s that I’m reading 3-5 of these type books per week, due to COVID-19 / Quarantine?? I thought the cabbie or Uber driver was a bit odd. On a good night, I really didn’t know “ whodunit” or why until it was nearly revealed @ the end which is always a plus. Not a bad book, I just need more action.