Just wow!

Having not heard of Sarah Alderson (and why haven’t I?!) I saw this book on NetGalley from Avon and as I usually really enjoy anything they publish thought I’d give it a go. And I was not disappointed!

Kate and Orla have been friends for many years and spent many a weekend away together. Their latest weekend is to Lisbon although Orla has reservations about leaving her baby. Kate is going through a divorce so she felt she owed it to her best friend to make the effort. They arrive at their Airbnb apartment and meet the owner who just happens to live in the apartment downstairs. He’s a bit creepy.

After a night out they both get very drunk and meet two handsome men in a bar. Kate invites them back to their apartment even though Orla argues it is not a good idea as she is not interested in cheating on her husband.

The next morning Orla wakes up to find her friend missing. As the hours pass, and she gets no reply from her many phone calls, she gets more and more concerned. She goes to the police who are not too interested and tell her to return after 24 hours. She gets in touch with the Uber driver who took them to the bar to see if he had taken her back, and he proves to be a huge help over the coming days as Orla tries to piece together what happened that night.

Loved the setting in Lisbon, loved the way the characters were written, was totally engrossed from the beginning to the last page and now I want to know what comes next in Orla’s life!

Very happy to have found this author and happier still she has already written many more books.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of the book, which will be published on 23rd July.

I enjoyed this book the storyline and plots were good would recommend a good psychological read thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this

Two friends of twenty or so years go for a girls weekend away to Lisbon but one does not come home. That’s the premise of this easy to read and intriguing novel. Kate is childless and recently split from wealthy husband Toby and Orla is married to Rob and they have a baby daughter.

The moral of this tale is how well do you really know your friends as Orla discovers the hard way. The novel is well written, it has a lot of twists some of which you don’t see coming and the ending is excellent. I like the setting of Lisbon which makes a good backdrop for the dramatic events. The night where it all goes wrong is captured really well and the difference between what the two women want and expect from their weekend away become crystal clear. The characters are good, though some are definitely not likeable they are interesting. Orla is way too trusting, so naive you want to be a cautionary voice in her ear though her instincts with Uber driver Konstandin prove correct. His backstory in Kosovo is very sobering and adds an additional element to the storytelling. It’s a novel of betrayal, lies and deception which makes for entertaining escapist reading.

Overall, a really good thriller with plenty of surprises.

With thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC.

New mom Orla goes on a weekend away with her longtime friend Kate. Kate's single and ready to party, while Orla is anticipating a relaxing holiday away from her husband and newborn. The first night they go out for dinner then hit a bar, after which Kate decides to bring two men home with them despite Orla's objections. The next morning, Orla can't recall what exactly happened and Kate is nowhere to be found. The police aren't concerned, so Orla begins an investigation of her own.

Content Warnings (SPOILERS) below:





Possible sexual assault while passed out/drugged, plus victim blaming (Orla states her husband would have a right to be angry and blame her for it because she flirted with the potential perpetrator and didn't put her foot down strongly enough when her friend decided to bring the guys back to their place. Much later Orla makes a generalized statement about it being unfair how women are blamed for their own injuries); Racism, for example Orla (who is Irish and lives in London) thinks "I just assumed because it was a Latin country the morals were looser but I could be wrong."; Stalking via hidden cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms END SPOILERS

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

Loved this mystery about Orla and her missing friend Kate. Twisty, scary, smart and thrilling! I must thank my Goodreads friend Michael for his great review, which led me to pick it up. This is a great summer thriller that I predict will make a big splash with readers. What could be more fun to read on the beach than a girls’ trip gone noir?

Orla has just had a baby when her best friend Kate suggests a girls’ trip to Lisbon. After a strange evening out, Orla awakens to find Kate gone from their Airbnb, without a trace.

From there a seriously great series of twists unfolds. I won’t spoil any of them, but the mystery itself was perfect, with just the right amount of twists and red herrings, plus some great characters, including Konstantin the Uber driver with a shadowy past, Sebastian the creepy Airbnb owner, and the two gorgeous guys who were at the house when Kate went missing.

Like its title, “The Weekend Away” is the perfect summer thriller to escape into for a weekend. A serious page-turner and a great mystery. Mysteries and betrayals at every turn. And that last twist, tho! Perfection.

4.5 stars from me, rounded up - this thriller is written much more skillfully than most. I’ll definitely jump to pick up Sarah Alderson’s next thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Sarah Anderson for the ARC. Loved this completely gripping and thrilling vacation noir!

Orla and Kate head to Lisbon for a weekend away together, something they have been doing for years. This time Orla is leaving behind her baby in the care of her husband Rob, while Kate is in the middle of a messy divorce. They head out for dinner on the first night and then on to a club at Kate’s insistence, but the next morning Kate is missing and Orla can’t really remember what happened.
The story then follows Orla as she tries to discover what happened to her friend. She uncovers some shocking truths making her question how well she actually knows those closest to her.
The novel is full of the usual twists, some of which aren’t too surprising when the truth is revealed. This would be a great read for fans of the thriller genre.

Who needs enemies when you’ve got a best friend like Kate??
A weekend away in Lisbon, Portugal with best friend Kate is just what new mother Orla needs to recharge her batteries and remember that she is more than just a sleep deprived, harassed woman struggling with motherhood.
Having read a couple of books recently that feature this city, I started to think to myself this was a place I’d really love to visit but not with someone like Kate! Recently separated from her husband Toby, she is wild and carefree, totally up for splashing the cash, partying all night and indulging in class A drugs. Orla on the other hand is just looking forward to a girlie weekend away, catching up with her best friend, exploring the sights, eating good food and sleeping. All perfectly sensible plans except Kate has other ideas. On their first night out Kate is keen to experience the nightlife Lisbon has to offer so Orla reluctantly follows her into a club , a decision which she will later come to regret. That nice relaxing weekend away is just about to turn into the weekend from hell.

I truly didn’t like Kate from the beginning. Her and Orla seem unlikely friends, with little in common. Orla is married (not quite happily) to Rob and together they are parents to baby daughter Marlow, conceived via IVF whereas Kate is ready to live the single life unencumbered by either a husband or a child. These two seemed more like potential frenemys than best friends. In the first few pages I got the distinct impression of animosity between the two, that was sizzling away beneath the surface. Lacking in confidence and self esteem, I could understand Orla’s jealousy of the more glamorous drop dead gorgeous Kate since early motherhood can play havoc with your own self image and I just knew this weekend away was going to end in disaster.

After a night of partying hard, Orla awakes the next morning feeling decidedly the worse for wear, nursing what appears to be more than just a severe hangover. Recollections of the night before remain fuzzy but things are about to get a whole lot worse when she discovers Kate isn’t in the apartment. Hours later when she still hasn’t made an appearance, Orla’s fears deepen. What has happened to Kate? Where is she? And why can Orla only remember fragments of the night before?

There’s plenty going on in this thriller to keep your brain working overtime and everyone comes under suspicion. The apartment owner Sebastian immediately made my hackles rise since he is portrayed as a strange slightly creepy character and the Uber driver Konstandin, whilst helping Orla investigate Kate’s disappearance deserves also to come under scrutiny. Appearing to be on Orla’s side I had to remind myself to be wary and reserve judgement. His character as Orla’s guardian angel seemed too good to be true. Can she trust her Kosovan ally?
As I’ve already stated I didn’t trust Kate for one minute, feeling she was perhaps being economical with the truth and holding back from Orla in their conversations on their night out. True best friends tend not to do that. ‘

“Humans are more capable of deception than we give them credit for” in the words of Konstandin, which I think sums up the theme of this book succinctly. Betrayal, lies and deception are all valid potential reasons for Kate’s disappearance as Orla slowly discovers, having found herself the unfortunate and unwitting pawn in a game she didn’t know she was playing. Becoming further entrenched in a murky underworld of drugs, possible rape, prostitution, mafia and police corruption she is completely out of her depth. Even when husband Rob turns up unexpectedly, ostensibly to provide support I couldn’t help but question whether Orla could rely on him either and the police don’t appear to take Kate’s disappearance seriously which raised alarm bells. All in all the weekend away takes a sinister turn with cause for much conjecture on the part of the reader.

I binge read this book in one sitting, staying up into the early hours desperate to know what had happened to Kate, although I have to be honest and say whilst I found it enjoyable it didn’t blow me away. It’s well written and I found it easy to engage with the storyline but events became a touch on the implausible side for my liking. However there are plenty of red herrings to add to your confusion and I veered from one theory to another, never quite grasping the truth. It is a shame the storyline started to lose credibility because overall it is a great thriller, just not outstanding. The very last page provided one final unexpected twist so I still consider it worthy of a place in your TBR pile!! My rating of 4 stars reflects these slight criticisms.
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

No spoilers from me! Except- ignore the cover art- this is set in Lisbon, not at the beach. Orla and Kate have been BFFs since forever but they haven't had a weekend away together for a long time. They're very different in personality and temperament, as well as in situations. Orla's a new mom and she really misses her kid while Kate's divorced and reverting, it seems, to her wild child ways. They rent an Air B&B in Lisbon and set out to have a weekend together. Unfortunately, dinner out turns into drinks and other things and well, Orla ends up with a massive hangover and Kate ends up missing. Orla goes on a hunt for her and while we can all quibble about how she did it, we need her to do these things in order to have the page turner Alderson has given us. Secrets, lies, and bad decisions all figure here. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This would be a very good beach book but as it was, I read it inside on the couch on a hot pandemic day and was happy as could be.

How many times have you wished for a weekend away? Orla and Kate had planned a weekend away. Being best friends for so long it feels like forever, they have often gone on weekends away. This time is different, Orla is leaving her 9 month old baby behind for the first time. Kate has planned a wonderful adventure in Lisbon and Orla is glad to get away. The premise of A Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson grabs you from the outset and brings you on a journey.

They go out for a wonderful dinner and then for drinks at a club. Orla is positive she wants to go home and go to bed, but Kate is insistent that they need to bring two hot men, she found in a club home with them. Then Orla begins to feel sick as well and is put to bed only to wake up the next morning alone in the apartment. No hot men, no Kate, no note or clue and a really angry landlord. Orla is beside herself - where is Kate and what is going on.

This is a great thriller. For every step forward there is another one that makes Orla look either crazy or guilty. I love Orla’s determination and persistence. The story twists and turns, creeps and then rushes and then creeps forward again. At each turn - you think you know and then you don’t. A Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson was a fascinating mysterious read.

Addictive, Awesome, Amazing! An absolute must-read this summer!

Wow! I absolutely loved this book. If I could give it six stars I would.

Best friends Orla and Kate head off for a girly weekend in Lisbon. New mum Orla has visions of sightseeing and lie-ins, but newly single Kate has other ideas! After enjoying a meal and plenty of drinks on their first night in the city, Kate drags Orla to a club determined to party the night away.

Not used to drinking, Orla wakes up the following morning with a very patchy memory of what happened the night before. She stumbles around the apartment looking for Kate, only to find that she’s not there! When she doesn’t return in time for their E-Cycle tour, Orla really begins to worry.

We follow Orla on her quest to find her friend and try to piece together the events from the night before!

Clear your diary, because once you start reading this story, you will not be able to stop! With more twists than a slinky toy, each one more shocking than the last, I highly recommend this sizzling summer thriller!

The story is ingeniously plotted and no matter how hard I tried to work things out, I didn’t! I think this is the thriller I wish I wrote.

This is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Alderson and it most definitely won’t be the last.

Thank you so much to Sarah Alderson, Avon Books UK & NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

📚 R E V I E W 📚
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The Weekend Away Sarah Alderson
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Orla and Kate have been best friends for over twenty years. They pledged to one another that they'd get away on a break together once a year. Whilst they haven't for the last couple of years, as Orla has become a mother to Marlow, they've finally managed to get away to Lisbon. In the wake of her impending divorce, Kate is ready to let her hair down, with drink, drugs and sex. She's ready to party.
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Orla is slightly more reluctant, she feels like these days are long gone but goes along with it. After a wild night partying, she wakes up the next morning, but Kate is nowhere to be seen. Where is she? And what's she hiding?
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In the words of Janice from F.R.I.E.N.D.S, 'OH. MY. GOD'. This book was BRILLIANT! Now we all know that thrillers can go one of two ways for me. I can really lose my shit if it all just gets a bit ridiculous, but this was perfect.
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It was a pacey thriller that had me gripped throughout. If I wasn't so tired it would have been one I stayed up all night with. And as for the ending. WOW!
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At points throughout, I thought I had it sussed (which is something I rarely get right), so I thought it was going to be a massive let down. But it was written in such a way it lead you right down a garden path. I took the bait and was completely wrong. You do not see this ending coming.
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The depth of character is really good too, which I find quite unusual for thrillers. I tend to find them quite superficial.
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I really liked that it only took 50% of the book before the action turned up a notch. All too often with a thriller, you spend 80% of the novel having the scene set, then a ton of drama happens in the last 20%.
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I can't really say much else without giving anything away, but in summary, it's well written, kept me right on my toes and deserves everyone to go and PRE-ORDER IT ON KINDLE FOR 99P THIS SECOND!!!!!
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It comes out on 23rd July, and for fans of thrillers, this is definitely one you don't want to miss!
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🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 / 5
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A massive thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
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#review #ARC #bookreview #thrillerbooks #thrillerfan #aweekendaway #netgalleyreads

I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This was the first time I’ve read anything from this author and I will definitely read more from her in the future. After beginning this in the evening, I was awake until the middle of the night to finish it as it’s that suspenseful. I really enjoyed this book and the authors writing style.

How would you react if your best friend goes missing while on a weekend trip?

This is exactly what Orla is facing while on a weekend trip with her friend Kate to Lisbon. I was hoping something sinister was going on, but most of the book focused on Orla's inner thoughts as she worked to see what happened. Ultimately, it wasn't enough to keep me entertained or thrilled.

I know I won't always agree with a main character's actions, Orla's were a bit much for me. She reminds me of a blond running up the stairs from the serial killer rather than out the front door. I wasn't a fan.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

THE WEEKEND AWAY is a gripping, surprisingly strong thriller that I was NOT expecting.

Orla and Kate are best friends who decide to spend a weekend in Lisbon. This is the first time Orla will be away from her infant daughter, but she knows it will be good for her. Kate is going through a tough divorce, so it should be the perfect getaway for both of them. After a night of drinking and clubbing, Orla wakes up the next morning...only to find that Kate is gone. Her clothes are still at their Airbnb, and there’s also a suspicious stain in Kate’s bedroom that could either be wine or blood. With Orla’s recollection of the night before pretty hazy, she has to retrace their steps to try and put the pieces together in a city where she knows no one and has no idea who she can trust.

Author Sarah Alderson really has a way with words. The story is very atmospheric, and the characters are fully dimensional. I was completely hooked and engaged as one piece of the puzzle connected to another. I also really enjoyed the unexpected cohort that joins Orla in trying to track down what happened the night Kate disappeared. While there was nothing earth-shattering, I found myself surprised quite a few times, and was thrilled that this wasn’t the derivative thriller I initially thought it was going to be. 3.5 stars rounded up!

Thank you to Avon Books UK, Sarah Alderson, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have previously read two books by the author - ‘Friends Like These’ and ‘In Her Eyes’. I highly enjoyed both and rated them 4 stars so I was very excited to read ‘The Weekend Away’.

The interesting premise pulled me in right away. Two best friends who lead very different lives go on a weekend trip to Lisbon and one goes missing after a night out.

Sadly this book was not as enjoyable as the previous works I have read by the author and the execution fell short for me. Orla naively made silly risky decisions and we spent far too much time reading her internal monologue and she wasn’t an interesting or likeable character. The story really dragged, there wasn’t a lot of thrill or suspense, the final reveal and ending was also far too choppy and melodramatic.

I will continue to read books by Sarah Alderson but unfortunately this was not for me.

Thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn't put this book down, so many surprises but the end was jaw dropping. i was really good from beginning to end!

Middle of the road read for me.

I liked the premise and writing but found some of the characters a bit hard to wrap my head around. I can’t imagine women, especially in the midst of their current life circumstances, going away and acting like this. Orla is extremely naive.

I thought I saw where this was going and unfortunately I was right (was hoping for a curve ball). This is by no means a bad story - it’s entertaining and the writing is very good- I have just enjoyed other stories by this author more.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Avon Books UK for a copy in exchange for a review.

I really really enjoyed this book!!

The twists and turns and the ending 🤯🤯

I will definitely be reading this author again she’s fantastic x

Sarah Alderson’s “The Weekend Away” is another heart-racing, twisty thriller from the author, which hurtles along at break-neck speed to a shocking conclusion. It’s a captivating, exciting whodunnit that will keep you guessing from chapter to chapter...

When Orla heads to Lisbon for a long weekend with her best friend Kate, she’s all set for a few days of food, drink, sightseeing and a well earned break from looking after her young daughter. However, after a night of heavy drinking, Orla passes out at their apartment and when she awakes the next morning Kate is nowhere to be found... Orla begins a frantic search around the city, befriending Konstandin, the Uber driver who dropped them at a boutique bar the night before. She only has fragments of her memory from the night before - who were the two men Kate bought back to their apartment? Does the creepy apartment owner who lives below know anything? Is Kate’s ex-husband somehow involved? Why are the police dragging their heels with the missing persons report? And is Orla really as innocent as she insists? As things unfold over the next few days, nothing will remain as it was when Orla and Kate took to the skies...

I found “The Weekend Away” to be a highly engaging and gripping suspense thriller. There’s a distinctly Hitchcokian feel to the narrative: the element of the wrong woman being accused, the fate of Kate arguably being a MacGuffin (and not the most important aspect of the plot), the climactic twists, an ordinary woman thrust into extraordinary circumstances and the fact that none of the characters seem to be trustworthy. Alderson writes in this style with aplomb and I could easily see Hitchcock having made a cinematic version of the novel. I loved the references to Hitchcock in the story too - that knowing wink/nod from Alderson to her readers! The plot develops at a really fast pace and I found myself thrust excitedly into the lives of the characters and the situation Orla found herself in. There is plenty of mystery, drama, action and suspense, as Orla unravels what has happened to Kate. There are multiple twists and I enjoyed guessing some of them before they were revealed. Alderson is masterful when it comes to misdirection and keeping readers guessing. One of the aspects that I found refreshing about this book, is that Orla - quite believably - suspect’s practically anybody and everybody she encounters in Lisbon. By doing this, Alderson raises every possible suspect and hints at scenarios that a few pages before I found I was guessing at and wondering whether I was on to something! This made “The Weekend Away” a really fun read and despite having being convinced of the perpetrator as I approached the end of the novel, I still didn’t see the big twist coming. The concluding chapters are gasp-out-loud shocking and left me exhilarated by how much I’d enjoyed reading this.

Another aspect of the novel that I found particularly engaging was the cast of characters. Orla is a strong, determined female lead, who is both devoted mother and kick-ass amateur sleuth! She is a really enjoyable character to read the perspective from - I genuinely felt the emotions she felt and when she found herself in tense situations, I was literally holding my breath with her. She’s an excellent protagonist, who I was fully behind, even when I had my suspicions as to her role in the events. I also really loved the character of Konstandin. This dark, mysterious Uber driver who helps Orla in her predicament is perfectly written. Alderson expertly balances our suspicions of and trust in Konstandin. Does he really just want to help Orla, or is there an ulterior motive beneath the surface? The unease of mistrust permeates through their relationship and is responsible in part for the tension that unnerves Orla and us as readers. However, Konstandin also adds depth and humour to the narrative - his backstory is heartbreaking, but his actions to help Orla get to the truth are both intense and laced with black humour. I could vividly picture both of these characters and they will remain with me even though I’ve closed the final page on their story. (I’d love to read more of them though!).

I highly recommend “The Weekend Away”. It’s the perfect holiday read, but in our current times when that’s not an option for all of us, escaping into the world of Alderson’s creation is equally exciting. You won’t be disappointed!

I did enjoy this one in parts but I do think that I expected more from it. On the surface the storyline seemed fairly interesting however the fact that the character who went missing was selfish and vile, I didn’t particularly want her to be found. Most of the characters in this book got on my nerves and I don’t think that it was as thrilling as it could have been.