the setting was good in this book but the pace was slow, although it did build towards the end. i liked the characters and how they then against each other the ending was abut rushed though and was about predictable

Six friends who haven't really spent time with one another and a female bird warden find themselves stuck on a rocky inhospitable island in a storm and bad things happen. The weekend was meant to be a reunion for the friends but the island was not what they thought it would be- it's certainly not luxe, that's for sure. There's an accident, a death, and everyone turns to look at everyone else. I like generally like this trope and found this a good read, although I do think there are perhaps a couple too many characters to have a good feel for each. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Ahhhh I found myself so immersed in this horrifying getaway and read it in 2 sittings! Found the characters so relatable and found it differed from other locked room type mysteries out there at the moment!! Definitely one for thriller fans who like their thrillers touching very close to home, where you ca fully pout yourself into this lifelong group of friends!!

THIS is how you write a page turner!!!!
In an ocean of "wanna be" psychological thrillers, THIS book delivers, And then some!!

An excellent book, a gripping story from the first chapters and the story just gets better and better as it progresses.
Even though the theme of a trip on a secluded island where things go terribly wrong has been explored over and over again, Rakie Bennet does an amazing job of brining a new perspective on it.
There are barely any slow times in the story and the ending is so so so good.

If you want to read an awesome thriller, pick this one up. I highly recommend it!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for allowing me to read this excellent book!
It goes in the top five best books I've read this year!

I thought this was a good mystery for the most part. I couldn’t help but think these girls were all so dumb for running around in the rain. I can’t say I really liked any of them except for maybe Marne who really ended up in the middle of everything with just bad luck. I’m still not sure what to think about the ending either. I did enjoy the book
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

2.5 stars ⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up

Lyndsey and her five friends are attempting to reconnect with a weekend trip full of bonding and rock climbing, the very activity that brought the group together in the first place. Not long into their trip, things start to unravel. As it becomes clear the women are in danger, they quickly begin to turn on one another. Who is after them– is it a stranger, or is it a murderer amongst friends?

Okay, the trip sounded like a terrible idea from the start… a deserted island, cold and dreary weather, and no way to call for help? Ya, no thanks! This was a quick read, and your typical locked room mystery. I figured out who the culprit was rather quickly but I still kept on reading to see how it all played out. The ending was a bit surprising in that it raises a question without a definitive answer.

Overall I didn't hate it but I'm not sure how much I liked it either.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Weekend Escape was a pretty good ride, if predictable. Six women who haven't seen each other in a decade come together for a weekend away on a remote island off the coast of Wales. They're there for a weekend of abseiling at a location decided by one of them, who went there once as a child. There's a shocking death and then, a storm comes and leaves them stranded with no way to contact the outside world for help. How did their friend die? Who's next? It's a locked-room mystery!

I think six women were a few too many--I found myself a little confused as to who was whom doing what to whom. I figured out pretty quickly who the mastermind was but I won't spoil it for other readers. As the weekend progresses and their feelings of helplessness increase, their assumptions on who the killer is and how they'll get help/off the island become more and more ridiculous. The location was good and a little different than the usual (ski resorts at the moment), and Bennett was able to capture the cold, wet, and miserable conditions the women were in very well--I felt their cold and their neverending, bonechilling damp.

Overall, this is a fine, easy book with some fun thrills. I never gasped out loud and may have rolled my eyes here or there, but it was a solid three stars.

A good book but I did find myself having to flick back to remind myself of just who was a who a few times.

The publishers description mentions dark secrets and unimaginable horror but there really wasn’t much of either and I just didn’t get the ending.

Well written though and a couple of characters I would have liked to have known more about.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

This was suspenseful, twisty and had me guessing the whole way! Great read.

An adventurous group of friends from high school decide to reconnect on Shell Island to do some abseiling and climbing like they used to. Only their group is one short as Cherry died 10 years prior. As soon as they land on the island sinister things start happening and then a member of their group goes missing....

I have finally decided that "locked room" style books just aren't for me. I've read several and have only enjoyed one or two. This was not one of them. Just enough things happened in this book to keep me from not finishing it. I wanted to know who was doing all the horrible things and why. I had it figured out by reveal time but let me say that the ending of this book was so abrupt that I was sure that I had skipped a page or something. That last chapter makes you believe that something may still be going on and then just ends. I'm sure this was the authors intention but it did not work for me especially considering that I forced myself to finish the book,

The problem, I believe, with this style of mystery is that the remote locations also confine the plot so that not much can happen which also ends up hindering character development as well in some cases. I felt the characters in The Weekend Escape were actually fleshed out pretty well but it still didn't keep my interest from lagging.

A whodunnit in the classical style. Some clues along the way but enough to keep you guessing 'till the end.******************************************************************************************************************************************

This is most definitely a page-turner of a book with a twisty tale of old friends reunited on Shell Island when a fatality occurs. Its a locked room mystery in that only them and the warden can be on the island as the weather is terrible. They have no radio contact and the generator has broken down. Bad things are happening. Who is behind them? Gobbled this up. Was a tiny bit disappointed with the ending but then, was I? It was what I had suspected all along. Enough said. This is a good thriller, suspend belief and enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the arc of this book. I liked the beginning- was the accident an accident? If it wasn't, why?? As I kept reading, there were plenty of possibilities. With friends like these, who needs enemies? A problem for me was there were so many characters they were hard to keep straight. Some of what was explained later in the book might have been better to learn earlier, since dual timeline books are so popular these days. The end was not very satisfying to me. (I can't say more without giving spoilers.) Then the last scene was confusing, which was also unsatisfying. I think women who have had a special circle of friends for many years would like this book. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. I shared this to Goodreads manually.

Wow, there is a lot going on in this book. I would occasionally stop to review what had happened so far just to keep the story straight. That isn't like me at all. The characters were OK and the story was really good but all over the place. The Weekend Escape.

I thought this book started off fairly slow but when it picked up it sort of exploded. I love the storyline of a paradise, idyllic holiday that starts off lovely but then everything starts to go wrong. I will definitely look to read more by this author.

2.5 stars.

The Weekend Escape started off so well. I was so happy the story started with a bang, an enticing prologue which led to the characters already on the island. No boring filler pages of unnecessary dialogue. It was straight to the point, with one characters suffering a suspicious accident which started the accusations. However, the story quickly drifted into Lyndsey's inner monologue dominating the story line and the other women inexplicably pointing the finger at the island's warden. The accusations were so quick and so absurd. No one would have realistically jumped to that conclusion so fast. Their paranoia was too unbelievable to be entertaining.
Finally, there was the discovery of a body... which they decided to leave out in the elements on the edge of a cliff for several days because it might be a crime scene? Did I mention the raging storm coming in? Again, unlikely.
The body was quickly forgotten in order to accuse and harass the warden again whilst admiring the scenery and reminiscing about the missing seventh member of their group who had died several years before. I was seriously wondering how her absence could be relevant when it was finally revealed towards to the end in another unbelievable twist. Talk about pity party. By the end I was exhausted, only for there to be one last twist. If someone could explain it to me, I love to know.

What I didn't like: The book started off really slow. There were a lot of characters in this book and not a single one was likable, I had no one to cheer for, I hated every single one. I also found the book a little on the repetitive side, predictable and not wholly plausible.

What I liked: Even though the book started off a little slow for me the pace did pick up when I was almost finished and when it did, oh boy! There were characters that were LGBTQ and that was nice for a change of pace. I found the whole novel very atmospheric and I love when a book puts me right in the location and this one did that. Overall just an okay read.

The Weekend Escape follows six friends reuniting for a weekend adventure on a remote island. When something sinister takes place, they must work to discover where the threat is coming from and why.

I read this book quickly – mainly because I wanted to see if I was right in guessing the whodunnit. I’d guessed early in the book, and it turns out I was right. I found the plot interesting, but I wasn’t invested in any of the characters. There wasn’t much character development, and I felt the story moved at a very fast pace.

If you want a quick thriller to get you out of a reading slump this would work. If you’re wanting a gripping thriller with many twists, I wouldn’t recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for allowing me to read an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the description of The Weekend Escape I was hooked - I love books set in paradise like locations that turn into a living nightmare. I could not put it down and devoured it in one sitting. It had plenty of twists and turns throughout and the suspense kept building with every page I read.
I highly recommend The Weekend Escape.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for my ARC.

I love it when the weather feels like another character. I loved this book. Perfect for reading in front of the fire (knowing that you’re safe!)