This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

I couldn’t put this thriller down!

Friends as teenagers, the group of women agree to Juliet's three day trip to a remote island. Although some of the six (should have been seven) were reluctant to go they all agreed because Juliet told them about her bad marriage breakup and they wanted to please her. The trip is also somewhat of a reunion as not all the friends have seen each other over the past seven years. Author, Rakie Bennett gives us the story from Lyndsey's point of view. Not all is as it seems and mishaps begin happening. I want to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an early copy to review.

A dark survival mystery drama with a classic setting of an isolated island during a storm.

Some friends gather for a holiday reunion ten years after college. All had become friends through their love of climbing and scaling adventures when at school. Now ten years later what once held them together could tear them apart. The holiday goes drastically wrong when one member of the group falls and injures herself on the first outing. Was it an accident or did someone cut her safety rope? Are the really alone on the isolated island?

The setting was excellently described such that the reader could picture the characters surroundings. Minute details of the landscape added rich context to the environment which teamed with poor weather conditions helped add atmosphere to an already tense plot.

One problem I had with this book is the amount of characters introduced in a very short time frame. It was difficult to distinguish who was who and what made each character different or unique.

The character development was minimal that it was a challenge to care about any of them. The 'accidents' were anticlimactic as they were  predictable from the outset. Due to the lack of character development no attachment was formed between the reader and the victims. The relationships weren't explored either so plausibility of reactions were difficult to gauge.

I found the pacing to be off and prolonged. The whole book covers a weekend and I think the book would've flowed better if more time was give to the back story of the friendship group. At times it felt like key details were given like random titbits with no context.

Overall the book had its moments but I found the majority of it highly predictable. The best aspect was the book was the setting and atmosphere, I just wish it were character focused.

Slow burn for me this one but finally came together
Six old friends on an adventure weekend on a deserted island. You know you can totally trust your friends, can’t you!?

six friends get together for a reunion on a deserted island. they don't realize their is a storm coming and someone gets murdered. It keeps your attention as you wonder who is the murderer. It was hard to put down.

A group of girl friends have a weekend away on a deserted island, for some rock climbing and a chance to reconnect with each other.
Things begin to go wrong immediately and they start to turn against each other looking for the culprit.
A story about secret, lies and past resentments.
Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars rounded up.

Alright, so I ADORE "locked room' mystery/thrillers where a group of people are trapped somewhere and are getting picked off. So when I saw the description for The Weekend Escape, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I'm so glad I did!

I was immediately drawn into the story; the plot moves pretty quick and builds in intensity as it goes along which I really enjoyed. It was very much a book where I felt like I had to keep reading. I actually stayed up late finishing this because I couldn't put it down! So as far as the setting, writing, and main POV, this was a win in my book. Very readable and addictive.

Despite all that I loved about this, often the best part, or what is arguably considered to be 'the point', of mysteries and thrillers are the twists and the fact that you don't know what is going to happen. However, in The Weekend Escape, I was pretty damn confident that I knew who was behind the sinister happenings and why they did it, and I ended up being exactly right. I think more could have been done to make it less obvious who was the culprit (I guess you could say "culprit"?) and that would've made the suspense more intense.

In all fairness, though, I have read a lot of thrillers and mysteries in my time on Earth, many of which have had very similar setups to this one, so the fact that I found it predictable could be, in part, attributed to that. And, the suspense wasn't completely absent, because I never felt guaranteed of a given character's safety; so I was on the edge of my seat and completely engrossed in the story. All in all, I would say give this thriller a read if you want to experience a solidly done, fast-paced, and entertaining thriller or enjoy works reminiscent of Ruth Ware's One by One, Shari Lapena's An Unwanted Guest, and the OG Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Page for a chance to read this!

Actual rating 3.5 ⭐️

Shell Island, a setting suitable for only the most hardy and adventurous is the chosen location for a group of six friends planning a weekend escape. Organised by alpha female of the group Juliet, this is a reunion, a chance for all concerned to indulge in a spot of abseiling, climbing, hill walking, all the outdoorsy pursuits that brought them together initially as sixth formers. Meet Lyndsey, whose voice dominates the proceedings along with the aforementioned Juliet, Bobbie, Sonia, Amanda and Val as they kick off their weekend away abseiling down the outside of a disused lighthouse. Rusty from lack of any recent climbing experience, a rocky start to their adventurous gallivanting signals there could well be trouble ahead as they struggle to bond, wary of each other but why? It’s a good start to this mystery in which all six women behave more like frenemies than friends.

Well, the type of weekend away Juliet has meticulously planned for this friendship group doesn’t sound like my idea of fun! Although not far from the mainland, the remoteness, the lack of amenities (a very spartan bunkhouse serving as the group’s accommodation) and the weather whipping up a gale of wind and rain suggests the friends time together is going to be far from relaxing. Cold, depressing and frightening is a more accurate description! Faced with no heating or electricity, the inevitable lack of means for communication with the ‘outside’ world adds to the prison like surroundings. Thus the author depicts a claustrophobic, suffocating atmosphere in which this strange bunch of individuals are trapped whether they like it or not. Will they pull together in the face of adversity and enjoy being at one with nature or will they end up at loggerheads, frustration, hostilities and resentments bubbling to the surface? The only other inhabitant on the island is the mysterious taciturn warden Marne whose presence is not a source of comfort but instead compounds the sense of unease rippling through the already tense atmosphere. With a feeling of impending doom clouding the horizon all you can do is sit back and commiserate as literally nothing goes according to plan.

Minor squabbles, disagreements and sarcastic jibes break out almost immediately as the party realises it’s unlikely much pleasure (more pain!) will be gained from this weekend reunion. Why have these women,almost virtual strangers some of them, agreed to this get together when clearly they’re not the happiest or closest of friends, their lack of cohesion and trust evident in their interactions? There’s a reason some friendships are best left in the past and the author does a great job of depicting a flawed group dynamic where what little trust that exists rapidly disintegrates and fear and panic take hold, every member of the party turning against each other at various points in the narrative. These women are all carrying so much emotional baggage between them ranging from marital problems, health issues, financial worries and unemployment to name but a few it’s a surprise the boat doesn’t sink on the crossing over from the mainland! Narrator Lyndsey is particularly hard to fathom; her constant whinging and whining about her personal circumstances and seeking comfort from the alcohol stashed in her kit makes her disagreeable and morose yet none of the others are endearing either. They are an unusual mix and I struggled to care for their plight; my empathy button was well and truly switched off when it came to these ladies fortunes or misfortunes! You wonder what good can come of reuniting when none of them can address the obvious elephant in the room, a seventh invisible but tangible presence. Whispered clandestine conversations allow secrets and lies to emerge, widening and deepening the cracks in this friendship group, until the weekend is ruined by misery, mounting suspicion, horror danger and worse. Tension ebbs and flows like the tide as worsening weather creates perilous conditions which the women strive to contend with, desperate to escape Shell Island before tragedy casts the group adrift for good. The characterisation in the novel is mediocre,the actual setting proving to be the best ‘character’ of them all.

Did I feel gripped by the storytelling? Not completely. Was there enough suspense to heighten one’s fears for these women left to survive a horrendous 48 hours in a hostile, unforgiving environment? Not until the very latter stages. Maybe I’ve read too many isolated location thrillers to the extent that this one offers little in the way of surprises and although the author makes valiant efforts at misdirection she fails to pull the wool over this reader’s eyes! I thought the identity of the culprit was too obvious and certain scenes suffer from a lack of plausibility. Overall the events of this torturous weekend feel very contrived and in truth I’ve read far better in terms of execution and credibility of plot. That said I did whizz through the pages, reading always being my number one ‘weekend escape’ from the horrors of my working week!! Plus I love an ambiguous ending, the author choosing to leave the reader with a few unanswered questions hanging in the air relating to the reliability of Lyndsey as a narrator. Those readers who have previously enjoyed storylines along similar lines from authors such as Lucy Foley and Catherine Cooper will probably be drawn to the synopsis, as I was. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether The Weekend Escape soars as high as a kite or fails to take flight or falls somewhere in between. An average if predictable thriller that kept me entertained even if it didn’t test my powers of deduction.

My thanks as always to the publisher OMC and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

When a group of high school friends decide to catch up, it turns out they may not have known each other as well as they thought. This take on the "locked-room" mystery trope kept me engaged especially with all the twists and turns. Although the book started off a bit slower than I am used to, I quickly found myself going back to prior chapters to re-read details I may have missed. For fans of mystery themed books like those by Agatha Christie, this is the perfect rainy day read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Rake Bennett, and the publisher, One More Chapter, for this opportunity.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

It was ok. It wasn’t great. It wasn’t atrocious. It was just meh. Found myself more interested in getting to the end than the characters or the narrative

A fun reunion of 6 school friends soon turns into a nightmare.

Juliet has been in touch with her old friends from sixth form to organise a reunion as they have not got together for 10 years. They loved nothing better than spending time together doing outdoor activities when they were at school.

Unfortunately a lot has happened in their lives since and now they all have their problems and secrets.

Juliet thought a weekend doing outdoor activities on an island, where they would be the only visitors, without Wi-fi or mobile phone coverage sounds like the ideal opportunity to get away from it all. Then one of the party is found dead.

A tense locked room type mystery which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of the book.

This is a classic mystery which I love when it's done well. This was done well!
I enjoyed the atmosphere the author created. I could feel how cold it was on the island and how isolated the characters felt being out there all on their own with no contact outside of the island. That was superbly done.

I enjoyed the mystery of it all. Nothing groundbreaking and the wheel was not invented but I was invested and it was a good time! I don't read mystery thrillers to guess who the culprit is but if you're on of those readers, I think you would be able to guess pretty early on. I enjoyed the ride so much that I didn't even think of the possibilities.

It was meant to be a fun reunion, a chance for six friends to reconnect and relive the adventure that brought them together in the first place. But from the moment they arrive on their island home for the weekend, Lyndsey, Sonia, Bobbie, Amanda, Juliet and Val realise that their paradise is filled with peril, and there are consequences when you try to outrun the ghosts of your past. As everything starts to fall apart, and the friends begin to turn against one another, deep, dark secrets are revealed, and an unrecognisable horror is unleashed.


we follow the six remaining friends of the "adventure group" a group that they had formed in high school. They reunite to go in a climbing trip that will hopefully rekindle their friendship. A storm is brewing and strange things start to happen.

I was pulled into this story quite quickly. It showed lots of potential. They were a mixed bunch of characters whose backstories were intriguing. Sadly, for me, the story was a bit predictable. The book is descriptively written and the pace is steady.

A good who dun it book. Though it neverbdid ever reel me in and the suspect was easily identified.. was still a well written book from all the characters perspectives..


Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

I am sorry to say that this book was not for me. I carefully choose the books I request and the title and description sounded as if I would enjoy this one. Unfortunately, I found that I did not like the characters, the storyline was a bit far fetched and the ending was extremely strange. However,the author’s writing style and descriptions were good. I hate giving negative comments as I realise the hard work that goes into writing a book but on this occasion I cannot give more than 3 stars.
Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for allowing me to read and give my unbiased opinion on this book.

6 friends, more or less disconnected after 10 years, meet up for a reunion on a deserted island, shocking weather, cut off, secrets from the past and grudges fester and soon one is injured and one is dead, the rest are shocked but who is behind it and why are they doing it?
6 main characters is quite a lot to meet and get to know and remember in a short space of time and to do so they have to stand out and be instantly recognisable to the reader, unfortunately for me this wasn’t the case and so struggled to recall who was who and the dynamics between them ( past and now )
It was ok, not much else to say it on it really, I could write lots but the end result would be the same that it was just ok…..and the ending was so abrupt I had to check there wasn’t an error and some of it was missing, it wasn’t so am at a loss why it ended where it did tbh

5/10
2.5 Stars

A great whodunnit story.

A group of friends go to a small island to rekindle their friendship, but things don’t always turn out well.

Really enjoyed reading this book and liked all the characters. It’s a page turner so a quick read. It kept me guessing till the end too. Recommend reading it.

I did not enjoy The Weekend Escape as much as I had hoped. It was very predictable and the smaller twists/character "developments" were very cliché for psychological thrillers (problems with alcohol, affairs, lies, money issues etc). I did not connect or like any of the characters. Overall, there just wasn't anything new in this book. I had figured out the main twist by a third of the way into the book, which made the next two thirds drag. If you're looking for a gripping, suspenseful, new thriller, I would not recommend The Weekend Escape.

A weekend getaway on a secluded island. Six friends friends reuniting, what could possibly go wrong - turns out a lot could go wrong!

It was supposed to be a weekend where six friends got together to reminisce and relive their previous adventures but from the moment they arrive on Shell Island, things start to go wrong. As things go very wrong very quickly, will the friends dig deep and rally together or will they start to turn against each other?

From the synopsis I couldn’t wait to read this book. It certainly piqued my interest. However I found the first half of the book quite slow going but the pace certainly picked up for the second half. I had predicted what would happen but was still eager to keep reading to see how the book would conclude. I would rate this 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

I love the premise of this book, but it's the kind of format that relies on a lot of tension and suspense to propel it. Unfortunately, I just didn't find that with The Weekend Escape. The book jumps right into the action without any setup, but then backs off and the pacing really slows. The dialogue, which usually helps move things forward, felt really stiff to me and didn't do much to progress the plot. Sadly, this was a miss for me.