I found this book rather boring; the plot was rather far fetched and were hey really a group of old friends - not the sort of reunion I was expecting; strange bunch of characters. The ending was rather disappointing too!

The Weekend Escape is a classic thriller set on a remote isolated island with a group of friends whose destination reunion goes drastically wrong. Gripping, atmospheric and plenty of twists, this is a perfect book to read curled up safe and sound on the couch!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Were these friends really friends anymore? What was really going on? Why did they all agree to come in this trip?

Six friends on an island and they start turning up dead or injured. Who’s doing it? They all seem to be guilty yet innocent just the same.

Told in different POVs, at times it’s hard to keep them straight. It’s a story that will keep you reading just to figure out what’s happening.

I am a sucker for a deserted island mystery these days, and this did not disappoint!
It was a solid tale of friends turning on each other while on a "perfect" weekend getaway.
Just enough twists to keep me engaged and I enjoyed the mystery. Thankful for the ARC!

Rating: 4/5 stars.

“The Weekend Escape” is a solid mystery thriller by author Rakie Bennett, pseudonym of Rachel Bennett. A little formulaic, this locked-room mystery sticks to the basics, and does not bring anything new to the genre. However, it is fun and entertaining, with some unexpected twists and turns, and is very enjoyable. The author does a great job of describing the remote setting, infusing a sense of dread and isolation in the reader that progresses and worsens as the novel goes on.

Fans of thrillers based around deteriorating group friendships are sure to love this book.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book on NetGalley and have provided an honest review.*

Great book, by an author I will read more of! Thrilling plot, great writing and brilliant characters. Highly recommend to others.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

This was a good read, but long. It took me a long time to get through as it didn't get me hooked. The story was good, and the ending unexpected.

I loved this book and would highly recommend it! A perfect slow burn with an excellent pay off. So so good!

This may have all of the components of a tight thriller--deserted and isolated locale, murder mystery, and a cast of unreliable characters--but it takes more than just the components to actually craft something successful and that's where this falls flat. There are a lot of characters--all female--and it took a good chunk of the chapters until I was able to keep each straight. The first few chapters are actually quite tight and set the characters up with the whodunnit mystery following a climbing accident. From here, the pacing pumps the breaks and the middle of the book drags. The mystery itself is obvious from the moment the word "Cherry" is uttered, so even that isn't particular enjoyable. As an icing on the cake, the final chapter is complete rubbish with the author trying desperately to throw in a surprise but much like everything else to this point, the execution is more of a "huh!?" than a "wow!".

The plot of the book was such a great page turner. The plot of the book was very well written. I truly cannot wait to read another wonderful book from this author.

The Weekend Escape is the story of rekindling waning friendships. We all know that as the years of youth and irresponsibility dwindle and life can get in the way of meeting up with friends. We grow up, we get jobs, get involved in new relationships, some get married and have children, it can be difficult to keep in contact with friends we had in school and college. When Lyndsey gets an invitation from her old friend Juliet to go on a weekend break with her and their old friends, Sonia, Bobbie, Amanda, and Val, she is initially hesitant. Money is tight, she has changed a lot and is dealing with a very difficult period in her life. A weekend on a secluded island might just be what the doctor ordered, right? I mean what could go wrong?

The group of six hasn’t met up in around ten years. The last time that happened it wasn’t very successful. Something is alluded to have happened, the protagonist, Lynsey seems to be carrying around a lot of guilt, and her life has hit the rocks on more than one occasion. Currently, she is facing eviction, homelessness, and unemployment if she doesn’t turn her life around. Her actions point towards an ongoing problem with alcoholism too – she packs a bottle a day and a few extra for sharing. She puts this down to being sociable. She is a character that is struggling a lot and this weekend just exacerbates it.

The Weekend Escape was just supposed to be a weekend of rock climbing, abseiling, and orienteering. It wasn’t supposed to end in disaster.

The characters were all extremely hard to like. They all came off as selfish, snippy, and far removed from the original friendship group. Not one of the group seemed to have a strong connection to any of the others. To be quite honest, I don’t know why any one of them agreed to go along. Juliet seemed obsessive about getting them all back together for this reunion even to the point of ignoring the impending storm that is about to hit the island during the weekend. That’s only the beginning – things start to go wrong, and it becomes clear that someone is trying to sabotage their weekend. Is it one of the group or is it the bird warden who lives on the island during the summer months?

One thing that blew me away about this story was the atmospheric edge rumbling under the currents. Although I found the twist to be expected and the characters weren’t exactly to my liking, I loved the atmosphere. The landscape would put a chill into your bones, especially being trapped there and trying to outrun someone that wishes you harm.

This is a story about a group of friends just trying to get away.

Did you ever see the movie The Descent? I feel like if someone saw The Descent, and wanted that story but without the monsters, this would be what you’d get… which works well, because hell is other people. This was a well paced, enjoyable and then there were none style thriller!

Thank you so much Netgalley & HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the eArc!

Friends Lyndsey, Amanda, Juliet, Bobbie, Val, and Sonia are going by boat to Shell Island for the weekend. There, they are planning to rappel and hike. They island is uninhabited except for Marne, a bird warden to cares for migrating birds. The group finds that the bunkhouse they are to stay in is less than very basic. It doesn’t have any electricity until they find Marne to turn on the generator.

On their first rappel from a lighthouse, everyone makes it safely but Amanda falls the last number of feet. The discover that the rope had been cut partially through. They manage to get Amanda to the bunkhouse and Val gives her some pain killers. They are dismayed to find that their cell phones have no service and Marne’s emergency radio doesn’t work. They want an emergency helicopter to take Amanda to a hospital.

Each woman is dealing with some trauma in their lives and end up wishing they had never made this trip. The weather turns very bad which adds to their distress. But, when one woman is found dead, they begin to wonder if someone - even one of them - could be a murderer.

This book is quite compelling making the one wonder who would want to murder them and why. It was quite good up until the ending which was finished quickly leaving me wondering what really happened, however, it could be that this is what the author wanted to do. So, enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was intrigued by the blurb for this book and I did enjoy the story of a group of friends, trapped on a deserted island in the middle of a storm, with increasingly worrying events happening around them.

As things get desperate and one of their party goes missing, paranoia and suspicion increase. As does their desperation to make contact with the mainland.

Is there someone else on the island stalking them? Or is one amongst them the one to blame for all the sinister happenings?

Definitely a story that keeps you wanting to read more to find the answers, but at times unnecessarily repetitive and a little far-fetched for me to truly be fully invested. An interesting little twist at the end that will leave the reader slightly in the dark still, but fun to be somewhat uncertain.

The tagline of this book is what interested me initially and it did not disappoint. I loved it. I would recommend highly.

Ooo y'all! This book was really intense, which I love! Lots of twists and turns with an intense amount of suspense. The characters were fantastic and the writing was excellent. Great read!

Great place to have a murder mystery - a barren island with only one inhabitant. It kind of narrowed down the culprits but that was ok. The novel moved swiftly, weaving through the characters who were close friends but had their own demons and we discovered that the friends were not quite as 'close' as we originally thought. No one quite knew who to trust, so it ended up with no one trusting anyone. But, all in all a great piece of storytelling and I'd happily recommend it.

A terrifying yet compelling “closed room mystery” set on a deserted island when friends tried on one another instead of enjoying what was supposed to be a fun trip.

This thriller has all the right ingredients for an exciting read. An isolated island, a killer among friends, hidden secrets and revenge set the stage for gripping suspense. Unfortunately for me it was just okay without many unexpected twists or thrills. Many of the characters were difficult to like and the pacing seemed slightly slow. The suspense picked up towards the end, but the conclusion seemed rushed and unfinished. 2 1/2 stars rounded up because of the atmospheric feel and tension buildup before the end. Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK One More Chapter for my copy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️