DNF
I read some reviews on this that really matched what I was thinking from the beginning. The story was boring right from the start, too many characters and not enough happening. No build up and no hook. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure if I lost my reading mojo with this book or it was the story.
The plot started off really well. And I was hooked till the first incident. I just then found the book dragged. All the women were flawed and not particularly likeable. I just felt like how much longer till I get to the end.
A death occurred ten years previously and is woven into the storyline. It’s only because I wanted to see the outcome of that, is the reason I stuck with the book.
The end felt rushed and didn’t answer all my questions.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an arc

Six friends get together for a get away on a deserted island. It isn't long before they realize that unspoken secrets are going to jeopardize this reunion. Slowly they begin to turn on each other and are they really alone on this island? Suddenly they begin to have bad luck, or so it seems and it can only get worse.
This mystery/thriller was very entertaining and kept my interest to the very end.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the premise of this story and all the twists that came with it. I loved the idea of a locked room mystery on an island. Where else could you possible go being stuck on an island. I loved the constant guessing this story had me doing and not knowing how this was going to end. A very entertaining read overall!

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinions. I thoroughly enjoyed this book even if the ending was a bit predictable. This was my first book by this author and I thought the writing style was very captivating and kept my interest all the way until the end. I can't wait to read more books by this author. Thank you for the chance to read this ahead of time!

A fun thriller! Couldn’t see the twists coming but may forget about this one. Still enjoyed it at a whole!

Ooh, this one is a good one! 6 friends reunite for a weekend escape, but it's definitely not the bonding experience they were hoping for as they' are now forced to determine if one of them is a killer. It's full of twists & turns to the end.

Pick this one up. You won't be disappointed!

I think this book at a lot of potential, but it got a little muddied for me. With six characters to keep track of and a bit of a slow pace, I struggled to maintain full attention. There are some flashbacks which I also had to mindfully keep track of, so my attention was lost in more than one way. The shift between the possible suspects is what truly kept me reading through to the end. While it was a great wrap-up, it was a bit rough for me to get there. I think the pacing and shift in timelines and characters was just a bit much for me, but others may enjoy it well.

This was a really good story. Drags you in almost instantly and keeps you until the end. Very well written and likeable characters. It is one you can figure out fairly early on but that doesn't take away from the story at all. The only reason I rated 4 stars was the ending. It was just too open and a little confusing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
6 friends take a trip to Shell island to reconnect on a climbing holiday. They were school friends, however, one of the group died in tragic circumstances and they lost touch. The holiday starts to go wrong as soon as they get there, first one has a fall and they realise the climbing rope was tampered with, then another is found dead. One real bonus of the book is the setting, it is really atmospheric and the situation feels desperate. On the downside, I knew very early on who had to be behind the accidents and murder so it was really just seeing how and why. The middle portion of the book was slow but the final 1/4 was really well paced. Overall I found the characters quiet unlikeable and the dynamic between them a little odd, so I did struggle getting into the book initially.

Great read! I loved the isolated setting and the plot had plenty of twists and turns. If mystery is what you’re looking for, this ones for you!

First off, I love books set on a remote island, with a group of long lost friends reunited, and mystery!

And this book had all of that. It took me a minute to get all the women straight but I loved the secrets and drama each held on to from years previous!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

this was a really good mystery novel, the cover lurks you in and the story keeps you there. The characters were done well and I didn't hate them.

Six former school friends gather for a weekend escape and reunion but instead of catching up and having fun, they're stranded on a remote island and it's clear that something sinister is going on. I loved the setting of the island with the lighthouse but the six friends didn't have clear enough personalities for me to keep them all straight and I found the dialogue and the characters to be clunkily composed. The action didn't really heat up until the last third. That said, it was an enjoyable escape read.
Thanks, #netgalley

Entertaining and a good read. Six school friends have a reunion and there’s a killer amongst them. Lots of secrets abs twists. Read it quickly and enjoyed it

The Weekend Escape was painfully formulaic to start, but it did get more in its element when the characters were more explored and tensions began to rise. There is still a fun guessing game to be explored with the whodunit plot, which was what held my interest.

What a gripping, mind-blowing, engrossing page turner! Wow! I was hooked on to the story and could not put it down until the end. Six friends on an island, cut down from the mainland thanks to a storm and a murderer in their midst, now this is what I call a perfect stranded-on-an-island mystery!

The mystery behind the murderer on the island adds a dash of eerie to the story. Also, the suspense keeps you guessing till the end. As the story proceeds, we learn each of the six friends has a dark secret - and this reunion was more than just a 'fun outing.' The warden acts weird and the ladies doubt if she's the perp - but why should she want to harm them?

The friends begin to turn on one another and the horror is unleashed. It looks like only Lyndsey is trying to keep them together... or, is she? Whom to trust and whom not to? Lyndsey has no idea what her friends are up to...

If you are looking for a nail-biting weekend read, I highly recommend you to give The Weekend Escape by Rakie Bennett a try. Believe me, this story will keep you guessing till the end.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Things are not what they seem and will have you guessing until the end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

2,5 ⭐️

A deserted island, a weekend getaway, a group of friends with a killer in their midst… With these ingredients The weekend escape had all the elements for it to be my favorite kind of read. Sadly, it wasn’t.

I know there’s an overload of locked room mysteries in isolated settings, but I usually enjoy them all. This one went awry almost from the get go.

Right from the start we’re presented all at once with 6 pretty similar main characters. This made trying to tell them apart quite hard. They didn’t have any distinguishing qualities and we were not given any of their backstories so I could not completely differentiate them until almost halfway through. They were also really unlikeable and, although I don’t usually have a problem with that but, if you’re unlikeable at least be interesting and these characters weren’t.

The mystery itself moved at such a slow pace. It felt like most of the time they were just bickering to each other (thank god they were supposed to be best friends!) and plotting ridiculous schemes that went nowhere. It was pretty clear from the start who was the villain (in my opinion, that first chapter gave it all away) and even though at first you don’t know the motives, as the story progresses you can basically work it all out. The last third picked up a little bit and turned the tension up a few notches but the actual ending was quite abrupt.

On the good side the creepy atmosphere was really well done and you would not caught me dead in that island.

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A spooky thriller! Set on an island! Absolutely perfect for October, and everything I've been looking for. I can't remember the last time I read a good, honest-to-goodness crime thriller (to be honest, I'd forgotten the subject of this book and assumed it was another romcom when I got the approval email, because I've been on a much fluffier kick), and this was the perfect antidote to steer me back into the genre. Twisty, dramatic, and frightening. I had a blast.