Six friends head off to an island for an afternoon of adventure. Sounds ideal but this is a remote island with a few secrets it's trying to hide. There's a lighthouse, a bunkhouse and some very dark shadows. Someone could easily have an accident here. Who is there to help them?
A locked room, a thriller that is exciting, fresh and a novel full of secrets to spill. Oh to be on that island! is is raining outside? Arrgh!

After reading an amazingly well done stranded on an island novel a few weeks ago, this one just fell short.
Lyndsay and her mates from school finally schedule a weekend together - of climbing, catching up and reconnecting. Except someone messes with their gear. Amanda is the first to become injured - a suspicious cut on the safety rope. It's only them and the island caretaker - right? Screaming storm, howling wind, rustic bunkhouse, alcohol and paranoia come together.
The plot is so slow. The characters are annoying and unlikeable. Mental health issues, lack of confidence, little empathy among the characters. Just did not hold my attention.

Solid 5 stars!! This reminded me of a great Agatha Christie book, Then There Were None.

This one had all the makings of a great thriller...good characters, great setting, good twists.

Highly recommended!!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review this book.

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for my advanced copy. This was an exciting read. The story line was well thought out and characters were good. I felt the book was a tad too long but overall an enjoyable read

A concept that has been done to death - quite literally. You could line these books up, on a deserted island and let this fight it out and see what's left - and in the end - the ultimate...."And Then There Were None" would continue to remain the supreme.

Six friends, used to be close, now not so much, reunite on an island. Big surprise, things quickly turn.

I don't even care to go any further because there's no twist - we all know what happens.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Weekend Escape is a fast paced lots of action and who did it read?

The premise of a closed door murder is used here and Rakie Bennett does it very well.

Six friends reunite for a weekend on an island and from the word go things start to go wrong and decline rapidly for the girls.

A storm rages, the waves pound and the rain pelts down on the island. I could feel the cold in my bones.

The pages turned quickly as I was not sure who to place the blame on.

The Weekend Escape is a great escape read that will keep those lights on for just one more chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, One More Chapter for an roller coaster of a read.

This story starts off with six good friends from years ago going off on a reunion to a secluded island. They all hiked and climbed together in the past, but on this trip from the very beginning, things are going wrong. Then a huge thunderstorm hits, knocking out the electricity and they are cut off from everyone and everything. Next, they begin dying one by one. (Kind of reminded me of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians!) It is non-stop action, but the ending was a bit of a letdown.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and rev

A group of friends reunite for the weekend on a secluded island with no one else on it except for the warden. Throw in bad weather, no reception and a broken radio, which of course means no communication with the mainland, and the perfect setting for a thrilling weekend is ready and waiting… I enjoy books with this kind of familiar storyline because it always means I’ll be in for a treat, and this book did not disappoint.

The beginning was a little bit slow but the setting was eerie and ominous, which was perfect for a mysterious weekend full of fear and panic, and the story really picked up pace. I liked that the book was suspenseful, and each character of course had secrets while the tension and paranoia increased among them as the weekend unfolded, before the twisty and chilling ending.

Overall, this was an enjoyable rainy day thriller, perfect for curling up with on a weekend. I highly recommended this fun and suspenseful read!!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this title in return for my honest and voluntary review

A good story, the setup has been done a million times before as a set of friends go on an activity holiday to an island where they will for the most part be alone.

Yeah this is where things start to go wrong for the group. As they find their abseiling rope had been sliced causing a small injury.

Take nothing away from Rakie tho, it is very well written and she definitely has a talent setting and describing the scene as I found it easy to visualise what was on the page.

Thanks to #NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this.

Right off the bat I'm going to say that this story is nothing new. A tale of friends who go on a trip to somewhere remote as a fun excursion, a reunion, to have fun...but secrets/lies/jealousies/evil intentions change the trip from fun into pure terror. It's been done before....many, many times before....

But....I love that story line! So yep -- read this book, got sucked right into the drama and enjoyed every word! Because an island....a violent storm....six self-absorbed people with mucho past drama = perfect setting!

It didn't take long for these six "friends" to start turning on each other. Once that started, I couldn't put the book down! I didn't really like any of the characters...but that's not really the point in a suspense novel like this one...right? I'm supposed to dislike them and get totally immersed in the drama, trying to discover which one is out to get the others. And I did. I kept finding myself imaging what I would do in such a situation....besides totally freak out. I think at the first injury/death/disappearance, I would just gather up food/water/a good book and lock myself in my room with the door barricaded and wait for the others to kill each other, hoping they would all just forget about me. Ha!

Very entertaining and suspenseful story! I think the lesson I take away from it is to never go to an isolated island with people I haven't seen in 10 years. Nope. In all the books I've read with this plot, it never turned out well. Ever.

This is the first book by Rakie Bennett that I've read. It appears The Weekend Escape is her first book unless she writes under another pen name. I'm definitely going to read her next book -- can't wait to find out what she comes up with next!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from HarperCollins. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

4 Stars from me

This is a fabulous psychological thriller absolutely packed to the rafters with suspense and suspicion!

The perfect read for a cold wintery day and one that will have you doubt everyone in turn as the events of the weekend escape begin to unfold.

Rakie Bennett has captured the worst of old friendships perfectly within these characters and once the - frankly never was going to be fun - weekend begins to unravel there is a palpable sense of fear and unease with every new page.

Great book - very entertaining and perfectly pitched.

This novel belongs to the growing category of variations on the ‘locked room’ mystery in the contemporary thriller genre. The ‘locked room’ here is in fact the great outdoors, as six friends converge on Shell Island for a weekend of outdoor activities and renewed friendships. As we readers expect, things start to go wrong even before the walking boots have been unpacked, and the previously close friends start to turn on each other. One friend is severely injured and one left dead as things turn increasingly hostile. Who of the six will turn out to be the perpetrator?
I suppose this thriller can be called ‘atmospheric’ and I enjoyed reading the depictions of the cold, inhospitable landscape as a storm descends on the group. Occasionally I felt the characters were less well-drawn then their surroundings, and that the plot relied overly on the dialogue between the increasingly unreliable and nasty characters, rather than on introspective and allusions. Overall, however, this was a satisfying read, and I thank NetGalley and the publishers for the free ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

Since Agatha Christie ran the race with And Then There Were None, several authors have picked up the baton of novels about characters stranded on islands. Rakie Bennett runs a solid lap with The Weekend Escape.
(I guessed the culprit straightaway. Not the fault of the author; I read way too many books.)
Six friends gather on Shell Island off the north west coast of England. for a weekend of outdoor pursuits. We're straight into the action when they abseil down the side of a lighthouse. To say things go wrong from this point won't come as much of a surprise. And to say not all six friends make it off the island hardly counts as a spoiler. Ideal for fans of the genre.

Friends see each other rarely but for some reason tzey meat each year in June. This year Juliet organise a reunion on an island. A whole weeknd. It starts with an injury and the it goes down. This girls were far away from real friends. They had very deep sicrets. They did find themselves in a crazy situation, but it was tragic, a drama going on on this island and it was horrifying.


It was not a bad read. A little slow and maybe to obvious what was coming. But anyway maybe perfect for the season, as an horror, beeing trapped there would be a nightmare

Thank you Netgalley and One More Chapter publising for this copy.

The Weekend Escape was everything I wanted it to be. Moody, stormy, suspense and mystery all on a deserted island. There was great character development that continued through the book. I really enjoyed the reveals along the way, completely changing what I thought was going to happen.

Such a great read for the fall weather we’ve been having lately!

What an excellenr read! I didnt put this down until the very end.

A group of friends get together for a weekend of climbing, outdoors and reminiscing their younger years. They go over to a quiet island, but when they arrive they quickly realise all is not what it seems!

After years apart, do the group of friends even know each other anymore? And when one of them has an accident, they start questioning if it was really an accident. Can they trust each other? Or is someone else on the island with them?

I found this book really gripping, I enjoyed the characters relationships with each other and the island. I'd highly recommend reading it!

First of all, I want to thank Netgalley for this ARC, but unfortunately I had to DNF at 30%

The premise of this book was so interesting, I love remote thrillers, but I couldn't really get with the writing style and get to a place where I could really enjoy this book. I found none of the characters relatable or likeable which made it really hard for me to continue further.

I do sincerely appreciate the ARC so much though, thank you.

This is the story of a group of friends who reunite fir a weekend or climbing, caving and outdoor pursuits. Coerced into the reunion by Juliet, the weekend very becomes a series of mysterious, dramatic and dangerous events.
The writing of the book is good, creating a tense and atmospheric narrative, making the reader feel the claustrophobia and panic that the characters are experiencing.
I enjoyed this book and it kept me turning the pages, right up until the very end.
The ending feels very blunt, strange and unsatisfying, which definitely lost the book some stars in this review.

I am in the minority with this one as I don't think I would classify it as fantastic. Although the story started off good with good friends from years ago going off on a reunion to a secluded island to hike and climb, the middle dragged and the characters all blended together for me. It was predictable but you do still want to read to find out just what is going on with these women.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review.

Six women go on a weekend trip to an island. They all love climbing and they want to renew their friendship. They know each other since school but life got in their way and they are not as close as they used to be. And initially, they were seven friends. But one of them died ten years ago. But right on the first day of their trip things are beginning to go south. One of them gets hurt and after the first night one of them is dead. The friends are beginning to turn against each other because one of them has to be a murderer.

This is the second book in a row which I read about friends going to a remote place and a storm hits them while one of them has sinister plans. But this book was the better one. I was immediately sucked into the story. The pace is constantly fast and the characters all have their own voice and back story so you can tell them apart. Although I guessed who was the bad apple it did not change the fun I had while reading this book. The only thing that keeps me thinking is the ending. It was strange and a kind of open that left me with a question mark in my head. I wished it would have had a better conclusion. But still it was an entertaining read.