More twists and turns than a Corn Maze at a Fall Festival! Gilly Macmillan's The Long Weekend is a quick, fast-paced novel and nothing is what it seems.

The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan is the perfect read for a dark and rainy Sunday. A small group of women is ensconced in a rustic renovated barn for the weekend in the wilds of England. They anticipate their partners arriving by the next weekend. For now, though, they are on their own. There's a tremendous storm that really sets the atmosphere for the story. The lack of cell service sets the stage for a tale of suspense once the women arrive and discover a note saying one of their husbands has been murdered. They're left trying to figure out which husband and who they can or can not trust. Read and enjoy!

I went into this book with an idea of friends getting together for a fun weekend that is ruined with a letter that says one of their husbands would be murdered by the time the weekend was over. Firstly, these three women were not really friends and were keeping their own secrets. Then the book took a whole different path and, honestly, I stopped caring about what happened. There is such a thing as too twisty and this is where the story went. I think the premise of this novel was great but it was a bit too long and a bit too far fetched for me.

In "The Long Weekend," by Gilly Macmillan, three women drive up to Dark Fell Barn, a remote guesthouse in the north of England. Their husbands have promised to join them the next day, but nothing turns out as planned. A severe storm brings heavy winds and massive flooding to the area. Since the ladies are without cell phone service, they cannot contact their spouses. Ruth, who is an emotional wreck, is a physician, new mother, and alcoholic whose marriage is crumbling. Emily is an insecure young woman who had a miserable childhood. Jayne, apparently the most grounded of the three, is thrilled to have the handsome and charming Mark as her soulmate. However, behind Jayne's cool façade, she hides disturbing feelings that threaten to overwhelm her.

Almost everyone in this book is anxious, neurotic, and/or self-destructive. Ruth anesthetizes herself with vodka. Emily is terrified when someone delivers a note stating that one of their husbands has been murdered. Jayne has PTSD because of the destruction she witnessed during her career in military intelligence. Unfortunately, Macmillan's plot is muddled and melodramatic. The author uses the tired device of a thunderstorm that cuts the heroines off from civilization. Meanwhile, a psychotic serial killer is knocking off people back home and storing them in a freezer; and a ravishing widow and femme fatale, Edie—who appears only in flashbacks—casts an eerie spell over the proceedings.

What sinks the book beyond redemption is the overcooked prose and irrational actions of the central characters, most of whom make one inane decision after another. For example, Emily, Ruth, and Jayne foolishly leave the warmth of their retreat to wander around in the cold, sodden, and dark landscape. Furthermore, the mastermind behind the mayhem is laughably inept at committing crimes. Few readers will care about these individuals, and it is a relief when Macmillan wraps things up with a contrived and not particularly satisfying conclusion.

Although the first half of the book started out kind of slow for me, the second half brought out all the twisty psychological drama typical of Macmillan. I went back and forth between what I thought was happening and was still caught off guard at the end. Solid thriller.

I really enjoyed this book. Macmillan did a good job of building the tensions through the course of the story, keeping me guessing as to who was manipulating the group, and what secrets each character hiding.
The ambience of Dark Fell created a great, dark mood where anyone's nerves would be frayed as they awaiting the arrival of their husbands and dissected the ominous note left for the guests.
I enjoyed the way the story was laid out and the narration from the "puppeteer" - while still protecting their identity.
Very compelling and entertaining. I'm looking forward to speaking with the author for my podcast!

Author Gilly Macmillan is known for writing some darker mysteries so when this one came up for review, I was intrigued enough to check it out. I know that a lot of psychological thriller and mysteries tend to be more twisty and dark and I love reading mysteries like that. For me my favorites are either classic Agatha Christie style mysteries or the dark twisty modern psychological thrillers!

This one actually sounded like it might blend both the classic mystery with the darker twists that more modern thriller are known for so I was super excited see how the two merge together. I haven’t read a mystery in a while that does this and to be honest, the one I did read just wasn’t for me (The Guest List) so I wasn’t exactly sure that this was going to be a perfect match up but I was at least willing to give it a go.

I have Macmillan’s books on my radar over the years and I know that she has had a lot of fans who enjoy her books so that says to me she is a seasoned writer and tried and proven talent with a big fan base. This gave me the assurance that I would be reading a quality mystery an it was that. It actually was a little different than I was expecting but pretty good none the less!

Summary

Three couples. Two bodies. One secret.

Dark Fell Barn is a “perfectly isolated” retreat, or so says its website when Jayne books a reservation for her friends. A quiet place, far removed from the rest of the world, is exactly what they need.

The women arrive for a girls’ night ahead of their husbands. There’s ex-Army Jayne, hardened and serious, but also damaged. Ruth, the driven doctor and new mother who is battling demons of her own. Young Emily, just wed and insecure, the newest addition of this tight-knit band. Missing this year is Edie, who was the glue holding them together until her husband died suddenly.

But what they hoped would be a relaxing break soon turns to horror. Upon arrival at Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered. There are no phones, no cell service to check on their men. Friendships fracture as the situation spins wildly out of control. Betrayal can come in many forms.

This group has kept each other’s secrets for far too long. (summary from Goodreads)

Review

I went into this one expecting it to be ‘so good’ but in the end it was good but not great. It hit middle of the road for me and from some of the other reviews I am seeing, I am in the majority with this opinion. I mean the storyline is intense and yes it does have a pretty dark plot but I don’t know that I found it as suspenseful as I was expecting. Yes there are classic whodunnit elements that I love in Christie novels and other traditional mystery novels but it just lacked some the luster of a psychological thriller or even a basic thriller for me.

This book is told from several point of views and the wives are the main point focus of the narrative. I liked that each wife was well developed and had an interesting backstory. Plus they were all unreliable narrators in their own right so it was enough to keep me guessing and speculating on motives and secrets. I really liked that part of the story, the characterization really shined in this book but beyond that, this book just landed in the middle of the road. Some of the mystery part felt a little too basic and just didn’t have enough to really keep me guessing. Some of it felt a little forced and I just wasn’t fully invested in the book in the way that I had hoped. It had some great atmosphere and had me feeling unsettled but beyond that there just wasn’t a lot of me to sink my teeth into the way that I had hoped.

I ended up going with a 3 star review for this one since it was good at times and I liked the characters and the premise of the story was ok but nothing really stood out for me as memorable. In my copy there were no chapter breaks and I struggled to keep up with what was going on. I had an ARC so perhaps that was corrected in the final edition but for me in the ARC it was a struggle to figure out what was going on at times. As I got to know the characters more, it became easier to follow along but in the beginning it was a challenge. It sounds like this is definitely not Macmillan’s top work so if you are trying her for the first time you might want to maybe start with something else.

Book Info and Rating

Format: 336 pages, hardcover

Published: March 29th 2022 by William Morrow and Co

ISBN 9780063074323

Free review copy provided by publisher, William Morrow and CO, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 3 stars

Genre: thriller, mystery

This was such a whirlwind tale! Although the beginning dragged on slightly, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story is told from the viewpoint of 8ish characters, so there is a lot to cover. Although not in first person, we go through many characters' thoughts and life. Learning more about each character is essential to the murder mystery type of path this book takes you on. Every character in this friend group was a bit suspicious, so trust no one yet! I will say, I was definitely not expecting the twist at the end! Actually, multiple twists. There were multiple points throughout the book where I was like, WAIT, WHAT?! I recommend!

We hear this time and time again but not every book is for everyone. However, I always get so sad when a certain book isn't for me. The plot sounds absolutely amazing and intriguing, yet the story sadly just lacked something for me. I've seen soo many amazing reviews for The Long Weekend but unfortunately it just didn't do it for me. Maybe I wasn't in the right headspace for it? Will I read this author again? For sure! The writing was good, I just couldn't connect with the story.

THE LONG WEEKEND
Gilly Macmillan

The characters started out confusing and ended that way. There are four couples that you are made to keep track of during the book and as much as the author may have tried they had no distinguishing characteristics.

The book greatly suffered from a lack of depth and diversity.

One wife felt like the next. Each husband a carbon copy of the other.

The storyline was not built to be scrutinized it was meant to be glossed over and the entertainment value was in its implausible-ness.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unnecessarily confusing and I’d say pass on this one.


Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for this advanced copy!

I wanted to love this one but it just didn’t work for me. I relish in short chapters and this book had only 3! The formatting was the biggest struggle for me. I understand and appreciate the idea behind the 3 chapters and each being a day of the weekend, but it was all the jumping around from different perspective’s without clearly addressing who was speaking and when someone ended and a new one started just left me constantly in a state of confusion.

I enjoyed the complex and unpredictable characters and I applaud that I wasn’t able to guess the ending, but with so much promise, unfortunately this was a let down for me.

I have seen a lot enjoy this one so please make sure to check out and decide for yourself!

I am always on the hunt for a good thriller, and this one was definitely a hit for me!

The Long Weekend tells the story of a group of friends who pick an out of the way cabin to spend a long weekend together. The wives head up first and after a long trip are greeted with a note in their cabin that says “By the time you read this, I’ll have killed one of your husbands”.

With no cell service, car and a massive storm, the women are left to worry all night. The next day they need to get home and try and figure out if this was a cruel joke, or if one of their husbands is dead.

This book is told in multiple POVs and you are given the perspective of what the women are going through at the cabin as well as what’s going on “back home”. It also has a few fun twists I really enjoyed! I don’t know how believable the book is, but it sure was entertaining!

I really did enjoy it, however when I finished there were a few things that I felt were never explained, which stopped me from completely loving it. There are also no chapters which might make some people annoyed, but I will stop in the middle of the page anyway, so it didn’t bother me at all.

If you’re looking for a fun atmospheric thriller, I definitely recommend.

Emily, Jayne, and Ruth have almost nothing in common -- their only thread to one another is that their husbands are all part of a tight-knit friend group dating back from when they were younger. Each year, the entire group enjoys a getaway weekend, but this year Emily, Jayne and Ruth find themselves on their own in a remote farmhouse with no cell reception and no neighbors for miles. With their husbands all claiming they have last-minute emergencies to tend to, the trio are promised the men will join them soon. But when the three wives settle in at the farmhouse, an eerie and threatening message is there to welcome them: by the time they read it, one of their husbands will be dead. What happens next is a complicated web of lies, secrets, fear, and misunderstandings. And of course, death. Just because we've been friends with someone almost our whole lives, does that mean we truly know them?

Thoughts: Okay, I feel like the last few books I've reviewed I've been saying how I like the author's past works but their latest work has let me down, and here I am saying it again. I really wanted to like this book, and there were definitely some redeeming parts to it. Macmillan is all about the dark twisty stories and The Long Weekend fits the bill. However, there are some big lulls in the story and plotlines that lead to nowhere, and one in particular that is cut short and seems like a waste of a good storyline. I very much appreciated the soap opera-ish type drama Macmillan brings to the table here, though. Once the storyline picks up and the "good stuff" starts happening, Macmillan hits you with punch after punch. There are some interesting deceptions going on, including some deceptive writing to trick the reader, but I do feel like there was almost too much going on at one point. Everything just kind of avalanches towards the end and then the epilogue feels so tame in comparison, more like an afterthought than anything. I hate saying I was disappointed in this book but I really was -- there was some good potential here but so much of the plot fell by the wayside.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm obviously in the minority here, and must confess that I was incredibly disappointed with this. Having thoroughly enjoyed nearly all the author's other books, the bar was set high and I eagerly anticipated diving into her latest. It was in comparison to her other works and other stories of similar ilk, it lacked a certain dynamic that resulted in a sense of bland. I didn't care for the characters (again bland) and the story just sort of spun it's wheels. This won't stop me from reading Macmillan's future books because every once in a while a go-to author stumbles for me, she is great and usually produces compelling thrillers.

Three wives of longtime friends Mark, Paul, and Toby arrive ahead of their husbands on a remote farm for their annual long weekend. They arrive to a letter allegedly from the fourth wife, Edie: one of their husbands will be killed this weekend. As none of the three men accompanied Jayne, Emily, and Ruth, this leads instantly to panic. There is no cell phone reception, and the barn that they have rented is inaccessible by vehicle once the poor weather kicks in.

As the evening quickly disintegrates, so do the tenuous bonds between the three quasi-friends as well as the unraveling ties of their respective marriages. Meanwhile, the three men are playing hooky for their own reasons--one of which is sinister to say the least.

My first problem with this book was the format. I enjoy a rotating POV, but during any given paragraph, you're reading from the perspective of all three women without any indicator of a shift. Secondly, there is an odd and mostly unnecessary side plot involving the owners of the farm where the ladies' portion of the weekend takes place. And the final nail in the coffin was that every character (with the exception of two from the aforementioned side plot) is absolutely unlikeable. In fact, a few of them are downright disgusting.

I hate to leave a bad review, but this particular book was enough to put me off the author altogether. It's only saving grace was the atmospheric quality that hung about it during the actual "weekend" part of the story.

The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tomorrow, 3/29/2022 is publication today for @gillymacmillan ‘s new thriller! I enjoyed every bit of it from start to finish. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this fantastic ARC! This is my honest review.

What I liked:
•great concept of a weekend away with 3 couples, but for unknown or unreliable reasons the men were delayed. What happens to these 3 friends in this isolated setting is just part of this twisty story!
•who is the narrator? We don’t know! I had my guesses, but never knew until it was revealed and I love that!
•I was guessing everything, every step of the way ~ and didn’t guess anything correctly!
•I personally love unreliable characters ~ they make the story so much more interesting!
•I’d look forward to a sequel with Imogen as the narrator/protagonist!

What I didn’t like:
•I was grateful to be reading a digital copy, as I had to look up a lot of words. It could be a language difference between an English author and American reader with an admittedly limited vocabulary!
•no chapters ~ just 2 long sections followed by a shorter epilogue. I got confused at times, and didn’t always know the best time to put the book down.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author. I’d love to dive into another!

Book 18 of 2022
Read March 22-28

While I enjoyed the last half of this book I found the first part confusing. I feel it would have been easier to follow if there was chapters to separate the sequence of events. Although I finished the book because I needed to know the villain/murderer it took until the halfway point to pique my interest. Thank you for the advanced copy NetGalley and Gilly Macmillan.

Omg this book was Soo Soo good! I couldn’t put it down! Grab this book when you have a long weekend because once you start you won’t be able to stop!

What It's About: Three friends - Jayne, Ruth, Emily - travel to the isolated retreat, Dark Fell Barn for a weekend getaway. Their relaxing weekend turns into nightmare when they find a note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered.

My thoughts: This was a pretty intense story and I really enjoyed the story build up. The beginning was pretty slow and I think it was more like an introduction to all the characters - backstories and how they were acquainted.

The story is told through the POVs of our characters and the unknown perpetrator which was really interesting! I also liked the POVs of Maggie and John Elliot (the owners of Dark Fell Barn) which was a subplot in the story, but I think it needed a bit more depth.

I honestly felt ambivalent towards this book. There are many parts I liked and also some parts I needed more explanation on. Regardless, I am glad that I've read this book. It was entertaining and had me guessing till the end.



Pub Date: March 29th, 2022

***Thank you Harper Collins Canada, William Morrow and Custom House, and NetGalley for this gifted ARC copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***

Read this if you like: Multiple POV, twisty twists, horror movie type feel

Thoughts 💭
Dark Fell Barn is a “perfectly isolated” retreat, or so says its website when Jayne books a reservation for her friends. A quiet place, far removed from the rest of the world, is exactly what they need.

The women arrive for a girls night before their husbands arrive. The women arrive to a devastating note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered while they are there. There are no phones, no cell service to check on their men. Friendships fracture as the situation spins wildly out of control.

There were some pretty confusing parts for me, as the POV changes often but it's not super clear who is the one talking. There were times where I had to re-read pages because I didn't know who was talking. It may not be an issue that others have. I hated this aspect of the book. The chapters were very long. It would have been better broken up by person or at least telling us who is talking. Some of the time it makes sense that the person is hiding from us but usually it doesn't.

The characters are ex-Army Jayne, hardened and serious, but also damaged. Ruth, the driven doctor and new mother who is battling demons of her own. Young Emily, just wed and insecure, the newest addition of this tight-knit band. Missing this year is Edie, who was the glue holding them together until her husband died suddenly. I found many of the characters in this book to be unlikable, which may have been the intention for some. We also see the side story of the farm owners and things they are going through. They have their own story.

This was very fast paced. The end was too fast and rushed in my opinion. A lot happened at once. It wasn't the easiest to figure out because it was all over. It was a good but not amazing book to me. It needed slower pace and to be more clear. This is my first read by this author. I think I'll read more. I liked this book!

Check the triggers*

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Harper Collins Publishers for the ARC!