The Weekend Guests
by Liza North masterfully combines suspense, drama, and psychological tension into an electrifying thriller. The story revolves around five estranged college friends—Aline, Sienna, Rob, Michael, and Brandon—who reunite at Aline’s stunning clifftop home in Dorset. What begins as a seemingly idyllic weekend quickly unravels as buried secrets and old betrayals resurface.

North weaves a dual-timeline narrative with precision, alternating between the friends’ college years and their present-day reckoning. The plot is fueled by Aline’s discovery of anonymous threats tied to a crime the group vowed to keep hidden, raising suspicion among the guests and setting the stage for paranoia, deceit, and explosive confrontations. As alliances shift and long-held grudges come to light, North keeps readers guessing until the final, devastating twist.

Atmospheric and deeply unsettling, The Weekend Guests is a gripping exploration of guilt, loyalty, and the devastating consequences of keeping secrets. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware, this is a reunion you won’t want to miss—though you might think twice about attending one yourself.

Thank you to Harper Paperbacks and NetGalley for providing this copy for my honest, voluntary review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#TheWeekendGuests #NetGalley

As old friends gather for a reunion, there seems to be some underlying tension. Everyone is too happy, and it shows to the guests that were brought by the original friends. It seems that there is a dark history, but what could have happened to such easy-going people?

One secret, one terrible night, and a lifetime of trying to guard against the world. It can take a toll on anyone, but this group of friends has managed to keep it quiet, and not speak of it to anyone, not even themselves.

As they gather, it seems that someone is out to get them. A lone figure is seen by several of the guests, standing a distance away. Who could be out there, and what do they want?

This was a great read, and hard to put down! I was turning pages as fast as I could to see what was going to happen next. There were some areas where it felt a bit slow, and for one character, although you are meant to not like them (not telling who), there was a little confusion at first around some of the information.

Still, this is going to be one of the top 2025 books, and one that is perfect for a night of curling up next to a fire, and reading the day away.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Liza North for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Weekend Guests coming out January 28, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I really enjoy thrillers like this. I loved the setting and reunions can always be a certain way. There were some things that didn’t really work for me and some things I’ve read before. I’m not sure if the twists were enough for me. I would check out other books by this author though.

I requested this book because it intrigued me for a couple reasons: Lucy Foley, atmospheric novel, secrets, betrayal, murder, but unfortunately this didn’t give me any of that. I found there were too many characters and I couldn’t distinguish them apart. I was bored with the story, it didn’t hook me like other thrillers. This was a chore to get through and I ended up not liking it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Five University friends (Aline, Brandon, Rob, Sienna, and Micheal) reunite years later thinking it would be a good time to catch up and bring the spouses and kids. It should be a relaxing weekend but little do they know Aline has a reason for them being together. Someone has sent out postcards to all 5 people and Aline wants to know which one of her uni friends decided to turn them all in for a dark crime they were all privy to.

This book wasn't the most enjoyable but it held my attention just enough to keep going. The last 30-35% of the book was what I like in my thrillers. I just felt a lot of the beginning IMO was too much filler.

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Weekend Guests is a thrilling mystery that has you guessing throughout the story. Told from seven different points of view, we get information from both the past and present. Five old college friends are reuniting for the first time since leaving college. While they have kept in touch, they have slowly drifted away from each other as they have families and move. However, because of the dark secrets of the past, they will always be united. Now, someone is trying to dig up those old secrets, and necessity drives them together again. What happened in the past? Who is blackmailing them in the present? Full of dark secrets, friendships, first loves, mental illness, and self-discovery, this book is a fun and interesting read for fans of mystery and thrillers. I struggled in the beginning separating the past from the present and didn't care for so many points of view, but overall, I enjoyed the story and did not see the ending. I thought I knew what had happened and who the blackmailer was and was so wrong!

I *almost* DNF'd this book right from the jump, as it's told in dual timelines which is not my jam. It switches back and forth from the "present," set in 2019 and told in the third person past tense from the POVs of a group of friends, to the "past" starting in 2001 and told in the form of the (first person present tense) diary entries of Darryl. I was really confused as to which was the past and which was the present because my brain kept trying to think 19 comes before 01, haha. It took me a few chapters and some flipping back and forth to realize which timeline was the current action and which was the flashback sequence.

Part of the "mystery" of this thriller is just WHAT secret this group of friends is hiding, now that they've started receiving mysterious and vaguely threatening postcards. The book ends with several plot twists, some of which I saw coming from the very early (and obvious) foreshadowing, and the most surprising of which (what their big secret is!) was also the most ... I don't know, *sad trombone* is the only way I can think to describe it. All this build up and the flashback sequence finally gets to what they're all hiding and I was sitting there like, "...Really? That's it?" *sound of balloon slowly deflating* From there the "who dunnit" aspect and the final comeuppance were predictable, but still enjoyable.

𐙚 Secrets from the Past
𐙚 Isolated Setting
𐙚 Dual Timeline

Liza North’s The Weekend Guests is a reunion thriller, weaving secrets, lies, and a haunting tragedy. The dual timelines and multiple POVs create an intricate narrative. The tension steadily builds, especially as hidden motives surface and relationships unravel. The setting—a stormy, isolated estate—adds an atmospheric touch, and the twists are intriguing. Overall an engaging read with solid tension.

Rating: ✰✰✰/5

Thank you for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. ・❥・

I really wanted to love this book, and there was a time, up until the last few chapters, that I did. I was well on my way to giving it a 5 star review, until the last few chapters. I loved the plot twist and the “big reveal” at the end, but unfortunately, I just couldn’t deal with how rushed the book was after that. I wish the “reveal” would have happened earlier on, so that the ending wouldn’t have been so rushed.

That aside, I loved the plot of the book, the character development, and I loved where I thought the book was going. I loved the mystery character and how it tied in eventually and made sense.

All in all, 3/5 starts.

In the vein of Lucy Foley’s chilling, atmospheric mysteries, a compulsive, psychological thriller about a group of old university friends whose seaside reunion will end in betrayal and murder! Good book! This book had suspense, intriguing, murder, mystery, juicy secrets from the past, a good who done it and a few crazy twists and turns! The story was interesting, it wasn't one of my top favorite but still worth reading! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Liza North’s “The Weekend Guests” was the last book I read in 2024. Five college friends (Aline, Sienna, Rob, Michael, and Brandon), along with their loved ones are reuniting in Dorset for a long weekend. They’re going to stay at Aline and Brandon’s house which is perched on a cliff near the sea.

The story flips back-and-forth between Edinburgh back in 2002 and Dorset in 2019, with multiple narrators. The reader knows pretty quickly things are not what they seem in 2019. Aline has an ulterior motive for inviting her old friends to stay at her newly renovated house, which formerly belonged to her grandmother. She received a postcard a few months ago and it referenced something she and her friends did while at university in Edinburgh back in 2002.

When the book started, I found it a little difficult to keep track of the different characters. As it went along, the book seemed to get into a rhythm of using the different narrators, as well as switching between the different timeframes. I also found myself wondering how the narrator from 2002 fit into the events during the “present day” of Dorset in 2019.

I found the book to be mostly a fast-paced and enjoyable read. As someone who reads a lot of thrillers and mysteries, I wasn’t all that surprised by most of the twists. However, there was one or two surprises that the author handled differently than what I thought would happen. I could’ve done without the Epilogue, though, because it didn’t seem to add anything to the book.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

I did not enjoy this book. I felt like I kept getting lost trying to differentiate all the different characters… there’s literally 8 POVs… that’s too many to try and keep everybody’s story straight. I also felt like at about the 30% mark, I still didn’t know what the point of this story was or where it was going. The whole thing just fell flat for me, it was anti-climactic and boring overall.

I didn’t like this book to many points of view, to many questions I felt so lost sorry this was a no go half way threw I had to stop

I’m going to sound like similar reviews for this but I can’t help it bc I feel the exact same way. It wasn’t a bad book it just wasn’t a good book. Wayyyyy too many characters first of all. It was confusing as hell. Simplistic plot that was predictable. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

The Weekend Guests is a suspenseful, can't-put-down psychological thriller that delves into the dark side of friendships. College friends Aline, Sienna, Rob, Michael, and Brandon have grown apart as their lives have taken different directions; however, after receiving anonymous threats in the mail, Aline has invited everyone to a reunion at her picturesque cliffside mansion on the Dorset coast. The friends realize that someone out there knows their darkest secret and is threatening to expose them all. Now, the group must determine their next course of action, while also trying to figure out who betrayed them and told of their past crime. At the end of the day, the friends must face the fact that all actions have consequences.

The Weekend Guests is beautifully written and filled with drama, tension, and suspense. The story is told through multiple POVs and alternates between two timelines. The author seamlessly weaves the various storylines together and pulls the reader into each character's life. While all of the characters are quite unlikable, they're all extremely complex and well-developed. There are plenty of twists throughout the book that I did not see coming, and the ending is quite nerve-racking. While The Weekend Guests is extremely dark and full of tension, I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. I'll definitely be recommending this book and will be reading more by Liza North.

Liza North’s The Weekend Guest is a gripping thriller that masterfully explores the corrosive power of secrets and the fragility of trust. Set in a picturesque yet illusive cliffside house, the story pulls readers into a reunion fraught with tension, as five former college friends confront a buried past that refuses to stay hidden. The author alternates between timelines, unraveling the web of deceit surrounding a dark crime and exposing the simmering rivalries and betrayals within the group. With its sharp twists, well-drawn characters, and a creeping sense of dread, this novel is an irresistible page-turner that keeps you guessing until its chilling conclusion.

The Weekend Guests was so atmospheric, borderline creepy (in the best way) and utterly addicting. I felt like I was there and I absolutely loved it!

I really wanted to like this one but ultimately I felt that it fell flat. It gave me vibes of a bunch of other books I've read before and not in a good way.

"In the vein of Lucy Foley's chilling, atmospheric mysteries, a compulsive, psychological thriller about a group of old university friends whose seaside reunion will end in betrayal and murder.

Five old friends...One reunion to die for.

After years apart, old college friends Aline, Sienna, Rob, Michael, and Brandon reunite in idyllic Dorset, for a weekend at Aline's beautiful house perched on a cliff above the sea. It should be the perfect chance to relax, rekindle friendships, and meet each other's partners; plus, there's a sitter to watch the kids.

What most of the guests don't know, however, is that Aline has called them all together for a reason: someone has threatened to expose the dark crime they committed at university. Long ago, these old friends swore one another to silence, and have never spoken of the deed since. But now, menacing postcards have begun to appear - and Aline is convinced it's one of them turning on the rest.

In Liza North's propulsive and unsettling dual timeline narrative, truths emerge, secrets surface, and long-simmering grudges explode - and by the end of this reunion weekend, at least one of them will be dead..."

I don't know why but any book that is basically a murderous version of Peter's Friends is a book I have to read.

I gave this book 4 stars. It had a great plot and was very thrilling for a psychological thriller. The story revolves around a group of old university friends. We all know that many things can change as the years go by and they did indeed have secrets from one another. There is a good reason they have all been called to meet again and its chilling. You will not regret buying this book!