Calling all fans of psychological thrillers… Gather round! Gilly Macmillan is back with a new dark and twisty tale you won’t want to miss: The Long Weekend.
Each year a group of friends takes a long weekend away to relax and enjoy each other’s company. This year they have picked a beautiful old barn turned isolated retreat. With their husbands unable to join in for the first night of the trip, the three wives decide to head on and for a “girls’ night” together before the men arrive the following morning. However, as one might expect, things don’t go exactly as planned. Upon arriving at their destination, the women are surprised with a letter from another friend who couldn’t join them this year… A friend who claims one of their husbands will be murdered while they are gone!
Over the course of three short days, amidst the driving rain of a storm on through their journey home to the city, these women desperately attempt to figure out if the letter is just a cruel joke or an even more cruel reality. Along the way the threads of their friendship begin to unravel alongside their states of mind. What they truly know about one another is challenged, secrets are revealed, and each woman faces her own unique internal struggles when confronted with the reality of their situation.
Macmillan created a winning cast of characters here, presented in couples which both compliment and contrast with one another. There’s Jayne and Mark, who first met while in the military. Jayne seems easily pleased by the simple things in life, appears focused and disciplined in all that she does; yet despite these strengths, she longs for a missing beauty and power, and is plagued by a past she and her husband try desperately to forget. Then there’s Ruth and Toby. Ruth seems to have it all: a successful career as a doctor, a smart husband by her side, and a young baby she simply adores. Yet she is also consumed with feelings of inadequacy, lives in a constant state of exhaustion, and has begun to fear her husband may not be the man she always thought he was. Last but not least, there’s Emily and Paul. Emily is the newest to join this friend group, a beautiful—but naïve—young woman who married the much older Paul; but not for his money, as she seems desperate for everyone to understand. What begins as an uncomfortable trip with women she barely knows becomes more strained after the letter is found, as Emily finds herself at odds with Jayne and Ruth over how this alarming situation should be handled.
Like the vacation these three women embark on, The Long Weekend is broken up into three chilling sections, one for each day of their long weekend: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The absence of shorter chapters intensifies the page-turning effect, as do the shifts in perspective throughout the story. But you must read for yourself to see how Macmillan uses such devices to heighten the tension in this book. Be sure to pay attention—although this may feel like an easy read, the details are important and the twists are unexpected!
A novel of not just nail-biting suspense, but also friendships, love, and a secretive past which loops into the present, The Long Weekend is one you’ll want to just go ahead and add to your TBR. Macmillan has once again come through with what is sure to be one of the most exciting thrillers of the year.
The Long Weekend is available now from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore. Many thanks to William Morrow Books for providing me with an advance copy for review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
