What was supposed to be a fun weekend of drinking and reminiscing swiftly descends into a living nightmare for four college friends in this fast paced tale of deception, secrets, envy and manipulation.

June Moody is less than thrilled about spending time with her old friend and long time nemesis Sadie MacTavish especially considering Sadie's husband Ethan is June's former crush. But despite her doubts and against her better judgement she agrees to attend the baby shower at Sadie's sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands.

But almost from the moment they arrive there is tension simmering in the air and old grudges start to resurface. After Sadie mysteriously disappears,the remaining friends discover that the house is in a shambles and there are bloodstains at the top of the stairs. When the friends are shocked to discover that they have no memory of the previous night,they begin to suspect that they have been drugged. After it emerges that June had a secret rendezvous with Ethan the previous night,she finds herself at the top of the investigating detectives suspect list.

If they had been drugged then who had drugged them and why? Why had Sadie invited them to her home and then promptly disappeared? Was she playing games with them or had she found herself the victim of a killer who was hiding in plain sight?

This enthralling thriller is voiced entirely from June's perspective, she was a complex character who harboured mixed feelings about Ethan and a lot of jealousy over Sadie's seemingly perfect life. But as June will find out, appearances can be deceptive and if you dig deep enough there is a possibility that you will uncover the sordid truths that are hidden under the superficial exterior. The group of friends were a diverse cast of characters,each of whom had their own individual personalities. I really liked June and her best friend Emma but I didn't think that Amy, Kimiko and Sadie were very likeable for various reasons. The story didn't have a very large cast of characters, apart from the five friends and Ethan,there was two unlikable,blinkered detectives, Ethan and Sadie's seventeen year old daughter Dakota and Leo,the landscaper who lived in the estate. I loved the setting for this story, the breath taking description of Sadie's house that appeared to rise from a shimmering pool . The lake where they went kayaking, the water that looked so safe and tranquil but where you could so easily lose your life if you foand yourself at the mercy of the dangers lurking under the surface. of

The Girls Weekend is a extremely well written page turner, the story had me hooked on from the first page, was packed full of twists and turns and kept me guessing throughout. I would love to watch a film adaptation of this thrilling book. This is the first book that I have read that was written by this author and i look forward to reading more in the future. Very very highly recommended

It's impossible to put this book down! College friends are reunited twenty years later, and one disappears. Take a waterfront estate, add unresolved feelings, secrets, and tension and you've got a great tale of suspense.

As indicated in the opening line, messy situations tend to start with a group text. That group text is the invitation for a girls weekend to a group of college friends. I found myself quickly caught up in the drama between these friends and their many secrets. Jody Gehrman nails the dynamics of friendships among a group of women, especially those that were college friends.

Then one of the friends disappears and another friend is believed to be responsible. The twists and turns of what really happened that night and who was responsible for the disappearance keep you engaged til the end. It was a fun, quick read that I couldn't put down.

I received a free copy of The Girls Weekend from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley!
From the first chapter I couldn’t put this down! I quickly found myself interested in these characters. Five college best friends come together for a fun weekend to celebrate ones pregnancy. But after a night of fun partying and drinking, they wake up to the house a mess and don’t remember anything. Were they drugged? And if so, by whom? Also, one character is missing. The character who seems to have pissed off each of the other characters in one way or another so everyone is a suspect or hiding something. This was a quick read for me, twisty and fun, and I enjoyed it a lot! There were secrets galore! Would definitely read more from this author in the future.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
Girls who have been together since school plan a weekend at Stacy's beautiful home. Her husband chooses to sleep at the beach house and allow the girls the house to themselves.
But as sometimes happens each girl comes with issues from their past and their relationship with each other.
And then the night they party and wake up feeling drugged and not being able to remember the night - they find blood on the wall and Sadie missing,
Where is Sadie? What happened that night? Why does everyone seem to be a suspect?

I’ve been in a reading slump and this was the perfect book to pull me out! I loved the eclectic cast of characters, the setting, and the mystery. A great read!

This is an amazing beach read!! I took it on my trip to Mexico and was thrilled to turn each page finding myself more and more invested in the characters and their fates....and who was the criminal?? Great mystery with all the fun of a girls reunion, past demons and jealousy’s all mixed in with murder! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love, love, love a closed room mystery and I enjoyed the writing, dialogue and characterizations in this book but I fear it needed a few more characters in order to successfully pull of a surprise ending.

I suspected early the "who" and "why" but it was still a very enjoyable read and I still recommend strongly.

Thank you to Jody Gerham, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of The Girls Weekend from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley!

One day, June Moody, an English professor at a community college, receives a group message from old university friends inviting her to a reunion girls' weekend. It has been years since June, now in her late thirties, has seen her friends. However, she is hesitant at first because of the bad memories this reunion may dredge up. After much convincing, June reluctantly agrees to go on this trip, which takes place at her friend Sadie MacTavish's house, a lofty estate in Washington. Tensions rise as old feelings are dug up, but nobody expected a crime to occur that night. The question is who did it?

I have to say, I enjoyed this novel. The writing was chock full of personality, and I felt I had a solid understanding of who June was as a character. Even though she is not the most likable at times, it was interesting to see things from her point-of-view. This is the first book I read by Jody Gehrman, and I love her unique style of writing. After reading The Girls Weekend, I am up to give more of her books a go.

The one downside to this book is the mystery aspect. I was hoping for more twists and turns, but in the end, I was shocked to see the suspect was one of the most predictable to have committed the crime. I would have liked the plot to be a bit less predictable and just a little more edgy and dramatic. The premise is great, but I would have liked it to head in a different direction then it ended up. However, even with this, the story was engaging, and I enjoyed hearing about the characters’ escapades.

Additionally, I thought it was funny how the main character’s name is June Moody, who just also happens to be a professor. I kept imagining her putting the Imperius Curse on her students, which made me laugh. For me, there will only be one Professor Moody, so I kind of wished Gehrman had chosen a different last name. Literally every single time her last name was mentioned, I got distracted and was pulled out of the story.

Overall, I would rate this novel a three out of five stars. This book is definitely for people who want a little more of a lighthearted thriller that, for the most part, will keep you engaged. If you have read Gehrman’s other novels and enjoyed them, this may be right up your alley.

This was a very quick paced thriller! Though I found it to be tropey and very predictable, it was still good and held my attention.

The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman—Meeting up with your college best friends after 17 years isn’t all Instagram worthy chat sessions with lattes and laughs for June. After all, the girls weekend is taking place at Sadie’s house—no wait—estate complete with mansion and a couple of guest houses on the beach. And Sadie? That’s June’s arch nemeses, the one who married the love of June’s life, became a hugely successful writer overnight while June has struggled to get any of her writing published, and is living the life June should have had. Sadie has it all. She invites their old crew, the Fearless Five, to come to her estate for a fun weekend. June doesn’t want to go, but when her boyfriend suddenly dumps her for a younger girl, she decides a girls weekend is just what she needs, even if it means facing Sadie. She can leave the past in the past, right? Too bad Sadie can’t. She is still the controlling alpha-female she was in school. Everyone is a puppet in her play. After a wild night of partying, everyone wakes up with spotty memories, their hostess is gone, and there is blood, a lot of blood. Great read with a nice twist. Read this in one sitting. #TheGirlsWeekend #JodyGehrman #NetGalley

I couldn't get into this at all. I anticipated this to be an easy read that I would really enjoy but I didn't connect with any characters or the story line

Enjoyed the plot and the characters...but overdramatic at times. A good beach read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48237843

I enjoyed this book - a good whodunnit mystery. Old college friends get together for a long overdue girls' weekend hosted by uber successful control-freak Saide. The next morning Sadie is no where to be found, leaving her cell phone and what looks like a bloodstain. Her friends don't remember anything and suspect they've been drugged. Each one has reason to resent Sadie - so who did it? This one kept me guessing until the reveal. The ending was satisfying.

I'd like to give this book 3 1/2 stars because I liked the main character, June. That's important because it takes awhile to set up this plot and her likeability is what kept me wanting to read. June doesn't really want to go to a reunion called by her old college friend Sadie. In the ten years since their graduation, Sadie has become a wealthy children's author and has married the man June cared for, while June, though having written a book, is not successful and just was dumped by her last boyfriend. I think many of us can identify with these insecurities.
Things are uneasy, but really don't get going until nearly a third of the way in..Then the book really does become a page turner as June fights to regain lost memories and works through different possible scenarios. Has a crime actually been committed? Who kissed her? What happened? The actual solution doesn't feel like a huge twist, but this was an entertaining enough weekend read.

THE GIRLS WEEKEND is an entertaining thriller about a group of old college friends who meet up years later for a baby shower reunion weekend. When one of the women goes missing, the rest of them try to figure out what happened to her and if one of them are responsible.

Author Jody Gehrman does a great job writing compelling characters and making their stories interesting. I flew through this fast-paced book and was intrigued throughout. I will say the ending didn’t blow me away, even if it is appalling to fathom. Still, an entertaining read and now I have a new author to add to my list.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Jody Gehrman, and NetGalley for an ARC.

WOW, just WOW. I could not put this book down. The premise, 5 college friends re uniting for a girl's weekend captured my attention and kept from start to finish. The descriptions of the characters, the house, the grounds was so well done that I could picture it all while I was reading. The animosity. jealousy, pain, came through so vividly. It went in a direction that I never would have guessed. Great twist.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

June’s boyfriend leaves her for another woman and informs her via text that he is in Amsterdam with the woman. This causes June to attend a girls weekend with old college friends that she had previously had no plans to attend. June and her best friend Emily meet 2 other college friends at the home of their wealthy and successful friend Sadie, in Washington. Sadie lives with her husband and 17 year old daughter in what appears to be a perfect life. During the girls weekend, Sadie goes missing, none of the other women can remember the previous nights events, and the search for answers begins.

Everyone in this book had a bone to pick with Sadie so the murdered could have been literally anyone of them and I would have believed it. When the culprit was revealed, I hadn’t figured out and it was totally plausible. Overall a good quick read.

Why can't they remember? Where is Sadie? Did she plan this and leave on her own? Is she dead?
A text from Sadie MacTavish for a reunion at her house. Five girls who attended college together and one fixing to have a baby.
"Don't old friends owe it to each other to answer the call of the tribal drums?"
June, at the last minute decides to go with Em. Her boyfriend sends her a text breaking up with her from Amsterdam where he has suddenly gone with another girl.
This book will keep you turning the pages until the end.
"We were caught in that magical golden bubble between childhood and adulthood- We knew secrets about one another weighty as grenades."

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the eARC

What a “guilty pleasure” of a read! A fun who dunnit that made me miss my college years a little, and my group of “girls” I have lost touch with, a lot. The main character did a lot of detective questioning, but her prose was imaginative. Her mind worked like a modern day “Agatha Christie.” I enjoyed the book and finished it in a day.