The Long Weekend is supposed to be an idyllic couples' retreat at an isolated barn, removed from the rest of the world. Three couples have planned an escape, but due to unforeseen commitments, the wives wind up heading out the day before the men. Upon arrival, the wives find a note that one of their husbands is going to be murdered. Initially, the woman dismiss the note as a sick prank, but as the night continues, they begin to worry that one of their husbands may actually be in danger. What secrets have these lifelong friends been keeping from each other?

Gilly Macmillan is a queen of suspense -- her books are fast-paced and always keep me wanting more. Needless to say, I was thrilled to receive an ARC of The Long Weekend, and it exceeded my expectations. Buckle up!

Unfortunately, I did not like this story.
It might have had something to do with the e arc version I had but the chapters are incredibly long and there is only 3 of them.
It made me not enjoy what was going on because with a thriller you want those fast short chapters.
The characters were boring, the reveal was boring. I just wanted it to be over.

Three women arrive for a couples weekend at a remote barn in Scotland. Their husbands are due to arrive the next day. Upon arrival, a note left for them indicates that one of the husbands will be dead. Very descriptive of the area with many twists and turns and a hook that was unexpected. The tension builds nicely as the reader tries to figure out just who is threatening these people.

I didn't get anything done today because I couldn't put this book down! The characters were incredibly well developed and the plot was top notch.

Fast paced and suspenseful. Lots of twists and things you don’t see coming. Told from the killers point of view but keeps you guessing about their identity until nearly the end. Highly recommend for fans of the genre

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. The Long Weekend felt like a much longer book than it was. It was very uneven. Parts read much faster than others. The women in the cabin read so slow while the daughter read supremely fast. I wanted to like this book much more than I did.

To Tell You the Truth got me hooked on Gilly Macmillan and this book did not disappoint! I love thrillers set on vacations no matter the setting so the remote setting of this book definitely appealed to me. Macmillan's writing style is so intelligent and atmospheric and really propels her stories. This book kept me guessing until the end and cemented Macmillan as a favorite thriller writer for me.

This thriller/mystery/suspense novel has a setting that so many other mysteries have adopted. An isolated place where people go for a quick trip or vacation; their lives then upended and threatened, where they can't trust each other. In this book, the Dark Fell Barn in the wilds of northern England in the middle of a heavy rain storm, is the perfect setting for fear, paranoia, and the sense of danger.

Three women arrive at the Barn for a long weekend getaway, and wait for their husbands to arrive the next day. But the husbands are threatened in a mysterious letter that waits for the women at the Barn. They are told that one of the men would be killed before they can arrive.

The women panic, suspect each other of harboring secrets, and flail around in the barn and outdoors in the storm, without access to wifi or cell phone connection, or an easy way to leave in the storm.

Makes for a perfect situation for a mystery.

What makes the suspense:

A writer can also throw in personal failings, such as health, physical or mental, to gum up the works and prevent smooth sailing for the characters in the book.

In The Long Weekend, you can find creeping dementia, alcoholism, dyslexia, dissasociative mental disorder sprinkled among the main characters, and of course, psychosis in the killer. Add all these together in a mix, and there is a pot of suspense boiling for the reader.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yikes! Everyone is a suspect in this dark mystery about friendship and obsession.

Very suspenseful - if you are looking for a book to keep you engaged this is a good one. Macmillan is great at creating characters who are distinct and comprehendible, if not incredibly deep. Love the strong sense of place of this remote barn in the English countryside and the complex relationship between the three women. A gone-girl style twist near the middle had me rubbing my eyes for a moment. Not sure if it was too tricky or just tricky enough, but it was definitely compelling and made me think a bit about the nature of novels, which is always welcome. A fast and fun read that will keep you reading until it's done and with a few surprises a didn't see coming.

The first half of this sucked me right in but I think it got a little messy toward the end. Still a good mystery that kept me guessing. Thanks for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was an interesting read. Jayne, Ruth and Emily arrive at Dark Fell Barn. Not the best of friends to say the least, they can't wait until their husbands arrive. But, upon arrival they receive a note indicating harm to one of the husbands.

Told from different perspectives, this was a decent story but I felt that there were things that distracted from the main tale. Some of the personality flaws made this a little hard to read at times. I do think that the writing was good and also the plot.

Three wives head to a remote converted barn for a long weekend as their husbands make excuses to be absent, but when they arrive they find a note signed by a fourth widowed wife claiming one of their husbands will be murdered. Various factors including a storm, rough terrain, a disturbed landlord, and some poor choices prevent the ladies from leaving right away. Back home, things are not as they seem, and more family members are in danger.

The farm section relies heavily on contrivances, and as others have noted there is excessive POV switching among the three wives. There is a surprising revelation about one of the narrators a third of the way in, and things pick up on the home stretch.

An entertaining page turner with a palpable sense of peril.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

This was quite an entertaining book with lots of twists and surprises. Even when I began to have some idea of where things were going, there was still more to be revealed. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gilly Macmillan has given readers another fantastic treat of psychological suspense. Friends meet up for a weekend away, and they discover a cryptic note that says one of their husbands will die. Chaos ensues, enhanced by the literal dark and stormy night. Everything goes completely awry and someone ends up dead. Multiple unreliable narrators dictate the frantic actions which lead to multiple misunderstandings and, ultimately, murder. This is a definite page-turner with multiple twists. This is one of Macmillan’s best.

This is a great addition to the thriller/mystery genre. I'll be recommending this to patrons at my library that enjoy thrillers that keep you guessing until the end!

I love Gilly Macmillan’s books, and this is the best one so far! When the three women who are at the barn from the long weekend, open the card waiting for them-the shocking note hooked me! From there, the suspense was nonstop. The twists and turns kept me guessing right until the end. Amazing thriller!!

Three couples make a weekend trip to a remote B&B. The wives arrive a day early and start to discover their weekend is not going to go as planned. A note predicting a death by the end of the weekend has them wondering who it will be. But even more questionable is, who really left the note? And do they really know the men they are married to? Do they really know the women they are with? #TheLongWeekend #NetGalley #GillyMacmillan

In THE LONG WEEKEND, the author introduces three women, whose only true commonality is the lifelong friendship their husbands share. Each not particularly fond of the other, they count the minutes before their husbands’ delayed arrival at Dark Fell Barn, an isolated retreat, within England.

Upon check-in, a menacing note awaits Jayne (ex-military), Ruth (physician and overwhelmed neo-mom) and Emily (diffident new bride), which imparts a death threat directed at one of the husbands. Angst quickly transcends to mass hysteria as the women ponder the validity of the threat and began to question their husbands’ loyalty.

Told from multiple perspectives, Macmillan offers a more in-depth study of her characters’ quirks, fears, and flaws. With the possible exception of mystery/suspense writers, most will find this psychological thriller deliciously unpredictable.

While I felt there was a lot of hype surrounding Dark Fell Barn, and its inhabitants, with inadequate reward, the pacing, character development, and plot were above average, and I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy both drama and mystery. Gilly Macmillan is now on my radar, and I hope to read other titles by this author. Much appreciation to the author, William Morrow, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Gilly Macmillan crafted a unique story that had me guessing to the end. I had no idea who the killer was until their name was revealed. The characters were all so intertwined that the story flowed smoothly.
Thanks so much for allowing me a sneak peek at this novel!