Far to descriptive for me. Didn't enjoy or like any of the characters
Not for me. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

I just could not get into this book. I felt it was very slow and drawn out. Unfortunately the writing style just didn’t vibe with me, but I did like the idea of the story.

Rating: 2.4/5

"The Weekend" is certainly not without merit. It has a classic setting for the genre in a secluded, erstwhile country mansion that has been converted into a hotel. There is an historical death under suspicious circumstances that has never been satisfactorily resolved and finally, there is a restricted cast of characters with shared histories, where any one of them could have potentially wished ill upon the young man who died there ten years earlier. However, in spite of everything that it had going for it, this novel did not leave me feeling anywhere near as satisfied as it should have done.

For the most part, the issues I had with it were stylistic. At times - particularly in the early sections - I found the descriptive language being done to the point of overkill. Sometimes, as the saying goes, less is more - but I got the sense that the author's approach was more akin to "never mind the quality feel the width". I was fearing the worst at this point and had visions that getting through the 300+ pages to come was going to be something of a slog. In fairness to the writer, that wasn't the case and the descriptive excesses were generally reined in for the subsequent sections of the book. However, that wasn't the only element of the writing style that I found awkward. The narrative was also strangely inconsistent. At times it seemed quite old-fashioned or even slightly pompous, but then on other occasions it would be far more contemporary and even a little coarse. I could have understood the variations if they were restricted to to occasions when different protagonists were speaking, as this could have simply been representative of the individual concerned and their particular background, but this wasn't the case. It was also evident in the ongoing narrative, which you would expect to be fairly consistent.

The action plays out across two timeframes. There are the contemporary events at the memorial weekend and then there are flashbacks to the time of Thomas's death ten years earlier. In each case the narrative is presented from the viewpoints of the key protagonists. The various points of view are presented in the third person, but with one exception, Lizzie's perspective in the historical flashbacks are written in the first person. I could have understood that stylistic decision if the same character's sections in the contemporary setting were also in the first person, but they aren't. The only explanation I have been able to come up with is that the author wants to show that Lizzie now thinks of herself as a different person, Elizabeth, rather than Lizzie, and this is way of representing that perception on the page. If that is indeed the thinking, then I have to say that I am far from convinced.

There is actually a good mystery at the heart of this story, but it also felt quite protracted. The events supposedly take place over the course of a weekend - but it felt considerably longer. Much of the same ground seems to be unnecessarily retrodden rather than moving the story on, so it loses impetus and impact. This novel has 57 chapters and, without wishing to give away spoilers, I think it would have had a stronger conclusion if it had ended after the 56th chapter. In my opinion the addition of the final chapter made for a weaker and less convincing climax, but others may disagree.

Overall, this was a mystery with plenty of potential, but there were just too many shortcomings in the execution for it to be as impressive as it could have been.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

I’ve really been into getaway secluded murder mysteries lately and this seemed just up my alley. As a group of friends gather to remember a friend they lost ten years before the real quest of the weekend is to find out who the killer was. His mother tasks his girlfriend at the time of his death with figuring it out. The book is told from past and present flashing between each other and allows you to get a feel for who they are and who they have become. It seems so,e haven’t changed too much though. Will more deaths come before the killer is found? Grab you a copy to find out.

2 ⭐️

I was bored throughout the entire story. I didn't find anything redeeming and this almost put me in a slump. The plot sounded incredible but the execution failed unfortunately.

Did not work for me. Major plot points not tied up yet the end still felt predictable. Was hard to connect to the MC when bouncing between first and third person future/past. Wasn’t able to differentiate the other characters as they weren’t fleshed out adequately.

Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of The Weekend in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own.

Aye Aye Aye!!!! I was in love with the cover, the title and the synopsis of this story, but that is where my positive comments stop.

This book had SO MUCH potential, but fell extremely short.

Lizzie's boyfriend was murdered at his graduation party. Ten years later, his mother invites all of his friends back with the ulterior motive to find out who killed him.

It was hard to connect with or like any of the characters. The present vs. flashbacks were not written very well.

The twists were extremely predictable and you could probably figure them out even if this is the very first thriller/suspense you've ever picked up.

I would not recommend anyone wasting their time on this one.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this novel as an ARC. This was my first novel by this author. I personally struggled with the writing style. The sentence structure often felt abrupt. It was not smooth and I found myself skimming and then missing pieces. There was a lot of unnecessary “fillers” that did not add value to the story. The character development was lacking and there were a lot of characters. The premise of the story was interesting. While it was predictable, I enjoyed the outcome. For me, the writing style left me uninterested and lacking of emotion to the book.

I loved this book ! Very atmospheric and spooky.

Elizabeth returns to the estate of her high school boyfriend for a 10 year remembrance ceremony held in honor of his death. She finds when she returns that the boyfriend's mother planned the event in order to solve what happened to her son many years ago. Before you know it, murder visits the group again and Elizabeth has to work against the clock to solve the death of her boyfriend and others before she is next!

I loved LH Stacy's setting and felt like I was part of the weekend. If you like Agatha Christie, vacations -gone -wrong or just want a new twisty author to follow, The Weekend is for you! #BoldwoodBooks #TheWeekend #LHStacey

Thank you to Net Galley & publisher for this ARC!

I enjoyed the premise of this book a lot. However it was a bit too detailed for me. There was a lot of description and it was counter active, it actually made it harder to follow.

2.5 stars, rounded down due to irritating writing style tic.

Our main character Elizabeth-don't-call-me-Lizzie returns to the Manor where 10 years ago her boyfriend, Thomas, was murdered. Thomas' mother Ada tasks her with finding who the murderer was. New deaths ensue interspersed with flashbacks to 10 years ago. As college kids, Thomas, Lizzie, and Thomas' friends partied every weekend with booze, drugs, and sex. Other reviews said the book was like And Then There Were None but I got more of a Great Gatsy parties vibe.

I struggled with this book because I didn't care about anyone (except the dog). Lizzie (in the past) was a gullible idiot - why are you staying with someone who is probably a sociopath and abusive to everyone, including you?? Elizabeth (in the present) isn't much better - she's still so traumatized from the murder and at first I had sympathy for her, but as the book went on, I was rooting for someone to take her out. The friends are all hedonistic, shallow people who were fairly interchangeable which made it hard to track who was who (never good for a whodunit). I wanted to like William (Thomas' brother) but felt meh towards him.

The book is told in the past and present. In the past, when Lizzie narrates, it's first person (except for one chapter that switches to third person midway through but hopefully that gets caught before the final version releases). Everyone else is third person. It was a strange way to narrate with the POV switches that didn't work for me. Also, since Thomas and Ada were (third person) narrating chapters, it ruined the "what are they thinking?" mystery since the book told me. It lowered the stakes, since I didn't need to figure anything out, which contributed to me not caring who the killer was. I could have lived without the final twist, which felt like too much. Also, the resolution left me with a number of questions and it felt too brief.

This would have been a 3 star book for me were it not for the writing style. The author has a habit of starting a paragraph with a sentence followed by a verb sentence fragment. For example: "Elizabeth got out of the shower. Dried her hair." At first, the sentence fragments were jarring that would break up the reading cadence. Then, as I noticed the pattern, it became completely distracting since each new paragraph, I would wonder if I was going to see that and 1/3 - 1/2 of the time, I did. It didn't work for me. Drove me nuts. What is wrong with "and" and "she"?

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

This story had potential but never really got there for me. It centers on Lizzie, whose boyfriend is murdered at his own graduation party, with the killer never identified. 10 years later, his mother is planning a memorial and invites back all of his friends, but her true intention is to figure out who killed him. The chapters go back and between 10 years ago and current time.

I had some issues with the writing style, the primary one being that Lizzie now wants to be called Elizabeth- the flashback chapters are in the first person when she was Lizzie and the current chapters are told in 3rd person when she is Elizabeth. I found this jarring and couldn’t get into the Elizabeth chapters. The book was also extremely descriptive and the overkill on details made for a slow read.

There were a lot of characters in this book but they weren’t all built out to the point where I could differentiate them, nor could I determine what made them all friends. Some of their storylines were also left without resolution at the end. Lots of people died throughout the book but neither the characters or police acted naturally as far as I’m concerned.

The ending, while twisty, was predictable for me. I was ok with the way it ended but nothing was a surprise.

Overall, not my favorite read and I don’t think this story stands out in a genre of similar books. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this advance copy to review through Netgally.

I would give this book 3.75 stars, I enjoyed it and the story, I felt there was too many characters to keep up with and I felt the book was a bit drawn out, however apart from that I enjoyed the story setting and the end had a good few twists. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a read that lasts a bit longer in the mystery/suspense type story.

The Weekend by L.H Stacey

2.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and the author for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“That Lake. This house. His friends. They all know what happened to my boy. I know they do. And you... you have to help me find the truth... A weekend to remember... Ten years ago, deeply in love, I would have done anything for Thomas
Kirkwood. But on the night of our graduation, fueled by drink and drugs, Thomas's lifeless body was found floating in the Kirkwood family lake. That weekend changed everything, and
I swore I would never return to Kirkwood manor. A weekend to forget... Now, ten years later, I have been invited back to the place that holds such terrible memories for me, to a memorial
weekend for Thomas, organised by his still grieving mother Ada. But this is no ordinary weekend. This is a reunion to catch a killer and I fear that I could be top of Ada's list...” (Goodreads blurb)

Ugh, this book. Another one I wanted to love. The title, the cover, the description all had promise. However, it was incredibly hard to read, let alone finish. The plot had the potential to be good it just wasn’t well executed.

To begin, this book was painfully descriptive. I’m all for good description and feeling connected to the story but this was just pages and pages of unnecessary details. I also felt that the story was a little all over the place and left unfinished. For example, one of the characters dies near the end of the book and we never figure out why or how. Speaking of characters, there were so many different characters that never really got enough of a story behind them to make them feel important, even though they were supposed to be. The killer was very obvious, I had it figured out very early on. The “plot twist” at the end was also very predictable and not very original. To be honest, this probably would have been a book I DNF’d if it wasn’t an ARC.

The book is slow to start, but once it gets going it really gets going. It's full of who done it ? It's full of unexpected twist and turns. I really enjoyed the going back and forth between the events of ten years ago and the events of today.
I received an arc from netgallery and really appreciate that I did!

An entertaining mystery novel with a well laid out and developed plot and a satisfying ending. The plot played out in a very engaging way. Character wise though it was a little too black and white, they were either entirely loathsome or saintly, this made it feel a bit shallow. Well worth a read though.

The book had a ton of potential, but was weighed down by Lizzie, who unfortunately was the main character. Everyone was a bully - and while it was overall sad that someone died, everyone was a terrible person.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

I was scared to start this book because for some reason it had lower reviews and I have a short attention span. After reading it though, I don’t understand the lower reviews. I liked it. It had good characters, a good story that was easy to visualize, I don’t understand. It definitely gets 4 stars from me because I really did like it, and once it’s released, I’ll be recommending it.

The book as whole, with its twists and turns held my interest. Right off the bat, we’re thrown into a mystery of what happened in Lizzie’s life 10 years prior with her boyfriend. The only reason I was able to finish this book was because I needed to know what happened! The characters were SO incredibly unlikeable. Lizzie was annoying and stayed with a guy who treated her absolutely horribly and she just explained it away. I can’t imagine anyone feeling badly that her boyfriend Thomas had been murdered because he was such a jerk. Even by the end of the story, when most of the times you’re hoping the characters see a reasonably happy ending, I was just hoping Lizzie would end up alone and maybe figure out her life.

An interesting plot for sure and it started of wonderfully. The mystery part was good and it kept us guessing till the very last regarding the killer but the rest of the book fell flat for me. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and half the time it felt like they existed just to move the story forward.
This book definitely had the potential but it didn't quite reach there for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC