Having not read any of this author’s previous books, I was unsure of what to expect. Thankfully I was not disappointed and I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Long Weekend.
When a group of three women decide to go on a weekend break in the Northumbrian moors on a remote farm’s converted barn with their husbands, all seems normal. That is until the 3 husbands all make lame excuses as to why they can’t join them before the next morning.
The three women finally reach the farm and are taken up to the remote barn by John, the farmer who makes it clear he’s not happy with paying guests staying. But it comes to light during the book that he has a medical problem which makes him hallucinate amongst other things.
Jayne, Ruth and Emily arrive at the barn and discover a package left on the kitchen table with the message –
By the time you read this, I’ll have killed one of your husbands.
Devastated and stranded at Dark Fell Barn, there is no internet connection and an horrendous storm is starting up. Worry and panic takes over two female characters, Doctor Ruth, a new mum to 6 months old Alfie, who is suffering from an alcohol addiction and Emily the newly wed, who not only feels like she doesn’t fit in but also suffers from past insecurities.
Emily and Jayne decide to venture out in the storm to try and get a mobile phone signal but the storm is too fierce and forces them back to the barn. However, during their time outside, Ruth has gotten drunk on a bottle of vodka she’s stashed away in her suitcase.
As their friendship begins to fracture, some long held secrets and truths are being shared and the women’s situation spins out of control.
The further you delve into this story the deeper secrets are revealed. So many secrets these “friends” have hidden from each other over the years.
Each wife accuses the other’s husband of some wrong doing so that they begin to turn on one another. Emily decides to make her way down the rugged and now impassable farm road back to the main house to try and contact her husband Paul.
She suffers many falls and loses her phone in the deep puddles, but just as she thinks she’s lost and stuck in the middle of the lane, John the farmer, appears and helps her to the safety of the farmhouse, where Maggie, the farmer’s wife looks after her.
After many twists and turns, the story gets even more sinister and really kept me on the edge of my seat guessing “What, who and why”.
There is a very sad side story to this novel which involves the farmer and his wife, which I wasn’t expecting.
Without putting too many spoilers into my review, I loved the ending of this book and would certainly recommend reading The Long Weekend. It has to be one of the most intriguing, atmospheric books I’ve read recently, with a brilliantly explosive plot. I will certainly be picking up a few more Gilly Macmillan books in the near future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone publishers for inviting me to read this Ebook in return for my honest review.