Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Long Weekend

Title: The Long Weekend
Author: Gilly Macmillan
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 1.75
Pub Date: March 29, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Melodramatic • Atmospheric • Confusing

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Three couples.
Two bodies.
One secret.

Three couples are set to spend the weekend at Dark Fell Barn, an isolated rental with no cell service. After some last minute changes, the three wives will be arriving ahead of their husbands. After being dropped off at the barn by the retreats owner, things soon go awry when they discover a troubling note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I received The Long Weekend in the spring 2022 It's A Good Day book box, and I'd been saving it for the first long weekend of the summer since an isolated weekend getaway sounded intriguing. The set up was good, and there was so much potential. Unfortunately, it quickly went off the rails.

My first issue is the lack of chapters (one of my biggest pet peeves)! The book is divided into three very long sections, and this structure just didn't work for me. Additionally there was no sign of perspective shift within a page, making is quite confusing at times. In my opinion, this was a very poor choice of literary device by the author, as it in no way benefitted the narrative, rather hindering my entire reading experience. At the end of the day the lack of chapters felt like the story just dragged on and on.

Like any good thriller none of the characters are very likeable, something Macmillan did quite well with this one. Unfortunately the inclusion of the side-story of the owners of Dark Fell Barn felt out of place and unnecessary, despite finding this portion of the narrative more interesting.

Overall, not an overly thrilling, and somewhat pointless story. You won't be missing out if you skip it. And I know I won't be rushing to pick up this author again anytime soon, although I may give her another chance at some point.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Macmillan fans

Content Warnings

thoranareads's review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

cpachet's review

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Full of red herrings and possible outcomes, this book is a good read, but not the best Gilly MacMillan has to offer. A mid-book twist that threw me for a loop is one of the best parts (it actually made me go back and re-read sections). Weirdly, there are no chapters and the narrative changes perspective frequently.

Content Warnings

daniellepaige86's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Content Warnings

shawna_reading_for_life's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

reading_under_covers's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

THE LONG WEEKEND centers on three women who head out to a remote location together for a weekend getaway, only to be confronted with a note stating that one of their husbands has been murdered. Fear begins to unfold as the women try to find a way to contact their husbands.

WOW. This one was absolutely wild. I’ve read most of Gilly Macmillan’s previous work and I felt the chaos and thrill were really amped up in this one!

This book rapidly switches from one POV to another and it kept me captivated to the end. Macmillan also throws in some twists that are *chefs kiss* and I think they will shock many readers.

I DO wish we got to learn more about each of the characters, but with the number of them, and the quickness of this novel, I understand why that may not have been feasible.

Well done, Gilly, well done.

Run, don’t walk, to get your copy of this book on March 29.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

what_heather_loves's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

"Here's something that surprises me: you'd think that fact that I can't control what happens up at Dark Fell Barn tonight would drive me crazy after all my painstaking planning, but it's exciting me, making me feel like I'm alive and reassuring me that I can feel something again. It's how I know I'm doing the right thing." Present day North Northumberland and three friends have come to stay for a long weekend at remote Dark Fell Barn. Their husbands were supposed to be with them, but are all suddenly busy, arriving the following day. First the reader meets the elderly farmer and his wife who are renting out the barn, John (suffering with dementia) and Maggie (trying her best to care for him and keep their beloved farm going). Then the reader meets the three friends, capable ex-military Jayne but who has experienced traumas, struggling new mum and GP Ruth, and younger, naive and newly married, Emily. There's a devastating letter waiting them on their arrival seemingly from an absent friend, beautiful and charismatic Edie, informing them "by the time you read this, I'll have killed one of your husbands". Events spiral from there as bad weather isolates them further and they wonder if they can trust one another. Wow, this book is gripping and has a number of twists and turns! It's definitely one of those books to stay up late reading, to find out what happens. There are narratives from a number of characters, including the unknown killer. Without giving away any spoilers, some of the narrators are definitely unreliable. I enjoyed the farm owners' perspectives, understanding their situation, as well as getting to know the three women, who were a tight-knit group, but already struggling in their own and different ways before their arrival at Dark Fell Barn. I can see how some readers may find the different narratives confusing, but feel this is deliberate, so, like the characters, the reader doesn't know who to trust. Pacy, tense and atmospheric, this is a must-read for claustrophobic thriller fans.

Content Warnings

librariangeorgia's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.0

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