(AUDIO) BOOK REVIEW
We All Need A Weekend Break From Time To Time
Book review of The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan
Working every day for week upon week, we come to a point where we need a break, and then even a long weekend can feel like a holiday.
Being able to go somewhere in nature, to forget about computers and telephones and all kinds of technology and just listen to the birds or watch the sunset, is absolute bliss. Of course, for some spending time in nature doesn’t hold the same magic, and they prefer to spend their time in hotels.
No matter what people like, a long weekend away is bliss.
Until it’s not!
Gilly Macmillan, the author
This author grew up in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK, and also briefly lived in Northern California, USA. She is a former art historian and photographer, and studied at Bristol University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Currently, she lives in Bristol, UK, with her husband and three children.
Gilly Macmillan’s first novel — What She Knew — was a Target book club pick, a LibraryReads pick, an Indie Next pick, an Edgar award nominee, and an International Thriller Writers award finalist. Her fifth book — The Nanny — was a Spring 2020 Richard & Judy WHSmith Book Club pick, and the New York Times named her sixth book — To Tell You The Truth — one of the best thrillers of 2020.
Other books by Gilly Macmillan are The Perfect Girl (2016), Odd Child Out (2017), I Know You Know (2018), and The Long Weekend (2022).
Gilly’s books have appeared in over 20 languages and several papers, such as the New York Times, Sunday Times and Der Spiegel, mentioned them.
The Wall Street Journal called her ‘one heck of a good writer’ and I totally agree with that!
The Long Weekend — An intriguing and chilling plot
Jayne, Ruth and Emily drive out to Dark Fell Barn — a ‘perfectly isolated’ retreat — where their husbands will later join them for a long weekend in a quiet place, far removed from the rush and stress of everyday life, and exactly what all of them need.
Jayne is hardened and serious, a damaged ex-Army soldier. Ruth is a new mother, and a driven doctor, but battling demons of her own. Emily is the newcomer to the tight group of friends, young, just married and insecure. The only absent woman is Edie, who was always the one holding the group together, until her husband passed away.
The book starts out with a mysterious package delivered to the owners of Dark Fell Barn — John and Maggie — and in this package Jayne, Ruth and Emily find a note written by Edie, which said one of their husbands would die that weekend, murdered. The wives try to get hold of their husbands, but because of terrible weather, the already fickle cell service was non-existent.
Like Jayne, her husband Mark suffers from PTSD after their time in military intelligence. Toby, the husband of Ruth, seemed to have as much problems adjusting to their six-month-old baby as she had, but they both also battled with Ruth’s drinking problem. And then there was Paul, who adored his much younger wife, Emily.
Also in the picture was Imogen, the daughter of Edie, and a talented musician.
The letter in that mysterious package started a chain reaction, like dominoes toppling over. The group had kept secrets for too long, and one by one, those secrets now came out.
My rating of the book
I enjoyed the intrigues in the book, the distinct personalities and the unraveling of the secrets. The first half of the book was stronger than the second, probably because I was still guessing at the secrets, but still the writer had some surprises in the second half. By the time the last secret was out, and the story lines had to be brought together, some scenes lasted a bit too long to my liking.
Even so, I couldn’t stop listening until I reached the end!
Audible subscription
After listening to many books on YouTube, and suffering the annoyance of having the book interrupted by adverts (sometimes every ten minutes), I finally arranged for a subscription on Audible, which makes listening to books so much easier! The above was the first book for which I used my Audible subscription.
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