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The Girls Weekend: A Novel
For fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley, a riveting locked-room mystery about five college friends eager to reunite after years apart--only to be ripped apart again when their host's disappearance unearths dark secrets and old grudges.
Their reunion just became a crime scene . . .
June Moody, a thirty-something English professor, just wants to get away from her recent breakup and reunite with girlfriends over summer break. Her old friend and longtime nemesis, Sadie MacTavish, a mega-successful author, invites June and her college friends to a baby shower at her sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. June is less than thrilled to spend time with Sadie--and her husband, June's former crush--but agrees to go.
The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone's a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie's husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.
A Celtic knot of suspense and surprise, this brooding, atmospheric novel will keep you guessing as each twist reveals a new possibility. It will remind you of friendships hidden in the depths of your own past, and make you wonder how well you really know the people you've loved the longest.
Their reunion just became a crime scene . . .
June Moody, a thirty-something English professor, just wants to get away from her recent breakup and reunite with girlfriends over summer break. Her old friend and longtime nemesis, Sadie MacTavish, a mega-successful author, invites June and her college friends to a baby shower at her sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. June is less than thrilled to spend time with Sadie--and her husband, June's former crush--but agrees to go.
The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone's a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie's husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.
A Celtic knot of suspense and surprise, this brooding, atmospheric novel will keep you guessing as each twist reveals a new possibility. It will remind you of friendships hidden in the depths of your own past, and make you wonder how well you really know the people you've loved the longest.
336 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2020
1180 people are currently reading
17593 people want to read
About the author
Jody Gehrman
15 books804 followersJody Gehrman is a native of Northern California, where she can be found writing, teaching, reading, or obsessing over her three cats most days. She is also the author of eleven novels and numerous award-winning plays. Her debut suspense novel, Watch Me, was published by St. Martin's Press. Her other adult novels are Bombshell, Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin. Her Young Adult novels include The Truth About Jack, Audrey's Guide to Black Magic, Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft, Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love. Babe in Boyland was optioned by the Disney Channel and won the International Reading Association's Teen Choice Award. Her plays have been produced or had readings in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of Communication at Mendocino College.
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April 27, 2022
Hangover meets Knives Out waltzes with “And Then There Were None” vibes!
A great summary of vacation book: Best 5 friends’ reunion at least likeable but wealthier one’s estate in the San Juan Islands. But the least likeable a.k.a. control freak bitch disappears.
Her 17 year daughter of the least likeable and now missing, probably murdered friend, is more annoying than her mother (yes she reminds us of Rosemary’s baby: we haven’t seen her/his image and Polanski’s movie but as you think about the father with horns and long tail, you may imagine what kind of child, she will become!) and the desperate father hits on main heroine June!
I didn’t introduce you those five women (once upon a time living dangerously, thick as thieves but right now every of them are facing their troubled adulthood!)
June, community college English professor, indie author (her book is not shelved anymore), dumped by a text comes from bastard boyfriend who runs with his half aged girlfriend to Amsterdam. Now she needs to accept her ex best friend and old nemesis Sadie’s invitation. The very same woman who got married her love of her life after she rejected his marriage proposal (same man hitting on her throughout their holiday gathering!)
Sadie seems like have-it-all: June’s ex-lover Ethan as charming husband, a beautiful (also Chucky’s bride)daughter Dakota (reminded me of Dakota Johnson who gets aggressive when she finds out her mother Melanie rejects to watch her amazing performance at FSOG), a mansion, a rising career at the literature industry. Of course June is jealous about her.
June’s bestie Em is also having her dream career and a great relationship, cool, casual, loyal but she keeps a big secret from her past only Sadie knows.
Amy is suffering from bi-polar, related with Sadie who takes care of her and also controlling her life, is pregnant (that’s why they gathered for her baby shower!) but she keeps baby’s father as secret.
And Kimiko (Japanese Italian) works in her dispenser, raising her problematic son, a little aggressive, mostly stoned with weed or drunk because of too many gin tonics, one of the volatile and unpredictable characters.
So those girls get drunk and afterwards they don’t remember anything. Somebody roofied them. And Sadie is nowhere to be seen. There is blood on the walls. So what the hell happened that night? Who has been drugged them? Nope, not Zach Galifianakis!
June is prime suspect because she secretly met with Sadie’s husband. She hates the guts of Sadie. Em hates her because Sadie will spill the beans about her big secret. Amy hates her because Sadie will take her baby and raise the baby as hers. Kimiko hates her because of common financial issues. Ethan hates her they had problematic marriage and Dakota hates her because she already casted as Anastasia Steel but her mother wants to end her acting career (Ha ha! I tested you to make sure you’re still reading. Nope: her mother pushes her go to Yale but she wants to be actress and get her education at UCLA)So everyone can be murderer and everyone has motive. So who did it?
What I hate about the book: Too many annoying characters and predictable conclusion.
What I like about the book: It was fun when all those crazy women got tense and started to fight with each other. It was like regular episode of Bachelor. I got my popcorn accompanied with Cabernet when I was reading those parts and laughed so hard. I wish they start to fist fight or pull each other’s hair (I know I’m so bad!)
The fast pacing, claustrophobic one place mystery with high tension picked my interest and I never got bored till the end. It was easy, entertaining, riveting page-turner.
I went back and forth between three and four stars but I guess it was better than most of my mediocre books-let’s meet in the middle and call them Switzerland books- so I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sharing this entertaining ARC in exchange my honest review.
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A great summary of vacation book: Best 5 friends’ reunion at least likeable but wealthier one’s estate in the San Juan Islands. But the least likeable a.k.a. control freak bitch disappears.
Her 17 year daughter of the least likeable and now missing, probably murdered friend, is more annoying than her mother (yes she reminds us of Rosemary’s baby: we haven’t seen her/his image and Polanski’s movie but as you think about the father with horns and long tail, you may imagine what kind of child, she will become!) and the desperate father hits on main heroine June!
I didn’t introduce you those five women (once upon a time living dangerously, thick as thieves but right now every of them are facing their troubled adulthood!)
June, community college English professor, indie author (her book is not shelved anymore), dumped by a text comes from bastard boyfriend who runs with his half aged girlfriend to Amsterdam. Now she needs to accept her ex best friend and old nemesis Sadie’s invitation. The very same woman who got married her love of her life after she rejected his marriage proposal (same man hitting on her throughout their holiday gathering!)
Sadie seems like have-it-all: June’s ex-lover Ethan as charming husband, a beautiful (also Chucky’s bride)daughter Dakota (reminded me of Dakota Johnson who gets aggressive when she finds out her mother Melanie rejects to watch her amazing performance at FSOG), a mansion, a rising career at the literature industry. Of course June is jealous about her.
June’s bestie Em is also having her dream career and a great relationship, cool, casual, loyal but she keeps a big secret from her past only Sadie knows.
Amy is suffering from bi-polar, related with Sadie who takes care of her and also controlling her life, is pregnant (that’s why they gathered for her baby shower!) but she keeps baby’s father as secret.
And Kimiko (Japanese Italian) works in her dispenser, raising her problematic son, a little aggressive, mostly stoned with weed or drunk because of too many gin tonics, one of the volatile and unpredictable characters.
So those girls get drunk and afterwards they don’t remember anything. Somebody roofied them. And Sadie is nowhere to be seen. There is blood on the walls. So what the hell happened that night? Who has been drugged them? Nope, not Zach Galifianakis!
June is prime suspect because she secretly met with Sadie’s husband. She hates the guts of Sadie. Em hates her because Sadie will spill the beans about her big secret. Amy hates her because Sadie will take her baby and raise the baby as hers. Kimiko hates her because of common financial issues. Ethan hates her they had problematic marriage and Dakota hates her because she already casted as Anastasia Steel but her mother wants to end her acting career (Ha ha! I tested you to make sure you’re still reading. Nope: her mother pushes her go to Yale but she wants to be actress and get her education at UCLA)So everyone can be murderer and everyone has motive. So who did it?
What I hate about the book: Too many annoying characters and predictable conclusion.
What I like about the book: It was fun when all those crazy women got tense and started to fight with each other. It was like regular episode of Bachelor. I got my popcorn accompanied with Cabernet when I was reading those parts and laughed so hard. I wish they start to fist fight or pull each other’s hair (I know I’m so bad!)
The fast pacing, claustrophobic one place mystery with high tension picked my interest and I never got bored till the end. It was easy, entertaining, riveting page-turner.
I went back and forth between three and four stars but I guess it was better than most of my mediocre books-let’s meet in the middle and call them Switzerland books- so I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sharing this entertaining ARC in exchange my honest review.
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August 11, 2020
I buddy read The Girls Weekend with Julie (JuJu) and she summed it up well..."It definitely wasn’t a deep, thought provoking book, but it kept my attention...like a bad soap opera." June and her friends make so many bad decisions, one after another. Once I got over the fact they were never going to do the smart thing, I just settled in for the wild weekend, went with the flow, and enjoyed the story.. June, Sadie, Amy, Kimi, and Em, are 38-ish year old college best friends/frenemies, spending a long weekend at Sadie's estate, for Amy's baby shower. Sadie's husband, who first asked June to marry him before he married Sadie, is staying down at the beach house. But Sadie won, Sadie has it all, wealth from her best selling children's books, Ethan, the guy both Sadie and June fawned over during their college years, something to lord over each and every person there, and an ego that won't let her be bested by anyone else.
It doesn't take long to figure out that almost everyone at the estate is messed up. June's boyfriend has just dumped her by text and she has never gotten along with Sadie really. They were more like competition to each other, which helped them both to be better at what they were doing. June still has a crush on Ethan, not having expected him to run to Sadie the minute she turned down his marriage proposal, all those years ago. Kimi likes her drugs and drink, Amy's baby daddy was a one night stand, Em has a secret that Sadie is going to make public, and Dakota seems to hate her mom. Ethan isn't just at the beach house for this weekend but instead he and Sadie are estranged. Then there is the landscaper who lives on the property. Leo has his own secrets that he's not ready to discuss with June or anyone else.
After an evening of drinking, where all the women seem to have been drugged with something that had them running wild but not remembering what happened, they wake to Sadie missing and blood on the walls and floor. But don't worry, drugged drinks one night, doesn't keep them from drinking more the next night! They also take their time calling the cops, which made no sense to me...so that's where I just zipped my brain and just went along for the ride. Once the cops are involved, June is prime suspect because she had visited Ethan's cabin the first night she was there. But never fear, everybody has a motive for doing harm to manipulative, bossy, greedy, grabby Sadie so this "who done it" is wide open for guessing who did it.
Publication: August 11th 2020
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
It doesn't take long to figure out that almost everyone at the estate is messed up. June's boyfriend has just dumped her by text and she has never gotten along with Sadie really. They were more like competition to each other, which helped them both to be better at what they were doing. June still has a crush on Ethan, not having expected him to run to Sadie the minute she turned down his marriage proposal, all those years ago. Kimi likes her drugs and drink, Amy's baby daddy was a one night stand, Em has a secret that Sadie is going to make public, and Dakota seems to hate her mom. Ethan isn't just at the beach house for this weekend but instead he and Sadie are estranged. Then there is the landscaper who lives on the property. Leo has his own secrets that he's not ready to discuss with June or anyone else.
After an evening of drinking, where all the women seem to have been drugged with something that had them running wild but not remembering what happened, they wake to Sadie missing and blood on the walls and floor. But don't worry, drugged drinks one night, doesn't keep them from drinking more the next night! They also take their time calling the cops, which made no sense to me...so that's where I just zipped my brain and just went along for the ride. Once the cops are involved, June is prime suspect because she had visited Ethan's cabin the first night she was there. But never fear, everybody has a motive for doing harm to manipulative, bossy, greedy, grabby Sadie so this "who done it" is wide open for guessing who did it.
Publication: August 11th 2020
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
March 10, 2020
Their reunion just became a crime scene . . .
Getting together with your friends from college sound like fun, right? Except when the host is your old nemesis who married the man you once dated and *gasp* turned down. June Moody is an English professor who had big dreams of becoming a successful author. Her nemesis Sadie, married June's ex and went on to become a successful author whose children's books have been made into popular movies. Begrudgingly she agrees to attend the weekend.
Sadie has it all - a handsome husband, a successful writing career, a beautiful daughter who is about to go to college and a beautiful home. She has invited her college friends to her home for a girl’s weekend.
The weekend gets off to an awkward start and after a night of drinking the women wake up with mega hangovers and very little memory of what occurred the night before. Glimpses of memories here and there but nothing solid. When they slowly begin to regroup, they find Sadie is missing, the house is ransacked and there are bloodstains.
Soon the police are called in and as the investigation begins, so does the suspicions, bickering and feelings of dread....
Where is Sadie? What happened to her?
This was a fast read that didn't disappoint. The synopsis is intriguing and as soon as the bickering started, things really got interesting. Fairly early on, I had a suspect in mind and was right but still enjoyed how this book played out. This is pure entertainment. This book doesn't require much thinking, just curling up in one's favorite reading chair. I like to think of this as a guilty pleasure book. Everyone appears to have a motive; everyone has gaps in her memory but is one of them lying? hmm....
Fun, entertaining, captivating and a fast read!
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Getting together with your friends from college sound like fun, right? Except when the host is your old nemesis who married the man you once dated and *gasp* turned down. June Moody is an English professor who had big dreams of becoming a successful author. Her nemesis Sadie, married June's ex and went on to become a successful author whose children's books have been made into popular movies. Begrudgingly she agrees to attend the weekend.
Sadie has it all - a handsome husband, a successful writing career, a beautiful daughter who is about to go to college and a beautiful home. She has invited her college friends to her home for a girl’s weekend.
The weekend gets off to an awkward start and after a night of drinking the women wake up with mega hangovers and very little memory of what occurred the night before. Glimpses of memories here and there but nothing solid. When they slowly begin to regroup, they find Sadie is missing, the house is ransacked and there are bloodstains.
Soon the police are called in and as the investigation begins, so does the suspicions, bickering and feelings of dread....
Where is Sadie? What happened to her?
This was a fast read that didn't disappoint. The synopsis is intriguing and as soon as the bickering started, things really got interesting. Fairly early on, I had a suspect in mind and was right but still enjoyed how this book played out. This is pure entertainment. This book doesn't require much thinking, just curling up in one's favorite reading chair. I like to think of this as a guilty pleasure book. Everyone appears to have a motive; everyone has gaps in her memory but is one of them lying? hmm....
Fun, entertaining, captivating and a fast read!
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
June 26, 2020
3.75*
Attention ladies! It’s time for the old gang to reunite.
A weekend getaway to the sprawling estate belonging to one of the most successful in the bunch. Hmmmm, let me think…can’t imagine there would be hard feelings or jealousy! After all....they are all friends...right!?
After a sleeping off a night of hard partying they awaken to the disturbing news that one of their fellow merry-makers has disappeared. Was she murdered? Well, maybe that huge smear of blood on the wall is a subtle clue.
I was locked in from the start! The mystery was set up perfectly. And while it was a fun light mystery, I felt like I needed just a bit more....
I’ve enjoyed Jody Gehrman's books in the past and will definitely be watching for her next release.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC to read and review.
Expected date of publication: August 11, 2020
Attention ladies! It’s time for the old gang to reunite.
A weekend getaway to the sprawling estate belonging to one of the most successful in the bunch. Hmmmm, let me think…can’t imagine there would be hard feelings or jealousy! After all....they are all friends...right!?
After a sleeping off a night of hard partying they awaken to the disturbing news that one of their fellow merry-makers has disappeared. Was she murdered? Well, maybe that huge smear of blood on the wall is a subtle clue.
I was locked in from the start! The mystery was set up perfectly. And while it was a fun light mystery, I felt like I needed just a bit more....
I’ve enjoyed Jody Gehrman's books in the past and will definitely be watching for her next release.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC to read and review.
Expected date of publication: August 11, 2020
March 25, 2020
Nope, no suspense or surprise for me.
I had a hard time with this novel from the beginning. I wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't a review copy.
The synopsis sounded like a novel that would suit me, but it failed in every way. I hated all the characters and couldn't connect. June was so annoying that my eyes were rolling non-stop, but the other "girls" weren't much better.
Very slow, very mild mystery that was far-fetched. I'm going to stop here because this was a huge struggle from beginning to end.
Thanks to NG for my advanced copy. OUT in June 2020
I had a hard time with this novel from the beginning. I wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't a review copy.
The synopsis sounded like a novel that would suit me, but it failed in every way. I hated all the characters and couldn't connect. June was so annoying that my eyes were rolling non-stop, but the other "girls" weren't much better.
Very slow, very mild mystery that was far-fetched. I'm going to stop here because this was a huge struggle from beginning to end.
Thanks to NG for my advanced copy. OUT in June 2020
January 18, 2025
EXCERPT: The rest of the night is a series of blurred snapshots: the feel of someone's warm lips closing over mine. Hands in my hair. Golden light all around us.
There are large black patches where everything goes dark. I can see myself sitting on a beach. The stars pulse with clear silver joy; I can feel their happiness coursing through my body. There's cold sand beneath my toes. Somebody is braiding my hair.
A scream, high and sharp, full of panic; my throat aches as I realise it's coming from me.
These are the fragments I'm left with - shards of sensation, broken and scattered. I'm aware only of the gaps, the dark places where my memories crouch, unwilling to be coaxed into the light.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: June Moody, a thirty-something English professor, just wants to get away from her recent breakup and reunite with girlfriends over summer break. Her old friend and longtime nemesis, Sadie MacTavish, a mega-successful author, invites June and her college friends to a baby shower at her sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. June is less than thrilled to spend time with Sadie--and her husband, June's former crush--but agrees to go.
The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone's a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie's husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.
MY THOUGHTS: Brooding? No. Atmospheric? No. Suspenseful? Mildly, in parts. Interesting like a carwreck? Yes.
I really didn't like this book, but I just had to keep reading it, although I must admit to doing a fair bit of skimming around halfway.
The characters are just awful. Obnoxious. Self obsessed. Insecure. Jealous of one another. People you love to hate. I felt like I was reading about teenagers rather than a group of supposedly mature women. Bitchy. Manipulative. Sulky. Drama queens. They do not like or trust one another. Why would they want to spend a weekend together? I would rather have run to the other side of the world than spend a weekend with this lot.
The missing, presumed murdered woman, Sadie, is the hostess. Outwardly successful, her life is crumbling around her. She is a control freak. Her daughter is leaving home, her marriage falling apart. Her life is becoming a series of tangled knots of angst as those whose lives she has controlled are wriggling free. So why has she chosen now to bring her 'friends' together?
A quick, okay, but not great, read. Far too much dialogue. But that ending? . . . That made the whole read almost worthwhile and bumped up my rating a few points.
⭐⭐⭐.4
#TheGirlsWeekend #NetGalley
THE AUTHOR: Jody Gehrman is a native of Northern California, where she can be found writing, teaching, reading, or obsessing over her three cats most days.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
There are large black patches where everything goes dark. I can see myself sitting on a beach. The stars pulse with clear silver joy; I can feel their happiness coursing through my body. There's cold sand beneath my toes. Somebody is braiding my hair.
A scream, high and sharp, full of panic; my throat aches as I realise it's coming from me.
These are the fragments I'm left with - shards of sensation, broken and scattered. I'm aware only of the gaps, the dark places where my memories crouch, unwilling to be coaxed into the light.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: June Moody, a thirty-something English professor, just wants to get away from her recent breakup and reunite with girlfriends over summer break. Her old friend and longtime nemesis, Sadie MacTavish, a mega-successful author, invites June and her college friends to a baby shower at her sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. June is less than thrilled to spend time with Sadie--and her husband, June's former crush--but agrees to go.
The party gets off to a shaky start when old grudges resurface, but when they wake the next morning, they find something worse: Sadie is missing, the house is in shambles, and bloodstains mar the staircase. None of them has any memory of the night before; they wonder if they were drugged. Everyone's a suspect. Since June had a secret rendezvous with Sadie's husband, she has plenty of reason to suspect herself. Apparently, so do the cops.
MY THOUGHTS: Brooding? No. Atmospheric? No. Suspenseful? Mildly, in parts. Interesting like a carwreck? Yes.
I really didn't like this book, but I just had to keep reading it, although I must admit to doing a fair bit of skimming around halfway.
The characters are just awful. Obnoxious. Self obsessed. Insecure. Jealous of one another. People you love to hate. I felt like I was reading about teenagers rather than a group of supposedly mature women. Bitchy. Manipulative. Sulky. Drama queens. They do not like or trust one another. Why would they want to spend a weekend together? I would rather have run to the other side of the world than spend a weekend with this lot.
The missing, presumed murdered woman, Sadie, is the hostess. Outwardly successful, her life is crumbling around her. She is a control freak. Her daughter is leaving home, her marriage falling apart. Her life is becoming a series of tangled knots of angst as those whose lives she has controlled are wriggling free. So why has she chosen now to bring her 'friends' together?
A quick, okay, but not great, read. Far too much dialogue. But that ending? . . . That made the whole read almost worthwhile and bumped up my rating a few points.
⭐⭐⭐.4
#TheGirlsWeekend #NetGalley
THE AUTHOR: Jody Gehrman is a native of Northern California, where she can be found writing, teaching, reading, or obsessing over her three cats most days.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
July 20, 2020
I was expecting something gritty and salacious...the reality of The Girls Weekend was quite different.
I'm so drawn to books like this one because I relate so deeply to the stage of life depicted...middle-age women spending time with old friends and reliving their youth. Unfortunately, this particular story didn't resonate at all. At it's heart, this is a 'locked-room mystery,' but there weren't enough characters to make it much of a mystery at all. I suspected the antagonist very early on, but kept thinking to myself...that's way too obvious. Surely I'm not right. I held out hope until the final pages.
👎 I was right. 👎
Beyond that, the dialogue was super cheesy. I was fully expecting one of the women to break out in a raspy voice and impersonate Clint Eastwood saying, "Go ahead. Make my day."
I couldn't relate to any of the characters, all of whom were quite unlikable and lacking in common sense. Thankfully, the story did somehow manage to keep me turning pages, so for that reason, I'm going to call it average and slap on a 2.5 star rating. This might work for an ingenue to the genre, but for long-time suspense readers, it's pretty elementary.
Available August 11, 2020
**My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my review copy.**
I'm so drawn to books like this one because I relate so deeply to the stage of life depicted...middle-age women spending time with old friends and reliving their youth. Unfortunately, this particular story didn't resonate at all. At it's heart, this is a 'locked-room mystery,' but there weren't enough characters to make it much of a mystery at all. I suspected the antagonist very early on, but kept thinking to myself...that's way too obvious. Surely I'm not right. I held out hope until the final pages.
👎 I was right. 👎
Beyond that, the dialogue was super cheesy. I was fully expecting one of the women to break out in a raspy voice and impersonate Clint Eastwood saying, "Go ahead. Make my day."
I couldn't relate to any of the characters, all of whom were quite unlikable and lacking in common sense. Thankfully, the story did somehow manage to keep me turning pages, so for that reason, I'm going to call it average and slap on a 2.5 star rating. This might work for an ingenue to the genre, but for long-time suspense readers, it's pretty elementary.
Available August 11, 2020
**My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my review copy.**
January 7, 2020
The Girls Weekend is a 2020 release by Jody Gehrman, a new author to me. I found the book on NetGalley and thought it would be a clever thriller to read this week. I enjoyed the book and ended up allotting 3.5 stars, as it was a good story but didn't fully pop or surprise me at any point. That said, I recommend it as a solid thriller and suspense novel for fans of this genre.
Five college friends lost touch over ~20 years. Some stayed close, others drifted... the missing years are a little murky. When one is pregnant, another throws a weekend bash to celebrate and reunite. During the course of the evening, secrets come out, blood appears on the wall, and people go missing. What happened that night? Someone drugged the others, or an outsider sneaked in and drugged the whole group. Toss in a husband, a daughter, a boyfriend, and a curious landscaper, you've got a cast of ~10 potential culprits, or is the missing woman faking her death?
The story is easy to read. The writing is good, and it kept me interested. I kept waiting for the major shocker, but it never quite came. I had expected some illicit relationship or secret popping up. Instead, we knew the basics, but figuring out how those played into someone's disappearance and/or death was the puzzle placed before us. I never really connected with any of the characters enough to wish they would be innocent. Our narrator, the main girl who never wanted to attend the event, is a bit wishy washy, and one of the other girls is so erratic, I couldn't understand why anyone would choose to befriend her. So... given all those things, I couldn't push it up to a 4 as a really great read.
I did like the setting and the dialog felt real. I would read another book by this author, as I think maybe this story was just a little underwhelming for me. The rest was all good.
Five college friends lost touch over ~20 years. Some stayed close, others drifted... the missing years are a little murky. When one is pregnant, another throws a weekend bash to celebrate and reunite. During the course of the evening, secrets come out, blood appears on the wall, and people go missing. What happened that night? Someone drugged the others, or an outsider sneaked in and drugged the whole group. Toss in a husband, a daughter, a boyfriend, and a curious landscaper, you've got a cast of ~10 potential culprits, or is the missing woman faking her death?
The story is easy to read. The writing is good, and it kept me interested. I kept waiting for the major shocker, but it never quite came. I had expected some illicit relationship or secret popping up. Instead, we knew the basics, but figuring out how those played into someone's disappearance and/or death was the puzzle placed before us. I never really connected with any of the characters enough to wish they would be innocent. Our narrator, the main girl who never wanted to attend the event, is a bit wishy washy, and one of the other girls is so erratic, I couldn't understand why anyone would choose to befriend her. So... given all those things, I couldn't push it up to a 4 as a really great read.
I did like the setting and the dialog felt real. I would read another book by this author, as I think maybe this story was just a little underwhelming for me. The rest was all good.
August 23, 2020
This was a pretty darn entertaining read! It wasn't incredibly deep or scary, but it was refreshingly entertaining and had my attention throughout! The characters felt very real to me, and actually reminded me of a few people I know similar to Sadie, our protagonist. I appreciated that at one point it seemed like every character had motive and opportunity, and I suspected all of them at one point, which I love in a good thriller. An important lesson this book teaches us is that the grass isn't always greener on the other side, despite appearances! I'm definitely going to keep my eye open for Gehrman and go back and check out her debut. I'd recommend this book to all of my thriller/mystery enthusiasts!
March 29, 2021
Like no baby shower you have ever been to...I promise you that...A story of jealously, mean girls, grudges and revenge...sounds like a good time, am I right? 5 college friends unite after years apart only to find...nothing has changed...they still resent each other...
I listened to the audio version and the narrator was fantastic! I loved how she brought the story to life. I found myself lost in this drama filled story of 5 BFF's...yet they weren't really now were they? Invited to a McMansion owned by Sadie-who is now a rich and famous author..they had to go..they had to see what this was all about...I mean Amy was pregnant after all...so it would only be appropriate to party hard in her honor...HUH? Right? That was only the beginning..
So this started out really strong for me. It was in no way suspense, but I was enjoying all the drama..and there was alot..With the catty behaviors and old grudges resurfacing..it was bound to be a good time and I was all in...however when we hit the midway point it seemed like we were just treading water....on and on it went. Now I was still all ears because this narrator somehow managed to be highly entertaining..however it just was not what I had expected. I thought it would be more of a suspense filled thriller. However it was fun and I did enjoy it.
Thank you so much to Crooked Lane Books for my Netgalley copy!
I listened to the audio version and the narrator was fantastic! I loved how she brought the story to life. I found myself lost in this drama filled story of 5 BFF's...yet they weren't really now were they? Invited to a McMansion owned by Sadie-who is now a rich and famous author..they had to go..they had to see what this was all about...I mean Amy was pregnant after all...so it would only be appropriate to party hard in her honor...HUH? Right? That was only the beginning..
So this started out really strong for me. It was in no way suspense, but I was enjoying all the drama..and there was alot..With the catty behaviors and old grudges resurfacing..it was bound to be a good time and I was all in...however when we hit the midway point it seemed like we were just treading water....on and on it went. Now I was still all ears because this narrator somehow managed to be highly entertaining..however it just was not what I had expected. I thought it would be more of a suspense filled thriller. However it was fun and I did enjoy it.
Thank you so much to Crooked Lane Books for my Netgalley copy!
April 11, 2022
A good locked room mystery! What was supposed to be a fun girls reunion with five college friends turns bad, everyone has something to answer for! You would think that seventeen years of friendship would be a solid, but who needs enemies with friends like some of these ladies! This was a fast paced, wild ride that I thoroughly enjoyed.
April 30, 2020
Complex characters, woven together in a twisty and tangled shitshow!!
Your old college girlfriends want to get together for a weekend of fun. Drinking and reminiscing. It might be fun if it weren’t for all that unresolved animosity. It’s planned at Sadie’s “estate”. She’s the one who made it big and has the “perfect life”. She’s also the control freak, who needs everything to go her way. Sadie is more of a frenemy.
Kimiko’s the one who never really grew up. She’s still drinking and drugging like she was in college.
Amy is the reason for the get together. She’s a total mess...not only bipolar, but now she’s eight month’s pregnant after a one-night stand.
Last is Em, your bff, and the only reason this trip is bearable, after your douchebag boyfriend dumped you by text!
And this is only the beginning of the f*@*@d-up character list! I was immediately pulled into this catty chaos!
This would make a fantastic group read...there is SO MUCH to discuss!
@jodygehrman @crookedlanebks @NetGalley
#TheGirlsWeekend #MustReadThriller #NetGalley
My Rating: 3.5 ⭐️’s (rounding up)
Published: June 9th 2020 by Crooked Lane Books
Pages: 311
Recommend: Yes...it’s much better to read about it, than be a part of it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Jody Gehrman for this digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!
Your old college girlfriends want to get together for a weekend of fun. Drinking and reminiscing. It might be fun if it weren’t for all that unresolved animosity. It’s planned at Sadie’s “estate”. She’s the one who made it big and has the “perfect life”. She’s also the control freak, who needs everything to go her way. Sadie is more of a frenemy.
Kimiko’s the one who never really grew up. She’s still drinking and drugging like she was in college.
Amy is the reason for the get together. She’s a total mess...not only bipolar, but now she’s eight month’s pregnant after a one-night stand.
Last is Em, your bff, and the only reason this trip is bearable, after your douchebag boyfriend dumped you by text!
And this is only the beginning of the f*@*@d-up character list! I was immediately pulled into this catty chaos!
“They’re two sides of the same coin—the power-hungry monster and her helpless victim. Only this time, the fly has swallowed the spider.”
This would make a fantastic group read...there is SO MUCH to discuss!
@jodygehrman @crookedlanebks @NetGalley
#TheGirlsWeekend #MustReadThriller #NetGalley
My Rating: 3.5 ⭐️’s (rounding up)
Published: June 9th 2020 by Crooked Lane Books
Pages: 311
Recommend: Yes...it’s much better to read about it, than be a part of it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Jody Gehrman for this digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!
April 2, 2025
“That’s always been her gift: serving a cocktail of bossy and sweet into frosty martini glasses. She can seduce, beguile, and manipulate all in one deft pour.”
The Girls Weekend made me feel like I was vacating my life as well and going on a retreat with these women who have secrets fizzing over like shaken up soda, pasts that threaten that they could be murderer or accessory to murder as all have motives and are constantly suspecting one another for the missed time they can’t make up in their inebriated minds. If one acts out a smidge too violently with a pass at a waiting cheek, or has a secret, illicit rendezvous that draws just the right amount of suspicion, or one nurses a grudge that turns into something more hostile and aggressively reckless, a new wave of guilt washes over and soils each of these women’s stories with troubling levels of deep-cutting, life-changing precision.
“It was more than just an encyclopedic knowledge of each other’s quirks, though. It was love. We knew secrets about one another weighty as grenades. We were there for each other without question. I’ve never had a circle of friends like that before or since.”
Sadie, their college friend and published, wealthy author, after many years of not being together and leading vastly separate lives, has invited them to her home, which is all controllingly decorated to her lavish tastes and reminiscent of her elegant disposition that breathlessly needs to promise perfection. She also has a strong-willed teenage daughter named Dakota and a Scottish husband named Ethan that she holds in her clutches and they too must act as her cohesive family unit that never comes undone at her latest intensely calculating, micro-managing, appearance seeking whim.
“I couldn’t look away. This chance at front row seats to their reality holds a voyeuristic allure. I want to see them. I just don’t want to be seen.”
Needless to say, Sadie gets to people, and even under the depths of their skin, in the most intense, love-to-hate ways, but lately it’s been more hate than love as a fierce opposition and dislike is born out of how she acts toward and treats people in her company. They can’t ever leave her with a sullied reputation for that will mean in her mind’s eye that she is less than perfect and everything with her eventually reduces to a heated competition. A moment to vie for control and the upper-hand that means from her perspective that if she succeeds she has upstaged someone in some sort of superior, deftly orchestrated way that gives her an endlessly smug sense of gleaming satisfaction.
“It reminds me of how much I despise her calculating sweetness. That cloying, angelic smile. The impeccable black gloss of hair. The way she lulls her victims into a trance with her high-end world where nothing is ever anything but perfect.”
The way each of these women respond to her is fascinatingly riveting and compulsively enduring to watch as is how they respond to the murder foisted upon them. This story is filled with casting guilt on what we initially thought had to be innocence, how a group of women interact with one another as their less than perfect pasts volatilely influence how their futures could shape out dramatically as each new interesting twist builds and unhinges our previous knowledge, and how in Sadie’s universe all the world’s a stage and her friends are merely players, but they become players who learn that it’s high time to fight back, but could one go too far?
The Girls Weekend made me feel like I was vacating my life as well and going on a retreat with these women who have secrets fizzing over like shaken up soda, pasts that threaten that they could be murderer or accessory to murder as all have motives and are constantly suspecting one another for the missed time they can’t make up in their inebriated minds. If one acts out a smidge too violently with a pass at a waiting cheek, or has a secret, illicit rendezvous that draws just the right amount of suspicion, or one nurses a grudge that turns into something more hostile and aggressively reckless, a new wave of guilt washes over and soils each of these women’s stories with troubling levels of deep-cutting, life-changing precision.
“It was more than just an encyclopedic knowledge of each other’s quirks, though. It was love. We knew secrets about one another weighty as grenades. We were there for each other without question. I’ve never had a circle of friends like that before or since.”
Sadie, their college friend and published, wealthy author, after many years of not being together and leading vastly separate lives, has invited them to her home, which is all controllingly decorated to her lavish tastes and reminiscent of her elegant disposition that breathlessly needs to promise perfection. She also has a strong-willed teenage daughter named Dakota and a Scottish husband named Ethan that she holds in her clutches and they too must act as her cohesive family unit that never comes undone at her latest intensely calculating, micro-managing, appearance seeking whim.
“I couldn’t look away. This chance at front row seats to their reality holds a voyeuristic allure. I want to see them. I just don’t want to be seen.”
Needless to say, Sadie gets to people, and even under the depths of their skin, in the most intense, love-to-hate ways, but lately it’s been more hate than love as a fierce opposition and dislike is born out of how she acts toward and treats people in her company. They can’t ever leave her with a sullied reputation for that will mean in her mind’s eye that she is less than perfect and everything with her eventually reduces to a heated competition. A moment to vie for control and the upper-hand that means from her perspective that if she succeeds she has upstaged someone in some sort of superior, deftly orchestrated way that gives her an endlessly smug sense of gleaming satisfaction.
“It reminds me of how much I despise her calculating sweetness. That cloying, angelic smile. The impeccable black gloss of hair. The way she lulls her victims into a trance with her high-end world where nothing is ever anything but perfect.”
The way each of these women respond to her is fascinatingly riveting and compulsively enduring to watch as is how they respond to the murder foisted upon them. This story is filled with casting guilt on what we initially thought had to be innocence, how a group of women interact with one another as their less than perfect pasts volatilely influence how their futures could shape out dramatically as each new interesting twist builds and unhinges our previous knowledge, and how in Sadie’s universe all the world’s a stage and her friends are merely players, but they become players who learn that it’s high time to fight back, but could one go too far?
December 11, 2020
"Don’t old friends owe it to each other to answer the call of the tribal drums?"
The Girls Weekend
by Jody Gehrman
My review:
This was a fun read!
The girls Weekend is another book about estranged and dysfunctional "friends" coming together for some time away from reality. What could go wrong right?
How about if one of the friends vanishes? And EVERYONE has a motive?
So, I do occasionally enjoy this type of read. Why not? It's light and often fun reading and some of these reads are better than others.
This is one of the better ones. I'd give it a 3.5. If GR had 1-10 ratings I'd give it a 7.
The writer here has set up a great plot, narrated by one person..June. I adored June. I also related to her. Greatly.
Not so much the other characters. Especially Sadie whom I suspect was written with the intent that we the reader dislike her. Congratulations! It worked!
Anyway....one other thing I loved was the descriptive writing. I'd say this author has a gift. The way she writes about colors and flower gardens and sunlight and water and orchids and plants in bloom..I love that type of writing and the house of Sadie.....where the ladies have chosen to gather...was described so vibrantly. It really was.
Some books with this plot fail to move me because they either fall victim to cliches or they just have dry writing or no character development. I can say wholeheartedly that "The Girls Weekend" avoids these pit falls and I am glad.
Would I have changed anything? Did I not like anything? Just one thing maybe.
I'd have liked it if Sadie had at least one likeable aspect. It was hard to fell anything for her other than complete repulsion. I mean...I just wonder if there was any good to her. I know there must have been but I sure did not see it and I would have liked to. Very few people are all bad. There must have been something about her to keep so many close to her. Other than money I mean.
Also I'd have liked more in depth character development of Amy. She was a fascinating character She really was.
I did not think there was a whole lot of realism to the plot I must admit. Like Ethan texting June after like an hour? Of coarse he could just be a scumbag. But still....
So I'd recommend this book. It is not heavy duty reading but it sort of pulls you in and it is a pretty fast read too. 3.5 stars.
The Girls Weekend
by Jody Gehrman
My review:
This was a fun read!
The girls Weekend is another book about estranged and dysfunctional "friends" coming together for some time away from reality. What could go wrong right?
How about if one of the friends vanishes? And EVERYONE has a motive?
So, I do occasionally enjoy this type of read. Why not? It's light and often fun reading and some of these reads are better than others.
This is one of the better ones. I'd give it a 3.5. If GR had 1-10 ratings I'd give it a 7.
The writer here has set up a great plot, narrated by one person..June. I adored June. I also related to her. Greatly.
Not so much the other characters. Especially Sadie whom I suspect was written with the intent that we the reader dislike her. Congratulations! It worked!
Anyway....one other thing I loved was the descriptive writing. I'd say this author has a gift. The way she writes about colors and flower gardens and sunlight and water and orchids and plants in bloom..I love that type of writing and the house of Sadie.....where the ladies have chosen to gather...was described so vibrantly. It really was.
Some books with this plot fail to move me because they either fall victim to cliches or they just have dry writing or no character development. I can say wholeheartedly that "The Girls Weekend" avoids these pit falls and I am glad.
Would I have changed anything? Did I not like anything? Just one thing maybe.
I'd have liked it if Sadie had at least one likeable aspect. It was hard to fell anything for her other than complete repulsion. I mean...I just wonder if there was any good to her. I know there must have been but I sure did not see it and I would have liked to. Very few people are all bad. There must have been something about her to keep so many close to her. Other than money I mean.
Also I'd have liked more in depth character development of Amy. She was a fascinating character She really was.
I did not think there was a whole lot of realism to the plot I must admit. Like Ethan texting June after like an hour? Of coarse he could just be a scumbag. But still....
So I'd recommend this book. It is not heavy duty reading but it sort of pulls you in and it is a pretty fast read too. 3.5 stars.
September 6, 2020
A group of women who are mostly friends (maybe frenemies) get together for a reunion, at the large estate owned by queen bee Sadie MacTavish. When Sadie goes missing, they are all suspects… A fun and twist-y read that will definitely have you grabbing for the popcorn!
I loved that this is a closed-room mystery. All of the characters who could be suspects are secluded at the MacTavish estate, and I did enjoy puzzling over who I thought might be to blame! I have to say, these women are definite frenemies. This girls’ weekend definitely brings out some old drama they’d probably rather stay buried!
June is a professor, and from the beginning it is clear she doesn’t want to go to Sadie’s. Why would she? Sadie is married to her ex-boyfriend. Sadie also happens to be a wildly successful author, while June has written a single book that has gone out of print. If I were June, I probably wouldn’t want to go either!
But June has just gone through a pretty awful break-up. The kind of break-up that made me angry just reading about it! And as can happen when we suffer losses, it makes her re-think her invitation to Sadie’s. Afterall, her best friend Em will be there, and Em is sure to help her forget about her troubles. The group is rounded out by their other friends, Amy and Kimiko. All of these women have some skeletons in their closet!
The weekend is a bit rocky from the get go, but June is settling in and even making up with Sadie. When Sadie goes missing after a night none of the women can remember, the light shines straight on them. And when I say everyone is a suspect, I mean it! So many secrets and hidden agendas! It is also pretty fun to see the fragments of the lost night start to piece back together—like a puzzle of their own memories.
And the forgotten night definitely isn’t bought by the police in charge of the investigation! June knows she didn’t do it—or at least she thinks she knows…
Whose secret was salacious enough to murder for?
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.
I loved that this is a closed-room mystery. All of the characters who could be suspects are secluded at the MacTavish estate, and I did enjoy puzzling over who I thought might be to blame! I have to say, these women are definite frenemies. This girls’ weekend definitely brings out some old drama they’d probably rather stay buried!
June is a professor, and from the beginning it is clear she doesn’t want to go to Sadie’s. Why would she? Sadie is married to her ex-boyfriend. Sadie also happens to be a wildly successful author, while June has written a single book that has gone out of print. If I were June, I probably wouldn’t want to go either!
But June has just gone through a pretty awful break-up. The kind of break-up that made me angry just reading about it! And as can happen when we suffer losses, it makes her re-think her invitation to Sadie’s. Afterall, her best friend Em will be there, and Em is sure to help her forget about her troubles. The group is rounded out by their other friends, Amy and Kimiko. All of these women have some skeletons in their closet!
The weekend is a bit rocky from the get go, but June is settling in and even making up with Sadie. When Sadie goes missing after a night none of the women can remember, the light shines straight on them. And when I say everyone is a suspect, I mean it! So many secrets and hidden agendas! It is also pretty fun to see the fragments of the lost night start to piece back together—like a puzzle of their own memories.
And the forgotten night definitely isn’t bought by the police in charge of the investigation! June knows she didn’t do it—or at least she thinks she knows…
Whose secret was salacious enough to murder for?
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.
June 14, 2020
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E-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own and are not affected in any way.
PROS:
• Well developed characters. I feel like if the author didn't put a name to every character, I would've still known who is who. They are very easy to differentiate, their voices being so clear from one another that it's hard to mistake them.
• Amazing plot twist! I'm sure that for many of you who read or will read this book, won't agree with me, mostly if you are well read in the thriller genre. But hear me out! From the moment that it's revealed that Sadie is missing, I just keep guessing in my mind who and why it did it. The rest of the book until the moment of reveal, was for me like a race, to see if I am wrong or not, to hop from suspecting someone to see another character as the main bad guy. And I don't know for you, but for me, when a "whodoneit" thriller does this to me, keeps me engaging, guessing and questioning my observation power, it's all I need from it. Plus, it was so hard for me to stop reading!
• Bad but believable characters decisions. All characters had some major troubles on their house's roofs, no one is sane enough to think straight. Some have obsessions, some have trauma, some have major things to deal with in their lives, and all of these contribute to their bad decisions and actions, but unlike others, these characters are believable. Their decisions are believable. And it's easy to put yourself in their skin.
• Highly entertaining! Beside the fact that when I started it I have read maybe 10 pages and after I put it down for almost a week because I wasn't in the mood for a thriller, when I picked it up back I just found myself unable to stop reading! Do I need to say more?!
CONS:
• None, thank you!
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
If you want a gripping "whodoneit" style thriller, with believable and well defined characters, then this book is for you! Also, perfect for Ruth Ware fans!
E-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own and are not affected in any way.
PROS:
• Well developed characters. I feel like if the author didn't put a name to every character, I would've still known who is who. They are very easy to differentiate, their voices being so clear from one another that it's hard to mistake them.
• Amazing plot twist! I'm sure that for many of you who read or will read this book, won't agree with me, mostly if you are well read in the thriller genre. But hear me out! From the moment that it's revealed that Sadie is missing, I just keep guessing in my mind who and why it did it. The rest of the book until the moment of reveal, was for me like a race, to see if I am wrong or not, to hop from suspecting someone to see another character as the main bad guy. And I don't know for you, but for me, when a "whodoneit" thriller does this to me, keeps me engaging, guessing and questioning my observation power, it's all I need from it. Plus, it was so hard for me to stop reading!
• Bad but believable characters decisions. All characters had some major troubles on their house's roofs, no one is sane enough to think straight. Some have obsessions, some have trauma, some have major things to deal with in their lives, and all of these contribute to their bad decisions and actions, but unlike others, these characters are believable. Their decisions are believable. And it's easy to put yourself in their skin.
• Highly entertaining! Beside the fact that when I started it I have read maybe 10 pages and after I put it down for almost a week because I wasn't in the mood for a thriller, when I picked it up back I just found myself unable to stop reading! Do I need to say more?!
CONS:
• None, thank you!
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
If you want a gripping "whodoneit" style thriller, with believable and well defined characters, then this book is for you! Also, perfect for Ruth Ware fans!
June 28, 2020
The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman is a quick read, despite the story being a slow burn. It does take a while to get to the main part of the story. I read this book in an evening and while I enjoyed it, I felt that I had read it all before. There were parts of the story that were glossed over and really should have had more depth.
5 friends from college reunite for a girls weekend. They have not seen an awful lot of each other recently there is definitely plenty of tension among them. It is a drama filled weekend with lot so of drinking and partying. But when they awaken from one of this nights of drinking one of them hasn’t gone missing and the others have very little memory of what happened. None of these women are very nice people and they all had their reasons for wanting this woman gone.
Thanks to Crooked Lane books and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.
5 friends from college reunite for a girls weekend. They have not seen an awful lot of each other recently there is definitely plenty of tension among them. It is a drama filled weekend with lot so of drinking and partying. But when they awaken from one of this nights of drinking one of them hasn’t gone missing and the others have very little memory of what happened. None of these women are very nice people and they all had their reasons for wanting this woman gone.
Thanks to Crooked Lane books and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.
August 18, 2020
Read something else if you're curious about this one. The Girls Weekend is a reunion of college friends as well as a baby shower for one of the girls. Very flat and juvenile characters. These 'girls' do not act or think like someone close to being 40. This book is more of a cozy mystery than a thriller.
September 3, 2023
I listened to the audiobook, and I feel nothing about it. My attention kept wandering, but I couldn't be bothered to go back and listen to the parts that I missed. It reminded me quite a bit of The Woman in the Window, in that I disliked them both for many of the same reasons:
Both authors seemed to have attended the same writing seminar, where they are taught what I call the "I inhaled, then I exhaled" school of writing. The idea seems to be that if you describe every single sensation that a character feels, they seem more real: My scalp tingled. My stomach filled with acid. My tongue felt thick. My head felt cloudy. Such descriptions filled every page.
The other way this reminded me of The Woman in the Window is that both are told in the present tense, from the point of view of one unlikeable, neurotic female character. There is very little action, only descriptions and conversations that this character is directly involved in. This gives the novel a slow-moving, claustrophobic feel.
This is technically a DNF for me but I don't think that's fair - I put in enough time with this one and made it to the end, even if I didn't really catch everything that happened. Honestly this review bores me almost as much as the book did.
Both authors seemed to have attended the same writing seminar, where they are taught what I call the "I inhaled, then I exhaled" school of writing. The idea seems to be that if you describe every single sensation that a character feels, they seem more real: My scalp tingled. My stomach filled with acid. My tongue felt thick. My head felt cloudy. Such descriptions filled every page.
The other way this reminded me of The Woman in the Window is that both are told in the present tense, from the point of view of one unlikeable, neurotic female character. There is very little action, only descriptions and conversations that this character is directly involved in. This gives the novel a slow-moving, claustrophobic feel.
This is technically a DNF for me but I don't think that's fair - I put in enough time with this one and made it to the end, even if I didn't really catch everything that happened. Honestly this review bores me almost as much as the book did.
December 29, 2019
THE GIRLS WEEKEND is an entertaining thriller about a group of old college friends who meet up years later for a baby shower reunion weekend. When one of the women goes missing, the rest of them try to figure out what happened to her and if one of them are responsible.
Author Jody Gehrman does a great job writing compelling characters and making their stories interesting. I flew through this fast-paced book and was intrigued throughout. I will say the ending didn’t blow me away, even if it is appalling to fathom. Still, an entertaining read and now I have a new author to add to my list.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Jody Gehrman, and NetGalley for an ARC.
Author Jody Gehrman does a great job writing compelling characters and making their stories interesting. I flew through this fast-paced book and was intrigued throughout. I will say the ending didn’t blow me away, even if it is appalling to fathom. Still, an entertaining read and now I have a new author to add to my list.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Jody Gehrman, and NetGalley for an ARC.
January 23, 2020
I was so excited to start The Girls Weekend. The plot sounded really great and I've been super into suspense books lately. However, I felt extremely disappointed with this book. I still really liked the overall plot but there was multiple times that the writing was tone deaf.
The first thing that hit me really wrong was the main character, June, and her careless comparison of hate stalking someone’s Instagram to a person who self harms. June was also incredibly immature and spent so much of her time complaining about her life and how Sadie seemed to have it all, just based on her social media. Not an uncommon way of thinking in today’s culture but also not a compelling story line in a book with full grown adult characters.
I didn't mind the pace of the plot. It was a little slow, the action didn't start until 30% into the book, but I didn't feel like it was being dragged out. I do wish there was more background on the characters, I was especially interested in knowing more about Kimi but we knew very little about her or Amy or Em.
The second tone deaf issue I noticed was when the only person of color in the book brings up how cops make her uncomfortable and another character says “Really? You’re going there?”. It was convenient that the author has a POC token character, because that's all she seemed to be, but also, very poor choice on the author’s part to include a white character disregarding a real and legitimate concern for POC in the real world. Shortly after that, there was a brief degradation of #MeToo, which was completely unnecessary and did nothing for the plot or characters.
I also hated how mental illness was consistently downplayed and was used as a reason that someone might be a murderer. One of the worst lines in this book was, "Amy went through a cutter phase in college.” Again, so tone deaf. Self harm isn’t a phase. It’s serious and not something to dismiss as a phase. And of course, mental health issues always equal being a murderer in all the character's eyes. That was a consistent theme throughout the book and I found it to be a disgusting, outdated, tone deaf stereotype.
The plot twist was decent but I wasn't shocked and it didn't spur any emotion out of me.
Overall, the potential of the plot was ruined for me by all the tone deaf stereotypes and careless disregard for serious issues in the real world.
The first thing that hit me really wrong was the main character, June, and her careless comparison of hate stalking someone’s Instagram to a person who self harms. June was also incredibly immature and spent so much of her time complaining about her life and how Sadie seemed to have it all, just based on her social media. Not an uncommon way of thinking in today’s culture but also not a compelling story line in a book with full grown adult characters.
I didn't mind the pace of the plot. It was a little slow, the action didn't start until 30% into the book, but I didn't feel like it was being dragged out. I do wish there was more background on the characters, I was especially interested in knowing more about Kimi but we knew very little about her or Amy or Em.
The second tone deaf issue I noticed was when the only person of color in the book brings up how cops make her uncomfortable and another character says “Really? You’re going there?”. It was convenient that the author has a POC token character, because that's all she seemed to be, but also, very poor choice on the author’s part to include a white character disregarding a real and legitimate concern for POC in the real world. Shortly after that, there was a brief degradation of #MeToo, which was completely unnecessary and did nothing for the plot or characters.
I also hated how mental illness was consistently downplayed and was used as a reason that someone might be a murderer. One of the worst lines in this book was, "Amy went through a cutter phase in college.” Again, so tone deaf. Self harm isn’t a phase. It’s serious and not something to dismiss as a phase. And of course, mental health issues always equal being a murderer in all the character's eyes. That was a consistent theme throughout the book and I found it to be a disgusting, outdated, tone deaf stereotype.
The plot twist was decent but I wasn't shocked and it didn't spur any emotion out of me.
Overall, the potential of the plot was ruined for me by all the tone deaf stereotypes and careless disregard for serious issues in the real world.
March 31, 2020
The Girls Weekend, by Author Jody Gehrman,
This book takes place in the Pacific Northwest of Washington State - at a sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. This caught my attention right away, being that I live on the West coast of Canada, and love this beautiful natural area of the world.
It's a Girl's weekend story, with a group of 5 girlfriends connecting after many years
It kind of started off on a good note for me, but I became quickly bored with the storyline. It just did not capture my attention as the story progressed.
A fair read however, and one that will probably capture many readers
Thank You to NetGalley, Author Jody Gehrman, and Crooked Lane Books for my advanced copy to review
2.5 Stars for me
This book takes place in the Pacific Northwest of Washington State - at a sprawling estate in the San Juan Islands. This caught my attention right away, being that I live on the West coast of Canada, and love this beautiful natural area of the world.
It's a Girl's weekend story, with a group of 5 girlfriends connecting after many years
It kind of started off on a good note for me, but I became quickly bored with the storyline. It just did not capture my attention as the story progressed.
A fair read however, and one that will probably capture many readers
Thank You to NetGalley, Author Jody Gehrman, and Crooked Lane Books for my advanced copy to review
2.5 Stars for me
August 24, 2020
Five college girlfriends reunite for a weekend baby shower. In theory, what could be better than five friends gathering together, reconnecting and celebrating the upcoming birth of a friends baby. On paper, a great idea but underneath the surface lies secrets and jealously that has one friend, June Moody, not wanting to go but changes her mind when abruptly dumped by her current boyfriend.
Heck, what could be better than licking your wounds at your friend, Sadie McTavish's house. Famous author, Sadie is hosting the Girls Weekend to June, Em, Kimiko and Sadie's pregnant cousin Amy.
Of course you might not want to attend if your friend Sadie is now married to your former boyfriend, Ethan and now living the life you always envisioned. Add to the mix, a hunky gardener, a wild drug induced night of partying where the girls wake up with no memories, lots of blood and Sadie missing,
Accusations soon fly and a fun getaway weekend turns into a nightmare. Narrated throughout the book by June, the book is a quick read but lacking that "on the edge of your seat" type of suspense. Jody Gehrman's book, The Girls Weekend, is entertaining but not thrilling.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #TheGirlsWeekend
Heck, what could be better than licking your wounds at your friend, Sadie McTavish's house. Famous author, Sadie is hosting the Girls Weekend to June, Em, Kimiko and Sadie's pregnant cousin Amy.
Of course you might not want to attend if your friend Sadie is now married to your former boyfriend, Ethan and now living the life you always envisioned. Add to the mix, a hunky gardener, a wild drug induced night of partying where the girls wake up with no memories, lots of blood and Sadie missing,
Accusations soon fly and a fun getaway weekend turns into a nightmare. Narrated throughout the book by June, the book is a quick read but lacking that "on the edge of your seat" type of suspense. Jody Gehrman's book, The Girls Weekend, is entertaining but not thrilling.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #TheGirlsWeekend
July 1, 2020
June reunites with four old college friends (Sadie, Amy, Kimi, and Em). They gather for a baby shower for Amy, hosted by Sadie at her estate in the San Juan Islands. Things are a bit shaky between the old friends when everyone arrives. After a night that no one remembers well, Sadie is missing and everyone is a suspect.
The characters are a group of women in their late thirties. They haven't been in close contact for years, but decide to reunite when one of them is expecting a baby. Told from June's point of view. She is not looking forward to the weekend. Sadie is an old frenemy, and is married to an ex-boyfriend of June's. Amy is Sadie's cousin, and the pregnant friend. She's also single and hasn't told the others who the father is. Em has a secret she doesn't want revealed. Kimi likes her drugs and booze. An eclectic group for sure.
Tension is high between the women. When they awaken to discover Sadie is missing, they aren't sure what happened or who could have been responsible. There are a few other characters on the island, but it makes for a small group of suspects in this locked-room type mystery.
This mystery isn't too difficult to solve, but it's still a fun read. Atmospheric and dramatic.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The characters are a group of women in their late thirties. They haven't been in close contact for years, but decide to reunite when one of them is expecting a baby. Told from June's point of view. She is not looking forward to the weekend. Sadie is an old frenemy, and is married to an ex-boyfriend of June's. Amy is Sadie's cousin, and the pregnant friend. She's also single and hasn't told the others who the father is. Em has a secret she doesn't want revealed. Kimi likes her drugs and booze. An eclectic group for sure.
Tension is high between the women. When they awaken to discover Sadie is missing, they aren't sure what happened or who could have been responsible. There are a few other characters on the island, but it makes for a small group of suspects in this locked-room type mystery.
This mystery isn't too difficult to solve, but it's still a fun read. Atmospheric and dramatic.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2020
June gets a text message from one of her oldest friends, Sadie, inviting the group to a baby shower at her house. It's been years since the five of them met, and June doesn't seem too eager to go to that "Fearless Five" reunion.
They all became friends at college, but their friendship is not as it used to be. June and Sadie were more like frenemies. Sadie was the typical queen B and, even though they are around 38 years old now, June still feels insecure around her.
Em is June's best friend, so she tries to convice her to leave those feelings behind and go to Amy's baby shower.
Once they all meet at Sadie's place, old memories and feelings come out, and June realizes that the so perfect life she thought Sadie has is not what it seems.
On the other hand, they all participate in the activities Sadie has organized, though the atmosphere isn't quite festive, and to top it all, after what looks like a wild party, Sadie disappears. No one remembers what happened the previous night, and a notorious dark red spot on the wall as well as Kimikos's broken nose make it look worst.
The Girls Weekend is quite an enjoyable thriller with some twisted details. Nothing is what it seems.
~ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review~
They all became friends at college, but their friendship is not as it used to be. June and Sadie were more like frenemies. Sadie was the typical queen B and, even though they are around 38 years old now, June still feels insecure around her.
Em is June's best friend, so she tries to convice her to leave those feelings behind and go to Amy's baby shower.
Once they all meet at Sadie's place, old memories and feelings come out, and June realizes that the so perfect life she thought Sadie has is not what it seems.
On the other hand, they all participate in the activities Sadie has organized, though the atmosphere isn't quite festive, and to top it all, after what looks like a wild party, Sadie disappears. No one remembers what happened the previous night, and a notorious dark red spot on the wall as well as Kimikos's broken nose make it look worst.
The Girls Weekend is quite an enjoyable thriller with some twisted details. Nothing is what it seems.
~ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review~
December 14, 2019
The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman is a quickly paced thriller with an entertaining story-line. I had only one problem with The Girls Weekend and that lay in the main character and narrator, June Moody; she’s just not a very likeable gal. At. All. Generally, when reading, I either empathize with a main character or at the very least, can see their point; investing me in their story or plight. I don’t have to love them to love the book. I had a hard time becoming mentally engaged with June; she was at turns weak and whiney and then strong and noble. Make no mistake, I love a flawed character but June just didn’t make sense to me. The other characters, primarily Em and Leo, I really enjoyed, they were well-developed and interesting.
I really liked the way this thriller played out. I had two suspects in mind at the beginning but as everyone’s back stories with Sadie played out, it seems more and more people had a reason to kill Sadie. There are plenty of smoke-screens that kept me guessing, plenty of twists to keep things interesting and a fast-moving plot which made for a page turner, despite my dislike for Jane (Ok, I’ll stop ragging on Jane).
This is a good book for any fan of the thriller/mystery/suspense genre.
A big thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Jody Gehrman for providing me with The Girls Weekend in exchange for my honest review.
I really liked the way this thriller played out. I had two suspects in mind at the beginning but as everyone’s back stories with Sadie played out, it seems more and more people had a reason to kill Sadie. There are plenty of smoke-screens that kept me guessing, plenty of twists to keep things interesting and a fast-moving plot which made for a page turner, despite my dislike for Jane (Ok, I’ll stop ragging on Jane).
This is a good book for any fan of the thriller/mystery/suspense genre.
A big thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Jody Gehrman for providing me with The Girls Weekend in exchange for my honest review.
February 6, 2023
Book Blog | Bookstagram
“Bitter, cold, barren. These are words thrown at women without children. Like we’re a Montana winter. Either we’re to be pitied or we’re to be blamed, depending on how much choice we had in the matter.”
If you’re looking for an easy read that will still satisfy your need for murder and mayhem, then I’m going to recommend this book. Honestly, it’s nothing special. It isn’t deep or complex, the plot elements are basic and it’s on the lower side for page count, but I actually mean none of that in a bad way for once in my life. Sometimes you just want to read a book in your preferred genre that isn’t going to require a lot of brainpower or emotional investment. And that’s this book.
It’s fun, it’s light, it’s a little bit sinister and it’ll keep your attention firmly on its fictional world instead of on our real, sucky one.
In the middle of a stressful pandemic, that’s exactly what I was looking for. And it’s what I got. I mean, I’m not going to give it 5-stars just for that, but on a fantasy five-star scale that exists only for soapy-mystery novels...
Anyway, the cherry-on-top is that Gehrman infused this female-centric, locked-room mystery with all the feminist sparkle and questions about expectations of women that I love and relate to.
The main character, June Moody, is basically me except for the shitty partner. She’s a 30-something English professor (that’s me in my dreamssssss) who is in the middle of dealing with all those pesky thoughts and insecurities that start to plague us around this time – should I be doing things other women are doing? Am I too late? Am I old? Do I even want to do those things or is it just societal pressure? Am I happy? Am I sure? Is the grass really greener?
You know how it goes, and if you don’t, you soon will. That’s not a threat, it’s just a fact.
When June’s friend/nemesis, the very successful Sadie MacTavish, invites June and their two other old friends to the MacTavish McMansion for the weekend to reconnect and celebrate the upcoming birth of Sadie’s niece or nephew, June is hesitant to go because Sadie always makes her feel like shit. She has everything June has always wanted – the successful writing career and her one true love from college. But the personally negative feelings are put aside when Sadie goes missing, blood all over her house and the guests left with no memory after maybe being drugged.
It’s a tale as old as time. I mean, you’ve been to a baby shower where everyond is roofied and someone dies, right?
This is a classic locked-room mystery with only a few suspects and funmoments to keep you entertained, even if you guess the conclusion before you get there. And despite June and Guests doing a bunch of stupid shit after Sadie goes missing that you know they know they shouldn’t do – “let’s clean up and lie about everything!" – it was still engaging.
I would have liked a little more depth to the atmosphere and setting since everything else was pretty shallow, but the dialogue rang true to me and I think the characters stood out on their own, despite not being fleshed out. There were no "huge" twists or jaw-dropping moments, but it did maintain a steady pace and things were constantly happening that kept me fixated like soapy reality TV can do on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
The Girls Weekend is not going to be winning any literary awards, but who needs them when you’re cute? This is fun and twisty with some Real Housewives vibes.
It’s good. It won’t work for everyone, but it’s good.
⭐⭐⭐½ | 3.5 stars rounded down
“Bitter, cold, barren. These are words thrown at women without children. Like we’re a Montana winter. Either we’re to be pitied or we’re to be blamed, depending on how much choice we had in the matter.”
If you’re looking for an easy read that will still satisfy your need for murder and mayhem, then I’m going to recommend this book. Honestly, it’s nothing special. It isn’t deep or complex, the plot elements are basic and it’s on the lower side for page count, but I actually mean none of that in a bad way for once in my life. Sometimes you just want to read a book in your preferred genre that isn’t going to require a lot of brainpower or emotional investment. And that’s this book.
It’s fun, it’s light, it’s a little bit sinister and it’ll keep your attention firmly on its fictional world instead of on our real, sucky one.
In the middle of a stressful pandemic, that’s exactly what I was looking for. And it’s what I got. I mean, I’m not going to give it 5-stars just for that, but on a fantasy five-star scale that exists only for soapy-mystery novels...
Anyway, the cherry-on-top is that Gehrman infused this female-centric, locked-room mystery with all the feminist sparkle and questions about expectations of women that I love and relate to.
The main character, June Moody, is basically me except for the shitty partner. She’s a 30-something English professor (that’s me in my dreamssssss) who is in the middle of dealing with all those pesky thoughts and insecurities that start to plague us around this time – should I be doing things other women are doing? Am I too late? Am I old? Do I even want to do those things or is it just societal pressure? Am I happy? Am I sure? Is the grass really greener?
You know how it goes, and if you don’t, you soon will. That’s not a threat, it’s just a fact.
When June’s friend/nemesis, the very successful Sadie MacTavish, invites June and their two other old friends to the MacTavish McMansion for the weekend to reconnect and celebrate the upcoming birth of Sadie’s niece or nephew, June is hesitant to go because Sadie always makes her feel like shit. She has everything June has always wanted – the successful writing career and her one true love from college. But the personally negative feelings are put aside when Sadie goes missing, blood all over her house and the guests left with no memory after maybe being drugged.
It’s a tale as old as time. I mean, you’ve been to a baby shower where everyond is roofied and someone dies, right?
This is a classic locked-room mystery with only a few suspects and funmoments to keep you entertained, even if you guess the conclusion before you get there. And despite June and Guests doing a bunch of stupid shit after Sadie goes missing that you know they know they shouldn’t do – “let’s clean up and lie about everything!" – it was still engaging.
I would have liked a little more depth to the atmosphere and setting since everything else was pretty shallow, but the dialogue rang true to me and I think the characters stood out on their own, despite not being fleshed out. There were no "huge" twists or jaw-dropping moments, but it did maintain a steady pace and things were constantly happening that kept me fixated like soapy reality TV can do on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
The Girls Weekend is not going to be winning any literary awards, but who needs them when you’re cute? This is fun and twisty with some Real Housewives vibes.
It’s good. It won’t work for everyone, but it’s good.
⭐⭐⭐½ | 3.5 stars rounded down
December 3, 2019
I started last night and couldn't put it down. I was so wondering who the killer was, it kept me through all night. This is really a good thriller. And the important thing for me is, the ending is good. If the finale didn't work out for me, it affects all my journey.
Five women are coming together to celebrate the new baby but after a night of highly drinking (?) everything changes. No one remembers the previous night and everyone suspecting the other one. All secrets are revaling and you see anyone could be the killer. While I was reading toward to last pages, I guessed the killer but everyone is a big suspect in this book. I even thought something like Murder on the Orient Express finale.
Overall, I really liked the story. I liked the mystery. Some characters were written better, but that doesn't affect the book for me. A good and edgy thriller.
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
Five women are coming together to celebrate the new baby but after a night of highly drinking (?) everything changes. No one remembers the previous night and everyone suspecting the other one. All secrets are revaling and you see anyone could be the killer. While I was reading toward to last pages, I guessed the killer but everyone is a big suspect in this book. I even thought something like Murder on the Orient Express finale.
Overall, I really liked the story. I liked the mystery. Some characters were written better, but that doesn't affect the book for me. A good and edgy thriller.
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
December 17, 2019
I'm waffling between a 4 & a 5, so maybe call this a solid 4.5? I really loved it. I was sucked in immediately by the JUICY interpersonal conflicts, and "trapped in a place where a murder happens" is one of my FAVORITE thriller tropes, and this one did not disappoint. Though this one is "trapped in a place and someone disappears and there is blood on the wall and everyone blacked out and doesn't know what happened" but CLOSE ENOUGH.
The Girls Weekend plays on the complicated and sometimes toxic aspects of intense female friendship, especially the type that was bright and intense when you were younger and has now faded. The 5 women reuniting for the weekend were besties in college but now they're almost 40 and life has taken them in all sorts of interesting directions. The queen bee, Sadie, is now a megafamous children's series author with a mansion and the hot Scottish TA she and the main character June competed for way back when. June's also a failed novelist turned community college teacher whose boyfriend has just broken up with her via text, and man the FEELINGS in her POV were TOO REAL. Sadie's cousin Amy is pregnant, hence the reunion, and Em and Kimiko round out the group. Every single woman has some kind of backstory/beef/bitterness where Sadie is confirmed--so of course shit gets real when they all wake up and Sadie is gone and they can't remember anything. There's a lot of dysfunction brewing under the surface.
My favorite thing by far was all the interpersonal entanglements. The conflicts were really good--high stakes but interpersonal, so they felt grounded enough to feel real. The red herrings/tension were excellent because every single person on the estate/in the house that night had a motive to do something to Sadie. Things get VERY intense for poor June. The scene-setting at Sadie's mansion/in the PNW was sumptuous and vivid and perfect. I felt like I was there.
The end was a tiny tick guessable, but still wholly satisfying. If you also enjoy rich assholes trope, complicated female friendships trope, and the trapped in an isolated place where someone did a murder trope, this book should scratch all your itches, as it did mine. I happened to parse this out over about a week, but I could see it being a perfect page-turner--a plane or beach read.
The Girls Weekend plays on the complicated and sometimes toxic aspects of intense female friendship, especially the type that was bright and intense when you were younger and has now faded. The 5 women reuniting for the weekend were besties in college but now they're almost 40 and life has taken them in all sorts of interesting directions. The queen bee, Sadie, is now a megafamous children's series author with a mansion and the hot Scottish TA she and the main character June competed for way back when. June's also a failed novelist turned community college teacher whose boyfriend has just broken up with her via text, and man the FEELINGS in her POV were TOO REAL. Sadie's cousin Amy is pregnant, hence the reunion, and Em and Kimiko round out the group. Every single woman has some kind of backstory/beef/bitterness where Sadie is confirmed--so of course shit gets real when they all wake up and Sadie is gone and they can't remember anything. There's a lot of dysfunction brewing under the surface.
My favorite thing by far was all the interpersonal entanglements. The conflicts were really good--high stakes but interpersonal, so they felt grounded enough to feel real. The red herrings/tension were excellent because every single person on the estate/in the house that night had a motive to do something to Sadie. Things get VERY intense for poor June. The scene-setting at Sadie's mansion/in the PNW was sumptuous and vivid and perfect. I felt like I was there.
The end was a tiny tick guessable, but still wholly satisfying. If you also enjoy rich assholes trope, complicated female friendships trope, and the trapped in an isolated place where someone did a murder trope, this book should scratch all your itches, as it did mine. I happened to parse this out over about a week, but I could see it being a perfect page-turner--a plane or beach read.
July 6, 2020
This book reminds me of why I don’t have a lot of female friends, hah. (But the few ones I have: ride or die)
The narrator did a great job and I enjoyed listening to her voice. The story dragged a little sometimes but I kept looking forward to the next time I could hit play again. Overall: A satisfying read!
The narrator did a great job and I enjoyed listening to her voice. The story dragged a little sometimes but I kept looking forward to the next time I could hit play again. Overall: A satisfying read!
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