User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
EXCERPT: I stagger backwards a few steps, sucking in air, my hands on my hips , bent over like an old lady climbing stairs. It's suddenly occurred to me that if Kate hasn't her phone on her, or her wallet or any ID, she can't have gone anywhere. The police thought she'd maybe got on a plane or a train or hired a car, that she'd decided to leave - never mind the fact she left behind all her clothes. I hadn't really thought they were right but I guess I was clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, they were and she was off doing her own thing. But without her wallet, without cash or credit cards, passport, or her phone, where would she go? What could she possibly be doing? There's only one answer. And I have been trying my hardest to stay positive and not think it, except for last night when my imagination ran wild, but now I need to accept it. Something very bad has happened to Kate.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Two friends go on holiday. Only one comes back.
Orla and Kate have been best friends forever. Together they’ve faced it all – be it Orla’s struggles as a new mother or Kate’s messy divorce. And whatever else happens in their lives, they can always look forward to their annual weekend away.
This year, they’re off to Lisbon: the perfect flat, the perfect view, the perfect itinerary. And what better way to kick things off in style than with the perfect night out?
But when Orla wakes up the next morning, Kate is gone. Brushed off by the police and with only a fuzzy memory of the night’s events, Orla is her friend’s only hope. As she frantically retraces their steps, Orla makes a series of shattering discoveries that threaten everything she holds dear. Because while Lisbon holds the secret of what happened that night, the truth may lie closer to home…
MY THOUGHTS: If you have ever been lost in a maze, you will get a similar experience in reading The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson. The author will lead you down blind alleys, through wrong turns and into dead ends before finally spitting you out at the end. And what an ending! Despite forming two theories early on in the book, one of which was right, knowing the who and the why, I still did not see that ending coming! Sneaky, Ms Alderson.
The characters are a disparate and interesting assortment. Some dodgy police; a creepy landlord; a naive first time mum facing 40, feeling guilty for not enjoying motherhood as much as she should after her desperate and financially ruinous attempts to conceive; her best friend, a super-wealthy newly divorced good time girl who is funding this girl's weekend away; the husbands or, in Kate's case, the ex-husband; and Konstandin, Uber driver and possibly Russian mafia, who seems to turn up at the most opportune moments. The question must be asked - is he a good guy? Or a bad guy?
While this may be a quick and easy read, (overnight for me), it is no less gripping for being so. It certainly didn't feel like 400 pages. I could easily imagine The Weekend Away being made into a movie. Plenty of action and intrigue.
😍😍😍.8
THE AUTHOR: Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and princess-obsessed daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home. After several months in India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where they lived for five years.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books UK via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson 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/...
Rating: really liked it
The Weekend Away was a pleasant surprise. While it didn't bring anything new to the table, it
was very well written, the characters were beautifully fleshed out, the misdirection was well done, and the Lisbon setting added a nice ambiance to the story.
Narrated entirely by Orla, a wife and mother who reluctantly left her family for a weekend getaway with her long-time best friend, Kate...I believe Sarah Alderson nailed the voice of the brand new mom who wanted nothing more than to get back to her baby, as the world in Lisbon crashed down around her.
All the little twists and turns kept me reading through the night to see where they led, and I didn't shut off my Kindle until I finished the novel at 4:45 AM. Admittedly, the conclusion was a bit mundane and predictable, though I will say, I didn't get it all right.
And while the cover of the book is beautiful, it really has very little relation to the story.
Overall, this is a decent little thriller and a
perfect beach read.
3.5 stars, which I opted to round up because I was so compelled to keep reading.
Available for purchase July 23, 2020.**My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my review copy.
Rating: really liked it
Orla, a new mother, and her best friend and good time gal, Kate, have decided to spend the weekend in Lisbon. Orla would like nothing more than to go back home to her baby but Kate wants to party and go clubbing. While out they meet two men that Kate insists come back to their place to continue the fun.
Orla wakes up in the morning with no memory of the night before. After searching the apartment she comes to the realization that Kate is missing. What happened to Kate?
This book, for me, was just okay. I read a lot of psych thrillers so something really needs to stand out to wow me and sadly nothing here really stood out as original and unique. This story has been told many times before making this rather predictable. I truly had this one figured out very early on so the later reveal was completely unsurprising. This book could have easily been 100 pages less. So, yeah, this one didn't work out so well for me but I did manage to finish it withOUT skimming which does say a lot. I think anyone that is newer to this genre will delight in the twist and turns Alderson throws their way but for this reader it's a ride all too familiar. 3 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 stars
Orla and Kate have been best friends for a long time. They have also been going away for a girl’s weekend for years but stopped when Orla was going through IVF and when she gave birth to her daughter. But now the time is right, and they are off to Lisbon (not a tropical local like the cover would have you believe)! What could go wrong???
To celebrate, they go out for a fancy dinner and to a club for a night of fun! But the next morning, Orla wakes up and Kate is missing. What is worse is that Orla can barely remember the night before. Trying to find her friend, Orla decides to retrace their steps the night before and, in the process, learns some hard truths. Some very, very, very hard truths.
Add this to the how-well-do-you-know-the-people-in-your-life category. It can also be added to the suspend some belief category. Either way, I found this to be a fast entertaining read which had me guessing and then questioning my suspect list.
I found this to be a fast, captivating read which did not disappoint! If you want a weekend escape, give this book a read!
Thank you to Avon 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!
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Rating: really liked it
“ ‘You’re my best friend,’ she says. She says it forcefully, as though I might contest it. ‘You’re mine too,’ I say laughing. ‘Never forget that,’ she says, looking into my eyes in such a strange way that my laughter dies.” Maybe I loved this better than most and I’m not ashamed! It captured me and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Orla and Kate, two best friends for many years, create a tradition of flying to exotic destinations together, but with Orla having a newborn, Marlow, amongst a slew of other things, including emotional challenges and setbacks, their trips have been in short supply in recent years. But this year, that’s about to change as they decide to visit Lisbon, Portugal, together.
“I’ve always been so good at reading people but now I feel like I can’t trust myself or my instincts. Everything’s off kilter.” However, what starts off as an innocent journey ends as anything but. Kate goes missing and Orla has to retrace in her mind everything about that night, every action and step taken, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Without leaving out the words hurled in moments of burning, impassioned anger, in order to figure out where she has gone, which becomes increasingly difficult to do on account of the fact that Orla has been suffering gaps in memory due to overconsumption of alcohol and potentially drugs that night.
“I’m a whirlpool dragging everyone who comes close to me towards an unfortunate end.” At the beginning, though, before the drama comes to a head, Orla and Kate are almost foils of each other: Orla being the practical, no-nonsense mom whose partying days are seemingly long behind her and Kate, the vivacious woman who sets any room alight with her resplendent charm, but also has cunningly mastered the art of manipulation and deception.
And I thought, throughout, that the cracks in the façade of their friendship were thoroughly examined as nothing was as it seemed for even a second. Both were, at their core, sad and yearned for something stronger to keep them tied to the present moment, in different, but equally fascinating, yet despairing, ways. I could feel their emotions viscerally and unsettlingly, as layers of their characters were beautifully peeled back before moments of reveal. And I also could intuit deeply the strength build in Orla, in the most empowering of ways, to fight back and continue persevering on her journey to find her friend, even when she winds up finding out that she knew next to nothing real or honest about her. Someone you thought was so close to you, in this case like an adopted, fun sister, can actually be so far, so removed from what you believed to be true and trust, as well as additionally be hiding secrets that could just take a turn for the deadly.
“For a moment, it felt as though the truth was lit up bright as the sun, but now a shadow has passed in front of it and everything is murky once more.” This book took me like a whirlwind and entranced me until the very end where just enough is left to ponder what will happen next in this world and to these characters. I won’t forget them nor will I forget what brought them hopefully together and tore them more tragically apart.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 stars I was definitely captivated by this fast-paced mystery.
Best friends Orla and Kate take a girls' weekend getaway to Portugal. This is the first time they've been able to go away together since Orla's difficult time getting pregnant and having her young daughter Marlow. Things start to go downhill quickly when newly separated Kate wants to party--including drinking, drugs, and picking up men. Kate passes out and when Orla wakes up in the morning, Kate is gone. The police don't take her seriously and she is desperate to find her friend. As she starts to go back through their movements the night before, she begins to uncover some disturbing secrets.
There are a bunch of really good twists in this story that elevated it beyond just the regular psychological thriller. That said, as with many books in this genre, the author didn't quite know how to leave well enough alone at the ending and just had to throw in one last twist at the end that I just didn't feel was necessary. It kind of devolved into the absurd for me at that point. Also, there were a few decisions that Orla makes that made me scratch my head in confusion--why on earth would she agree to stay in the landlord's apartment, why would she not just check into a hotel at that point? The armchair detective-work is pretty heavy here (which is not a favorite trope for me) but it actually *kind of* makes sense for this story because no one takes her seriously, especially the police.
All in all, this is a really worthwhile read because things did fit together and I didn't roll my eyes at plot holes every other page like I do in some books. It's a great spring/summer read.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
Two friends of twenty or so years go for a girls weekend away to Lisbon but one does not come home. That’s the premise of this easy to read and intriguing novel. Kate is childless and recently split from wealthy husband Toby and Orla is married to Rob and they have a baby daughter.
The moral of this tale is how well do you really know your friends as Orla discovers the hard way. The novel is well written, it has a lot of twists some of which you don’t see coming and the ending is excellent. I like the setting of Lisbon which makes a good backdrop for the dramatic events. The night where it all goes wrong is captured really well and the difference between what the two women want and expect from their weekend away become crystal clear. The characters are good, though some are definitely not likeable they are interesting. Orla is way too trusting, so naive you want to be a cautionary voice in her ear though her instincts with Uber driver Konstandin prove correct. His backstory in Kosovo is very sobering and adds an additional element to the storytelling. It’s a novel of betrayal, lies and deception which makes for entertaining escapist reading.
Overall, a really good thriller with plenty of surprises.
With thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC.
Rating: really liked it
THE WEEKEND AWAY is a gripping, surprisingly strong thriller that I was NOT expecting.
Orla and Kate are best friends who decide to spend a weekend in Lisbon. This is the first time Orla will be away from her infant daughter, but she knows it will be good for her. Kate is going through a tough divorce, so it should be the perfect getaway for both of them. After a night of drinking and clubbing, Orla wakes up the next morning...only to find that Kate is gone. Her clothes are still at their Airbnb, and there’s also a suspicious stain in Kate’s bedroom that could either be wine or blood. With Orla’s recollection of the night before pretty hazy, she has to retrace their steps to try and put the pieces together in a city where she knows no one and has no idea who she can trust.
Author Sarah Alderson really has a way with words. The story is very atmospheric, and the characters are fully dimensional. I was completely hooked and engaged as one piece of the puzzle connected to another. I also really enjoyed the unexpected cohort that joins Orla in trying to track down what happened the night Kate disappeared. While there was nothing earth-shattering, I found myself surprised quite a few times, and was thrilled that this wasn’t the derivative thriller I initially thought it was going to be. 3.5 stars rounded up!
Thank you to Avon Books UK, Sarah Alderson, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Loved this mystery about Orla and her missing friend Kate. Twisty, scary, smart and thrilling! I must thank my Goodreads friend Michael for his great review, which led me to pick it up.
Orla has just had a baby when her best friend Kate suggests a girls’ trip to Lisbon. After a strange evening out, Orla awakens to find Kate gone from their Airbnb, without a trace.
From there a seriously great series of twists unfolds. I won’t spoil any of them, but the mystery itself was perfect, with just the right amount of twists and red herrings, plus some great characters, including Konstantin the Uber driver with a shadowy past, Sebastian the creepy Airbnb owner, and the two gorgeous guys who were at the house when Kate went missing.
Like its title, “The Weekend Away” is the perfect summer thriller to escape into for a weekend. A serious page-turner and a great mystery. Mysteries and betrayals at every turn. And that last twist, tho! Perfection.
4.5 stars from me - this thriller is written much more skillfully than most. I’ll definitely jump to pick up Sarah Alderson’s next thriller!
Thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Sarah Anderson for the ARC. Loved this completely gripping and thrilling vacation noir!
Rating: really liked it
A how-to manual for going from mom to murder suspect in a handful of unwise decisions. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. The choices we make. Orla leaves baby Marlow with her husband Rob for a weekend getaway with best friend Kate. It all starts off well in Lisbon and their gorgeous Air BNB flat, but it doesn't take long for the entire trip to implode. After a night of dinner and clubbing, there is only one friend left in the flat. Orla is desperate to find Kate, certain there has been foul play. Why do so many of the people around her seem to disregard her worries? Why does Orla feel like she is swimming upstream? This was a page-turner and I was often surprised by the twists and turns of the plot. What surprised me most is the fact that Orla never once consulted a lawyer and/or the British embassy for assistance. She ran around in circles quite a bit -- not always her own fault to be sure. I also thought this book really made the police in Lisbon look terribly incompetent. Fair or not fair? I have never been there, but I would like to give them the benefit of a doubt since I have a husband and son in law enforcement. So, a hearty four read-this-on-vacation stars for this new thriller. Perfect for fans of T.M. Logan ('The Vacation') and Alex Berenson ('The Power Couple').
Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Orla and Kate are best friends, they have been through everything together and now Orla is married with a baby, Kate still living the busy career/single life, they decided to do something they have done many times previous and go away for a weekend and so off they go to Portugal, a few days to relax, unwind, take stock and enjoy each others company again without the hassles of men, babies and/ or work
They go on a night out in Lisbon which ends with Orla waking with a terrible hangover the next day, Kate, though is not so lucky....she doesn’t wake up, she is dead....and now Orla is being thrown into a roulette of mystery that ultimately intends for her to be charged with her murder
This story is feisty and exciting, there are so many layers to it and offshoots that it keeps you enthralled the whole way through, the hi energy intrigue coupled with outstanding ‘wordy but good wordy’ descriptive writing means every sentence builds and builds the tension and darkness that is enveloping Orla
The ending to the book is excellent, I read a lot and not many end with me so outfoxed as this one did, it was one of those ‘NOOOOOOO....but I love it’ endings!
Loved the atmosphere of the book, the characters were varied in my intensity of love and hate but all fabulously played and the Lisbon vibe throughout was
Every element of a great read is here and I honestly didnt want the book to end
10/10
5 Stars
Rating: really liked it
An unputdownable mystery thriller that kept me hooked, this is my second read from Alderson and I havent been disappointed yet!
Friends Orla and Kate reprise their former yearly tradition of a weekend break away by visiting the Portuguese capital Lisbon.
It's been a fewyears since they last had a trip away together owing to Orla's IVF treatments and subsequent birth of a child.
It's quite striking how different the friends are now that Orla has become a parent.
With her baby now 9 months old, the author really captures the tiredness and frumpy feel of a new mum.
Whilst Kate wants to party hard, Orla is quite content to go for dinner and have a much earned early night.
Kate eventually wins and the pair end up in a club which soon spells trouble...
Orla wakes the next day having blacked out and no sign of her best friend.
She's sure that they both came back together, so what could have happened to her.
With plenty of twists during Orla's own investigation starts to unravel even more mysteries surrounding her friend.
As more clues are shown, the more involved I'd become with the story.
The helplessness of being in a foreign country really adds to Orla's desperation to find the answers.
This is a good one to start with if you've not previously read this author.
Rating: really liked it
Update 3/3/22:
THIS IS NOW A NETFLIX MOVIE!!!!
What a wonderful, unexpected surprise this novel was! Up until the point I saw this at my library, I had never heard of Ms. Alderson, however the cover and premise of this book stood out to me. Who doesn't want to read a snappy book about a vacation between two friends that goes to HELL?!
As we begin reading, Orla and Kate have been best friends forever, and as it sometimes happens in life, have drifted apart and lost touch some. Now that Orla has finally had her child and her life has started settling down, and Kate has gone through a messy divorce, they both decide a vacation to Lisbon is just what the Doctor ordered! Almost immediately I picked up on the fact that something wasn't quite right with Kate, as she seemed bothered by something and a bit withdrawn. Orla notices, but quickly dismisses it as the stress from the divorce. After a night of debauchery out in the Lisbon nightlife both ladies go back to their AirBNB rental and get some much needed rest. The next morning Orla notices a few things seem....well, let's just say they seem abnormal however she can't seem to remember very much of what transpired the prior evening, and Kate is nowhere to be found! Did Kate disappear on her own accord? That's certainly what the police are saying, as well as it seems everyone else, but Orla knows something horrible has happened to her. With the help of a friendly refugee Uber driver named Konstantine, Orla discovers and tracks down the clues of what happened the evening before. But as the hours fly by, will she be too late? Is Kate gone for good? Sometimes people disappear willingly after all, but why would Kate?? Then, A body is suddenly discovered and Orla is called to the police station...what will the police tell her??
I really ate this one up! It sucked me right in and I just couldn't seem to stop reading it once I picked it up. I quickly connected with our protagonist Orla, and had my suspicions of Kate and company, keeping me completely engaged through what felt like a very quick read! The pacing, plot twists, red herrings, everything about this mystery/thriller really had me enthralled and captivated, and boy was this one a wild ride! So many horrible things can happen when vacationing in a foreign land, and this book perfectly portrayed what might be many traveler's worst nightmare! That being said, I am definitely going to go back and read ALL of Alderson's previous work, and I recommend anyone looking for a twisty beach read go out and immediately get this one! If you can't tell, I'm incredibly excited to continue with reading and reviewing this wonderful author! On to the next great '21 Read!!!
Rating: really liked it
3.5 buckets of 🍿
I REALLY wish we could award 3.5 stars!
On one hand, Sarah Alderson’s style is immediately engaging and it drew me right in...
But, on the other hand, I kept envisioning this SUSPENSE novel as a movie, and it would come across as more of a COMEDY, instead...🤭
I had Amy Adams playing Orla, an EXTREMELY naive, 40 year old, new mother, on a weekend getaway with her long time BESTIE, the glamorous Kate...
(Amy could pull off the Irish accent, right?)
When Kate goes “missing” after their first “wild night” away, their Albanian UBER driver, Konstandin-played by Austrian-American Arnold Schwarzenegger-in his Terminator days-comes to the rescue..
“I’m going to break your nose and ruin your pretty face unless you tell the truth” (actual line from the book)
What ensues is an extremely CAMPY search for Kate, and the truth, filled with a few good twists!
If you enjoy that STYLE, you can pick this up TODAY!
Thanks to Avon books for providing a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a candid review!
Rating: really liked it
The Weekend Away was another book that kept me up reading late into the night. I started and finished this yesterday, unable to stop turning the pages. It is a psychological thriller that you really get caught up in quickly. Until the very last pages you will be kept guessing. Really enjoyed it.
2 best friends go away on holiday, only one comes back. Orla and Kate are looking forward to a weekend away to escape their lives for a few days. Orla Is a new mum and struggling to cope. Kate is going through a messy divorce. This girls weekend is just what they need. But when Orla wakes up feeling fuzzy headed after their first night, Kate is nowhere to be found. All she can remember Is that they went out for dinner and then dancing. She needs to find the missing pieces of the night to try to find Kate.
This was a quick and easy read for me, with a ending that I did not see coming. Thanks to Avon Books UK for my advanced copy of this book to read
