In The Long Weekend, Gilly MacMillan's haunting and captivating seventh thriller, three couples are spending the weekend at Dark Fell Barn, a rustic outpost so far removed from civilization that it doesn't even have cell phone reception. The women head out one night before the men, who have all delayed their arrival for various shady-sounding reasons. This is plenty of time for everything to fall apart. Within moments of their arrival, the women receive a sinister note claiming one of their husbands has been murdered. At first they suspect the threat is another prank by Edie, their estranged friend who is absent from the retreat after the sudden death of her husband--but as their mounting anxiety unravels their mental and emotional well-being, it becomes clear there is a much more menacing force at play--one that has the power to change their lives permanently.
In addition to the dangerous secrets that threaten to undermine this tight-knit group of friends, each of the women faces demons of her own--former army intelligence officer Jayne is haunted by PTSD; young and naïve Emily struggles to trust her much-older husband; and Ruth, a doctor and new mother, must confront her worsening alcoholism. These individual challenges create even more tension as the women do everything they can to learn their husbands' fates. MacMillan also delivers several shocking plot twists that turn the perceived truth on its head and make this a fast-paced, compelling read all the way to its surprisingly satisfying ending. --Angela Lutz, freelance reviewer