Listen free for 30 days

  • The Long Weekend

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Gilly Macmillan
  • Narrated by: Olivia Poulet
  • Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (64 ratings)

1 credit a month, good for any title to download and keep.
The Plus Catalogue—listen all you want to thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks.
$14.95 a month plus applicable taxes after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Long Weekend cover art

The Long Weekend

Written by: Gilly Macmillan
Narrated by: Olivia Poulet
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $40.01

Buy Now for $40.01

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

“Twisty, dark, and packs a punch. . . . Gripping and genuinely nail-biting.” — Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium

In this pulse-pounding thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny, a group of women travel to the most remote place in England for a weekend escape, only to discover a startling note that one of their husbands will be killed before they return home. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley.

Three couples

Two bodies

One secret

Dark Fell Barn is a “perfectly isolated” retreat, or so says its website when Jayne books a reservation for her friends. A quiet place, far removed from the rest of the world, is exactly what they need.

The women arrive for a girls’ night ahead of their husbands. There’s ex-Army Jayne, hardened and serious, but also damaged. Ruth, the driven doctor and new mother who is battling demons of her own. Young Emily, just wed and insecure, the newest addition of this tight-knit band. Missing this year is Edie, who was the glue holding them together, until her husband died suddenly.

But what they hoped would be a relaxing break soon turns to horror. Upon arrival at Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note claiming one of their husbands will be murdered. There are no phones, no cell service to check on their men. Friendships fracture as the situation spins wildly out of control. Betrayal can come in many forms.

This group has kept each other’s secrets for far too long.

"Fast-paced and incredibly compelling . . . this book will not let you put it down." — Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

©2022 Gilly Macmillan (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Long Weekend

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poor ratings unjustified

Really enjoyed this story and I thought the criticism of the narrator are unfounded. Narration was a bit speedy but I think it added to the sense of foreboding. The story lends itself to having one neutral narrator rather than multiple distinct voices for reasons obvious when you reach last chapters. I had no problem figuring out who was speaking. Great story, full of twists and turns and ending was difficult to predict. Highly recommend.

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great listen

probably outcomes, great writing, really enjoyed it! you know the characters but you don't love them and that's on purpose!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Narrated too fast

Storyline was good however I found it hard to focus as the narrator went too fast with hardly any pauses between chapters/characters. Made it hard to follow. Too bad

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great and thrilling read!

I appreciate how on “the edge of my seat” I was throughout this book.
Sad, heartbreaking and beautiful.

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Unimpressed

This is an agonizing read. I'm sick of crime from the criminal's perspective, and everyone in the novel is a moron. The narration is tolerable played at 0.8x speed, although I dislike hearing the reader gasping for breath. The production value is pathetic. An author of Macmillan's stature should surely merit better.

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good thriller-wondering for long time

I guessed wrong, till closer to the end. That fact kept it intriguing…but I find I’m getting irritated by characters that are too ‘closed’ and make more drama in life than necessary. I couldn’t help thinking if these were my friends I would be a hermit. Good plot though.
Thanks to those that mentioned slowing the narration as early on I felt I was trapped by someone who couldn’t understand a book/story is to be savoured rather trying to rush through it!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great mystery

I thought this was a really good story. Some people complained about the speed of the narration but I just turned it down to .8x and it was fine. Easy fix. My only complaint was because she didn’t have different sounding voices for the characters it made it more difficult to keep track and picture what was going on during character change as the characters ran too closely together. Not more but just different voices would have helped. If I was distracted for a minute I would get lost in the change and have to rewind. Anyway it was a good story.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Laura Em
  • Laura Em
  • 2022-04-01

Great story, terrible narrator

Okay so full disclosure, I’m still listening and haven’t finished the book, but I’m frustrated. The story is interesting, but I’m so confused on who is who, which patty we are at, and any sort of changes. The narrator doesn’t pause between story changes, and I’ve had to relisten to parts to figure out where they were. I agree with another post- please redo with Imogen Church!!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Dona Scott
  • Dona Scott
  • 2022-04-01

Narrator ruins a great read!

Don’t waste a credit on the audible version of this book. The narrator uses the same voice for all the characters and since the point of view changes regularly it is hard to keep up with who is speaking. I managed to keep going to the end because the plot intrigued me but wish I had read a physical book.

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Amanda
  • Amanda
  • 2022-03-31

Needs a different narrator

I would be interested in reading the book as the story itself may be interesting. I wouldn't know from this audio version. The narrator's pace and complete lack of differentiating any of the characters in her voice made this audiobook feel like one long run on sentence. I was constantly trying to keep up with what she was saying and by which character. Remake with Imogen Church please!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Mark D
  • Mark D
  • 2022-04-01

Too difficult

This narrator used the same voice for everyone. Had no idea which character was talking. Story was incredibly boring, just to make it worse. Wouldn't even call this a mystery/thriller. It's a dull drama focused on women who should be medicated.

Why she had to go with a husband/wife ex spies. The were ridiculous, obviously she based her knowledge of that from movies.

I liked the previous book, but is a major let down.

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Ms. Gloria
  • Ms. Gloria
  • 2022-03-30

A lost credit

Never again will I waste a credit on a pre order. This book was awful. I couldn't keep up with who was who or who was married to who.

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for R. V.
  • R. V.
  • 2022-05-22

Wanted to love it, but…

I have to agree with some of the other reviews in that it was very hard to follow as an audiobook. Without using different voices it was hard to differentiate characters at times. With 6-7 primary characters, it was just too difficult to keep everyone’s story line straight. I stayed somewhat lost right up until the end but stuck it out because I had already invested so many hours.

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for CChadwick
  • CChadwick
  • 2022-05-22

"Mystery" Revaled from the Beginning.

From characters to plot, the adage "show don't tell" should've been applied from start to page 75 ( did give it a chance).

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Bethany
  • Bethany
  • 2022-05-19

Confusing

With only one person reading a story told from multiple viewpoints, this was rather confusing when it came to distinguishing who was speaking and about whom. Typically, this style of novel does more to delineate who is who so the narrator is more clearly defined.

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for JM
  • JM
  • 2022-04-05

A little hard to follow at times

This wasn't my favorite of Gilly Macmillan's books, but it was entertaining enough. The narrator has a nice voice and her intonations were good. However, it was read at a really fast pace, there was no pause or segue between characters, and they were all read in the same voice, so I often felt very confused about which character I was listening to. This is also a function of how the book is written; unlike other books that are told from multiple points of view, this one wasn't separated by chapter. One minute we'd be hearing from Jane's point of view, and then in the next sentence, it would be from Ruth's. That may not be a problem if you are reading the book, but I think this would have been much better with multiple narrators, since the switch back and forth between characters was so fast-paced. The story itself was interesting and kept me listening/guessing, though the "one year later" part was a bit of a letdown; I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll just say that we didn't really get to hear much about what happened to two of the three wives; after all of the back-and-forth between characters, we only hear one of the wives' point of view. I'd have liked a bit from the other wives perspective, other than a quick gloss-over of where/what they are doing now.

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Mary
  • Mary
  • 2022-06-10

Too many pronouns.

Interesting story for sure. I spent a lot of the time wondering which character was speaking, though. Maybe this would have been easier to follow if it weren’t an audio book.

1 person found this helpful