The Weekend Away by Miranda Smith
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 2nd October 2023
Published: 4th October 2023
★★★ 3 stars
DESCRIPTION:
My sister died. Her friends lied. And now I’m going to learn the truth…
A year ago, my twin sister Samantha left me a message: I need you.
A day later, she was dead. I always knew it was suspicious, but no one would listen.
But I’ve just found her journal, tucked into a hidden space in the window seat of our childhood bedroom. It shows who her best friends really are: the fraud. The liar. The cheat. The crush.
Now, they’re all together on a weekend away, in a beautiful wood-panelled cabin in the mountain. And I’m going too. One of them killed her, and I’m going to prove it.
But am I ready for the answers I’m seeking? Because I soon realize that my sister had dark secrets too…
And when fire breaks out on the mountain, leaving us trapped, I must decide: what will I risk to get justice for Samantha? Because finding the truth might cost me my life…
An absolutely compulsive thriller that will have your pulse racing as you flip through the pages at speed. If you like The Hunting Party, Ruth Ware and The Summer House, you’ll love The Weekend Away!
MY THOUGHTS:
Six friends...three days...one killer...
Sienna's life stopped a year ago when her twin sister Samantha died tragically falling from her balcony in the middle of the night. She was in Paris on a six month long adventure across Europe when she received the news that her sister was dead. Adventure cut short, she flew home where her parents requested an autopsy. Samantha was over the limit to drive but as she was at home it wasn't an issue. So her death was ruled an accident by misadventure. But Sienna didn't believe so. However, it was tearing her family apart and for her parents' sake, she put it behind her to get on with her life.
Unfortunately, that meant moving back in with her parents - with Samantha's old bedroom glaring accusingly at her every time she walked upstairs - and working at the front of her parent's business Roth Family Cleaners. Her life stopped when Samantha's heart did and she has barely lived since.
Until she receives a phone call in her lunch break one day from Jackson, one of her sister's best friends and the only one of her sister's friends she could actually stand. With the anniversary of Samantha's death looming, the friends were getting together to honour their friend in a weekend away in the Smoky Mountains. Sienna inwardly groaned. She could not think of anything worse.
Until she walks upstairs and sees the closed door of her sister's room once again...and before she knows it she has opened the door, switched on the light and is bathed in memories of Samantha. Every inch, every crevice of the room oozes Samantha. And as she sits on the window seat, she recalls the bit of stealthy DIY she and Samantha undertook one day when they made a secret hiding place under the seat. Awash with memories, Sienna opens the seat and reaches in not expecting to find anything knowing it has been years since the sisters had used it. But when her hand finds something, she pulls it out. Samantha's diary. And so she lays down on her sister's bed and begins to read...
Sienna couldn't think of anything worse than a weekend away with Samantha's friends but after what she ready in the diary, she's changed her mind. While some of the pages have been ripped out, what she did read were not only her sister's secrets but those of her friends. And every one of them had something to hide. And very possibly a motive to kill her. So which one did?
A weekend away in the remote Smoky Mountains with five people she doesn't really like to uncover the truth about her sister's death is the motivation she needs to punish herself with their company. But when a wildfire breaks out during their stay, and someone wanting to silence Sienna for good, is she able to make it to safety in one piece? Before it's too late?
OK, so this is a popcorn thriller with not a whole lot of depth to it but a fun read just the same. It's my fourth read by Miranda Smith and while it's not my favourite it is still a quick read that's compelling enough to keep you turning the pages. As for the characters, none of them were really likeable...except maybe the strong silent Troy.
I would like to thank #MirandaSmith, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWeekendAway in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Miranda has been a staff writer at a local newspaper and a secondary English teacher. When it comes to fiction, Miranda writes about complicated women, dark impulses and Southern settings.
She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three children.
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