The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan
Release Date: 3rd February 2022
Publisher: Century
Genre: Adult, Thriller
Source: Publisher
Rating: ★★.5
Goodreads

By the time you read this, I’ll have killed one of your husbands.

In an isolated retreat, deep in the Northumbria moors, three women arrive for a weekend getaway.

Their husbands will be joining them in the morning. Or so they think.

But when they get to Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note that claims one of their husbands has been murdered. Their phones are out of range. There’s no internet. They’re stranded. And a storm’s coming in.

Friendships fracture and the situation spins out of control as each wife tries to find out what’s going on, who is responsible and which husband has been targeted.

This was a tight-knit group. They’ve survived a lot. But they won’t weather this. Because someone has decided that enough is enough.

That it’s time for a reckoning.

After reading The Long Weekend and one other book by Gilly Macmillan, I really don’t think she’s an
author for me. The premise of this book sounded fantastic to me, as I really enjoy thrillers about groups
of friends going away on holiday. It’s a niche I didn’t realise I loved until recently.

Unfortunately, something I really don’t like in my thrillers is a plot line that is ridiculous, verging on nonsensical. I didn’t get much out of this book because I wasn’t made to care for any of the characters –
apart from maybe Imogen – before they were thrown into the plot.

I didn’t like the setting, either, because despite what the synopsis implies, it’s barely set during the weekend away trip in the farmland. It goes back and forth between what’s happening in the barn (not
much), and what’s happening elsewhere (most of the plot).

I certainly didn’t hate The Long Weekend, but it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I feel really let down by it, and I think I might be done with this author.

You Have a Match by Emma Lord
Release Date: 21st July 2022
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Source: Publisher
Rating: DNF
Goodreads

When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie … although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.

But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.

When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents—especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.

The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby’s growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.

But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones.

I was one of the people go got completely caught up in the grilled cheese/Tweet Cute hype. I was very excited to read You Have a Match back when it came out in the US, but I didn’t get around to it because of all the other books I wanted to read. I wasn’t really in the YA contemporary zone at the time. But I saw that Emma Lord’s books are releasing in the UK, and I immediately swept them up.

I unfortunately was mostly bored by You Have a Match. I was enticed by the subject matter of a teen girl taking a DNA test and finding a full blooded sister that she had never heard of. I am really into genealogy and it’s one of my favourite hobbies, and I even took a DNA test myself quite recently. This book was SO. BORING. though. It took forever to get going, and while I was initially excited by the summer camp setting, it ultimately ended up feeling a little pointless.

I’m very upset. I’m still going to read Lord’s third book, mostly because I have it from NetGalley, but I am also really hoping that You Have a Match was just a bit of a blunder. more of an outlier than anything. I’m sad by how boring this one was, because I was ready for the drama, but maybe her third book will be better.

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda
Release Date: 28 July 2022
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Genre: Adult, Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads

Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job she loves, managing The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass. Cutter’s Pass is best known for its outdoor offerings—rafting and hiking, with access to the Appalachian trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall—and its mysterious history. As the book begins, the string of unsolved disappearances that has haunted the town is once again thrust into the spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, then disappears himself.

Abby has sometimes felt like an outsider within the community, but she’s come to view Cutter’s Pass as her home. When Landon’s brother Trey shows up looking for answers, Abby can’t help but feel the town closing ranks. And she’s still on the outside. When she finds incriminating evidence that may bring them closer to the truth, Abby soon discovers how little she knows about her coworkers, neighbors, and even those closest to her.

I haven’t read a Megan Miranda book in years; not since her first foray into YA thrillers. I really wasn’t a
fan back then, but ever since I have heard great things about her writing. The synopsis of The Last to
Vanish caught my eye because I read that it was about hikers who go missing. As an avid hiker myself, I
was immediately intrigued.

The most notable aspect of The Last to Vanish is the overall atmosphere of the book. It’s set in a small,
dreary town along the Appalachian Trail, which has a small and tight knit community. While reading I
really felt like I was there, staying in one of the cabins and prepping for a hike into the mountains.
Reading The Last to Vanish felt like being in nature, which was a feeling I loved.

The main character feels like a complete outsider, and being from a small village myself I have met
people who have felt like that before. She’s trying desperately to feel like part of the community that she
has lived alongside for the past decade. I really enjoyed her journey, as she slowly came to realise that
she was being accepted.

I have to say, though, that the main character has absolutely no personality. I couldn’t tell you a thing
about her other than she had some worries about where her place was in the town. The author mostly
keeps her background a secret, and I think that contributed to her being the blandest thriller character.
But you know what? I didn’t care, because I was too invested in the setting and the atmosphere to give a
damn.

The revelations and resolutions of the plot were good enough. I had called one part of it, but the others
bits of the story surprised me. I don’t think these “other bits” were particularly well fleshed out, but they
didn’t come out of left field or anything.

I’m mainly just here to gush about the atmosphere and the concept of hikers going missing in the
mountains. More thrillers should cover this topic! Give me all of them! I’ve realised that this is perhaps my
ideal niche, and now I can’t get enough.

Trial by Fire by Scott James
Release Date: 27th October 2020
Publisher: St Martins Press
Genre: Adult, Non-fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads

All it took for a hundred people to die during a show by the hair metal band Great White was a sudden burst from two giant sparklers that ignited the acoustical foam lining the Station nightclub. But who was at fault? And who would pay? This being Rhode Island, the two questions wouldn’t necessarily have the same answer.

Within 24 hours the governor of Rhode Island and the local police commissioner were calling for criminal charges, although the investigation had barely begun, no real evidence had been gathered, and many of the victims hadn’t been identified. Though many parties could be held responsible, fingers pointed quickly at the two brothers who owned the club. But were they really to blame? Bestselling author and three-time Emmy Award-winning reporter Scott James investigates all the central figures, including the band’s manager and lead singer, the fire inspector, the maker of the acoustical foam, as well as the brothers. Drawing on firsthand accounts, interviews with many involved, and court documents, James explores the rush to judgment about what happened that left the victims and their families, whose stories he also tells, desperate for justice.

A few years ago I watched the recording of the Station House Fire in Rhode Island. It is still to this day
one of the most devastating things I have ever seen. In the recording, you can see the nightclub go up in
flames within 90 seconds, and all the people who are trapped inside. I wouldn’t recommend looking it up,
however on a personal level it really impacted me and I am now much more careful when in crowded
venues and I always make sure I know where the fire exits are.

I spotted Trial By Fire when it popped up on Netgalley and I knew I had to request it. The video
fascinated me, and I wanted to know more about what happened in the days, months, and years
following the tragedy.

Trial By Fire does a fantastic job of covering what happened to various victims after the event, and it also
goes on to cover the court cases of those responsible. I think the author covered all of this very
respectfully. I found the entire book very engrossing, and I was never bored or thinking that I had heard
all of this before. It was absolutely heart wrenching to read (or listen, in my case) about how the
community was directly or indirectly affected by this tragedy, and also infuriating to hear about the steps
that were skipped that led to this event happening.

I would recommend this non-fiction book to everyone, if you think you can handle the tragic subject
matter. I think it’s so, so important to remember the victims of the fire, and also to learn more about how
the USA and Rhode Island handled fire safety, and how fire measures have since changed.