Title: The Weekend Away
Author: Sarah Alderson
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: July 23rd, 2020
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…
“It’s only a weekend away. A few days, that’s all. It’s not going to kill me. I might even have some fun.”
Oh… my… word. This was wild, I tell you, absolutely wild. Utterly captivated from the first page to last, The Weekend by Sarah Alderson had me devoted to reaching the final conclusion of this absorbing novel, leaving me restless and curious until I had done so. I’d be lying if I was to say that the cover hadn’t helped in the persuasion of me wanting to read this book. It looked and sounded exactly like the sort of novel I was hoping to lose myself within, and boy, did it achieve that goal. Only a handful of pages was all it took for my surroundings to completely fade away, and for me to become fully-immersed in Orla and Kate’s story as their weekend away in Lisbon, Portugal, began.
After reading the blurb for this novel, I’m sure it will provide you with a brief enough idea of the premise for Orla and Kate’s story. After settling into their sleek and shiny apartment once in Lisbon, they head straight out to a classy restaurant for dinner, and from there, events begin to take a swift turn for the worst. Waking up the next morning, Orla realises that she’s now alone. Kate, her best friend, has vanished. And in a strange, unknown city, it falls to Orla to try and find her, and use the shattered pieces of her foggy memory to try and piece together what exactly happened the night before.
Let’s talk about Alderson’s characters. Orla and Kate were exceptionally believable and well-constructed, and were the sorts of friends who were the complete opposite to each other. Orla, having recently become a mother, is not really on the same wave-length as Kate anymore, although she once had been. More prone to afternoon naps and a nice cup of tea, Orla is astonished when Kate mentions heading to a nightclub on their first evening in the city, emphasising just how much has changed since she gave birth to her daughter. Kate, glitzy and glamorous and bursting with energy, is used to an entirely different side of life. Champagne, expensive handbags and clothes, and luxurious holidays are more Kate’s style, and this contrast between the two women only becomes more and more prominent the further the plot progresses. I loved the conversations between these two, and how smoothly the prose flowed throughout. It was clear to me that, despite whatever differences there may have been in Orla and Kate’s lifestyles, they were still incredibly close friends. Alderson writes with such a confidence, it was simply effortless, the way my imagination picked up the words and turned them into an image in my own mind. As well as Orla and Kate, there were so many other characters to be introduced to, each of them important in their very own ways. From Rob, Orla’s husband, to Toby, Kate’s ever-furious ex, to the rest of the people Orla meets in her quest to find Kate, I utterly adored meeting all of them and figuring out what role they would eventually come to play in the unfolding mystery which lay ahead. But let me tell you now, not one of the people you will meet in this novel are what they first appear to be.
As for the plot, blimey, it absolutely blew me away. With every page turn, my pulse would race with suspicion, with questions, and an insane need for answers. There was always something new waiting just around the corner, and twists around every bend that I just couldn’t get enough of. I loved the mystery of this novel, the complete absence of any sort of reliable or honest answer to the questions Orla was always trying to ask, which only spurred me on more in my quest for something real to explain all that had happened on their first fateful night in Lisbon.
When finally, all was revealed, I just couldn’t believe it, but it made sense. There was a calm that settled within me once Orla finally discovered the truth, but when I reached the final page and read the author’s parting words, I was hit again, a double-whammy of an ending, if you will, and actually let out a little scream of frustration. It was wild. I felt like I’d been right there beside Orla, every single step of the way, and I was willing her to be able to head home to her daughter, for some peace and serenity at last. It was just such an enjoyable novel to lose myself within. I absolutely loved it and really hope there is more to come from Sarah Alderson in the near future. This novel was utterly perfect for me, and I would highly-recommend it to anyone who loves a twisted, suspicion-driven story about friends, and poses the question, ‘Just how well do you truly know the people you love?’
The Book Babe is giving The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson a rating of five out of five. I’d like to thank Avon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book. You can pre-order your copy here.
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