The Weekend

'So great I am struggling to find the words to do it justice' Marian Keyes A Book of the Year for The Times , Observer , Independent and Good Housekeeping 'A rare pleasure' Sunday Times 'Riveting' Elizabeth Day 'A perfect, funny, insightful, novel about women, friendship, and ageing' Nina Stibbe 'A lovely, lively, intelligent, funny book' Tessa Hadley 'Glorious . . . Charlotte Wood joins the ranks of writers such as Nora Ephron, Penelope Lively and Elizabeth Strout' Guardian Sylvie, Jude, Wendy and Adele have been friends for decades, but when Sylvie dies, the ground shifts dangerously for the remaining three. These women couldn't be more different: Jude, a once-famous restaurateur with a long-standing affair with a married man; Wendy, an acclaimed feminist intellectual; Adele, a former star of the stage, now practically homeless. Struggling to recall exactly why they've remained close all these years, the grieving women gather for one last weekend at Sylvie's old beach house. But fraying tempers, an elderly dog, unwelcome guests and too much wine collide in a storm that threatens to sweep away their friendship for good.

'So great I am struggling to find the words to do it justice' Marian Keyes A Book of the Year for The Times , Observer , Independent and Good Housekeeping 'A rare pleasure' Sunday Times 'Riveting' Elizabeth Day 'A perfect, funny, insightful, novel about women, friendship, and ageing' Nina Stibbe 'A lovely, lively, intelligent, funny book' Tessa Hadley 'Glorious . . . Charlotte Wood joins the ranks of writers such as Nora Ephron, Penelope Lively and Elizabeth Strout' Guardian Sylvie, Jude, Wendy and Adele have been friends for decades, but when Sylvie dies, the ground shifts dangerously for the remaining three. These women couldn't be more different: Jude, a once-famous restaurateur with a long-standing affair with a married man; Wendy, an acclaimed feminist intellectual; Adele, a former star of the stage, now practically homeless. Struggling to recall exactly why they've remained close all these years, the grieving women gather for one last weekend at Sylvie's old beach house. But fraying tempers, an elderly dog, unwelcome guests and too much wine collide in a storm that threatens to sweep away their friendship for good.

#1 International Bestseller * Shortlisted for the Stella Prize 2020 * Longlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin Award When three best friends in their seventies come together for one last summer weekend to mark the death of a fourth friend, they begin to see their lives and loyalty to one another more clearly. For nearly four decades, lifelong friends Jude, Wendy, Adele, and Sylvie have seen each other through romances, child-rearing, changing careers, divorces, medical recoveries, and general aging. But now Sylvie has died, and the three remaining women are tasked with cleaning out her beach house before it's sold. Over the course of a hot, muggy weekend, Jude, Wendy, and Adele gather for one last time in this memory-filled spot on the beach, and get to work restoring the house, and - in Sylvie's absence - their trust in one another. It's not a sentimental event. The weather is sticky, the work is grimy, and Sylvie's absence brings constant tension. It's immediately clear that Sylvie had been the one who made the friendship work between such utterly different women: "perfect Jude" with her perfectly designed life and long-standing relationship with a married man; feminist, intellectual, widowed Wendy, now obsessed with keeping her elderly dog alive; and glamorous, preening Adele, a former star of the stage, now practically broke and homeless. Thrust together in this weathered old house on the ocean, where the ghosts of their younger selves compete with their current realities, the women ponder a collective lifetime of loves and grievances, disappointments and successes, and ultimately, how a life can change in a single unexpected instant - or over the course of a weekend.

#1 International Bestseller * Shortlisted for the Stella Prize 2020 * Longlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin Award When three best friends in their seventies come together for one last summer weekend to mark the death of a fourth friend, they begin to see their lives and loyalty to one another more clearly. For nearly four decades, lifelong friends Jude, Wendy, Adele, and Sylvie have seen each other through romances, child-rearing, changing careers, divorces, medical recoveries, and general aging. But now Sylvie has died, and the three remaining women are tasked with cleaning out her beach house before it's sold. Over the course of a hot, muggy weekend, Jude, Wendy, and Adele gather for one last time in this memory-filled spot on the beach, and get to work restoring the house, and - in Sylvie's absence - their trust in one another. It's not a sentimental event. The weather is sticky, the work is grimy, and Sylvie's absence brings constant tension. It's immediately clear that Sylvie had been the one who made the friendship work between such utterly different women: "perfect Jude" with her perfectly designed life and long-standing relationship with a married man; feminist, intellectual, widowed Wendy, now obsessed with keeping her elderly dog alive; and glamorous, preening Adele, a former star of the stage, now practically broke and homeless. Thrust together in this weathered old house on the ocean, where the ghosts of their younger selves compete with their current realities, the women ponder a collective lifetime of loves and grievances, disappointments and successes, and ultimately, how a life can change in a single unexpected instant - or over the course of a weekend.

THE BRAND NEW, ADDICTIVE UP-ALL-NIGHT THRILLER Six friends. Five secrets. One holiday to die for . . . Welcome to THE WEEKEND. When a group of friends rent a converted farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales, they have little idea that this one weekend may change the course of their lives forever. While out on a walk, a storm descends and the friends take shelter in the mouth of an old lead mine. Inside, they discover a backpack filled with more money than they've ever seen. Of course, they agree, they will hand the money to the police at the first opportunity. But as the storm continues and time passes, some of the party begin to think again. Because there are secrets festering at the heart of this group. Debt. Obsession. A career on the brink. Problems that could be solved instantly with an unexpected windfall. And perhaps they don't know each other as well as thought they did. Before long, six good friends find themselves sliding headlong into a world of deceit, treachery, betrayal and murder . . . 'A fiendishly gripping 'What would I do?' thriller' Lucy Clarke 'A rollercoaster of devastating secrets and beautifully judged reveals. The Weekend is a belter, gripping from the first page and never letting go' Tim Weaver ' The Weekend has it all - dangerous secrets, twisted lies, a pace to die for, and the ultimate what would you do dilemma. A one-sitting read, I devoured it' Andrea Mara 'A deliciously dark premise, characters you can't stop thinking about and a twist that gets you in the gut' Jo Spain 'A heady cocktail of money, murder and mystery' Vaseem Khan

THE BRAND NEW, ADDICTIVE UP-ALL-NIGHT THRILLER Six friends. Five secrets. One holiday to die for . . . Welcome to THE WEEKEND. When a group of friends rent a converted farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales, they have little idea that this one weekend may change the course of their lives forever. While out on a walk, a storm descends and the friends take shelter in the mouth of an old lead mine. Inside, they discover a backpack filled with more money than they've ever seen. Of course, they agree, they will hand the money to the police at the first opportunity. But as the storm continues and time passes, some of the party begin to think again. Because there are secrets festering at the heart of this group. Debt. Obsession. A career on the brink. Problems that could be solved instantly with an unexpected windfall. And perhaps they don't know each other as well as thought they did. Before long, six good friends find themselves sliding headlong into a world of deceit, treachery, betrayal and murder . . . 'A fiendishly gripping 'What would I do?' thriller' Lucy Clarke 'A rollercoaster of devastating secrets and beautifully judged reveals. The Weekend is a belter, gripping from the first page and never letting go' Tim Weaver ' The Weekend has it all - dangerous secrets, twisted lies, a pace to die for, and the ultimate what would you do dilemma. A one-sitting read, I devoured it' Andrea Mara 'A deliciously dark premise, characters you can't stop thinking about and a twist that gets you in the gut' Jo Spain 'A heady cocktail of money, murder and mystery' Vaseem Khan