By Tessa Pulyer Posted on

The Perfect Escape by Lean Konen #BookReview #PsychologicalThriller

The perfect girls’ weekend turns deadly in this twisty unforgettable thriller that is perfect for fans of Shari Lapena and Riley Sager.

A girls’ weekend to die for.

New friends Sam, Margaret and Diana are thrilled to be getting out of the city for a girls’ weekend—they’ve bonded over their messy divorces, and every mile on the odometer feels like another step towards putting their exes in the past. But when car trouble halfway into their trip strands them in the most unlikely of mountain towns, they come face-to-face with the hurts and betrayals they were so desperate to leave behind.

When Diana doesn’t return home after a night out, Sam and Margaret’s search for her reveals just how little they know about their friend. As eerie coincidences and secrets begin to pile up, and an ex-boyfriend arrives in the tiny town, the women realize that their detour may not have been a mistake…and that someone wants to guarantee that they never make it out.

What’s it about (in a nutshell):

The Perfect Escape by Leah Konen is a complex and compelling psychological thriller about a group of friends who go away for a girls’ weekend. When one of the friends goes missing, the remaining two friends are taken on a journey of secrets and lies from which they may never return.

What I Enjoyed:

This is one of those stories that I will tread carefully so as not to reveal too much. It’s a roller coaster ride of a psychological thriller that left me just breathless.

I absolutely loved the fast pace, the pervasive tension, and the continuous action from start to finish.  If I hadn’t had other things going on in my life that forced me to read this book at a slow pace, I could see where I usually would tear through it in a day.  The twists and turns just had my head spinning as more and more was revealed about the three friends and their former husbands.

The Perfect Escape is easy to read – perfect for the beach or by the fire. It’s an ideal escape for readers if not for the characters in the story. Even though it is an easy read, the story is very smartly constructed, complex, and led me down all sorts of rabbit holes. It is told from multiple perspectives, which are all arguable unreliable. Sometimes it gets a bit confusing regarding which view I was reading, but mostly it worked well and seamlessly.

What I Wish:

None of the characters are very likable. I would have loved for at least one character, even a support character, to be that character I could hold onto throughout this crazy ride of a book.

Reminds Me Of:

Her Dark Lies by JT Ellison, The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson, and The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones have the same craziness as the listed vacation stories.

Characters:

The three friends bonding over the dissolution of their relationships are developed enough that I could understand them but not so much that secrets were revealed before their time:

Sam is grieving the loss of her marriage which had barely just begun. 

Margaret is escaping her ex-husband Lars, whom she has been estranged from ever since the miscarriage.

And Diana is running in fear that her ex-husband Brandon will find her.

To Read or Not to Read:

If you are ready for a crazy thrill ride of a story, The Perfect Escape will catapult you into a roller coaster that you won’t soon forget.

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

20 Replies to “The Perfect Escape by Lean Konen #BookReview #PsychologicalThriller”

  5. Mae Clair says:

    I’m okay with not liking any of the characters in a psych thriller as long as the story is good, and it sounds like this one delivers.
    Definitely going on my TBR!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. WendyW says:

    Wow, great review Tessa, sounds like a wild one! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

    Liked by 1 person

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