The Horror Weekend

Highlands & Islands Detective #3

by G.R. Jordan

A last-minute replacement on a role-playing weekend. One fatal accident after another. Can Macleod overcome the snowstorm from hell to stop a killer before the guest list becomes obsolete? Detectives Macleod and McGrath join a bizarre cast of characters at a remote country estate on the Isle of Harris where fantasy and horror are the order of the day. But when regular accidents happen, Macleod sees a killer at work and needs to uncover what links the dead. Hampered by a snowstorm that has closed off the outside world, he must rely on Hope McGrath before they become one of the victims. It’s all a game…, but for whom?

Genres: Crime, Scotland

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2020

Reviews

[jan gough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first two books in this series , this one however was rubbish the storyline was stupid and not at all what I expected compared to the first two which you could relate too and made sense !
I was looking forward to reading the whole series because I enjoyed the main characters , this book however has put me off .

[Janey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Playing with the horror genre, which I hate, so I abandoned it.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, a mixed bag. It was interesting to read this coincidentally after The Invisible Host, thought to be a precursor to Christie’s And then there were None.. This fits the same pattern, but with layers of mechanical horror devices. The latter would be better communicated in a visual medium. The descriptions of whirring sounds, darts, knives, vortex-cresting machines and endless secret passages with hidden trapdoors were, to this reader a tedious interruption to the narrative.

The strength of the two police officers and a couple of other participants kept my interest. There is an integrity in these continuing relationships that keeps me reading what otherwise stretches credulity.

[Glenda Bettin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my least favorite

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too far fetched and convoluted. I almost have up several times.

This is the third book I've read by this author, but I won't be reading any more I'm afraid.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a bit of a letdown after the first two books. However, the strong point of these books is the relationship between Hope and Seoras, and that was as powerful as ever.

[wally walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

most peculiar plot

[Lorne Strachan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d read a number of books by GR Jordan before starting “The Horror Weekend” so I expected to be pretty familiar with the tone and characters but I was wrong. Although part of the “Highlands and Islands” thrillers and featuring Seoras McLeod as a solid, conservative, practical officer, it seems like a bit of a one-off in a totally different type of setting. The setting itself is right up alley since I seem to be a sucker for the “And Then There Were None” type of mystery but the book is more horror/slasher than a traditional mystery or police procedural.

Macleod and colleague Hope McGrath arrive as a remote estate in the Hebrides only to be cut off from the rest of a world by a major snow storm. A group of mostly strangers is expected to participate in a bizarre role playing game involving wildly impossible technical tricks suggesting confrontations with supernatural beings. Although it seems fanciful and silly at first, people soon start dying, including the host himself.

Macleod and Hope are last-minute replacements for their boss on this invitation to participate in this horror weekend. Their wealthy host claims strange forces are active in his new estate. The other guests are a diverse bunch of semi-famous people with expertise in various fields and their job is to help figure out what these ‘strange forces’ are.

It is mostly the ingenious but highly implausible technological special effects that make this book so unusual. I felt as if I shouldn’t be enjoying it but I actually did. The technical gizmos and architectural changes made to the mansion are totally unrealistic and fanciful but, instead of making the novel worse, it pushed it into the world of science fiction for me. I can’t explain it but I actually kind of liked it.

[Kerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This episode takes place on the Isle of Harris and the duo of Macleod and McGrath are filling in on a weekend for their boss. She has something else to attend and a police presence has been requested by a wealthy dilettante. It appears their role will be advisory and it will be one of those popular "murder" weekends. Appropriate clothing has been provided. There are about a dozen guests altogether.

The estate at which the weekend is being held is on a small island off the Isle of Harris and as the weather turns wild the small island is cut off from civilisation in a way rather reminiscent Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. In this case the host is well and truly present, at least until he dies in a freak accident. In the meantime the host has set up some macabre sets and booby traps for his guests to "enjoy". After his death though, the ghoulish events keep occurring, and the question rather becomes one of who is in control, and who can be trusted.

Other reviewers have remarked that the plot delves into macabre fantasy, and is a little bit beyond crime fiction. If you don't take it too seriously, quite an interesting read, particularly if you are trying to work out who is doing the manipulating. Plenty of red herrings, although I think a couple of suspects are obvious right from the beginning.

[Kim Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good, this one

Please, please hire me for editing. Transvestite and transsexual are completely different things. Assent and ascent are different. Palpable and palatable are different. There was one more, plus some grammar. The plot and characters of this one were a little flimsy but it isn't like I've written a murder mystery series. Also the story was set on Harris in name only. I gather this is a very long series. I'll give it another couple of tries because I like Hope and Seoras.

[Peter Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although not my cup of tea, it was very well thought out!

I do not care for this type of story. As this was written by one of my favourite authors, I look forward to reading many of mixture books with anticipation. He is indeed a master of the Scottish Highlands and Islands area. I trust that the author continues to keep inspector McLeod and his sidekick as main characters for some time to come.😊

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an awesome interesting take on the isolated house murder mystery ala And Then There Were None. Seoras and Hope once again battle nefarious villains, tricky horror traps, a raging blizzard, locked rooms, a sinking boat in the wild sea, multiple injuries, unknown foes, tentacled creatures, tricky rooms, furniture and hidden doors, the lot! One by one the house guests are winnowed. Ooo, it was quite a ride. This author is marvelous and the settings are to die for.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the first two books in the series, this was a bit of a letdown with Macleod and McGrath dropped incredulously into some secret cabal’s murder weekend at a mansion buffeted by a blizzard. A bit too much of a stretch for me but not so much that I’ll leave the series entirely. They’re still great characters and well written.

[Maryanne R. Marcellin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this was the most intense book in this series. Completely had me off kilter throughout the book. Storyline was good because I kept reading and hoping they would figure out why people were dead. Also, very cold weather throughout the story. A complete mix of people and trying to figure out who and why was baffling. But, overall I did enjoy the book, it kept me awake.

[Sarah Young was smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aptly titled!

Very clever storyline. A great murder mystery weekend thriller with lots of tense moments. I'm enjoying reading this author's books

[Cora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really into the subject of horror but the book was cleverly written and kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Angelica · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Enjoyed the book but the reason for the chaos was a bit undercooked in my opinion.
Did enjoy the chaos quite a lot.

[Glynn Donnelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bought 3 so read 3 and this last was the worst of a bad bunch. 1 at a time from now on, hard lesson learnt.

[Anne MacLennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well it certainly was a horror story, very gory but well written, had that many twists in it really enjoyed it.

[Edward Andrews · Rating 1 out of 5]

No didn’t work

I didn’t enjoy this book and skipped to the end. I don’t know if I’ll bother with the rest of the series