Is The Weekend Away based on a book?

The Weekend Away, an upcoming Netflix thriller set to premiere on Thursday, March 3, sees Leighton Meester in the role of Beth. Meester plays a woman on a getaway with her best friend, Kate (Christina Wolfe), only for their vacation to turn into a nightmare.

After a night of partying, Beth wakes to the news of Kate’s murder. It’s a reveal that turns her world upside down in more ways than one. Not only is she in a foreign country with the local authorities looking at her as a suspect, her best friend is dead and she can’t get home.

Over the course of 90 minutes, what little Beth knew about the situation will be unraveled as secrets are revealed bit by bit. This movie will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat, waiting to find out who orchestrated this painful ordeal.

The Weekend Away is a part of Netflix’s movies based on a book category, so if you’re interested in picking up the film’s source material before or after you watch it, here’s what we know!

What book is The Weekend Away based on?

Beth’s story began in the book of the same name by Sarah Alderson but upon reading the synopsis, it’s clear the movie has taken a different direction.

The Weekend Away book summary via Goodreads:

"Two friends go on vacation. 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…"

A name and setting change–the movie is set in Croatia–are the most obvious differences from this book-to-screen adaptation. While it’s hard to tell how this might affect the overall plot, the premise remains the same. Like Orla, Beth is in a fight for the truth. However, the truth might be the very thing she should be running from if she wants to hold onto some semblance of the life she had before Kate’s murder.

Stay tuned to Netflix Life for more The Weekend Away news and coverage! The film premieres Thursday, March 3.