Device Free Weekend

By: Sean Doolittle

Narrated by: Zachary Webber

Seven friends, one eccentric billionaire, and an all-expenses-paid reunion on a private island: with no technology allowed, it’ll be a weekend to remember—for those who make it out alive.

Ryan Cloverhill, founder and CEO of the world’s most popular social media platform, invites his six best friends from college to his home on his private island near Puget Sound. For Stephen, Emma, Perry, Will, Beau, and Lainie, day one is just what the doctor ordered: amazing food, many drinks, lots of laughter, and a sunset cruise around the island aboard their host’s custom Van Dutch 55.

Day Two, however, takes a bewildering turn when the six hungover guests wake up to find that their host has disappeared, along with all connection to the mainland. A touchscreen tablet of unknown make awaits them, blatantly defying the rules of the weekend with its on-screen challenge: Unlock Me! The passcode to the tablet is hidden somewhere in the group’s shared history. But what seems at first like just another silly game turns deadly serious when the group discovers what unlocking the tablet really means. Is it the key to their futures, a Pandora’s box none of them will ever be able to close, or both?

Only one thing is clear: their old friend Ryan has something unthinkable planned. Now it’s up to the six of them to stop him. And when this weekend is over, the world will never be the same.

Critic reviews

"Spectacular. Ominous from page one, tense all the way through, explosive at the end, Device Free Weekend does everything a great thriller should—and a lot more, too. It makes us think about how we live now, and the extra dangers we have created for ourselves."—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series

“Device Free Weekend is aptly titled. Once I met this rich cast of characters—college friends mysteriously reunited on a rich tech mogul’s private island—I immediately wanted to avoid all distractions and lose myself in this smart, propulsive thriller. Sean Doolittle continues to be one of the most clever and creative crime writers working today.”—Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of Find Me

"If Patricia Highsmith and Nelson DeMille and Alex Michaelides somehow united for a three-way collaboration, Device Free Weekend might be the explosive result. A breathtakingly clever, twist-filled thriller that feels exactly right for a weekend getaway. Sean Doolittle always writes the coolest characters. If it wasn’t so dangerous, I’d want to spend time on a private island with these people!"

—Blake Crouch, bestselling author of Dark Matter and Upgrade

"Brutally clever and action-packed, Device Free Weekend is also a wry, warped tale of the tech-heavy world we live in. And it's truly impossible to put down. Pick this one up and you'll wind up spending a weekend without devices ... or sleep."—Alison Gaylin, bestselling, Edgar Award-winning author of The Collective

"Dramatic, deadly, and occasionally funny . . . a creatively madcap adventure. Fans of TV’s The White Lotus will find a lot to like."—Publishers Weekly

“Imagine a gritty, hyper-realistic version of The Glass Onion chock full of philosophical inquiries about the consequences of social media, and you’re getting close to what Sean Doolittle has pulled off in his latest novel, Device Free Weekend. Part techno thriller, part love letter to the 90s—Device Free Weekend is the book we’ve all been waiting for.”
—Eli Cranor, author of Don’t Know Tough and Ozark Dogs

PRAISE FOR SAFER
"Safer is a high-octane, rip-roaring page-turner. I read it in one sitting—and loved every minute."—Harlan Coben

“As long as there are writers like Sean Doolittle out there, American crime fiction has got a sterling future ahead of it.”—Dennis Lehane

PRAISE FOR SEAN DOOLITTLE
“A cult writer for the masses–hip, smart and so mordantly funny. Get on the bandwagon now.”—Laura Lippman

"Sean Doolittle is a young writer with serious chops."—George Pelecanos

"A wonderful discovery."—Michael Connelly

"One of the best crime novelists working."—Owen King

Excellent read!

The premise of this book really caught my attention. It wasn't really what I was expecting when I started it. Honestly, I was expecting something closer to Saw. But I really enjoyed the direction it took. Some of the reviews I read before I started the book claimed it was anticlimactic. However, now that I have finished the book, it makes me wonder what those readers' idea of climactic is. I thought the climax was perfect, and until it actually happened, I couldn't figure out how exactly it was going to end. As for the narrator, I thought he was great! He has a great range, and small nuanced changes in his tone helped distinguish which character was talking without changing his voice entirely. For the number of main characters, he did an excellent job distinguishing between the 5 male and 2 female main characters. When you are trying to play all characters as serious and all the same nationally and accent, there are only so many inflections you can make to distinguish them, so without pulling Seth MacFarlane and Dan Castllaneta level voice changes, Zach did an amazing job!

Good book. Great narration

Interesting concept of story. Reminded me of Glass Onion at first. Enjoyed the narration. Great job on all those characters.

Breezy and fun

Great Narration, fun story. This is a great one to break up on drives. Easy to jump back into.

Would recommend

I found this one entertaining and well written. I listened to the whole thing over a weekend and it kept me engaged and tuning in from home to car and back again. I think in part because of the narrator, who truly did a great job of capturing the cast of characters individually, in all their imperfect but connected glory. Even the secondary ones like Judd… sigh. I was interested in their stories.

I do think there could have been a bit more development there, more back story to build up stronger legs to the why of the plot- but wanting more didn’t distract from the overall appeal and arc of the story as a whole. It was easy to get into… kind of an interesting though not super original take on the social dilemma and how we navigate relationships because of it. Especially long held somewhat neglected friendships.

I loved that the characters were 90’s kids all grown up and dealing with life. Like if “Friends” got a thriller reboot. It was good. I will look for other books by the author and I would recommend this one to you!

Amazing!

Definitely worth the credit and the story was so interesting that I listened to it all in one day. Get it!