Everyone’s invited. Everyone’s a suspect…
The Hunting Party – the blurb
In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year.
The beautiful one
The golden couple
The volatile one
The new parents
The quiet one
The city boy
The outsider
The victim.
Not an accident – a murder among friends.
***Our Big Reviews are written from the point of view that you have read the book. If this is not yet you, bookmark the page and come back once you have***
Point Horror rocks
My first introduction to the classic ‘stick a load of people in a house and wait as they murder each other’ was with the very American Point Horror novels. I read them as a teen and loved them. Yet I have often been disappointed when reading ‘adult’ versions. The Hunting Party had all the tropes you would expect from a book of this genre: the isolated location, the popular bitch, along with a few adult inclusions such as a couple with a new baby. There were underlying tensions and secrets right from the off so it was with some trepidation that I approached the book hoping it would be as good.
A plot to die for
What was immediately apparent was the quality of Foley’s plot. It’s SO tight. There isn’t a word wasted when it comes to tightening the tension and building up to the big reveal. I say big reveal, it is big! Not only do we have to wait until the end to find out the murders, we have to wait to find out the victim too. A brilliant inclusion. By the time Miranda was revealed as the victim everyone in the book had a reason to kill her. From good-natured Giles who had slept with her years ago to best friend Kate who was sleeping with her husband.
The way Foley wrote you almost felt sorry for Miranda at the end. Her perfect world was crumbling as the moments to her death became shorter. Yet Foley delivered a final twist in making try hard Emma the murderer. Not the husband threatened with exposure, or the spurned alpha male with violent tendencies. Against my beloved Point Horrors, the plot held its own.
Who’s to like?
So a big tick in the plot stakes however the characters, whilst being strongly defined for the genre, came across at times as slightly two dimensional. What was present was a lot of self centeredness. There was no-one for you to like, and if you’re not rooting for someone it’s always harder to like the book…
Regardless of likeability there is no denying the book is a real page turner. It’s one where you read 70 pages without even realising and that is always a good sign. If you’re looking for something pacey, easy to read and full of tension you wont go far wrong with The Hunting Party.
Double bill
If you enjoyed The Hunting Party we have a Lucy Foley double bill as we are on the #BlogTour for her new book, The Guest List. You can read our thoughts on whether we thought it was better here.
If you would like to get involved with our book of the month try answering our book club questions published every month. Just search in our footnotes section for the ‘Get Involved’ articles. We review a new book every month so keep your eyes peeled for the Lowdown on March’s book of the month soon.
