REVIEW: The Hunting Party

The Hunting Party
Author: Lucy Foley

Best friends. The old gang from university. The group has weathered the storms of the 10 years since graduation with as much grace as possible -- new relationships, marriages, a baby for one, fertility treatments on the horizon for another, careers, new ideas, aging faces......    But, still....once they come together, everything will still be the same. This is an exciting reunion trip to the Scottish highlands. An out of the way lodge....a hunting expedition....old friends spending New Year's together. Just like old times. A snow storm settles in and isolates them. Old friends......alone.....trapped together. And, one of them is a murderer.....

I listed to the audio book version of this story and loved every minute of it! Lucy Foley is quite skilled at using time jumps to her advantage. Usually, I don't like time skips, but for this book is worked. The chapters alternate from Before the Incident to After the Incident......back and forth, building a picture of what happened to unravel old, dear friendships at an out-of-the-way lodge in Scotland. Every time I thought I had it figured out....I was wrong. This one caught me by surprise and strung me along until the very end. Love it!

I disliked most of the characters...but I was meant to. Most of them are shallow ass hats trying to maintain a a thin grasp on their younger days. Over privileged, spoiled and disappointed in their adult lives....a keen wanting to return to the days where they were young, on top, relevant, strong.....   to a time when they were friends. Close friends. Or imagined they were close friends?

Wonderful story! I love thrillers that use the closed room/isolated premise to develop the story. The best is of course And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. This book has a bit of that same vibe.....the story isn't just about the killing or the killer...it's about the characters lives, what they are hiding, what they are thinking, the true state of their lives vs the illusions they have. Very dark and suspenseful!!

Lucy Foley has a similar book coming out soon (June 2020) -- The Guest List. A wedding party on an island off Ireland. Murder.  After enjoying The Hunting Party, I'm definitely going to read The Guest List!! I guess I'm just a sucker for vacations gone wrong -- horribly wrong!