Lucy Foley gifts us with another story that is full of anticipation from beginning to end. Unlike most murder mysteries, we don't find out who is the victim or the killer until last chapters of the book. Throughout the story, it seems like any of the characters could be the killer or be killed.

Amazon Book Description

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

The trip begins innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps, just as a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead. . . and another of them did it.

Keep your friends close, the old adage says. But how close is too close?

Review

Beginning with a negative, one of the only things I don't like about this book is it having so many characters. Lots of characters introduced all at once gets confusing. The names and the character traits all blend, especially in the beginning, and I spend at least half of the novel going back and matching names with events. To add to the frustration, there were at least 4 characters whose presence was unnecessary. Although, I understand that in this novel, it wanted us to keep guessing. However, I found it to be a little much. I did like the 4 women that told the story because I felt like all of their views and emotional input were needed.

On another note, setting up the characters with likeable and unlikeable traits was appreciated. Since someone ends up murdered and one of them is the murderer, this starts to build doubt and excitement as to who done it and for which of the many reasons we are given. I really love to hate the characters, and in this book there are a lot of reasons to hate them.

They all have their own secrets and everyone has someone to hold a grudge over. Pretentiousness and bad attitudes are a bad mix at this reunion party. Half of the characters are sex- deprived, which Foley makes seem like a precursor to murder.

Anger and spitefulness rear their ugly heads between several characters as the story unfolds, and readers are switching guesses of who is dead and who is the killer after each chapter. Foley does a remarkable job of creating suspense and anticipation with this vengeful group of friends, keeping your head spinning with twists and turns until the very end.

Grab your copy of The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley Here.