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.
A decade ago they were friends at Oxford & decide to have a getaway for the New Year in a remote Scottish lodge, they are cut off by snow. Someone ends up dead.
I found myself engrossing in this thriller it harks back to a Christie novel & has lots of twists & turns. They were friends years ago but very quickly the cracks appear & do they actually like each other now. I liked how the book flipped from the present to a few days earlier when they arrived. I also liked that the victim was a mystery for quite a way into the book. The characters were well drawn & I liked it that they were all unlikeable. A different read for me but one that I really enjoyed & I look forward to reading more from the author
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I was looking forward to reading this book which seemed like a contemporary take on a classic Agatha Christie tale with a murder and a group of people in a remote location one of whom is the murderer. Sadly however I found it disappointing with stereotypical characters -brooding gamekeeper with a dark secret, handsome banker with a dark secret, glamorous party girl, dowdy friend with a dark secret etc. I did read to the end and hadn't guessed whodunit, but by then I didn't really care.

A brilliant novel about a group of Londoners, all old friends who decide to see the New Year in a remote Scottish Loch cut off from everywhere by the bad weather, tensions and secrets begin to air amongst the friends.
Housekeeper Heather and Doug sort of gamekeeper with a secret add to the tension when a body is found covered in snow and partially buried.
The story is told by 3 main characters and goes back and forth to the present day. You are keep guessing as to which of the guests has been murdered and everyone seems to have a motive!!
Lots of twists and turns. A good story and thoroughly enjoyable.
#HuntingParty #NetGalley

From the start of the book you are pulled into the dysfunctional friendship group traveling to the remote highlands for New Years.
When it turns into a closed group murder mystery this thriller full of twists is a great read

An intriguing storyline about a group of friends who spend the festive season in a remote location. It was full of suspense with an unexpected ending.

I am currently working on expanding our school library's senior section after years of a dismal and uninspiring selection of books that our older readers never checked out. My job has been to seek out much more diverse, gripping and modern books that will get them into reading by appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible. This really appealed to me because of its fantastic narrative and sense of atmosphere, combined with believable characterisation and its pageturning nature. It's hard to get young people into reading and if the library is not stocking the kind of book that they might grow up to buy as adult readers then we are not really meeting their needs. I can imagine this provoking lots of discussion after finishing it and a long queue of people trying to reserve it as they've heard so much about it. Will definitely be buying a copy and know that it's going to be a very popular choice. An engrossing read that kept me up far too late to finish reading it. It certainly stood out from the other books that I was considering and I will be looking out for more from Lucy in the future!

I am not usually keen on books which have each chapter from a different character's perspective, or flit from one timeline to another. However, Lucy Foley has written a superb murder mystery in this very fashion ... and I loved it!

A group of London friends rent some lodges in a remote area in the Scottish highlands for a few days over the new year with lots of food and drink. Each character is really interesting, and bit by bit we learn more about them., especially when it comes to champagne and whiskey. Apart from this group, there are an Icelandic man and woman, plus the estate staff - all designed to keep us guessing when the body of a guest is found murdered.

No more spoilers from me except to say the twist at the end was completely unexpected and compelling.

Besides such a great story, the author did not disappoint when describing the cold, chilling, remote setting of that part of Scotland. This is particularly evident in her 'pictures' of the loch close to all the lodges. Beautiful yet bleak.

Sweeping and evocative - I dare anyone to read this book without a shiver down their spine - perfection.

I went into this one with no idea what to expect. We're told the story from alternating points of view, all of which seem to tell the same story with minimal variation and I didn't feel like they moved the story forward. To make matters worse, I found there to be no relatable characters - they're all rich and have no idea of the real world and feel like they have the right to do what they want because "they've paid enough for the privilege". I understand that disliking these characters was probably the point but there needs to be at least one character to root for and I didn't feel like there was one. The pacing was too slow for my liking and the amount I knew at the 15% point felt the same as what I knew at the 50%. I found myself very uninterested and I decided not to continue with the remaining half of the book.

A very quick read, almost felt like a novella. Whodunit, who was murdered and why? Psychological thriller unrolled over two days, spliced and diced between different points of view and flashbacks to create tension. Writing is smooth - like reading about a lurid crime in the papers or listening to a podcast.

Loved it! What seemingly starts out as a story of old friends getting together for the festive season soon has sinister undertones . . .

Friends from university always get together for New Year; this year one of their partners has book an exclusive lodge on a highland estate and with partners, nine of them set off from London to their remote destination. But, of course, things are never quite what they seem!

This is a really well written novel, beautifully planned and executed. Lulling the reader into a false sense of security, this is full of twists and turns, shocks and surprises. Did I see what was coming? NO. Did I suspect almost everyone? YES. Clever writing kept me on tenterhooks right up until the very end. The epilogue neatly finished this off perfectly and it's definitely one I would recommend. Discovering that this is Lucy Foley's first thriller makes me hope that she will write more of the same please!

My thanks to publishers Harper Collins for my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

This is the author’s first venture into writing a crime thriller and I’m impressed, The Hunting Party has all the elements that make this novel such a great read, fascinating characters, a plot that has copious amounts of tension and enough mystery. I do love a crime thriller where there are multiple characters who raise suspicion, it adds a genuine sense of urgency, a need to work out who the killer is and their motive before they are revealed by the author. It did take me a while to work out which character was which as The Hunting Party it told from multiple POV. I did find most of the characters an unlikable bunch, but never the less this did not distract from my enjoyment of this book

The Hunting Party is a ‘who died and who did it’ murder mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie’s golden age grand house mysteries. A group of seven former Oxbridge chums get together once a year to celebrate New Year’s Eve. This year they are in a posh Hunting Lodge in a remote part of the Highlands.Of course the weather is bad and it is not long before the group realise that they are trapped until the weather changes.

Emma is Mark’s girlfriend and this year she has organised the trip in an effort to ingratiate herself with this close knit group of friends. Miranda is the bold, glamorous wife of Julien who always has to be the centre of everyone’s attention. Katie is a high powered London lawyer and used to be Miranda’s best friend but work has got in the way of that friendship and they haven’t seen each other for sometime. Samira and Giles are new parents, and the arrival of their daughter Priya, now 6 months old, has somewhat curbed their social lives and attitudes. The final couple are Nick and Bo, in a long term partnership.

The Hunting Party begins on New Year’s Day 2019, after the Manager of the Lodge, Heather, discovers the body of a missing guest, and the Gamekeeper, Doug confirms that it is clearly murder.

The party are cut off by snowstorms, and the police, already with a serial killer on their hands, are unable to get to them quickly.

Cleverly constructed so that the reader has little idea of who has been murdered, far less why, the story arc takes us back to when the group arrived and slowly reveals the strains in the group dynamic.

As they settle in to the Lodge and begin their somewhat hedonistic partying, it is clear that more than one of them is hiding dark secrets and that these relationships are far from what they seem on the surface.

The Oxbridge guests are somewhat disgruntled to find that they are not, as promised, the only guests on the Highland estate two Icelanders, Ingvar and Gudrun are also staying, though they choose pretty much to keep to themselves, but help to add an air of mystery.

Both Heather and Doug also have secrets that they have disclosed to no-one, not even each other and their relationship is a distant but civil one.

In this frozen, isolated setting with a cast of diverse characters, Lucy Foley offers up an intriguing murder mystery with a cast of characters it is sometimes hard to like.

The Hunting Party is an easy fast paced read that keeps you guessing – not just about who the perpetrator is and why, but also who the victim is (though I did at least, manage to guess that correctly).

With lots of false clues and twists, The Hunting Party is a character driven novel full of secrets, lies, suspicion and intrigue.

I don't read a lot of thrillers, but I loved The Hunting Party. There was a lot of build up in the beginning, and for a while I wasn't sure whether there would be any pay off, but just when you start to think you know what's going to happen, you're proven wrong, and I honestly don't think anyone could have predicted the ending.

With Christmas fast approaching, the book on everyone’s lips at the moment is THE HUNTING PARTY. The debut novel by Lucy Foley is causing quite a stir in blogger circles, not only for its striking cover design (nicely done HarperCollins) but also for its twisty, atmospheric Agatha Christie-style story.

Set over a 48 hour period, THE HUNTING PARTY follows a group of nine Oxford-educated friends who decide to celebrate the New Year in a lodge in the remote Scottish Highlands. As the curtain falls on another year and the celebrations begin, the friends begin to catch up old times, reminiscing over past stories and scratching old wounds. But the clock has barely struck 12 when a broken body is found in the snow and it isn’t an accident. As a thick blizzard descends, the group are suddenly trapped, meaning no-one can get in or out - not even the killer.

From the opening prologue to the chilling finale, THE HUNTING PARTY sucks you in with its atmospheric and descriptive writing, mysterious characters and fractured friendships. The drama starts off innocently enough as the friends settle into the lodge and begin to catch up but it soon becomes clear that beneath the jollity and apparent closeness of the friends are old rivalries, injured feelings, resentment and jealousy.

In many ways, it is easy to see why Foley’s debut has been described as an “Agatha Christie-inspired thriller”. The isolating setting, crafty plot twists and character-driven storyline is certainly reminiscent of the Queen of Crime. In a neat narrative twist, Foley takes this one step further by keeping the identity of the victim hidden until the very end of the book. We know it’s a member of the Oxford hunting party but we’re not sure who.

Odd then that Foley has also chosen to make the characters so unlikeable. From the snooty Miranda to the pretentious Nick, every one of the Oxford group is self-opinionated, self-interested and self-centred. Even Heather, the Lodge Manager and Doug, the sinister Gamekeeper are hardly warming characters. Despite this fact, we still get drawn into the narrative, as the perspective shifts from various members of the group and the timeline flits back and forth over the previous 48 hours.

It also doesn’t take away from the story which is well-crafted, brilliantly atmospheric and deliciously twisty. Foley writes with an air of menace, setting the scene in the most beautiful yet harsh of locations, the remote Scottish Highlands carrying its own dangers with freezing conditions and snow blizzards. You are also kept guessing right until the very end, adding in enough red herrings and psychological twists to make everyone a suspect.

If you’re a fan of old-fashioned murder mysteries with a modern twist, THE HUNTING PARTY should certainly be on your Christmas wish list. An assured debut by Foley, who no doubt will grow to become a firm favourite with crime aficionados up and down the country.

Wow! What a fantastic book. Couldn't put it down. It is certainly a page-turner.

A group of well-heeled, Oxford educated friends spend New Year in a remote Scottish lodge surrounded by woodland, and near a loch. Though the setting is beautiful, tensions arise between the friends and one of them goes missing. A heavy snowfall prevents the police from getting to the isolated resort and no one is able to leave. So far, so Agatha Christie, but this is so much more.

The relationships between the various friends are expertly portrayed, showing the way we both like and dislike our nearest and dearest. The story is told through several different characters and my one niggle - and really, it's a tiny one - is that most of the narrators sound the same. Well, they are all from similar backgrounds.

Well worth a read - and get ready to stay up late to find out what happens next.

Wow what a rollercoaster ride! I loved this book from the start, which drew me in like a fish on a line. I particularly liked the different narrators and the different timelines. It reminded me in a small way of my first ever Agatha Christie mystery which sparked my love of murder mystery stories. I can’t wait to read another book by this very talented author, but in the meantime I’m going to buy this book for my husband for Christmas. A very well deserved five stars.

Take a bunch of people who have been friends since college along with their partners, spirit them away to an isolated estate in the snowbound Scottish Highlands, throw in New Year celebrations and the alcohol that comes with and... you're going to have trouble. But murder? No one expected that!
From the start you know that someone is dead. We have a dual time line that splits the present with the days leading up to it. We follow our crew as they start their journey to their traditional New Year celebrations through until the time that one of them goes missing and is subsequently found dead. Initially the identity of the deceased is unknown so it's hard to formulate any suspicions, making each action and interaction important to pay attention to. As well as our bunch of friends, there's also a couple of other guests and three staff, at their beck and call. Every one to a man acting suspicious at times. Most with initially hinted at pasts which are slowly uncovered and explained as the story progresses. It's chilling and thrilling and the atmosphere claustrophobic. With no escape due to the snow and no help coming for the same reason, they are all stuck with a body and a murderer whose motive is unknown. Will they strike again?
This book was very reminiscent of the type of story and characters created by the wonderful Agatha Christie who I am a bit fan of. Every one a suspect and the victim initially being unknown really added to the suspense and intrigue along the way. It's told by several characters in multiple timelines and that did take me a little while to get to grips with. I had to do what I find usually helps me with this and wrote me a cast list with little notes on relationships and connections.
There are many clues along the way, some easier than others to spot, but be warned, there is also quite a bit of misdirection and a fair few red herrings thrown in for good measure - all jolly good fun though rather than being exasperating. Definitely a book that kept me on my toes throughout!
It burns slowly, the setting adding to the drawn out atmosphere of the book but once the identity of the victim is revealed, the action hots up all the way to the end. There is a fair amount of reminiscing throughout, adding layers of background to our characters, fleshing them out so to speak. Some of which is important to what happens, some just to add character. This was a key element to my enjoyment of the book as I didn't really like the majority of the characters along the way but these snippets from the past went a long way to explaining certain behaviour going forward. Not knowing who was dead did confuse me for a while as it was darned near impossible to try and figure it all out ahead of time, as I like to do, but once I got over that discomfort, I raced through the rest of the book, eager to find out who and why?
All in all, a good solid read that was a little different for me but was satisfying nonetheless. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This novel has much of an old-fashioned, country house, mystery, about it, but brought deliciously up to date. For country house, read a remote, Scottish Lodge, surrounded by luxury cabins. For the members of a house party, read a group of rich, successful friends, and their partners, who meet up every New Year and get together to relive their years at Oxford. In the best tradition, the group get snowed in and to add to the unease, there is a murderer, The Highland Ripper, whose violent crimes are on the news.

Miranda is the Golden Girl of the group; although her beauty and charisma has not led to the successful career the others have. She does, though, have Julian, rich and handsome, and a life most would envy. Her best friend is the quiet, secretive Katie. There is also the loud, rather aggressive Mark, and his girlfriend, Emma, who longs to belong to the inner circle. Nick and Bo and Giles and Samira, plus baby, Priya, make up the group. There is also Heather, who helps run the Lodge with the taciturn gamekeeper, Doug and an odd-job man, Iain. Just about everyone in this group have secrets and, as the group get snowed in, and tensions rise, you just know it will lead to murder…

With the exception of Doug, who is a great character, most of the storyline is told from the point of view of the female characters, which worked really well. This is a very well thought out novel, which highlights the issues that so many people face now. The issues of how friendships change, as you grow up – and apart – from people. There is jealousy – of wanting to belong, of wishing to have children, to wanting career success, to wanting the great romance, of wanting others to envy a lifestyle that looks all enviable glitter and wealth, but may not be as great as it appears. Overall, a great read and very enjoyable – perfect for a cold, winter’s evening. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

What I most liked about the novel is the cover! That's what drew me in. On the whole though, this story reminded me a little too much of Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena. I couldn't shake that when I was reading this. Different characters, I know, but the premise of the plot was too similar for my liking: a group of people in a far away hotel/guest house get snowed in. Someone dies. No one can be trusted. Who did it? Read and you'll find out. I didn't particularly like the characters in this book as I felt they were too... stereotypical: clean-cut, manufactured, lacking in complexity. On the whole, it was OK; I read it till the end. But will I forget it soon? Likely yes, sorry.