What’s as slippery as ice yet twice as treacherous?

Yes, you guessed it: "The Hunting Party", a mixed group of thirty-somethings on a New Year’s Eve excursion to a Highland hunting lodge become marooned by the bleak, hostile conditions, which includes their memories, consciences and the evident pecking order that remains from their university days.

During the short and punchy timeline events take a sinister spin and a handful of their party take turns to share their intimate thoughts, as if I were an unexpected guest they felt compelled to confide in.

These one-sided exchanges strip the characters of their usual façades to expose whatever lies beneath. As I intently absorbed the relays of these private, alternate points of view I realised the more I learned the more question marks hung over all their heads. It’s like a literary game of "Cluedo", only edgier.

This alone prolonged the intrigue of the whole affair. But that’s not all. The plot also includes the back stories of the two emotionally distant members of staff and a separate, subtle sub-plot that cleverly worms its way into their ordeal.

"The Hunting Party" is narrated in such a casual, relaxed way it feels completely natural to stay and witness the entire drama until the very end – it was a one-sitting read for me that I just couldn’t get enough of.

It's mysterious, dark. You will get hooked straight away. The story keeps you enthralled and intriguing. Each character gives their own point of view.
Thank you to both netgalley and the publishers Harper Collins UK for giving me the opportunity to read The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley.

The first book that I've read by this author and a little bit of research shows that it is her first thriller. I hope not the last. To start, there is a group of mostly couples, long term friends from Oxford days who have reached their 30s and have a regular reunion over New Year - somewhere different. This time one of them has chosen a remote and isolated place in the Highlands of Scotland (I did squirm at the idea of a modernistic glass and chrome set of buildings on a new site versus Highlands and Islands' Planning Department, but it is a novel after all). The couples were somewhat cliche'ed and everyone had to be there - the glamorous soul of the party extroverts (Miranda and Julien), the gay guys (Nick and Bo), the besotted with new baby couple (Samira and Giles with Priya), the 'normal' middle of the road couple (Mark and Emma) and the single on the fringe best friend (Katie). Add to the mix the war damaged estate manager/gamekeeper (Doug) and the traumatised ex doctor (Heather) who is running the enterprise for a London business man and you have the makings of a good story. The group arrives via a remote railway station (thinks Altnabreac) and are taken on an hour or so drive to their destination. There's definitely some stereotyping going on there with their clothing/luggage/lack of phone signal versus the strong silent, dour gamekeeper but there are good descriptions of the landscape and a strong feeling of isolation. They settle in but are miffed that an Icelandic couple are at the New Lodge too, although some way away in the bunkhouse, as they had believed that they were to be the only group on-site. The partying starts, the champagne flows and the pills appear as the friendliness starts to unravel with snide remarks, back biting, bullying and general nastiness gradually taking over. It snows heavily. They are cut off. A body is discovered and it is clearly murder. Police can't get there. and the story unravels, along with the friendships, from there on. I am not spoiling the read by saying who the body was nor how the perpetrator was uncovered, let alone the little twists along the way. Read it for yourselves. Suffice to say that there is a satisfactory ending. The story is told by difference individuals and is therefore in the first person throughout. Each section starts with the date and the relevant individual therefore there is a clear path in the narrative at all times. This helps as we do jump from the discovery of the body by Doug on the first page then jump back a few days to Emma and her thoughts about the food she's ordered and how she organised the whole event as they travel north on the train. The descriptions of the landscape and feelings about it were great and felt very comfortable to me although I'm only in the south west of Scotland. The characters were well developed although I felt little sympathy for any of the guests and greatly annoyed at them at times. I did work out who the body was going to be and who did the evil dead but the suspense remained and this knowledge did not detract from the story. In all a 'good read' and I hope that the author produces more of this thriller type.

A group of old friends gather to celebrate the New Year at a remote lodge in the Scottish highlands. But not all of these friends really like each other much, or maybe some like each other too much. As the weather worsens, cutting them off from the outside world, and the year draws to a close, not all the guests will survive...

Narrated by three of the guests - Emma, Katie and Miranda - and the two on-site staff - Doug and Heather - it’s a tense and claustrophobic read which builds the atmosphere very effectively. And while the identity of the possible victim may not be a great surprise, the reason may well be. I definitely didn’t see it coming.

Fabulous! I found this well constructed thriller a great book and story. Kept me guessing who the victim was all the way through. I found it well paced and an engrossing read. I would happily read Heather and Doug follow ups if they were ever written. I will absolutely recommend this to family and friends and keep a look out for more by Lucy Foley.

Lucy Foley has hit the road running with her first crime novel! 9 old friends from University days in Oxford have spent New Year’s Eve together for many years and this year it falls upon Emma to organise their few days away - she opts for a well equipped but very remote estate in Scotland. The story is brilliantly told principally by the ladies of the group - Emma, Katie, Miranda and Samira, interspersed with sections recounted by the “housekeeper”, Heather, and the Gamekeeper, Doug, thus introducing the reader to all their very different personalities. From their arrival at the small, isolated railway station things start to get fraught and friendships are shaken up. One of the party goes missing after their New Year’s Eve celebrations, and the finding of the body - murdered - causes more questions to be asked. There are many twists and turns to keep the reader enthralled, surprised and on the edge of their seat. .

I really enjoyed this book. A group of friends who met at Oxford meet up every year to spend the new year together. This time they are staying at a hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands. The story is told from the point of view of several people, including the housekeeper at the Lodge. It becomes clear that a lot of secrets are being kept. As the weather turns bad and the Lodge is completely cut off, one of the guests is found dead, and foul play is suspected. I loved the characters and the changing dynamics between them, and the story kept me on tenterhooks to the end. This is a cracking good read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Does keep you turning the pages but it just moves in pretty obvious ways and it’s really hard to like many of the characters. Decent enough thriller but nothing earth shatteringly original or special.

Not the type of book I usually read and haven't read any other books from this author. A group of friends usually meet up for New Year. This year they've rented a lodge in the highlands of Scotland with individual cabins. There are 3 members of staff Heather the manager, Doug the gamekeeper and Iain odd job man who doesn't live on the estate. They all seem to have problems they're hiding. Book travels in time to different times in their lives to the present day.

I loved this book.
A group of old friends always go away together over the New Year. This particular new year is no exception. They go to a remote location in Scotland, which gets isolated and impassable in inclement weather.
The staff at the location also have their own reasons for being there and wanting to be isolated.
The party congregate and there are fallings out and misunderstandings. One of the party behaves in such a way that nearly everyone else has some sort of irritation and negative emotions that any of them could have a motive for murder.
The location is isolated from the outside world when one of the party goes missing and, indeed, they are found and it looks like murder.
There are other strange happenings, too.
This was a really gripping book and I read it in one sitting.
Highly recommended.

Great book to wrap yourself up in and spend a windy afternoon inside, every time I thought of putting it down, I wanted to read on and see what happened. The author has managed to grab your interest in all the characters and the dynamics of the friendship group. Going back to the university days and following through their lives, some strands would be familiar to us all and others gave it a twist. The age old adage of wanting to be liked, part of the group and clinging together for old time sake runs through this and the voyeur in you wants to see how it plays out. The writer also makes you feel part of the landscape and imagine yourself up in the Highlands as part of the group, great book.

Well it's put me off going to the wilds of Scotland on my holidays... Dark, twisty and clever. I really enjoyed it

Thoroughly enjoyed this book of a group in the Highlands of Scotland for new year. The story passes between the character with some info from the previous days too. Complex relationships, part history and hints throughout the book that all is not as it seems makes for a good read. Well written and enjoyable will look out for this author again

A story of friendship and blurred lines which all turns badly wrong. Kept you guessing and questioning what/who has happened and a nice twist to it at the end

The Hunting Party is a great debut novel by Lucy Foley.Based around New Years Eve 2018 a group of old friends, some now couples meet up in a remote lodge in Scotland to party there way into 2019,but their relationships are not as solid as they once were when growing up and tensions soon start to rise to the surface.They are like a fish out of water in the remote lodge as they are all now used to the big city and when the snow starts to fall they are trapped together and the secrets and lies start to tumble out.Then a body is found and everyone is under suspicion,This is a gripping murder mystery novel that will keep you guessing until the last few chapters and for me an excellent debut novel,a 5 star read for me and i look forward to reading more from Lucy Foley.

The Hunting Party follows a group of university friends as they meet up for their yearly New Year's Eve holiday roughly ten years after graduating. Most of the group are coupled up now, to each other or someone new, but these new steps into adulthood - marriage and children - bring about new dynamics and the relationships between old friends turn strained and become apparent for what they are; fake and full of lies, old habits dying hard. But when one of them turns up dead, questions are raised about how real their friendships truly are.

I am a sucker for the group of friends all have something to hide and one of them turns up dead and it could be any of them trope. So when I read the description for this, I knew I had to read it.

Starting off, I found it slightly hard to follow. Such a big group of characters that you're introduced to straight away, and it was hard to differentiate them at first. The alternative point of view also didn't help, as I found it hard to differentiate between each character's voices. Except for Heather's that is, and that is mostly because she's the manager, separate from the group, and is in a slightly different timeline. The other three narrators though, are mostly similar, and as they each talk about each other and their relationships together, and their past together, it can get confusing. Further on in the novel it does become clearer, each character starts to fit into a certain mold, and it becomes easier to follow. It's also slightly off-putting how each chapter is told from first person POV from that narrator, apart from Doug, whose is third person. Is it because he's the only male narrator? I don't know, it was just a bit grating that it was so different.

Down to the nitty-gritty though, and - no spoilers - there were some definite red herrings throughout this. Of course there would be, no thriller is complete without it, but while I said to myself 'nah, it's definitely not them' I still wasn't 100% sure. There were so many intricacies in the relationships between each and every character, and so many little throw away details that came back to mean something later, that whatever you thought you knew was wrong. 

I find it really hard to talk about books, especially thrillers, without feeling like I'm giving away too much of the plot. But what I can say is how this book made me feel afterwards. There are the normal types of books that stay with you after you've finished - ones that made you cry, that are devastatingly sad or are about something revolutionary or dramatic. But I was thinking about this one for days after finishing it too. And I can't quite pin my finger on why. Like I said, some stories have deeper meaning to you personally, some are so epic and profound. But this, and no disrespect intended at all, is your average run of the mill thriller. A well written one, yes, an intricately crafted and beautifully paid off novel. But... do you see what I'm saying? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just a different thing. But it still stayed with me for quite a lot longer than most books do.

Thrillers are also one type of book I rarely come back to - knowing the ending and that all important twist takes a bit of the fun out of it. But I can see myself rereading this. To dive back into that isolated part of Scotland with these deeply flawed friends. It really brings to light the realities of old friends, only friends because of situation - living together, on the same course. And then habit, the obligation you feel to carry on seeing each other, when really, there's nothing keeping you to each other any more. 

I might be only a little bit bias, because this book has so many of my favourite things combined, but I do think this is one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. 4 out of 5 stars.

THE HUNTING PARTY

This is a story about a group of friends who met at Oxford University and have maintained an annual tradition of meeting up to celebrate their friendship, except as the years have gone by they are finding they have less and less in common. This year they are celebrating New Year in the Scottish Highlands in a remote hunting lodge and they are finding the cracks in their relationships are beginning to show. The main characters in the book are the university friends, the main character is Miranda who is stunningly beautiful but rather self-centered and everything seems to revolve around her. There are a few other characters such as Heather who is the manager for the lodge and Doug who is a sort of caretaker for the property. Both characters have their own problems. Besides them there are a couple of Icelandic visitors and Ian who seems to be the person who picks the visitors up from the station.

The scene that has been set is pretty bleak as it is set in the highlands and a snowstorm starts after the visitors have arrived making further access impossible. This makes the setting for the story slightly eerie and it has a slightly cold feel to it. There were a few twists and turns in the plot which held my interest and the book was quite enjoyable on the whole. I felt I got to know the characters reasonably well and they were quite believable. I have not read any other books by the author Lucy Foley and would probably read another by her. Most of the story is set in the present time and there are few flashbacks which made a refreshing change. Overall an enjoyable book.

Enjoyed this book, something a bit different. Liked the characters and could not work out 'whodunnit' so I enjoyed the reveal.

This had the feel of an Agatha Christie or Ngaio Marsh but with a modern twist. The captive audience, the secrets, the location are all reminiscent of these amazing authors and is successful on all levels. The characters share a past which makes them gel easily, while the remoteness and assistance of not a small amount of alcohol makes the tongues looser and less guarded than normal. Add to this the locals who aren't actually that at all but are in the Highlands because of the isolation of the place they have chosen to try to escape dark pasts, which they want to have no part of their present or future and everything is in place for a great story.

In many ways the death is secondary to the rest of the story. It is, of course, possible for anyone to have committed the murder and, as each section is narrated by a different cast member, for a long while the identity of the victim isn't divulged. After a steady build up the end seemed to come quickly but this was because of the expert way the author increases the tempo and drama until it explodes into a multi-faceted and very satisfying reveal.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and thoroughly enjoyed it. The different points of of view work very well and don't hamper the forward movement of the story at all, in fact it gives it a more rounded feel. I was surprised this was a debut crime novel as it definitely ticks all the boxes of what I want from this genre.

One of my favourite tropes in the thriller/mystery genre has always been (and probably will always be) the group of people stranded in a remote location with a killer in their midst. There's just something so primal about it, both in terms of the way the characters when under threat revert to their base urges (fight or flight) and the genuine chills it gives me as a reader. I have always found this idea of being trapped with no way of getting help a bit terrifying and who doesn't love a few chills in this kind of story.

Needless to say as soon as I discovered The Hunting Party was about a group of old friends snowed in at a hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands with a killer among them I knew I had to read it (and not just because of the Highland setting).

So did it deliver? Well yes and no. It very well written and as a character study, absolutely wonderful but I felt it was a little lacking in the creepiness and tension I so badly wanted. I did really love the way in which the author portrayed the friendship dynamics within the group and the ways in which they've changed since they first met (well most of them) at University. They are not the same people now and despite the best efforts of some, have grown apart (and grown up) and lost the closeness they once had. They may think they know each other well but how well can you really know someone, even if they were once your closest friend.

What makes this an even better read is that these characters are for the most part, deliciously horrid. Interested primarily in appearance and position, they are self centered, vain, bullying and nasty. They may have been friends at some point (although I have my doubts) but now they're more like competitors, trying to outdo each other with their successes. There are also more than a few secrets and grudges being held.

Needless to say I don't think there was a single one of them I liked. There was the odd aspect of certain characters that I could relate to or recognize in myself and I did have some sympathy for the poor lodge manager and gamekeeper who had to look after them (and had some secrets of their own) but I do love watching nasty people tearing each other apart.

Where I felt a little let down however was in the murder mystery. It lacks the tension and the chills it needs to make it a truly thrilling and unputdownable read and I think this is due in part to the format. There are dual timelines running throughout, the first starting right after the discovery of one of the guests bodies (we don't know which one), and the other a few days before as the party make their way up to the lodge. I personally was not a fan of this approach as I never felt truly in the moment and consequently there was no sense of danger.

There is definitely some mystery to it and it does keep you guessing, firstly which of these horrible people has met a sticky end and then who was behind it and why, but there was none of the killer in our midst tension from the party I was hoping for. This is probably in a large part due to the post murder events being told from the pov of Heather, the lodge manager, with the other guests (the party) barely featuring. I also found it a little silly the way in which the identity of the victim was concealed from the reader, with the author avoiding even gender pronouns so as not to reveal whether it was a man or woman.

All of these criticisms are probably starting to make you think I didn't enjoy it but I really did. It may not have been exactly the story I was expecting to read but I genuinely enjoy character studies of unpleasant people. There's just something fascinating about not knowing what someone will do next and Foley has created some well rounded and believably nasty characters.

Overall I would recommend this to anyone who likes a more character focused thriller and doesn't mind it not being action packed or chilling.