I really enjoyed Simon Lelic's previous books, so I had high expectations for this one and was very excited to receive a copy to read and review. Unfortunately I found the format very difficult to engage with - the teenagers' interviews were rambly and long and with so many characters just putting across their own POV I felt I didn't really engage with any of them. I battled on until halfway, at which point I decided that the book just wasn't a good fit for me. I still love this author and will definitely read his upcoming books though!

Simon Lelic really knows how to withhold information. I imagine he would pose a pretty tough challenge in any interrogation room.
This was a slow-burning novel for me until the touchpaper was lit probably just over halfway through. Then it seemed to gain momentum until you were almost out of breath with the revelations coming thick and fast. The description of the river rescue at the end was brilliantly evocative - I was actually holding my breath at times.
I hope Fleet makes an appearance in another story - he's quite a loveable bloodhound.

The entire town thinks Sadie Saunders is dead. Missing now for a week, they say she was murdered. And they think they know who did it.

Aware of the suspicion that surrounds them - and one of them in particular - Sadie's five best friends vow to find out the truth. So they pack their bags and set off for the woods where Sadie was last seen.

But what starts as a search quickly turns into something more sinister. Each of them has a secret, and they all know more about Sadie's past than they are willing to admit. As the landscape opens up, and the darkness closes in, the reality of their situation begins to dawn on them.

It was never really a search party.

It was a witch hunt.

And not everyone is going to make it home

Found this book ok just my opinion someone may enjoy it for some reason I just couldnt get Into it but what I love about books is not all tastes are the same so give it a go

Unfortunately this is a case of "the synopsis sold the book too well" - when a synopsis sounds so good that when you read the book, it seems like the blurb must have been for another. It wasn't quite what I expected and I found the perspectives to be a bit tedious, as they weren't distinct enough

When I first started reading this book, I really had no idea what to expect. A teenage girl had disapppeared, the police had conducted a search but to no avail. Her friends decided to take matters in their own hands. Slowly, the lid was being taken off and secrets started emerging from it. The truth was revealed right at the end.

It is a cleverly written book and the matter of friendship really well pronounced.

I’ve read previous books by this author so I couldn’t wait to read more. I wasn’t disappointed as I really enjoyed this story.

When Sadie Sauders goes missing her friends decide to have their own search party. Each of them are suspects in Sadies disappearance.

This is a brilliantly written gripping read that I pretty much inhaled in a day. Highly recommend this story.

The Search Party by Simon Lelic is a missing person investigation that gets complicated by local prejudices, gossip and the interference of a group of adolescents. The narration consists of each of this group being interviewed by the police and there’s also an alternative narrative from the main investigator’s perspective.

It’s cleverly done but, at times, I had to back track to recall whose evidence I was reading as it’s done chronologically and the characters don’t vary enough in their dialogue for me to be able to differentiate. However, I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

My thanks to Netgalley and Viking, part of Penguin Random House publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

Highly original, gripping, shocking, and very well written. Simon Lelic gets better all the time. I look forward to his future books, and recommend him wholeheartedly.

It is nearing the end of summer, and the young people in the story will be soon entering their final year of High School. Five teenaged friends are concerned that a sixth member of their group has been missing for almost 3 days. The missing girl is Sadie Saunders, a brilliant, talented, and beautiful girl. Her proud parents favour this accomplished and popular A student. While indulging her, they pay little attention to her twin brother, Luke. They task Luke with the care of a younger brother, Dylan, whom the parents ignore. In addition to Luke, the group consists of Mason, who was Sadie's boyfriend. Mason lives with his abusive, alcoholic father who beats him. He has been in minor trouble with the law. He is known to have a violent temper and was seen fighting with Sadie shortly before she vanished. Cora has a crush on Mason and was jealous of his girlfriend Sadie. Abi has low self-esteem due to a critical father. She considers herself unattractive and covets Sadie's good looks. Fareed has an overly protective mother. He is polite and friendly, and Mason's best friend.

Sadie's friends are convinced the police are looking for her in the wrong place. Her bag containing her phone and wallet were found on the riverbank and her jacket stained with blood was retrieved. Divers are searching the river for her body. Her friends now form an amateur Search Party to venture into the woods where they believe Sadie may have gone. They do not know whether she ran away, committed suicide, is lying in the woods injured, or was murdered. Before she disappeared some ugly rumours and photos were circulating on social media by an unknown person with the intent of ruining Sadie's good reputation.

The teenagers all have personal problems that interfere with their judgement and as their search progresses their friendships and group dynamic is shattered. There are many secrets, suspicion and blame to go around.

The setting is eerie as their search group advances into the deep woods. Is it their imagination or are they hearing strange noises and glimpsing a person lurking nearby? Someone has taken their phones and water bottles. They become lost, wet, cold, and begin to panic. When they are rescued on the 6th day of Sadie's disappearance, the police find a murdered teenager among them, but it is not Sadie.

DI Robin Fleet and his partner, Nicole Collins, interrogate each of the friends individually. They are all lying and concealing vital information. None will reveal the truth of what happened deep in the woods. Fleet is under pressure from his boss to close the case so Mason can be charged with murdering Sadie. The police feel they have enough evidence but Sadie's body has not yet been found. Fleet has good instincts and relies on his intuition. He trusts his feelings that Mason is innocent. What secrets are they keeping and who are they protecting with their lies and omissions? Why? It is not until the 9th day that they discover what happened to Sadie. Who was the teenager found murdered in the forest and who did it? What was the motive?

The answers are shocking and tragic

Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a clever story told through the perspectives of different witnesses and the investigating detective. My first introduction to the author’s work and it did not disappoint. I liked the detective character who felt very human and flawed, like all of us. His back story was interesting and you really got to know him throughout the book. The search for Sadie was compelling with some clever twists along the way - and I did not guess the outcome for once!

A group of teenagers get stranded in the woods, someone is hurt. They say they have been searching for their friend Sadie who is missing. It is up to a local detective to find out what happened to them and where Sadie is. He has his own history in the area, having lost his sister a number of years ago.
This is a tension filled story, full of lies and secrets. Sadie is the blue eyed girl to all but that leads to jealousies and secrets. I could not wait to find out what happened her and what the search party had gotten up to
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

A book with a serious twist!! I can honestly say I did not see it coming.
A fantastic read- a thriller full of suspense which will you keep readers gripped all the way through.
The story is told from different perspectives- a girl has gone missing and her friends are the prime suspects.
As D.I Robin Fleet tries to unravel the complex half truth from each of the "suspects", the real story is one you won't expect.
Fantastic holiday read,

Cleverly structured, full of suspense, this book will keep you on your toes until the very end. Sadie is the perfect teenager (it seems), pretty, popular, talented and worshiped by her parents. When she goes missing her closest friends form a search party, frustrated that the police aren't making quicker progress. But the search party ends in tragedy and now everyone is a suspect.
This story gathers momentum twists and turns, all the while peeling back the layers of the different characters. The narrative, written from each characters POV, mimics their speech patterns and pulls you into the police interrogation. As the case slowly unwinds and new evidence is uncovered, its clear everyone has a secret and a motive. And is Sadie missing or dead. Masterful writing that pulls you into the mystery, subtly uncovers the past and at all moments maintains the intrigue.

When teenager Sadie disappears one night, suspicion falls on her twin brother and their friends. As the police appear to be pinning it on her boyfriend, the group start a search party of their own. Then tragedy strikes one of the group. Can DI Fleet get to the truth and find Sadie?

The Search Party is a complicated story, flitting between Fleet’s investigations and interviews with the group of friends, as they gradually reveal what happened during their search. There were times when it felt too long, with actions retold from each perspective, but I think the final outcome just about made up for that. There wasn’t much depth to the characters, as most of their scenes were written in the first person, which made it hard to feel any empathy with them. A few questions were left at the end, but overall an enjoyable read.

To begin with I was rather confused by the narrators, and had to check if it was YA fiction.
Assured that it wasn’t, the POV then switched to the unsympathetic character of DI Fleet, and I felt that I was on solid ground, although I still wasn’t sure about the story.
I read some reviews & decided to persevere, but for me it just didn’t hit the spot.
I wasn’t surprised by the outcome & just didn’t really enjoy it

I really struggled with this book which was disappointing. I loved the cover and the description and really thought this book was for me. I found the multiple POV's overwhelming and I kept mixing characters up. I wasn't grasped from the beginning and struggled to carry on reading. I liked the plot but felt like there were unnecessary scene builders that just added more to confusion.

Unfortunately, I am no longer interested in reading this book. The premise sounds intriguing so I think whoever reads it will enjoy it. It is just not for me right now.

Sixteen-year-old Sadie is missing, lost somewhere in the woods. Her friends form a search party to find her. After all, they know her best – if they can't find her, no one can. Detective Inspector Robin Fleet is heading up the police operation when he receives an urgent phone call. They've found the kids. And there's a dead body.
These gripping opening scenes immediately hook the reader before we flash forward to the teens, who take turns telling us what happened in the woods. Information is revealed sparingly as we learn more about their friendships and realise they all had a motive for wanting Sadie to disappear. Abi was jealous of Sadie's beauty, Cora wasn't happy when her ex-boyfriend Mason started dating Sadie, Fash had a crush on Sadie that had recently become complicated, and Luke, Sadie's twin brother, always felt like he was living in her shadow. As the search party treads deeper into the forest, their secrets go along with them, and as the trees close in, they fear they are not alone.
The Search Party is the latest crime release from British author Simon Lelic, who has now penned six suspense novels as well as a series of crime fiction books for younger readers. A story that could easily have become complicated with so many alternating points-of-view, it moves along at a snappy pace with short chapters and cleverly placed reveals so the reader is always eager to find out what happens next.
The forest setting is a perfect choice for a twisty thriller – the search for Sadie becoming increasingly difficult as the rain beats down and the characters feel both isolated and exposed, and as if they're going around in circles. A dramatic climax plays out on the beds of a rushing river, where Fleet chases down the one person who can solve the mystery of Sadie's disappearance.
The characters are well-drawn and believable – teenagers who feel suffocated living in a small town where everyone knows everyone, some alienated by their parents, others subject to violent behaviour. But at the core of the story are familial relationships and loyalties. I particularly appreciated the relationship between Fleet and his soon-to-be ex-wife Holly, who share a fondness and understanding despite knowing their marriage is over; and Fleet's relationship with his estranged mother.
With a real page-turner of a plot and complex characters who are all hiding something, The Search Party is flawless suspense-writing that you'll race through in a matter of hours.

This book has a great premise and it starts out intriguingly! A group of teenagers are found after being lost in the forest when they went looking for their missing friend. Unfortunately, not the whole group made it out alive. Detective Inspector Fleet returns to his hometown, tasked with finding out what happened. We get his point of view along with the interview snippets with the teenagers. Things are made complicated by the fact that Fleet has a dark past in his hometown, and people are treating him suspiciously.

Unfortunately, I thought the middle of the book dragged and didn't hold my attention. The characters are unreliable narrators, and there is a lot of teenage drama involved. We get a "reveal" towards the end but I felt it didn't work because the reader was never given the full information to piece the clues in the first place. While ultimately still liked the book, I was disappointed that it didn't bring anything new to the genre. I would recommend this to those who are new to crime fiction and those who loves a slow-building mystery in a small town.