I really enjoyed this authors previous book so was definitely looking forward to this one. The premise sounded great with such a unique storyline. Unfortunately I found it to be very slow and it went into far too much detail that just seemed unnecessary

The Club by Ellery Lloyd is quite a thriller of a read! I kept reading into the night as I just wanted to know ‘what and how and why?’

I will not be trying to explain the plot as I believe that the ‘blurb’ writers do a much better job without giving anything away. However, a few comments. This is not a nice book. The characters, none of them are really pleasant or even likable. The revelations are shocking and not something I wanted to dwell on. The disregard towards other humans is inexcusable and all in all the whole experience of this luxury weekend away on an island off the Essex coast is not something any of us would want to be part of. BUT you will want know what is going on and will revel in the reveal and appreciate the resulting due rewards for those involved.

I didn’t LIKE this book but I couldn’t stop reading it, I’m not sure what that says about my inner character! Try it and see.

First of all, thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for this ARC! This review is voluntarily written by me.

In general, I have a fast and engaging read with this story but not really an easy one at the beginning because I got quite confused with the articles at first before realizing that they come from after the eventful event. This story is mainly told from four characters’ POVs - Adam, Annie, Jess, and Nikki and each of them has secrets of their own. What I like about this story is how certainly most of them are not likable and for me, it is really interesting to see when people that always get everything that they want suddenly have things occur in their lives that are not in their favor or turned against them react. For me, even though the writing is a little bit descriptive, the plot development is still nicely developed and written. For me, this book is a nice suspense, thriller, and mystery story.

This was a fast-paced page-turner, and the story is exactly as promised. It's a functional thriller that shows us a possibility of what could go very wrong in the exclusive lives of the rich and famous. For that, Ellery Lloyd deserves some praise.

However, it does remain very far-fetched at times. It's hard to imagine this story playing out in reality as it deals with too many extremes and most of the characters are caricatures. That may work for some people, but I do like my fiction to be a bit more grounded in reality.

Overall rating: 3/5 stars

Thank you Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Ellery Lloyd for the arc of this book.

Everyone wants to be part of The Home Group, a collection of high end clubs scattered around the world. Well known for being places the rich and famous go to to let their hair down while knowing their secrets will be kept safe.

The latest addition to The Home Group is Island Home on Boucher Island. A three day grand opening party full of celebrities, both invited and not. When the body is found, the guests think that it's a publicity stunt. Until they realise that they are smack bang in the middle of a murder mystery and everyone is a suspect.

A well written whodunnit with a lot of twists. I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first half, the first half was overly descriptive. But I'm glad I hung in there! I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the 'locked room' mystery trope, it's one of my favourites.

3.5 stars

The book was slow to take off and I felt a lot of it was overly descriptive back stories. It took forever to get to the bones of what was going on and not in a way that wanted me to keep turning the pages.

Even the "big" reveal left me really underwhelmed. I saw where the author was going and I think it's a realy good story line but the editing let it down

The Club slowly peeled back the skin of celebrity royalty. The essence of how it is when you are (or feel) above the law. From the view of a launch night for a new Island Club we get to know various celebrities - there are many similarities to celebrities you would know, but formed into caricatures. We delve into the worst side of celebrity, accumulating in horrific results. I enjoyed the book, it was slow starting and I can understand it was all character development, but didn't feel it fully met the mark. It took a while to get going, and when it did, while quite tense I wasn't invested in the characters so I wan't emotionally involved. Thanks to Netgalley and Mantle for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

A great character driven mystery - A "the rich are different and really quite appalling " story as the most exclusive club in the world has a murderous opening weekend for its latest incarnation.

A great group dynamic all with something to hide, featuring a cast of mostly hugely dislikeable characters who you are horrified by but simply can't stop reading about.


Really enjoyed it. Cements Ellery Lloyd as an author I will continue to follow.

I am not really sure what to say about this book - it was an entertaining read but after finishing it a couple days ago, it didn't quite leave much of an impression. I had a bit of trouble telling the three narrators apart, and something about the storytelling didn't quite work for me. I had fun reading this - the intrigue, the over-the-top drama, trying to guess who got murdered. It just didn't quite hit the notes I was hoping for, the celebrity gossip didn't feel juicy, just, predictable and dark and awful. There was no one I really rooted for. In any case, if you're looking for a fun thriller about celebrities, exclusive clubs and dark secrets, I do recommend it! It just didn't blow my mind but it might work better for other readers.

Island Home, an exclusive club for the super rich & famous, cut off from the mainland, an isolated luxury island, a place to get away from it all & get away with murder?

The Club has a brilliant premise & the writing keeps things fairly pacy. Told from many different perspectives the characters are hiding lots of secrets, a few of which were pretty obvious, but that didn't detract from the story. I must say I enjoyed the ending.

Welcome to the opening of Island Home, the newest venture for the exclusive Home Club. A place where the wealthiest people go to relax in private without prying eyes. Ned Groom, the unlikeable businessman running Home, has invited his most loyal members to the launch in the hopes of getting more money out of them. Ned has been watching them closely and knows a few too many secrets. As the weekend unfolds, the body count begins to rise and where on earth is Ned Groom?
This should have been a real hit for me but it wasn’t. Perhaps it was the pacing or the writing but I really struggled to get through this one. If you enjoyed ‘The Hunting Party’ by Lucy Foley or ‘One by One’ by Ruth Ware you may enjoy this book. It was a solid mystery and I loved the concept but the execution didn’t follow through. The part of the story I did get invested in was Nikki’s, (Ned’s PA), I enjoyed her plot line but the rest didn’t grip me. I’d be tempted to check out more work by these writers in the future but this particular story didn’t wow me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Club.

Annie has red hair. Ned has Home. Adam has a wife with an ultimatum. Nikki has a secret. Jess is out for revenge. They all have one thing in common… Island Home. But will the big launch actually go according to plan?

I absolutely LOVED this book! Luckily I was on holiday so was able to keep picking it up and got through it super fast (for me anyway!). Fast paced, all the stories intertwining, a luxurious club with a very exclusive clientele, and suspense all combine to make this a great read. A 5 star read!!!!!

I loved People Like Her ..and then I waited for the next installment.. glad to say that the next new read by the duo is also worthwhile!; It's about a rich, privileged group and their secrets. It has me still mulling over it

An excellent read involving secrets and murder set at an exclusive club for the rich and famous. The club is based on an island. At a special event for selected members who each have their own dark secrets. A great thriller with lots of twists.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this book. However I found it to be hard work, too many unlikable characters, and the pace was too slow for me .I just couldn't get excited by it. Sorry not a good read for me.

I read People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd back in 2021 and absolutely loved it was extremely excited to get my hands on The Club and it did not disappoint!

Although it gets off to a slow start, I was sucked into the 'The Home Group'. An exclusive club for the rich and famous, and someone is dead - we don't know who or how they ended up dead. We go back in time to see the weekend unfold.

The only downside to this is I would say some aspects of the story were a little predictable but didn't distract from the

The Club is a whodunnit with a modern twist.
Home is a major company, known for its discretion and ability to make the most wealthy members feel safe while they relax. They are proud of their membership, proud of their attention to detail and proud of their exclusivity. What those members do not know is that the owner, Ned Groom, is more than happy to hit them where it hurts in exchange for keeping their secrets quiet.
The story focuses on the much-celebrated opening launch party of Home Island…a new resort where only invited members get to attend. We expect secrets…but what we actually get is a PR disaster, with three dead bodies, a missing chairman and far too many skeletons jumping out of their closets.
The story begins with a dramatic drive off the island which we know isn’t going to end well. We have no idea who’s driving or what they’re escaping from.
We then go back to the start of proceedings, following the party and its events over the course of the weekend. As we watch these events unfold we realise just how many people are hiding things, and just how much people have to lose if the truth comes out.
With such a large cast and with so many details hidden until their reveal offered light on another element, this was a book that became increasingly frustrating. I wanted to know who was dead and why, but the majority of the characters were repugnant and my overwhelming view by the end was that one or two more could have been disposed of and it wouldn’t have mattered one bit.
I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this, and incredibly grateful that I’m so far off experiencing life like this.

I thought this was an okay mystery novel. The characters had an air of believability about them and i could see what could be real-life parallels to the celebrity guests and owners in this. The writing was fine but i found that there were a few places where the book dragged a little. The way it was wrapped up was done well but i still feel like there were a few elements that were a little too convoluted for the story overall.

I haven’t read the first book by the author so I was interested to see what this story was about since everyone seems to talk about it.

I always enjoyed a novel that tells the story behind the closed doors or behind the curtains because there’s so much to learn and see in a glamourous and extravagant lifestyle.

The first half of the story kept me engaging and really liked it. The second part though, it’s another dish altogether for me.

Too many characters and voices trying to tell their part of the story. Too many timelines to keep up with and so many secrets and twists that I did not know what’s actually happening in the end.

That’s why I have mixed feelings about the story overall. The ending is not really what I was expected but I’ll take it as it is.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

3.5 messy stars

So very disappointed with this book. I usually love a celeb thriller/gossip but this really didn't do it for me. I found it so slow and the sheer number of main characters was hard to keep up with. They were all so unlikeable too.
I only found it got even remotely exciting when there was just 20% left.
A real shame as could've been so much better.
Thank you for the advanced copy #NetGalley #TheClub