This is the best psychological thriller I read this year, and the dynamics were brilliant. This book was set in Scotland I love the Scottish coast.

This would be a great holiday read. A story of a group of women, mainly in their forties, heading on a hen weekend on a remote but very luxurious Scottish island hideaway.

It trips along nicely, with plenty of twists and turns. It held my interest throughout, and I enjoyed the setting, which was both glamorous and sinister.

As a man, Brookmyre has written well about female friendships. The characters lack a little depth, but with so many characters in a relatively short novel, you’d have to expect the focus would be more on plot.

3.5 stars from me. Download it for your post-pandemic sun holiday!

This book gripped me right from the beginning and I couldn’t wait to read on to find out what happened. Dark, twisty and spine chilling! An excellent read.

One hen weekend, seven secrets... but only one worth killing for
Jen's hen party is going to be out of control...
She's rented a luxury getaway on its own private island. The helicopter won't be back for seventy-two hours. They are alone. They think.
As well as Jen, there's the pop diva and the estranged ex-bandmate, the tennis pro and the fashion guru, the embittered ex-sister-in-law and the mouthy future sister-in-law.
It's a combustible cocktail, one that takes little time to ignite, and in the midst of the drunken chaos, one of them disappears. Then a message tells them that unless someone confesses her terrible secret to the others, their missing friend will be killed.
Problem is, everybody has a secret. And nobody wants to tell. Great characters, great storyline. I kept turning the pages instead of turning off the light! This is one intense, twisted, dark and addictive novel! Not only is this a very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters, but the suspense builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds.

My thanks to Chris and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Cliff House prior to the publication date.
Jen has organised her hen party to be held on a private island. The guests are a strange mix of people whom she has known for years, her former sister-in-law Beattie ( with whom there is no love lost), her future sister-in-law Samira and her tennis coach Kennedy.

The easy on the eye private chef serves up trays of cocktails before retreating to the kitchen to prepare the meal.
Not wasting time, the guests set to work on the drinks, tongues are soon loosened and snide and vitriolic comments start to be bandied about. Jen’s future sister-in-law is feeling the impact of the drinks and steps outside for fresh air.
Someone goes to the kitchen to find out when dinner will be served, only to find the chef lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood.

Then they realise that Samira has been abducted.
They receive a message instructing them to confess to their secrets or Samira will die. Each woman has a secret but hopes that someone else will reveal their secret first.

Not knowing who to trust, can they work together to save Samira?

This book stretches the imagination, not least how fast they sober up, but on the whole it is an enjoyable read with lots of twists and turns.

Well this was certainly a real page turner of a book. I was gripped from start to finish. Every chapter ended on a cliff hanger. Seven friends go to a house on its own island in Scotland for a hen party. Everyone has a secret . It is a hard book to review without giving away spoilers because there is so many twists and turns. Everyone has a back story which we find out gradually throughout the novel. I loved the tension that was created and read it very quickly. Because I read a lot of this genre sometimes it’s difficult to read something original. Although I have read similar novels , I still found this gripping . I have never read this author before and certainly will try more.

I've read this book in 24hrs I was hooked from page one.

Jen, beattie, Michelle and few other go for weekend away for hen do but not all as it seems.

Highly recommend.

Really good read. A hen party on a deserted island and all the ladies have secrets. Then a body is found, So what is the story? Who did it? Why?
Engaging and well written,
Recommended.

Jen's has rented a luxury getaway on its own private island for her hen party. The owner Lauren normally leaves the island to let the guests have privacy but a gut feeling made her stay this time. There is also a private chef. The helicopter that dropped the hen party off won't be back for seventy-two hours.

As well as Jen there are six others. A mixture of friends, her ex sister in law as well as her new sister in law to be. 

A few drinks in and one of them disappears. This is when they realise they are not as alone as they thought they were. They receive a message that states unless someone confesses their terrible secret to the others, their missing friend will be killed. 

They all have a secret but none of them are willing to share.

I loved the setting of this book. I’m going to be honest though I found it hard to like any of the characters at first but then they did grow on me. There were twists, turns and secrets until the very end. Great book

Brilliant story about a hen weekend with new and old friends. All have secrets which emerge throughout the story. Great storyline and a tense page tuner

I enjoyed reading the The Cliff House. The characters were well written as well as their secrets and insecurities. The secrets people would want to hide and hope someone had a darker secret that would have led to why they were in this situation.

This book reminded me a little of Lucy Foley's work.

Found the start quite tedious as 30% of the book was spent getting to know the characters. It was more a short story plot that was stretched into a novel.

I wasn't sure about picking up this book for a couple of reasons. Firstly, although I am a big fan of Brookmyre's previous novels, this didn't strike me as a particularly Brookmyre-ish novel. Secondly, the book is set on an island where a killer is on the loose and the protagonists are unable to leave. Sound familiar? It seems like the literary world is awash with novels at the moment set on health retreats, islands, remote hotels from which there is no escape.

Here, Jen is engaged and is having her hen weekend on a remote, but luxury, deserted island with her best friends. It is clear early on that the relationships between many of the main characters is strained and the weekend ahead may not be as fun-filled as hoped.

When they get onto the island, old grudges start to surface and a body is found on the island, and when a cryptic message suggests someone on the island may not be who they say they are, everyone begins to suspect each other as it becomes clear that everyone is keeping a secret.

As I say, this didn't strike me as a typical Brookmyre novel however it did not disappoint. What I struggle with sometimes in these types of novels is trying to keep all the characters in my head however Brookmyre does a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life so much so that you know them all so well.

The story is told from multiple points of view with the reader getting a chance to see the story from each perspective. This works really well as we know each character has secrets and it allows us to see the weekend from within the mind of each person desperately trying not to reveal their own dark past mistakes.

A thrilling weekend away with many dark secrets but also moments of humour which you would expect from this author. Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One party. Seven secrets. One worth killing four. Seven friend head to a beautiful house on top of a cliff on a remote Scottish island to celebrate Jen’s hen weekend. The helicopter won’t be back for 72 hours so they’re alone, or so they think. It’s an eclectic mix. Alongside Jen is the diva musician, the estranged ex-bandmate, a tennis pro, the bitter sister in law, fashion guru and future sister in law. Once the alcohol stars flowing, it doesn’t take long for sparks to ignite and in the midst of it all, one of them goes missing and a message is sent to everyone that unless they confess their secret, she will die. Unfortunatelynefetonenhas a secret but no one wants to confess.

I read this book over a couple of days and it certainly kept me entertained. It’s fast paced and the plot flows well. Each chapter is told from someone’s point of view and it works really well. I would rate this book 4.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group and the author for the chance to review.

The Cliff House by Chris Brookmyre is an absolute gem of a psychological thriller and kept me guessing to the very last page!
A group of women are attending the hen party of Jen on the privately owned (and very secluded) Clachan Geal, a small remote Scottish island on the edge of the Atlantic. Joining Jen are
Lauren - owner the of property
Samira - sister-in-law to be, whom Jen was never met before
Beattie - former sister-in-law, who believes that Jen murdered her missing brother
Nel - a childhood friend
Nicolette - a friend from tennis
Kennedy - a new friend and tennis coach
and finally childhood friend, and global singing star, Michelle.
The seven women are all keeping secrets and grievences from each other. But within hours of arriving on the island, they are forced to confront their individual truths - before the body count rises any further!.
Several of the characters had the opportunity to narrate the novel, providing their own distinct viewpoint but as the story progresses, the reader comes to realise that you cannot trust any of the characters and anyone could be the real threat.
Razor smart, with several humorous moments, this is one of the favourite reads of the year so far.

A twisting and turning tale of women on a hen weekend, all with secrets they'd rather keep hidden. When their hands are forced the plot thickens as truths are unravelled.

The characters are portrayed well and I enjoyed the dynamics of friendship, rivalry, and strangers who might not be trustworthy.

A good read about group of friends who go away on a hen weekend and someone has something to hide so let the games begin …

I love a good thriller that keeps you guessing, and this certainly did! At first I found it hard to remember all of the characters and their backstory to being on the hen do and wondered if a smaller group might have been easier to follow, but as the story developed everyone became essential and all of them made the plot better in their own way. My only criticism for it would be the title - it almost doesn't give you enough of a taste of what is coming, plus there were a few other books called 'The Cliff House' on goodreads. The book has so many great twists that I just think there might be another option that would make it stand out as much as it should, if I could pick, I think I'd go for She Knows, or maybe even White Skulls (if you've read the book, you know why, and if you haven't, you should!)

Whodunnit?

I love a locked room type of whodunnit, particularly when they're set on islands or in remote locations, and The Cliff House was no exception.

Brookmyre writes Jen and her hens cleverly. Wrapping each character in their own shroud of mystery so we readers have no idea who is behind the dead person in the kitchen or the missing friend because everyone has a secret.

Brilliantly gripping.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for the opportunity to read and review,

Interesting story, seven people on an island resort for a hen weekend and things start to go seriously wrong! Wanted to keep reading to see the secrets of each person revealed until the events of the weekend are resolved. It moved along at a fair pace, which I like as sometimes these types of backstory tales can get dragged out. Would read other books by this author.