Reviews with content warning for Stalking - The Hunting Party

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

124 reviews

mcnoble's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was recommended this book by a friend and once again, I think the audiobook is the way to go for a Lucy Foley novel. The full cast makes her POV chapters much more enjoyable and I think if I had not listened to the audiobook, I wouldn’t have finished the book. The story line of posh Oxford grads who peaked in college, reuniting for a chaotic New Year’s Eve seems full of cliches. It is messy, with everyone having the most emotional baggage imaginable mixed with excessive drinking and partying. Lucy Foley does a good job of making it a mystery as to who the killer is but it is so hidden behind unrealistic lifestyles that seem overused when talking about how English people act.

Content Warnings

linds_roll's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

lexithelion's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Out of Lucy Foley's 3 murder mysteries, this is definitely my least favourite. However, that is not to say that this is a bad book, because it's not. This book is a great first mystery that combines the difficult inter-workings of friendships and an establishing plot-line that puts all the characters in an abstract and very solitary situation. The book does not drag and the story is incredibly easy to follow; props to Lucy Foley for being able to write a 0% confusing mystery novel that jumps back-and-forth in time and also utilizes multi-perspective chapters. I will say that this book seemed quite fast and the ending was incredibly abrupt which is a pattern I've noticed in Foley's literature.

Content Warnings

adearajean's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Did a good job of setting up the mystery but the characters were unlikeable and dragged in the middle. At a certain point I was not emotionally invested in any of the characters but wanted to know what happens.

Content Warnings

niallgoulding1's review against another edition

Go to review page

fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Meh. OK as a holiday read. Ticks all the standard boxes with an interesting setting and a new red herring every chapter. Rattles along at a quick pace.

But in my opinion, while murder mysteries always require some suspension of disbelief, this one was too aggressively dumb not to earn an eyeroll. The killer's ending doesn't make any sense if you spent even 30 seconds researching how the justice system works. The mentally ill = villain trope felt icky and a relic from the past. Also, the writer keeps the identity of the victim a secret until the very end of the novel - I kept expecting that there was a reason for this but the victim was the most obvious, clichéd option so I don't see the point. The answer to the mystery didn't feel earned and wasn't clever.

Not sure I'd recommend.

Content Warnings