Reviews

The Festival by Sarah J. Naughton

Only show reviews with written explanations

bookswithbecs_'s review

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Orla, Lenny, Mel and Thea have been best friends since school but have drifted apart after twenty years. It's Lenny's 40th birthday, so Thea comes up with an idea - a weekend away at a festival where they all grew up.
But when the holiday takes a sinister turn, who will make it out alive?

DNF -
Varied characters
Everyone's a suspect
Slow Thriller

john_drury's review

Go to review page

2.0

I laughed out loud at the ending.

ruth559's review

Go to review page

3.0

Four friends, who have been friends since school, return to a festival for one of the groups 40th birthday that they had partied at when eighteen.
The book paces along, taking turns to see things from each of their viewpoints before and during the festival. It was an easy read but a little far fetched at the end. It has certainly put me off camping at a festival as a woman in my 40s!

andintothetrees's review

Go to review page

3.0

Delivered what I expected - a nice slice of hard-to-put-down domestic thriller escapism. Loses a star due to a few sentences which felt a bit ableist (also a problem in the other book by this author that I've read) and due to the timeline not quite adding up - the friends first went to the festival when school ended in 2000, but are supposed to be there again "20 years later" when they are 40. Who stays at school (and it was definitely secondary school, not university) until they are 20? And who was going to a festival in 2020? I think it would have worked better had dates either been left vaguer, or set back a few years.