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A review by bizarrebrunette
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5.75 stars
For a New Year's Eve trip, several friends rent a lodge in the middle of the wilderness. Emma, Mark, Samira, Gilles, Nick, Bo, Miranda, Julien, and Katie reunite to reminisce about their days attending Oxford together. A few days later, one of them is found dead. Meanwhile, Heather and Doug who work at The Lodge are trying to find the missing guest. The Hunting Party is told from both the past and the present before converging into the pinnacle reveal of who killed whom.
The Hunting Party feels like the training wheels book. The Hunting Party walked, so The Guest List and The Paris Apartment could run. This book felt slower than her other books. I struggled to connect with the characters at first and it wasn't until a few connections were dropped that I was invested, but it took till page 200 before I got there. I felt there were a few red herrings and dropped plot points that I wish would have tied into the story. The Ripper. I wanted the serial killer to be a part of this at least. At first, I thought Iain was the killer, but no, he was transporting drugs. It felt random, why would The Lodge need to be dealing drugs? I felt this wasn't explained well and was random. The serial killer exists to provide another motive for who killed Miranda, but I felt there was plenty of that from the friend group itself. It would have been interesting if the serial killer was also a part of the friend group. I think it would have been fascinating to have this friend you have known for decades be capable of that. I thought it was odd that Emma only got four years for killing Miranda. Emma also attempted to shoot Katie, so not sure why Emma wouldn't have gotten more years in prison. With that said, I liked the hunting party aspect. This book reminded me of This is Our Story by Ashley Elston which is essentially the YA version of this book. I liked both books for what they were as they both created this setting of "friends go hunting and one of them dies." It makes for the perfect mystery.
The characters all sucked, yet here I am invested in the drama. I knew there was something about Katie, but man, she really sucks. Katie having sex with Miranda's husband, Julien. All because Katie was jealous of Miranda's beauty. Absolutely not. I did not empathize with her at all. Katie could have become her own person and distanced herself from Miranda, but no, she sleeps with her husband. Straight to friend jail for you. There's Emma, who seems to want to be accepted by everyone else despite being the newest in the group. Emma is obsessed with Miranda and wants to be her. It's revealed she is the stalker that Miranda was referencing. Emma is the one who kills Miranda in the end after Miranda calls her a psycho. With thrillers, I don't mind reading books where I hate everybody. It's nice to root for someone, but also, I'm okay with just diving into the chaos of this friend group. There were plenty of motives amongst the friend group as to who would have the motive to kill someone else. I felt there was enough going on where I didn't put two and two together until closer to the end which was a nice surprise. I will say, Heather and Doug were great. They were probably the most noble or the characters that were actually good. Heather's grief with losing her husband in a fire and Doug's PTSD from his days in the military. Those two deserve each other and I hope they end up together which is heavily implied in the end.
Of all the Lucy Foley books I read, this was my least favorite. With that said, it was still enticing to read and I think it's clear when I read Lucy's other books, that there is a vast improvement in the story and how to juggle multiple character perspectives. The Hunting Party was well worth the read.
For a New Year's Eve trip, several friends rent a lodge in the middle of the wilderness. Emma, Mark, Samira, Gilles, Nick, Bo, Miranda, Julien, and Katie reunite to reminisce about their days attending Oxford together. A few days later, one of them is found dead. Meanwhile, Heather and Doug who work at The Lodge are trying to find the missing guest. The Hunting Party is told from both the past and the present before converging into the pinnacle reveal of who killed whom.
The Hunting Party feels like the training wheels book. The Hunting Party walked, so The Guest List and The Paris Apartment could run. This book felt slower than her other books. I struggled to connect with the characters at first and it wasn't until a few connections were dropped that I was invested, but it took till page 200 before I got there. I felt there were a few red herrings and dropped plot points that I wish would have tied into the story.
The characters all sucked, yet here I am invested in the drama. I knew there was something about Katie, but man, she really sucks.
Of all the Lucy Foley books I read, this was my least favorite. With that said, it was still enticing to read and I think it's clear when I read Lucy's other books, that there is a vast improvement in the story and how to juggle multiple character perspectives. The Hunting Party was well worth the read.