Lucy Foley

Bristling with tension, bitter rivalries, and toxic friendships, get ready for the most hotly-anticipated thriller of 2019. In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year.

The Hunting Party

*The new bestselling thriller from Lucy Foley – THE GUEST LIST – is available to buy now* *The Sunday Times No.1 bestseller* EVERYONE’S INVITED. EVERYONE’S A SUSPECT. AND EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT IT.

brie

unfortunately this wasn’t as good as the guest list and the paris apartment. there seems to be a decline in that order and of course there’s always a pattern so after seeing the pattern, the clues were pretty easy to put together and was kind of predictable. 

it was also very boring in some parts and i didn’t really care about any of the characters. this could have been great but just didn’t live up to its potential.

Suyash Goylit

Great story, the big reveal could have been better

Lucy Foley is truly a wonderful writer. I loved The Guest List, hence, was very excited going into this one, and it definitely didn't disappoint as a whole. The plot had shades of One By One but was far more profound. The portrayal of the characters had a slight hint of If We Were Villains. The tension was right up there throughout and I was very much invested in the story. The big reveal, however, didn't sit well with me. The author's prowess as a writer was on full display as even though I didn't like the ending, I was realizing certain snippets of clues during the reveal. The epilogue was a nice touch, surprisingly satisfying.

(view spoiler)[The whole idea of the killer being the psychopathic outsider didn't felt satisfying to me. The characters were portrayed beautifully throughout the story and the big reveal could have been so much better had the killer not been this completely devoid of emotions outsider. 

Also, I can't believe I didn't pick up on the whole Julien-Katie thing. It was so obvious with hints littered all over the place and somehow, I remained oblivious to it. 

Finally, even though the build-up and the tension was excellent throughout, I couldn't help but think that the author painted herself into the corner towards the end. Most of the people didn't have that big of a reason to kill Miranda, and those who did were exonerated with alibis. So, in the end, there wasn't an option other than the cop-out that was the big reveal. (hide spoiler)]

AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED THRILLERS OF THE WINTER BY: Goodreads • BookBub • PopSugar • BookRiot • Crimereads • Pure Wow • Crime by the Book ALL OF THEM ARE FRIENDS. ONE OF THEM IS A KILLER. “A ripping, riveting murder mystery — wily as Agatha Christie, charged with real menace, real depth. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware.” – A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves. The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps. Now, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it. DON’T BE LEFT OUT. JOIN THE PARTY NOW.

A Novel

“Some people, given just the right amount of pressure, taken out of their usual, comfortable environments, don’t need much encouragement at all to become monsters.”
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Another greatly fun mystery from Lucy Foley that is filled to the brim with heavy-handed foreshadowing, wildly unlikable characters, false leads stopping at dead ends, and an unhealthy dose of suspicion. If this is sounding a lot like The Guest List, also by Lucy Foley, that is because it is. The two books are very alike (mostly revolving around rich, out-of-touch, and obnoxious group of friends at each other’s throats), which is not a necessarily bad thing as I enjoyed that book also. 

However, once again, this book doesn’t quite deliver the no-loose-threads, blow-your-mind kind of mystery, or the perfect murder that will keep you on your toes a-la-Christie, but this has nonetheless been an entertaining read.

3.5/5

Katie Roberts

Finally managed to finish this book. I started it months ago and I was very excited to read it, but something about it put me off and I couldn't even pick it up to keep reading it. I found it boring, I couldn't care less about any of the many characters or what happened to them and, in general, I feel like it was a story that could've been much shorter because there wasn't much to it. 

Roberta

Julia McKenzie

Barely a murder/thriller book where every character was unlikable. The ‘plot twist’ happened in the last 30 pages and by then I was so over the characters and their problems

Denaiir

4.5 stars 
Such a fun read! I figured out the culprit 2 seconds before the reveal, but I'm always the last one to get it so it doesn't mean anything. But the various POVs were fun to read and I enjoyed following the various characters

Hunting Party

Lara Engle

A well-done locked-door mystery, The Hunting Party didn't manage to surprise me, but it was a fun read, anyway.

Elizabeth Wood

DNF - listened to part of the audiobook, but I can’t finish it. The cast of the audiobook is fun to listen to, but the story is so dry and the characters are annoying.

Briar's Reviews

Lucy Foley is easily becoming one of my fave mystery authors with her unique storytelling and imaginative ideas.

The Hunting Party follows a group of friends as they vacation on New Years in a remote location where they get to go hunting and live in "the world" (and in rich looking cottages because these socialites aren't savages). Most of these friends go way back, but obviously there is some tension between them all. Most of them are married now, with careers and families and everything you would imagine you get after you finish college. Each of them are successful in their life too! The dynamic is interesting - with bullies, party boys, followers, odd balls, and long lost loves. Things will get complicated... and someone is going to die. But who did it? 

Lucy Foley's storytelling really brings a mystery to light. Slowly but surely she gives you the information you need to put two and two together, and she doesn't even say who is dead at the beginning so you try to guess just who got killed off (and if it's the person you REALLY hope they killed off...). The frenemy dynamic is also quite fun and you just KNOW something is going to go down by the end of the book. The subtle and not so subtle hints along the way will make you raise your eyebrows and become your own Sherlock Holmes.

I highly recommend this book. It's fast paced, it's fun, and it's just a great thriller and mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Four out of five stars.

I love Lucy foleys books. This one was very suspenseful and i liked the twists even though they were a bit predictable i still liked it! 

Bethany Williamson

A well paced thriller and absolute page turner! 

Kirsten Haney

A great murder mystery! Fantastic to listen to, the audiobook is really well done. A real page Turner, you don't have to try hard to keep reading!

Nina 

In the beginning, the way is was written seemed a little cringe to me. After a few pages that went away and it was a very amusing thriller. Everything was falling slowly into place.

Kelly

This book was good - but the ending felt rushed. I just didn’t feel like there was enough foreshadowing for the ending to feel believable.

Millie Roberts

Alexa M

the first half of this was soooo so boring but i’ll admit by the middle i was pretty hooked. the twist(s) were very “meh” like i’ll admit i was shocked but not That shocked cause i kinda saw it coming. anyways!! if you’re willing to suffer for about 190 pages then it’ll get fast paced lol

also can we talk about how all the POVs are in 1st person except for ONE? and for What !!!

victoria

There isn't a single thing in this book that I liked. I bought it with huge expectations but it was so disappointed, the story is boring, cliché, shallow. The characters are awful, you can't relate to none of them and it doesn't even make sense for them to be friends because throughout the book they only have obsessive or envious attitudes and thoughts with each other, the book also has almost no representation and the only WOC character is the only female in the group who is secondary and doesn't even have a POV.
 The writing itself is not that bad, but the story never progresses and then it goes all at once, 90% of the book is just the characters being awful and without developing anything, in the last 50 pages everything reveals itself all at once but it's so cliché that you'll probably catch the plot twist before it unfolds. The story of Doug and Heather is another thing that has no need and goes nowhere, if cut it out I think the book would be a little better.
 Finally, I didn't like the justification of the murder either, to approach behavioral disorders you need to have some knowledge, not put there like anything. I was planning to buy the author's other book, but now it's a totally no for me.

Claire Durand

Lucy Foley’s books are always so character driven and complex. I think a lot of people don’t like her writing style because of it, but I love it. It’s so interesting to see how all of the characters are intertwined with what's been pushing them. Especially the people that aren’t even really included in the main friend group, like the gamekeeper and manager, even the two foreign people. I’m going to be honest I can’t really remember what happened in this book but I remember loving/hating the characters and the story.

Rachel Kanyid

I've really been enjoying these thrillers from Foley. This one threw me for a loop!

Jade Iveson

3.5 stars!

Really excited to be introduced to Lucy Foley! I feel like it was a good starting point to go forward and read 'The Guest List' which I heard amazing reviews for! I picked this up after it was on sale, so massive bonus. If you are into the idea of a who-dunnit style mystery then you should definitely pick this up. It was very well paced, I enjoyed the past to present writing style. At first I found it a little annoying not knowing who had been killed but overall I believe it aided the suspense fueled atmosphere of the book. Most of the characters were likeable which this allowed me to feel more personally invested as to what happened to them. I will definitely be picking up The Guest List after reading this! Although the premise does sound incredibly similar...

Amina Madadi (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ)

College friends get together each New Year to celebrate. The secrets, lies, and decades of bad behavior explode this year. One of them is dead, one is a killer, and they’re all snowed in.

This was presented as an Agatha Christie-type book. It certainly had plenty of isolation, messed up characters, and atmosphere. My second read of this novel has me bumping my star rating because the audiobook was so well done.

Cheri McElroy

College friends get together each New Year to celebrate. The secrets, lies, and decades of bad behavior explode this year. One of them is dead, one is a killer, and they’re all snowed in.

This was presented as an Agatha Christie-type book. It certainly had plenty of isolation, messed up characters, and atmosphere. My second read of this novel has me bumping my star rating because the audiobook was so well done.

Kaitlyn Cortez

I'm a Lucy Foley stan but this book was not it. It was good but I didn't like any of the characters and the story felt just like The Guest List.