Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - The Hunting Party

I feel like there were too many characters, so you didn't develop enough attachment to them and many of them didn't really have a role in the plot. I also felt like the back and forward between the end and beginning gave too much away too early and affected the pacing. It didn't really build-up in the same way other thrillers do and the ending felt rushed and by that point, predictable, as it had been hinted at since page 1. I loved the setting and found the writing addictive though.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

It's a good thriller - especially on audio. The different British accents brought life to these characters that I would have missed reading in print.

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cait's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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bornachoker's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.5

There's an addictive quality to Lucy Foley's thrillers, and this one was no exception. Somehow I hated the characters while simultaneously feeling sorry for them - especially Miranda. Although I started the book hoping she was the one who died, I ended it wishing that she had had the chance to build a new life for herself. I also appreciated how neatly the various storylines tied together, it made for a really satisfying resolution.

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kaylamoran's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

So here's the thing. It was very entertaining, and I sped through it quickly. But, (and I hesitate to say this for fear I'll sound like an ass), I thought it was very predictable. For reasons I won't share here because of spoilers, I thought the murderer was pretty obvious fairly early on.

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writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley 🦌 [copied from insta]
🌟🌟🌟✨

🦌 The plot: A group of friends who met at Oxford University many years ago goes to a remote Scottish loch to celebrate New Year. On the surface, it's all fun and games, but in less than 24 hours, one of them will be dead, and as the authorities struggle to get there through the snow, one thing becomes certain: the murderer is still among them.

I don't read a lot of thrillers, but this was lent to me by a friend and proved to be an accidentally festive read as I read it over New Year!

The story is narrated from multiple perspectives across five characters: three of the friends who visit the loch, and two of the people who work there. (Interestingly, they're all told in first-person apart from the one male narrator - there's probably an essay on female subjectivity in there somewhere)

You don't find out who the murderer or their victim are until right at the end, and while in another book this might have annoyed me, here I thought it worked to keep me suspicious of everybody, especially in conjunction with Foley's characterisation.

While some books I've read make rich characters into caricatures, usually with some version of "I'm better than you, peasant" popping up in the dialogue to show that Yes, They're Bad, I thought this one did a good job of showing the different shades of ugliness and entitlement that are possible in characters like these. This heightened the drama because really, any of these people might have been capable of hurting each other - not because they were supervillains, but because they were spoilt or vain or desperate or all three.

I didn't see the murderer's identity coming until the last moment and they turned out to be such an interesting villain, too - I was really impressed! My only gripe is that after a really carefully-paced and -written main arc, the story wrapped up in a rush. It didn't seem that the emotional fallout from the murder was actually that big - [REDACTED]'s murder actually seemed quite convenient for a lot of the group - and I'd have liked there to be more reflection on what was actually lost in the course of the novel.

🦌 Read it if you're not usually that into thrillers (me neither - but I liked this!) And want something atmospheric with a critique of privilege and some really strong group dynamics between characters!

🚫 Avoid it if you prefer darker or more elaborate crime stories as this isn't that twisty. Also, it goes without saying, check TWs before reading

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