Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

81 reviews

laurajenkins's review

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Cursing, Violence, and Toxic friendship

kateea7536's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.25

The book was very very slow to get going, I felt like it could have been very much shorter. Again, some great descriptions from this author but this time there was just too many characters and not enough happening. I wasn’t drawn to liking or rooting for any of them and just felt everything was quite surface level - I wasn’t at all invested in the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Violence, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Death, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Physical abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Bullying, War, and Emotional abuse

czarina_misha's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I like Foley's writing style -- the multiple perspectives, not knowing who the victim is until just before you know the killer. I couldn't binge her books like, say, Evanovich. But her stories are more individual. I read The Guest List and I really liked it. I think I like The Hunting Party better. Miranda, the obnoxious person who is the core of the group of old friends, is a little less terrible. She can be an absolute b-, but she can also be the most supportive friend. She is lonely. Life hasn't turned out the way she always assumed it would. You can see the humanity in her and even feel sorry for her. The Hunting Party shows how great it is to have those strong old connections even as you grow apart. But there's also the downside of nostalgic friendships: sticking to old patterns of behavior, reverting to who were you then. There is a descriptive scene of the stalking and killing of a deer, so heads up if that's an issue for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

lovelymisanthrope's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.0

This book has been on my radar for a few years now because of how much I enjoyed "The Guest List".
"The Hunting Party" is a multiple POV whodunit story. A group of friends decide to spend New Years celebrating together at a remote resort in the mountains. When they arrive, they find out they are not alone, and there is one other couple there as well. With tensions running high, someone ends up dead, and someone killed them, but who did it, and why?
I realize this book is called "The Hunting Party" but I was not expecting there to be so much language about hunting and killing animals. Had I known that, I would have been less likely to pick up this story.
As with Lucy Foley's other novels, this story has A LOT of POVs, and the timeline jumps around quite a bit, so you do need to pay attention to the story in order to completely follow every storyline. Unfortunately, for me, I did not like these characters, and I was not really interested in who killed who.
I do think a book like this takes a lot of skill to write, so I appreciate what Lucy Foley has accomplished, but I think "The Guest List" and "The Paris Apartment" were both executed better than this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, and Animal death

Moderate: Sexual content

medini_l's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Blood, Alcohol, and Animal death

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Stalking, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Infertility, Murder, Mental illness, and Death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Vomit

cait's review

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Violence, Bullying, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Drug use, Grief, and Infidelity

notartgarfunkel's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Alcohol, Murder, Stalking, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Addiction, Vomit, and Infertility

Minor: Fatphobia

hauntedboi's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Sexual content

Moderate: Kidnapping, War, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Infertility

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Self harm, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Outing, Grief, Sexism, Ableism, and Classism

friedeggnes's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Disappointing. While the premise was intriguing and the fluidity of the writing captivates the reader long enough to finish the novel, the way the story comes together feels disappointing. Clues and red herrings are thrown in such a way that the "twists" seem neither shocking nor believable. Build up of certain plot points are done awkwardly and too obviously. The inclusion of certain sexual elements also seems unnecessary, done as some weird "fan service" to an audience this book does not even seem to cater to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Animal death

Moderate: War

bornachoker's review against another edition

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

Spoiler

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Cursing, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Vomit, Violence, and War

Moderate: Eating disorder, Body shaming, and Drug use

Minor: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Drug abuse