Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - The Club

I didn't like this book for a few reasons and the first one isn't totally the book's fault.
Reason 1 is that I just felt this book was misleading. I was expecting either a murder thriller or a whodunnit mystery and this was neither. This was purely a drama. In the novel description where it says "body count piles up", that is misleading. There is more than 1one death but it's not a slasher movie type situation.

That being said, people who like slow paced dramas may enjoy this. I think the story had potential.

There were a lot of characters and they were hard to differentiate and keep track of - especially in the first half of the book. Nothing really happens in the first half. There's a ton of backstory about the company that owns the elite clubs and it just felt like a lot. I needed action. I almost gave up multiple times but I persisted.

I think this book suffered from not having a main character. It jumped around between a lot of characters and most of them could have not been in the story and it wouldn't have changed much. I found myself having no idea how old most characters were or being able to picture them. The most interesting character was Nikki and we didn't get to learn much about her til the second half. Jessica was a decent character but I felt like she was missing something.

For a book about social tensions that eventually lead to murder, there wasn't any tense moments in this book. There was a never a time when I was truly afraid for the characters or felt any sense of urgency. It definitely told more than it showed.

This story unravels from multiple perspectives which lessens the amount of mystery. I think it would have been a more compelling story if we got things from one persons perspective or if it was more like a classic mystery in which a detective comes in to unravel it. The author clearly put thought into motives and weaving an intricate web, so that would have been fun. I also think this storyline would probably be better as a movie or short tv series than in this book format.

I will say that I found the last 25% or so of the book to be the best part.

Content Warnings

daylajane's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

kearstinreading's review against another edition

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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

3.0

I find myself on a lifelong quest for a thriller that can grip my interest the way Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" did when I first delved into it. Naturally, my hopes were set high when I picked up "The Club," but, unfortunately, it fell short of the mark.

At first glance, the concept behind the story was promising. The backdrop of Island Home, an ultra-luxurious resort exclusively frequented by the rich and famous, piqued my interest. As a fan of reality television and someone with a certain fascination for exclusive clubs like SoHo House, I was drawn to the idea of a resort so revered that people would resort to shady measures just to gain admission.

However, as the plot unfolded, it became evident that "The Club" wouldn't provide the deep dive into the world of the rich and famous that I had anticipated. The constant switching of points of view made it nearly impossible to keep up with each character's storyline, and the lack of endearing qualities in the characters left me unfazed by their fates. I found it hard to care whether they lived or died, and their slow attrition didn't stir much emotion.

In truth, I really wanted to love this book. While I did enjoy it enough to see it through to the end, I struggled through some of the convoluted details and ultimately felt that it couldn't fully satisfy my craving for a Christie-esque masterpiece.

As for the story itself, while brimming with characters, the true central character is Island Home. As the newest and most exclusive addition to the Home Group portfolio, it stands as the epitome of luxury and exclusivity. Home Group, a fictional counterpart to SoHo House, offers membership to only the wealthiest and most famous individuals, allowing them to escape the prying eyes of the public and indulge in whatever their hearts desire.

The narrative centers around the kickoff weekend of Island Home, where secrets and lies run rampant even before the rich and famous arrive. Throughout the book, the chapters oscillate between different characters on the island, each exploring the setting and encountering their own obstacles along the way.

While "The Club" offered a promising premise, it ultimately couldn't deliver the immersive thriller experience I had hoped for. It's a decent read but doesn't quite reach the heights of classic mysteries like those by Agatha Christie. My quest for the next gripping masterpiece continues.

Content Warnings

heartofhorrors's review against another edition

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mysterious

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Content Warnings

dori39's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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