Sunday, April 28, 2019

The Hunting Party; Lucy Foley



AUTHOR:  Lucy Foley
PUBLISHER:  William Morrow
PUB. YEAR: 2019
SETTING:  Scottish Highlands
FORMAT:  - Harper audio/library
RATING - 3/5

An Agatha Christie inspired debut follows a group of nine Oxford University friends, now in their 30s, who travel to a remote hunting lodge to celebrate New Year's Eve.  As the group talks about old times and all that has happened since they left school, it's clear there is plenty to dislike among some members of the group.  A blizzard threatens outside and a body is found in the snow, worry sets in as it's clear no one can leave the lodge and the killer might be a member of their own group as the only other people around are a manager of the lodge, the game keeper and one other employee.

My favorite thing about this one was the setting, cold, isolated and inescapable because of the blizzard. Told in flashbacks from members of the group, the entire story takes place in a 48 hour period. It's clear there are plenty of secrets and, you don't know who the victim is until later.  With nine characters and all of the dialog taking place inside the lodge, I found it tough to follow the various POVs on audio and at times it felt like a bit of a slow burn. There were five different narrators for this production, each with an accent that made listening somewhat challenging at time.  If you plan to try this one try the print version. In some ways this one reminded of Shari Lapena's, The Unwanted Guest - that one I loved!

8 comments:

  1. I've seen this one on a bunch of instagram posts and was intrigued, but I think I'll give it a miss. I do like the premise though.

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  2. Oh I've been thinking of getting this one. And it does sound a lot like The Unwanted Guest- I liked that one too!

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  3. Too bad it doesn't work that well on audio.

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  4. I'm sad to read the audio isn't great.

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  5. I am not an Agatha Christie fan but this sounds like a good example of that style.

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  6. I like mysteries that are set in isolated places, whether it's because of location, weather, whatever. It adds a nice bit of atmosphere and suspense to the story.

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  7. I was approved for an egalley but they never sent me a notification so when I finally noticed that I was approved, I couldn't download it anymore. I really wanted to read it. Poop.

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