Sunday, August 11, 2019

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley



  • an annual New Year's Eve getaway
  • an isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands
  • a group of old college friends
  • a historic blizzard
  • an unexpected death
  • a murderer among them



Last line of the novel:
"Perhaps it's time to make some new friends."

I was instantly drawn to the premise and the setting of this book. It's like one of those locked-room mysteries I always love, except this group of friends is snowed-in at a remote estate instead. And then, when Melody said she wanted to read it, too, I was even more excited. But sadly, it didn't end up being quite as suspenseful or compelling as I hoped. And that's mostly because of the way it's told.

Foley uses five different narrators to tell the story:  Heather, the manager of the lodge, Doug, the taciturn gamekeeper, and Emma, Katie and Miranda, three of the Oxford friends meeting up for their traditional New Year's weekend together. She also writes in first person present tense (except, oddly, for Doug's chapters), which means the first half of the story ends up being more inner monologue and angst than action. For me, the multiple POVs really slowed the pacing and made it hard to connect to any of the characters. I ended up not liking most of them. (Except for Doug.) After the first 140 pages, though, the story does pick up. And the ending is actually pretty intense.

As the book begins, you know upfront that one of the guests has been killed, you just don't know who. Which means you spend the bulk of the novel trying to figure out who among the nine is going to die and why. I guessed early on which character was going to be murdered. I also wasn't completely surprised by the murderer's identity (mostly because some of the other characters were pretty easy to eliminate). There were a few additional revelations at the end of the book that were pretty surprising though, with one last twist that was especially compelling. So, this novel definitely ended better than it began. But for me, it was still only a 3-star read. 

Even though this one wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped going in, doing a buddy read with Melody is always a lot of fun. Be sure to check out her awesome review and see what she thought of this snowed-in mystery.

Happy Reading!


P.S. Here are Melody's questions regarding this book...and my answers:

Q. All the friends in the group have gathered together for the New Year's celebrations before, what makes you think that this time is different and what really triggered the bond among them?
A. The more I got to know these nine friends, the more I wondered why they were still getting together at all, because they didn't seem to like each other very much. It was clear that they'd grown apart over the years. And I felt like they were all trying to hold onto something that just didn't exist any more. Why it all fell apart this particular weekend I don't really know, but I think it had been coming on for awhile.

Q. Like Doug or Heather, would you consider taking a job which allowed you minimal contact with the outside world? Why or why not?
A. Yes! There are a lot of remote locations (like the setting of this book) where I could see myself happily spending a year, especially if I was getting paid to do it. (And if I had a lot of good books to read!) But if it was for longer than a year, I think I'd start to go stir crazy, missing my family and friends and normal life. But for a year? I'd totally do it. Just for the experience of it. 






30 comments:

  1. Thanks for mentioning this book as our buddy read, Lark! I got this book a while back but didn't get around to it. And I'm so glad we read this together! :) I can't wait for our next buddy read already!

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    1. I'm looking forward to our next one, too. :)

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  2. I really like the premise of this, but I hear you on the 5 narrators. That can slow things down heaps.

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    1. It really slowed the pace at the start for me. All that background info. and not enough forward momentum. But the novel did get better (and start to move faster!) towards the end.

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  3. I don't really like it when authors write in different tenses in one book and I'm not a fan of first person at the best of times as you miss so much of what is going on! Sounds like you still found it ok in spite of the flaws though.

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    1. I'm really not a fan of first person present tense especially. It's probably my least favorite voice.

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  4. I like "locked room" or "isolated location" plots. Glad you and Melody enjoyed the buddy read, even if the book was only 3 stars.

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    1. I loved the setting of this book! That was probably my favorite part...and reading it with Melody. :)

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  5. I really like the premise of this one, and the five viewpoints intrigues me. I'm curious to see how the author made it work.

    I can see the advantages to taking a job with limited outside contact. I think it would depend on what "limited" meant. The idea has a lot going for it . . .

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    1. I wouldn't mind escaping the world for a little while. But only for a little while. :)

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  6. I'm a sucker for a locked room mystery as well. Despite the weaknesses you point out, this sounds like a fun, quick read.

    And of course, sharing the experience with another reader is priceless! :D

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    1. I love a locked room mystery, too. And reading a book with a friend always makes it better. :D

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  7. This does sound like a fun mystery, sort of Agatha Christie And Then There Were None feel to it. But I guess only one was murdered, so a bit different. Sorry to hear the storytelling took away from it, though. That last sentence is a good one.

    Didn't know you lived in Salt Lake. It's a beautiful part of the country. :)

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    1. The set up of this one felt very Agatha Christie to me. But you're right. It didn't read quite as good as one of hers.
      It did have its moments, though. (And I think Utah is a great place to live. Especially if you love the outdoors.)

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  8. Oh this totally sounds like somthng I'd like lol. Sorry to hear it wasn't great, but I can see getting it at some point if it's on sale or through library. I love stories like this :)

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    1. Definitely give it a try. The slow beginning might not bug you. And the ending was pretty good.

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  9. Always enjoy your buddy reviews! This book seems to be getting lots of press and I'm pretty curious about it!

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    1. Except for the slow start, I did like it.

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  10. It's the sort of thing (locked room mystery!) I'd like, too, but it's so hard to pull off that multiple voice thing. But Wilkie Collins did it, so I can, too! seems to be the thought...

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    1. Ahh...but no one writes quite like Wilkie Collins did. His Woman in White is one of my all-time favs!

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  11. Locked-room mysteries are usually so much fun to read, but I can understand the trouble with having so many viewpoints. I tend to struggle with a book if there's more than two or three narrators.

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  12. Bummer! I love the premise of this one, but it sounds like the execution just didn't work very well. I'm not a fan of too many narrators either. It makes it tough to get to know about and care about them.

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    1. That's the main trouble I had with this one. That and the pacing at the first.

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  13. I think I enjoyed this one more than you but I also recall wondering why they were still friends. And any number of them could have died and I wouldn't have been too heartbroken. I think the setting upped it for me soon as it's one of my faves - isolated snowy areas. Hope you enjoy your next read better.

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    1. I liked this one, but I didn't love it. I did love the setting though. But the people? I wouldn't have been heartbroken if more than one had died either. Might've made me like the book a little more. ;D

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  14. Hi Lark, The book's plot reminds me of an Agatha Christie novel though I get the sense Christie would have known how to do it better. I wonder too if going with 5 different narrators was a good idea. That's very difficult to pull off.

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    1. 5 POVs is hard to make work; I personally would have liked it better with fewer.

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  15. Aw, man. I, too, was drawn to the premise of this one, but the reviews just haven't been very high for it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)

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