2 Bloggers 1 Book - The Hunting Party

So this month Stormi and I kind of went back on forth on what book we were going to actually feature.  We finally decided on "The Hunting Party" and I want to thank Stormi for getting it finished so quickly since I fell behind on "Magic Bleeds."  I do think we might differ a tad on our opinions and I'm excited to see her final thoughts.  So after reading below, make sure you hope over to Stormi's at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! to see her review.

TITLE: The Hunting Party

AUTHOR: Lucy Foley

PUBLISHER: William Morrow

PUBLISHING DATE: February 12, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves. 

They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.Annabelle Gaskin spies the camper parked behind her rundown motel and offers the disheveled cowboy inside a few odd jobs to pay his board. 

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead. 

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps. 

Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it. 

Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close? 

MY THOUGHTS:  At least once a year a group of old college friends try to take a holiday together to have fun and unwind.  But as they've grown older, things have changed.  Some friends have become super busy and are rarely seen or heard from during the off time and one couple has even had a baby. The thing that remains the same is that they still all have secrets and I doubt any of them were any more likable as 20 somethings as they are as 30 somethings.

This group tends to have it all.  You have the "ideal" couple with the husband a trading guru and the wife, Miranda, the perfect everything.  There is a lawyer who has finally made it to the top and a couple who recently had a baby, who accompanies them on their New Year's vacation.  These people clearly haven't really grown up all that much as their time together proves.  A lot of time is spent drinking and trashing each other for one reason or another while still striving to stay friends.  Add in a very remote location, an epic snowstorm (yay!) and three staff each hiding something of their own and you have a recipe for disaster.

Overall I really enjoyed "The Hunting Party."  No, the characters weren't that likable but I think that was Foley's intention.  I did find a few people I liked and in the end, I was pleased with the outcome.  Let's just say in my opinion the right person was murdered.  Oops, does that sound bad?  I also liked the author's style.  The story is told in dual timelines, but the timelines all happen within the same week.  Soon on you learn a body has been discovered but it's not until roughly 80% in that you find ut who was actually killed.  This is a twist I haven't encountered a lot and which contributed somewhat to my overall rating.

Also, I've made it no secret that I like snowed in settings and the weather and isolation actually made for another "character" to watch develop.  The mystery wrapped up nicely and although I started to suspect about mid-book who the victim was (and so did Stormi - I could tell from our conversations), there were still some surprises thrown in at the end.  I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys winter settings, mysteries and survival tales (and I know you're out there).  I must say that for some reason I do believe that the story needed a dog.  I don't know exactly what made me feel such a strong desire but I did.  Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed Foley's debut and look forward to her future endeavors. 

RATING: 4 PAWS