Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Hunting Party: A Novel

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2019

The clunky, awkward writing was a distraction. Several phrases kept reappearing, e.g., cabins huddled close as if for warmth, then a number of pages later we find sheep huddling together as if for warmth; a character feels a chill, but not because of the weather then, a few pages later, another character feels cold, but not because of the weather...and so on...There were also many sentence fragments and a sprinkling of commas. Loads of telling, not much showing, flattened the characters. The book was predictable and, if you've read R. Ware's In a Dark, Dark Wood, then you know all that will happen. There are glimmers of a good writer in the book, and I hope she will continue writing, but she needs a better editor.

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Sheryl Nonnenberg

Vastly overrated

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2019

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The promise of an Agatha Christie-type mystery lured me into buying this book.
The age-old trope of a small group gathered in an inaccessible place where a murder takes place is still worth
reading, but not as presented here.
By the time I slogged through the descriptions of each character (and their complicated histories), the book
was half completed....the murder was predictable and the ending quick and tidy.
I was sorry I actually bought this and would recommend getting it for free at the library, if
you have the patience and interest in a really cliched pastiche of a good, old-fashioned English
country house murder mystery.

226 people found this helpful

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Kyle Conner

I start off this new year, 2020, with a resoundingly lame read.

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2020

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This is my first read of the new year,
and it’s a one-star.
Lord, help me!

First and foremost: I disliked all of the characters (with the exception of Doug, the gamekeeper, and Heather, the lodge keeper.
The guests, however, were of a different sort.
Privileged, pretty, successful, whiny thirty-somethings.
It made for a truly unenjoyable reading experience.
I'm all for unlikeable characters, but these were the worst, because there was no one to root for.
I didn't care who dies.
I didn't care who did it.

Biggest complaint: I wasn’t a fan of all the character POVs (and by extension: the writing itself). Each character sounded like they were reading from a script, or like they were talking to me directly, trying to convince me of something—as though they’ve been tasked with describing their lives and that of their “friends” to an audience/reader—it felt totally inorganic and took me out of the story entirely. And I’ve said it before, so I’ll say it again: multiple POVs, when done right, are a worthy addition to any whodunnit/mystery novel. For example- the recent 'In the Dark' by Loreth Anne White utilized multiple character points of view to great effect. But here, each POV felt forced—like the author herself is telling us who these characters are in their inner dialogues, instead of the characters themselves. Does that make sense? It doesn’t feel like it’s the characters describing each other, most of it literally being: “she’s the wild one” “he’s the offensive one” “she’s the quiet one...and here’s why that is”.

*I’ve confirmed that the characters are speaking directly to the us. 176 pages in, one of the characters says, “...in case you were wondering” and then “You’re just going to have to take my word for it.” Like, what?!?!? We’re given no indication that “you” is anyone other than us, the reader. Why why why was it written like this?? I absolutely hated it!!!

And for the entirety of the book, it’s only 5 POVs out of the full 11+ characters (and that’s not even including the Icelandic couple and Iain). I just find that dumb, really. Either it should’ve been all of them (which would’ve made sense, but, frankly, have been too many), or two (Heather or Doug’s for the present, and one of the guests for the days before). That’s it. I don’t know why the author chose solely Katie, Emma, and Miranda. As for Doug and Heather... I swear, every single one of their chapters had the lines, “But I don’t really know him/her at all”. Like, I get it, you both have dark, haunted pasts that remain a mystery to everyone. It didn’t heighten the overlaying mystery at all... it was just annoying! Most of the other characters are just... there-- (Nick & Bo, Samira & Giles, Mark, Julien... and the dang baby I just completely forgot about). They had no real characterizations whatsoever outside of more convoluted motives (except the baby, of course). I just saw no purpose in having them even there at all.

Something else that became excruciatingly tedious: Everyone reminiscing about the past... which I understand is the point of their whole trip, but if they’d been making these same trips every year for a decade, you’d think they’d stop being like, “Ooooh, remember when...” or “Don’t you recall that time...” or “Just like when we used to...” every page. It was an annoying way to dump all this expository background info on these characters by having them repeatedly wax nostalgic. It got old, fast.

From the beginning, we know that someone’s dead. And throughout the novel, we get a ridiculous list of potential suspects that are mentioned or alluded to (ex: unlawful poachers and a weird train station agent). Then, 71 pages into the story, someone is (maybe, possibly) lurking around in the woods, and right after it’s revealed (more like unnecessarily thrown-in) that a serial killer is roaming the highlands nearby. I thought these additions did a disservice to the story for two reasons: 1. They’re such blatant, clunky red herrings, and 2. It’s unrealistic the guests wouldn’t have heard about the serial killer. And THEN, not 30 pages later, something else from the past brings forth a new potential culprit. And THEN AGAIN, not long after, a dramatic, violent event from the past providing yet another potential motive/suspect. I found all these red herrings and misdirection completely unconvincing.
Could it be:
1. The shady station guard?
2. Evil poachers?
3. A disgruntled local?
4. The creepy Icelandic couple?
5. The Highland Ripper
6. This person from the past
7. That person from the past
8. Plenty more that aren’t worth mentioning...

Look, it’s all well and good to have a large suspect pool... but NOT when it’s inherently obvious who the real culprit is, because let's be honest: this book is woefully predictable. Red herrings are fun, but the above list are just so obvious it’s dumb.

Truth be told, 220 pages into this nearly 400 page book, and I started hard-skimming. I wanted it to be over so badly, it was almost unbearable. Then, we get to the end, and it’s so terribly pedestrian. It wasn’t clever, or twisted, or surprising. The only interesting thing that happened was unrelated to the murder. That’s it. I think the author wanted to believe this was more clever than it actually was, but, sadly—and much to my resounding disappointment—it wasn’t.

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Earl A. Myers, Jr.

Very unmystery-like

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2019

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This book is less about hunting than it is about musing and abusing one another. Precious little time is spent preparing for and going about that which the title would indicate. Most of the activity is indoors recalling each individuals past indiscreet and thoughtless behavior. The back and forth movement of the timeline was quite a distraction, and the party seemed less concerned about the dead person in their midst than they did about revealing their motives for disliking each other. The victim was literally a dead give away, and the perpetrator was less than disguised. Ms. Foley has to come up with something far more suspenseful next go around; otherwise, she will be relegated to the status of lesser known mystery writers.

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stacey

So many friendships...

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2020

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The Hunting Party
“Everyone’s invited....Everyone’s a suspect”

This is my second book by Lucy Foley and wow, wow, wow! She has an amazing writing style and really gets me hooked first page in! I really enjoyed this book and once again, something that really intrigues me is when I can’t figure out who the killer is. This happened again in this book. I would never have guessed who the antagonist was in this book and it all made sense when it came together.

This book follows a group of friends on a New Years Eve getaway in a remote area. These friends get together every year, and most of them have been friends since college days, minus a few they have met along the way. The two workers at the lodge are Heather and Doug, who both share dark secrets, and chose to work there to be away from people. The book starts off with one of the guests “missing” and then presumably murdered. The book goes back and forth from the present day, the day after the murder and then back to the days leading up the murder.

Throughout the book, you learn all about the characters, their lives, their secrets, and their regrets. I particularly liked the character Doug. He was a good man that had a bad past, but proves his worthiness as the book goes deeper. I hated Miranda. She was a bully and a terrible friend and I for the life of me can’t figure out why any of them were friends with her or let her speak to them the way she did. There was legit nothing flattering about her character.

All these friends, all these secrets, all this hatred, makes it very hard to pinpoint who the murderer is and who was murdered.....

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Absolutely excellent; rating is 4.5 stars--except I can't rate that

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2019

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Lucy Foley has given us a spectacular character-driven mystery, beginning with the discovery of a body lying in the snow. Whose body? We don't know, and won't know until the end of the novel.

We are then thrust into bustling action, several days before this unnerving discovery. A group of friends from Oxford are getting together for their yearly New Year's Celebration ritual. This year, they are heading off for a remote hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands, which in the case of inclement weather will be cut off from roads, transportation, shops, other people...pretty much any other form of civilization known to man. Even internet connection is spotty in this part of the world. The only outsiders are the lodge manager, the caretaker, and two other guests.

This close-knit group of friends has known each other forever, but from the beginning of the trip, something has seemed...off. The lodge manager notices it, and in the chapters, each narrated by different characters, we piece together long-simmering tensions in the group, uncover secrets and passions, and discover what led to murder.

Everything isn't what it seems in this fast-paced chiller.

The characters are complex, the narrative strands weave deftly together, and ending was a surprise, though the strands were there all along. Foley's writing is neat, descriptive enough, and gives a sense of the vast wilderness, but always keeps our focus on the action and plot. Never is there a descent into stereotypes or idiocy--everyone is real.

As the focus of the plot switches from the group of friends, to the search for a missing person, Foley never loses control of the characters. Intense and riveting. Great read.

45 people found this helpful

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Tim Blackburn

Entertaining Mystery

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2022

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Wow, what a unique little mystery!! A group of 7 early thirties college friends along with two plus ones and a young infant continue the yearly tradition of spending the New Years holiday together at a different setting away from their London homes. The 2019 location is an isolated lodge/cabins in the Scottish Highlands located 10 miles from the nearest small village. The group of 5 men and 4 women plus the infant are supposed to have the remote compound exclusively booked, save the 3 employees of the lodge. But a booking error has landed a strange Icelandic couple to the mix for a total ensemble of 14 adults all in their early to mid 30s. Add to the mix a murder, of course, and then the obligatory generational snowstorm rendering traffic to and from the lodge impossible even for a rescue helicopter, and the ingredients for a delicious mystery are in place. The story is told in chapters alternating between the points-of-view of four of the characters. Deep seated secrets, jealousies, passions, and yes clues slowly come to light. The amazing thing is that I didn't like a single character and yet still ranked the book as 5-star, that's how ingenious and clever the framework was built for the climatic finish!! I thoroughly enjoyed this thrilling mystery.

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Toni

New year new death

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2020

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A New Years to remember.
A handful of friends coming together to follow tradition, a messy trip, lots of snow, and of course murder, what else could you ask for?
Let’s start with this, wow Lucy Foley has such a way with story telling. I enjoy multiple points of view, unlikeable characters, questionable plots, and snowed in stories. If you enjoyed The Guest List, One by One by Ruth Ware, and An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena, this story will be up your alley!
We watch a group of friends come together and spend New Years Eve like always, this time in a hunting lodge where they’re snowed in, and someone is murdered. We go between different characters point of view, going from past to present, and watch as each person shows true face. Among our characters we have a couple who stays on the property, and 3 employees (2 live their) so there is a handful of options on who the killer is and why they have motive.
Just like in Lucy’s story The Guest List we go back and forth between different characters and we start the story knowing someone is dead, and don’t know who until later. I really like the authors ability to do this. Like in The Guest List and One by One, I had a hard time with the unlikeable characters (but also liked), because again, it was for good reason. We go through the story with lots of twist and turns,and the ending... well it was definitely worth the read.
The cold atmosphere and winter scene in the remote area made the whole story even creepier, as if it was a character on its own (I think that’s why I enjoy these story locations and weather so much). The scene of being trapped by the elements makes it so much worse.
I absolutely loved this one, a five out of five for me. If have the ability listen to at least a part of the audiobook, it made it even more interesting for me.

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Grammy

Keep you friends close, just don’t turn your back!

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2022

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Another brilliant mystery from talented author, Lucy Foley. A diverse group of Oxford alumni gather in snowy Scotland, readying themselves for the new year.
A gay couple, a husband and wife, a couple with a baby, an unmarried couple and a single woman rent individual cottages, their home bases for a long weekend. Nights are charged by great amounts of alcohol and distasteful exhibits of lust, oral barbs go to bed as angry, jealous, misunderstandings and cruelty fueled arguments. The ensuing chasms cause riffs between the more central characters, threatening to tear relationships asunder. Can these serious situations end in a good way? Is there hope for anyone? What’s next? A must read!

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Jennifer Hing

Good Twists You Don’t See Coming

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2021

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I really love this author. Her writing style of thrillers is very good. This book is very similar to One by One by Ruth Ware, and I’m assuming both are based on Agatha Christie’s book And Then There Was None. There are a few large twists, but I didn’t see either coming. I loved the multiple view points and the back and forth in time. I highly recommend. I really enjoyed her other books, but this is probably her best.

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5 star		43%
4 star		34%
3 star		18%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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