The Hunting Party, published in 2019, is a whodunit that takes place at an isolated Scottish lodge during the new year's holiday. A group of friends book the lodge to celebrate the new year together. Then one of them ends up dead. But who? We don't learn the victim's identity until near the end even though we know from the beginning that some one is dead.
Almost everyone at the lodge has secrets. Doug and Heather, the lodge employees, have secrets. The lodge itself has secrets. And of course, the friend group has secrets. However, describing this group as friends is a bit of a misnomer. Nick and his boyfriend, Bo; Mark and his girlfriend, Emma; married couple Miranda and Julien; Samira and Giles, who are married with a newborn; and Katie, the only uncoupled one in the group -- together, they make up a conflict and tension filled bunch who don't seem to like each other much.
In my opinion, The Hunting Party, has too much going on. Too many characters to keep track of, too much jumping around in time, and too many secondary mysteries interfering. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if the victim had been identified at the beginning or if the story were told in chronological order instead of jumping around in time so much.
That being said, The Hunting Party is full of suspense, anticipation, and a chilling atmosphere. I don't think I would have been frustrated at all if I had had time to read the book in one sitting. Unfortunately, my schedule wouldn't allow it, and I had to keep putting the book down, still wondering which one of the guests had died.
Comments
Post a Comment