Well hello to you my reader chums! There's no better feeling than being utterly obsessed with a book, so much so, that you can't wait to find out what happens - and that's how I felt about The Hunting Party. I'm a huge thriller fan because I love the build-up, the suspense and the twists and turns you wouldn't expect. It leaves me on the edge of my seat wanting more.

If you're searching for an incredible thriller, here is my full review of The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley.

Plotline

The story follows a group of old friends as they stay in a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness over the New Year period, to ring in 2019. The group know each other from their school and university days and this includes several couples and a singleton. During their stay, one of them is found dead, and it's not an accident. There's a murderer amongst the friends, but who is it?

Characters and relationships

One of my favourite ways books are written is when the perspective changes between different characters as I find it paces the novel quicker and builds more suspense, and really helps me understand more about the characters. The book did exactly that, telling the perspective of a few of the friends including Katie, Miranda, Emma, and the two people who worked at the lodge, Heather and Doug.

My favourite character had to be Katie. The more I learnt about her and how she lived in the shadow of Miranda, the more I resonated with and liked how normal and lovely she seemed. Miranda on the other hand, I wasn't a fan of. She came across as a big bully, someone who liked to control the situation and be the centre of attention, causing drama. Not exactly, someone, you'd like to have around and although I learnt she did it because of her own insecurities, it still made me angry for the other characters.

Emma is an interesting character and to be honest, I didn't really get her. She seemed a bit too perfect and too nice throughout the course of the book and had a disliking towards Katie which was strange. Katie and Miranda had an odd relationship, Miranda made out as if Katie was her project, their entire life since school and now Katie didn't want to be in Miranda's full attention - and I loved that for her.

The two lodge workers were completely different. My heart went out to Heather because the way she told her story, I could feel the heartbreak she went through, to arrive in such a place and work in the middle of nowhere. Doug, as a character had a lot more depth than met the eye.

The other friends were an interesting bunch and an odd group.

Overall thoughts

Overall, I haven't felt this excited about a book in a very long time. There was something about the character development, how the short chapters were mapped out and the many twists and turns changing my opinion constantly, which hooked me in. It's probably one of the best murder mystery books I've read. I loved the descriptions of the setting and how much detail the author went into. I love how there was so much focus on the character's history and how they all knew each other. And, I loved how the layers of their history came together to create drama and unveil completely unexpected surprises.

Honestly, I'm obsessed with the book. It had everything a good thriller needs: the right level of suspense, paced out fast enough to hook you in, but slow enough to give things away at the right time. The change of character's perspective really moved the novel in a way which I loved and added depth.

It's a book I'd happily recommend to everyone!

Ending

The ending was as genius as the rest of the book. As I said, throughout the book, there were so many twists and turns and many potential suspects and victims, I didn't know what the ending will be. However, when it came to it, it's as if the novel came together and everything spoken about previously, just made sense.

I hope you enjoyed this book review. What's next on your TBR pile?

Thank you for reading <3