The Book Nook

Secrets and Suspects   Fans of psychological thrillers or ”whodunnits” will find lots of intrigue in Lucy Foley’s murder mystery “The Hunting Party”. The book starts with a simple premise: each year a group of friends reunites to welcome in the new year together.  The tradition started when the core group formed a clique while at Oxford University in England, and they’ve kept their Christmas break ritual alive for over a decade. This year the venue is a remote hunting lodge in Scotland where they look forward to reveling and relaxing.  The now thirtysomething group sets off in good spirits and are pleased with the lodge’s décor and amenities.  Their time together is limited so they waste none of it, quickly uncorking champaign to get the party started.  But there’s a dark emotional undertone bubbling just under the surface. We sense that there’s a lot of history we’re missing as we delve into the undercurrents between individuals.  The author slowly provides details to help us understand the complex net of relationships and emotions.  It’s only natural that a group’s dynamics changes over time, especially considering breakups or adding new partners to the mix.  As the tale advances, we learn more about the individuals and their tangled relationship web. An unexpected death in the group brings the celebratory mood to a crashing halt, especially once it’s clear the cause of death was murder.  Was it done by a stranger or one of their own?  A winter storm threatens to completely cut the lodge off from the outside world, leaving them on their own.  This added layer of isolation adds to the tension and feeling of helplessness.  From there the plot races to a dramatic ending with more danger and unexpected developments. Foley nimbly revives the classic locked-room mystery reminiscent of the golden age crime novels by giving it a modern setting, but more about that later.  Clues about motive are mingled with twists to deceive reader’s inner sleuth, but that detective must be prepared to do double duty.  This is because the victim isn’t named until very late in the account, an interesting twist in itself. This is a tale in which everyone has secrets.  In fact, the lodge may not have enough closets to contain all of the skeletons.  And that’s where the fun begins.  Each chapter unearths new developments that could have you changing your mind about the murderer’s identity more than once.  Or the victim’s, for that matter. The story contains first-person narrative by some of the central characters with two lodge employees giving their accounts via a third-person voice.  From this we obtain differing perspectives, which influences how we may feel about them.  We have access to their thoughts regardless of whether we’ll like what we find.  It seems friendship and loyalty are merely words to certain individuals.  I wondered if other readers would be able to summon sympathy or if they’d find themselves hoping the victim would be someone they disliked. Using multiple voices isn’t easy, but Foley manages to present all their perspectives without muddling the waters.  She also maintains consistency with each individual and does a decent job fleshing out most of them.  The clever plot makes it easier to overlook most obstacles and the author does well at maintaining a sense of tension and foreboding.  The lodge’s inaccessibility and the weather play important roles in maintaining a sense of fear and isolation.  The writing is wonderfully atmospheric with a unified flow between past and present.  The book was published in 2019 and contains adult themes and language. A broken timeline is used to propel the story, which contains a nice, tight plot and good pacing.  There are many surprises on hand and while the ending may be a bit dramatic for some, it fits with some of the personalities. The author has written other fiction, but this is her first crime novel, and in it she revives the “country-house murder” or “closed-room” style that those who love Ellery Queen, Mary Higgins Clark or Agatha Christie will recognize.  This is definitely a character-driven story filled with emotion and betrayal. Foley’s fans will find many similarities to “The Guest List”, which followed on the heels of “The Hunting Party” a year later.  In fact, some readers felt as if they were reading the same novel in terms of narrative structure, use of characters and setting.  That’s good news for those eager for more of the same or those who appreciate escapist mysteries.