Mystery like chick lit
The Hunting Party By Lucy Foley, Harper Collins, $32.99
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A group of ex university friends try to meet up once a year. They take turns at organising the venue and gathering.
This Year Emma has organised a New Year gathering at a remote hunting lodge in Scotland.
It is a four day stay and includes a lesson in shooting. The venue is a very exclusive lodge, only four parties are accepted there each year.
There is a reason for that which becomes clear as the story progresses.
The lodge has a manager, a guide and an odd job man. The champagne flows as does the reminiscing, but by the second day snow is forecast.
The worst happens. The snow really sets in and the place, remote to start off with, is completely isolated. One member of the party is found to be missing and a search is mounted.
The body is discovered at the bottom of a ravine and the mystery deepens. Which guest did the dirty deed?
This crime novel is reminiscent of an Agatha Christie crime story minus Miss Marple. Each guest tells her own story. It becomes apparent that nobody is happy, the past does not remain hidden and it is very hard to like or sympathise with any of the so-called guests. I found the denouement quite a let down and felt it did not really ring true with the character through the story.
I would not put this novel in my top 20 crime novels in spite of rave reviews, but just my opinion.
I felt it was a chick lit based on an Agatha Christie format.
Lucy Foley has written three historical novels which have been translated into 16 languages. The Hunting Party is her debut crime novel.