Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Hello fellow Crime, Mystery & Thriller readers,

Welcome to our discussion about The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, your discussion leader is Joany.
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about spoilers

Please note: If you have not finished reading the book spoilers are permitted in this discussion from the start. If you would like to use the spoiler formatting it can be found on the top right of the comment box in the "(some html is ok)" menu.
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Summary

All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.

Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.

Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?

Hello, I'm Joany and I'll be your group leader for this read. I really enjoyed this novel by Lucy Foley, it kept me at the edge of my seat, guessing and wondering..and some twists I hadn't expected.

I have a handful if questions about the novel, I'll ask...if you have any questions please post!

1. There’s plenty of untold resentments between this group of friends. Why do you think they keep the tradition of spending New Year’s Eve together?

2. Why do you think Emma picked that isolated location in the Scottish Highlands?

3. We learn that Miranda has a stalker. Did you think it was Mark at first? Did you have any idea it was Emma?

4.
What was Emma’s end-goal? Just to be close to Miranda? To turn herself into a version of Miranda? What do you think was her motivation?

5. Miranda is used to being the center of attention and desired by all. But as soon as she feels attention is starting to wane, she acts out in cruel ways. For example, trying to embarrass Katie in middle school by pointing out she didn’t have her period yet. And sometimes she’s just mean because she can be: for instance, outing Nick to his parents and not caring about the consequences. But she also could show loyalty by standing up to a girl who was trying to bully Katie in school. What did you make of Miranda? Is she selfish and cruel with some flashes of decency? Or is she simply just a bully?

6. What did you think about Heather and Doug storylines? Did you suspect Doug was the killer at some point? Now that Heather is moving back home, do you think Doug will visit her?

7. Let’s talk about the affair between Katie and Julien. Obviously, he’s a sleaze but what was going on with Katie there? Did she sleep with him as revenge against Miranda? What about the reveal that Katie is pregnant – what were you thoughts? Will Julien have any involvement with his kid?

8. Who did you think at first was murdered? Did that change as the story went on? What about who was the murderer? Did you suspect Emma or was that a surprise?

9. What did you think overall about the ending?
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I believe that Emma was so infatuated with Miranda, that she almost wanted to be her...have the things she had for herself.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Hey everyone! I just grabbed my copy and can't wait to read this in May. Looking forward to answering all these questions, Joany, it's my first group read in this awesome group :-)

@LTJ, Welcome to the group! This is my first on leading a group discussion! Hoping it will be a lot of fun!

LTJ wrote: "Hey everyone! I just grabbed my copy and can't wait to read this in May."

I just found out I already bought this on Audible. Can't wait to start talking about it on the first!

Awesome!

@Joanny: Awesome and thank you, so cool and looking forward to seeing you lead your first discussion :-)

@Virginia: Very cool and hope you enjoy listening to this novel :-)

Im in. Shall start today.

Because I was looking forward to reading this book, I ran ahead a week, and have finished the (audio)book already. It has a nice setting and the story is told from multiple perspectives, I enjoyed it a lot.
- Question 2: Just like in the book 'The Guest list' by the same author, the setting plays a big part in the story. Once again, it is a remote location that is, once again, cut off from the outside world by bad weather conditions. I think the author made this choice again to set the mood.
Why the character Emma chose this location is not entirely clear, other than that they have already celebrated the annual reunion in more obvious locations before, and Emma is eager to outshine and excel her friends. This location in Scotland has an exclusive reputation and is only available to a few candidates.
- Question 6: This storyline was unnecessary in my opinion, it added nothing to the story and made it more improbable as a whole.

Hi! :) I’ve been wanting to read this book. This will be my first read with you. I’m new to the group.

Please wait til close to end of the month to answer the questions, as most gas not fully read the novel yet.

Has*

New to online book discussions. Just started reading this book! Can’t wait to discuss!

•●Joany●• - The Book Addict wrote: "Please wait til close to end of the month to answer the questions, as most gas not fully read the novel yet."

I thought we were going to be chatting about this stuff all month. It says in the first post that spoilers are permitted?

Virginia wrote: "•●Joany●• - The Book Addict wrote: "Please wait til close to end of the month to answer the questions, as most gas not fully read the novel yet."

I thought we were going to be chatting about this ..."

Sorry, I'm new to discussion...and discussing the novel. My apologies, I had forgotten that it had said that earlier in in the post.

I had so many people I had thought was the killer, strongly I had thought it was Doug, given his "Solitude and quiet, curiously demeanor".

What do you all think about my assumption? Did you think the same, or someone different?

Monica wrote: "Because I was looking forward to reading this book, I ran ahead a week, and have finished the (audio)book already. It has a nice setting and the story is told from multiple perspectives, I enjoyed ..."
I totally agree with you about the storyline.
I have 'The Guest List' I have yet to read it...maybe in a handful if novels Ill begin it.

Erika wrote: "Hi! :) I’ve been wanting to read this book. This will be my first read with you. I’m new to the group."
Happy Reading! And welcome to the discussion!

Sally wrote: "New to online book discussions. Just started reading this book! Can’t wait to discuss!"

Hope you enjoy the read, and welcome to the discussion!

Im half way thru and am totally enjoying it. Doug is so obviously the mislead here. The constant mention of his past demons and his love for solitude itself makes him innocent.
I liked the writing and the detailed descriptions. Personally i would hate being in such a remote place with no outside contact at all. Not my type of holiday 😒

Im at 85% mark and am.really reallybreally tired of all this running around the bush. Im asssuming the victim since shes not been named as yet and its just so predictable nd trite.

Im at 85% mark and am.really reallybreally tired of all this running around the bush. Im asssuming the victim since shes not been named as yet and its just so predictable nd trite.

I finished and im disappointed. A 2.5 - 3 🌟 its predictable and boring.
What really irked me most is for a crime novel theres no detective work at all. I agree the pllice were unable to reach because of inclement weather but Heather and Doug could haveade a great amateur team. Instead Heather's stupid. Just pure luck, helped solve the case.

Will come back to answer the questions but just finished and found this book so disappointing. 1 star from me, and that star is because I thought the setting was fantastic. Overall not much suspense, too many characters so it felt like there was no real character development. Missed the detective work that usually goes with a great mystery. Just overall boring and predictable. I loved Foley’s The Paris Apartment so I am just shocked how much I disliked this one!

Leena wrote: "Im at 85% mark and am.really reallybreally tired of all this running around the bush. Im asssuming the victim since shes not been named as yet and its just so predictable nd trite."

Leena, I remember feeling irritated with the "unnamed victim" thing as I read this. It just went on and on and felt like phony suspense after a while.

Leena wrote: "I finished and im disappointed. A 2.5 - 3 🌟 its predictable and boring.
What really irked me most is for a crime novel theres no detective work at all. I agree the pllice were unable to reach beca..."


I at first early onin the novel had thought it was going to be at least a 4 star review, but it had too much running around in it i thought as well...too much going back in forth between characters, not enough " solving".

And I agree, Heather and Doug would have made a great team if they bith actually tried to solve the case head-on.

Welcome to the discussion group, Dean..hipe you enjoy!

•●Joany●• - The Book Addict wrote: "Leena wrote: "I finished and im disappointed. A 2.5 - 3 🌟 its predictable and boring.
What really irked me most is for a crime novel theres no detective work at all. I agree the pllice were unable..."

IKR Mary. Im assuming she left her victim unnamed so she had the room space to switch her victims. That would have been so cool. 😄
I really missed Emma's thoughts in the epilogue. Shes the most important person whose entire life surrounded Miranda. So, giw did life pan out for her?

Closed friendships can get so claustrophobic, its uncanny and unnerving. This trope has been trashed so much, im always cynical about it.

I loved her initial descriptions of the island and the isolation of it. I wonder was this location planned for some ulterior motive that got shelved or other incidents took over?

The more I think, this is an incomplete book, that can be fleshed out more. She dwelled kn the past incidents so.much she lost sight of the present. The characters too didn't seem to have aged nor acted their 30 yrs. Their interactions were quite juvenile. And that too js strange because they met every year so that should have been a given. They were professionals with well.paying jobs so it just didn't gel.

Leena wrote: "Closed friendships can get so claustrophobic, its uncanny and unnerving. This trope has been trashed so much, im always cynical about it.

I loved her initial descriptions of the island and the iso..."

"She dwelled on the past incidents so much she lost sight of the present." -- great observation and so true.

I believe it could have been a whole lot better if there would have been more concrete evidence, or more so if the characters weren't so out of balance, or seemingly too much into themselves or the ones they were with (dating, married to) then they might of wanted to be more involved in catching who had done it, and brought the novel ending to a new level and perspective. I believe once we found out who had done the killing the novel just abruptly ended there and that was it.

dean lay wrote: "Is her new book a good one
I think it’s called the Paris apartment"

I've read it, it's good, but slow in my opinion. I personally think it was better than The Hunting Party.

Yes, it was an abrupt end and the epilogue too was a little shallow.

I'm about to start this one tonight and looking forward to discussing this one with you all :-)

I agree, Leena.

Good, LTJ!

Just hit a little over the 30% mark and so far it's been a solid read. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed with all the different characters but I'm enjoying how it has concise chapters with each of them to develop them/make them memorable for me.

I'm trying to finish this over the next few days as it's a genuine page-turner. I can't wait to answer all these great discussion questions in this thread when done :-)

awesome, LTJ.. it has some pretty good parts.

I was back and forth with it....liked it, loved it, hated it all in one..

definitely an up n down mood kinda novel...especially not knowing what to expect with each turn of the page.

@Joany: Indeed! I like how subtle things are as everything weaves from back then, to now, then fills in the backstory pretty well. I'm glad this style didn't confuse me after the first few chapters and these characters started to stand out for me as I'm not picturing each one well.

LoL exactly that about now knowing what to expect, I seriously have no idea what will happen as things unravel. I love it!

Hey everyone! I just finished this one (gave it 2/5 Stars) and wanted to answer all these delightful questions before I went to bed for the night and start my next novel. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts…

1). New Year’s Eve definitely is a great celebration to have if you have a group of friends who are down to travel, drink, eat, and enjoy each other’s company. Even if you have grudges or friends you don’t talk all that much with, if you plan a trip like this at the end of the year to reconnect and unwind, I totally see the appeal as to why this group kept that tradition alive of spending New Year’s Eve together. I also think considering all of them have jobs/went to the same college, it’s a good tradition to have simply to catch up if anything.

2). I think Emma picked this isolated location due to everyone always being so busy with work, kids, distractions, and the emphasis of “being on Wi-Fi/using cell phones) as a reason to simply disconnect and enjoy the company of college friends who are now adults. I think since they’re older now, have families, jobs, commitments, etc., it’s probably something fun to do as a group to get away and just hang out again. The thing is, as they got older, I think they started to not enjoy this yearly tradition as much, hence why a lot of people didn’t like having to dress up or even be in the company of others. LoL just a very tense situation and if it were me as part of this group, I honestly wouldn’t even go anymore if it didn’t bring me excitement or joy to attend.

3). I for sure thought Miranda’s stalker was Mark and thought it was because he had a crush on her and wanted to get with her. I had no idea it was Emma and although it was explained as to why that was the case, I didn’t like that part at all. It was just weird to me, even though I did understand why Emma did stalk Miranda, I was expecting it to be more Mark and him actually being the killer. I was even thinking maybe it was setting up Mark killing Miranda because she didn’t want to get with him or something and reveal him being some crazy psychopath or something.

4). I think Emma wanted to eventually be the Miranda of the group, phase her out, and have her be the one that is the most popular of the group, being the life of the party, etc. That’s why she organized everything and truly wanted her to be the focal point of the group where nothing happens unless she runs it. I don’t think she wanted to be what Katie was to Miranda or anything, more to replace her in the group because, in her mind, she was smarter, more liked, etc. Her motivation was simply being super jealous of Miranda, SHE wanted to be the prettiest, most popular, talk of the group friend.

5). Miranda reminds me of all those girls in high school/college that want the spotlight on them at all times and simply go crazy when it’s not on them in favor of another person. It drives them crazy so they’ll resort to smearing, bullying, or spreading rumors about that person until the spotlight is right back on them. Miranda showed classic signs of doing things like that just to be on top again and saying/doing anything it took to get there again. I didn’t mind Miranda’s character because I not only knew women like that in college but it was interesting to hear her point of view throughout the novel as to why she did the things that she did. She’s definitely selfish, cruel, a bully, and showed zero empathy in what should have been a fun year-end event with friends to have fun and create memories with.

6). I did think Doug was the killer for a chunk of the time, especially when he acted weird and the whole toughness of his character and dealing with PTSD from being a war veteran. I enjoyed both Heather and Doug’s storylines as I was hoping they’d end up together or something and away from that house. I think they did but it wasn’t set in concrete or anything which was a bummer for me. I do ultimately think they probably don’t get together since Doug seems more like a loner and Heather probably wants to move on from everything that happened and he would simply bring back a lot of those memories. Maybe they just go their separate ways or something and it could be why that wasn’t explained or fleshed out more, which I wanted!

7). I definitely didn’t see that coming with the affair between Katie and Julien and just think it was a spur-of-the-moment coincidence they did what they did. You know, right place, right time, emotions in the air, and it just happened with alcohol leading the way as it always does in situations like these. I don’t think Julien will have any involvement with his kid, even Katie said she would be just fine never seeing him ever again but has to because he’s her child’s father. So I think that’ll be their relationship from here on out.

8). I liked how it kept me guessing as to WHO got murdered as at first, I figured it would be Katie since she was always “in the background” and nobody really cared to include her in things as she was just there but not actively a part of the group. I also enjoyed how it was revealed and I figured it would be Doug that killed Katie because “nobody would notice” if she was gone and maybe had this thing where he took his revenge on the mindless killing of animals on these dumb guests that came to this lodge to hunt for fun. I never thought it would be Emma so that was an interesting surprise.

9). I thought the ending was lame as I was expecting a lot more. Also, how come Emma wasn’t charged with the attempted murder of Katie? LoL I thought that was either left out by mistake or just silly because why wouldn’t Katie press charges after all that? Why did Emma only get four years in jail? That didn’t make any real sense for me and was a big reason why I gave it a 2/5, if the ending was better, this would have easily been a 3/5 or even a 4/5 in my book.

I finished reading it on May 23rd; I enjoyed it.

@Pam: Very awesome and glad you enjoyed it so much!

@LTJ Great answers and opinions on the questions I posted!

I still have a 50/50 love/hate relationship with The Hunting Party, I wanted to like it a lot, even love it...but the plot was holding me back a bit. I liked that the novel kept giving me the "who did that....who is it that is killing.....why are they killing" vibe, I just wished the novel was more in depth with the plot more. Here in the next month or 2, after I finish up on 2 novels I want to read, I'm going to read The Guest List by Lucy Foley. Hoping it's a lot better than the Hunting Party.

@Joany: Thanks for the kind words, my friend! I know exactly what you mean as I also felt the plot was a bit all over the place and then the final reveal just felt safe and a cop-out. I heard The Guest List is better than The Hunting Party and well, I hope when you get to it, you enjoy it :-)

thanks @LTJ!