The Guest List by Lucy Foley is out now in hardback, ebook and audio.
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley is out now in hardback, ebook and audio.
LUCY FOLEY
THE HUNTING PARTY & THE GUEST LIST
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Genre: Thriller, Psychological Fiction
As I sit here eating two boiled eggs, like an actual psychopath I’m reminded of the recent psychopaths I have read about. Cue Lucy Foley.
I drafted two reviews for two respective Lucy Foley books, but decided to cut the proverbial corner and combine them. They are essentially the same book in my mind.
Formulaic as ever, both The Guest List and The Hunting Party are murder mysteries. Guaranteed to soothe the savage beast of a quick, crime read. Digestible thrills set in remote spaces, primed for murder. For the noir seeking, sleuth novel enthusiast, Lucy Foley is your new (un)safe space.
There is nothing groundbreaking about either The Hunting Party or The Guest List. That is what is enjoyable about them. Living through consecutive historical events has left many mentally strained. There is something to be said for picking up a crime novel and just enjoying it. Well written mystery with just enough character to invest, but not enough to sob when they met their timely demise. Lucy Foley’s writing provides at least, this much. Both books are set in remote areas in Ireland and Scotland respectively. Insert the distant notes of bagpipes on the wind. Take us away Lucy.
The Guest List takes place on a remote Irish island, where guests have gathered to attend the wedding of an ambitious mag hag and her charming television-presenter fiancé (think a more charming version of Bear Grylls, if that’s possible) Someone turns up dead, mystery ensues.
In The Hunting Party we follow a similar narrative. A group of Oxford graduates find themselves isolated in an idyllic Scottish Highlands estate. Someone turns up dead, mystery ensues.
These books lean heavily into crime tropes and still have you happily lapping up every word. Foley does have, dare I mention, a Christie like way of marking a page. Both reads were well structured (both follow a multiple-perspective narrative) and held my attention. No sanctimonious themes or motifs, just plot, just mystery.
Additional to the whodunnit question, in both books you are also unaware who has been killed. This adds an additional voyeuristic thrill , which is necessary for the modern armchair detective. Layered mysteries for the quickly distracted. There is a tasteful lack of gore and intimate detail. For those who devour Tana French, Foley may feel a bit Diet Coke.
I was successfully engrossed in both books and have pre-ordered Foley’s soon to be released The Paris Apartment in the hopes of reading exactly the same book I have already read twice, now set in Paris.
The Guest List and The Hunting Party are out now in hardback, ebook and audiobook.