A good read with some Interesting characters and a great story line. The story held your interest and kept you guessing the outcome right till the end but found it a bit confusing when different people where telling their version of what happened. When someone goes missing and the events that happen to finally find out the truth make for a great who done it.

The Search Party – Simon Lelic

Wow I was lucky enough to receive and advance copy of this book via NetGalley and I’m truly thankful that I did.

An original premise – bringing a new twist to the ‘girl lost in the woods’ plot that we all know so well.

It is told mainly through the statements of five young adults who through their own actions lies and deceits become the main suspects in both a missing persons enquiry and a tragic murder. Simon Lelic uses a writing technique I have not encountered before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We as readers really feel as though we are sitting across the interview desk from these confused and lost teenagers. We learn enough about all of the suspects to both care about and suspect them which I also enjoyed.

The main police investigator, Fleet is not the most likeable or charming detective but his brokenness and determination to continue when his superiors lose faith in him make him a great unlikely hero.

There is strong underlying theme of bonds in this novel, the bond between Fleet and the town he grew up in, the bond between the kids and the woods, and the bond between the kids themselves. At times is seems to stretch and unravel to the smallest of threads but it remains true.

An excellent twisting and turning whodunnit with a wonderful cast of characters. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

The Search Party is told through the point of view of Sadie’s friends: Abigail Marshall (Abi), Cora Briggs, Fareed Hussain (Fash), Mason Payne (Sadie’s boyfriend) and Luke (Sadie’s twin brother). They are being interviewed by the police about what happened when they decided to search the local woods for Sadie. They were in the woods for two days looking for her, until someone ends up dead. The book also follows the lead on the case, Detective Inspector Robin Fleet, who grew up in the town and follows his investigations too. Robin is an expert at finding missing people and he is determined to find out the truth.

The Search Party begins with a phone call to the emergency services. From there, I was taken on a thrilling race against time to find Sadie Saunders, a missing 15-year-old girl.

I really enjoyed this book — it is full of suspense and mystery. The story unfolds gradually, and at the beginning, you’re not even sure whose body has been found at the start. It’s incredibly gripping, with lots of twists and turns. You are never sure who is telling the truth — only that one (or more) of the teenagers are lying.

I really liked Robin Fleet. I felt a huge amount of sympathy for him as he struggles with his own past. He is determined to uncover the truth, not wanting to pin Sadie’s disappearance on someone unless he is certain that they are the culprit. I really respected that, especially as he stands up to his superiors and continues digging to make sure that happens.

While the teenagers described are not all likeable, they all feel real — they all sound like real teenagers. I could picture each of them very vividly. Their friendship group is intriguing, and each have their own problems and difficulties — probably exactly what brought them all together.

I read this in one sitting — I was gripped to the pages from beginning to end. It is brilliantly written. This is the first of Simon’s books that I have read, I will be certain to read more from him.

~

Also posted at http://www.lecari.co.uk/2020/04/book-review-the-search-party-by-simon-lelic/ (goes live at 6am on 18/04/2020) and on Goodreads. I will also post on Amazon UK when able (currently it is not able to be reviewed).

Sadie has disappeared, the police are searching for her, but her 5 friends don’t believe they are looking in the right place. So they form their own search party and head into the woods....and that’s when it all goes wrong. Told from the perspective of Sadie’s 5 friends and a police officer, this book reveals events bit by bit through the eyes of Sadie’s friends and a cop who has trying to get to the truth. I liked this book and liked the idea of revealing what really happened slowly through the recounting of the 5 different voices. However, these 5 voices could be hard to follow at times as each seemed to have something to hide and it was difficult to keep up with what was being said with the snippets of truth that were being revealed. However, the last third of the book really grabbed my attention and I raced to find out what really happened. An interesting twist at the end brought the book to a dramatic conclusion.

I'm afraid this novel's style of prose didn't work for me. I would politely suggest it is more of a young adult genre, as the language flits from one teenager to the other, and it is in such a fashion that it is difficult to decipher when the switch occurs.

I'm sure if this is the style you gravitate toward, it is very good. I did try awfully hard over many days to get engrossed, but a quarter of the way through, it didn't capture my interest and I found it hard work. After a week or so, I gave up and jumped to the end to at least be excited by the whodunit, but sadly it was anything other than thrilling.

I have learned I must stay with the genre that keeps me engaged, psychological thrillers.

Enjoyed this thriller and I’ve never read one from the perspective of a search party before which made it stand out.

The writing is a bit stilted which slightly prevents engagement but otherwise enjoyable.

In The Search Party, a group of five join together to look for their friend Sadie, who has been missing for a week. They suspect the police are looking in the wrong place, but as they venture further into the woods, they start to become desperate. Friendships unravel and they begin to suspect one another of being involved.

The story is narrated using police interviews of the friends, and also follows lead investigator, DI Fleet, who has his own past involving the town to come to terms with.

To begin with the positives, this book is very readable! I spent only a day reading it. It’s fast paced and has a good deal of twists and turns to keep you reading. The use of police interviews to drive the narrative was also well utilised.

In some parts I was unable to suspend disbelief, for example all five friends seemed to have eidetic memory, being able to relay exactly what others said or did whilst they were stumbling through the woods. There were also some decisions that some of the characters made that didn’t seem to make much logical sense.

This novel is set in the aftermath of the disappearance of 16 year old Sadie Saunders; her close friends are determined to find out what happened to her, and set out as a search party. Among the group is Mason, who the townsfolk have already decided is responsible for her murder. The group fragments and falls apart during the search as suspicions and rivalries come to the fore. The actual hunt and back story is very interesting and engrossing. Even though the ending failed to convince me, I would still recommend this as a real page-turner.

First time author for me and an Interesting premise that reads for me more like YA fiction? Doesn’t really get going enough for me but I appreciate that’s it a well written and well plotted mystery with all the twists and suspense that makes me predict this book will do very well. Just didn’t quite do it for me

Lies are lurking all around the investigation into the disappearance of a teenager. Her friends are at the epicentre of the truth but they are holding out on each other and the police. The evidence doesn’t quite add up for DI Fleet but despite being hampered by the locals and his superiors, he’s determined to find Sadie.

This was a very easy novel to get wrapped up in as the pacing was perfect. The change in point of view lured me further into the mystery and kept me truly absorbed in the deception of the search party. There were a few surprises along the way that I enjoyed and overall, I found it an enthralling read.

This was my first book by this author & I'm still not sure what to make of it. Don't get me wrong I love a good psychological thriller, but this just didn't hold my attention like it should have. I found myself struggling with the first half of the book & I'll admit I almost gave up...but the second half I couldn't put it down & didn't stop till I'd finished. I will be trying more works by this author. Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Brilliant plot twister, when Sadie disappears all of her school friends are suspects and when someone dies while they're out there looking for her, things get even more tense.

Fantastic murder mystery which kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the last page

Wow! What a roller coaster of a book. I couldn’t put this one down. Drawn into a forest with a bunch of friends who are searching for a missing friend. Is she dead or has she run away? They all appear to have reasons to both love and hate this friend and anyone of them could have been the cause of her disappearance.
It was just so easy to read and I found it so enthralling, that I now have no fingernails! If you only read one book this month, let it be this one. You will not be disappointed.

A gripping YA whodunnit that kept me guessing until the end. I loved Simon Lelic's books about the Haven and this one doesn't disappoint either. Definitely worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
I have read previous publications by this author which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
If I'm being honest then this is not my favourite of his publications.
A real who done it and maybe it's just my feeling but I never really thought that the story got going.
Background is a group of teenagers searching for one of their friends who has gone missing in the woods.
Don't regret having read it, but for me it's a three star publication.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is not my usual genre, therefore am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Brilliant! I loved the premise - a group of teenagers going out to look for their missing friend and discovering the truth about her disappearance. Each of them falls under suspicion and it soon turns out they all have something to hide. I liked the narratives and believed in the characters. I thought I knew where it was heading but the twist at the end took me by surprise which is always a bonus.

This was a great read , dark and a great study of teenagers and life . Hopes and fears and emotions all tied in . Darkly atmospheric at times this made me hold my breath with anticipation.

Simon Lelic delivers a deliciously dark, taut and unnerving novel in The Search Party. You won’t want to put it down until you know what exactly has happened to Sadie and what her friends have done...

After Sadie Saunders goes missing, Detective Inspector Rob Fleet and his team are sent in to investigate. They question Sadie’s group of friends, who then decide to form their own search party and head off into the local woods to try and find out the truth. However, everything may not be as it seems...

The Search Party is a gripping thriller that has more twists and turns than the river at the heart of its landscape! I was immediately drawn into the plot and all of the primary characters, particularly due to the style of storytelling that Lelic has adopted. There are chapters dedicated to Fleet and the investigation that are told in a traditional style, but each of the children’s stories from the search party are told in first person as if they are recordings from their police interviews. I found this style really engaging and I felt I got to know each of them well. Of course there were plenty of red herrings and misdirection, but each character’s unique voice was really well presented and these chapters built the tension and slowly revealed the plot in a terrific way.

DI Fleet is a great character too and his backstory fleshes out proceedings nicely. I really connected with him and enjoyed discovering about his past and his link to the town. The subtle echoes of his sister’s tragedy in the current case sent me on another possible path when trying to figure out what was going on, so the chapters dedicated to Fleet worked well to keep suspense going and theories developing.

This novel is very well written, clever and - not surprisingly - I did not see the big reveal at the end coming. The final chapters of the novel are fraught with tension and the narrative comes to an exhilarating crescendo. As well as the action and suspense, there’s a very human and affecting story at the heart of this mystery that remains with the reader after turning the final page.

This is a stellar thriller and I highly recommend it!

I couldn’t put this book down once I started as I wanted to know what had happened to Sadie and who was responsible! This kept me guessing until the very end and the ending did not disappoint!