I found this to be an 'OK' 2* read. It begins well, with 6 friends who travel to a remote Scottish island to celebrate the hen party of a friend. Then, there are secrets and boy! There are many secrets - you need to have a pen and paper handy as I just couldn't keep track of all the characters and their back stories. I just struggled completely although there were elements that made me want to try - hence the 2 rather than 1 star.

All in all - an OK beach read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the opportunity to preview.

This was a very intriguing book to read. A group of women goes away together to a Scottish Island for a hen party weekend. This is not a close bunch of women and some don't know everyone.

The author introduces each of the women and the story is told from their individual perspectives. This makes for a faster-paced story as there is a constant interchanging of characters. When the women first meet up there is some tension, but the bride-to-be, Jen, is hoping that things will settle and any past animosities can be put behind them.

For a while, yes the women seem to hold it together, but then the cocktails soon alter the balance. Oh! and a dead body in the kitchen doesn't help nor does the delivery of an email to each of them.

I really enjoyed the mystery of this story, yes there is a body, but this isn't the main story. The story is about the women themselves, the email mentions there being one of the group that isn't exactly who they say they are. This is actually quite clever, as the synopsis mentions, everyone has a secret!

Having secrets and trying to keep them, or letting out as much as you dare is one thing, but when they impact those around you as they do in this story, then you need to re-evaluate. I liked how everyone becomes a suspect and while most of the group let some snippets out, not all do. There are some who have a grudge from when they were teens, others have a point to prove and some are definitely not what they appear. This adds to the suspense and the tense energy that surrounds the group.

While this is a crime story as such, I felt it was more of a mystery thriller and the author does gradually bring out the mysteries and secrets of each person. There is also the main question of who actually is responsible for the initial crime and who is the focus of the revenge.

This is a story that keeps twisting the more you read. I do admit that I did work out the who, but that was much later in the book. Up until that point I was flittering between characters and changing my mind.

This really was a fab story, it is addictive, and I do like the locked room feel of the island setting. This is one that like a story with multiple characters and perspectives, has a tense atmosphere and is a riveting read. It is one I would definitely recommend.

First I’ve read from this author. I enjoyed the storyline. A story of friendships, secrets and lies. A group of women on a hen weekend on a remote island. All of them have secrets and past that intertwine. The story is told in the perspective of each women with flashbacks to the past to help understand what’s happening in the present. It is slow paced but there are some clever twists and turns and the pace quickens towards the end. It’s a decent read and recommend sticking with it.
Thanks to #NetGallery #LittleBrownBookGroup #ChrisBrookmyre for a arc of #TheCliffHouse in exchange for an honest review. Publication Date: 28 Jul 2022

A group of women head to a remote Scottish island for a lavish hen do. But when someone turns up dead, the question of ‘who dunnit’ only stirs up the secrets surrounding each of them. Jen’s friends include a pop star who dumped her former bandmate for stardom, and the dumpee. Her former sister-in-law, still questioning her brother’s strange disappearance, and the soon to be new sister-in-law. Is anyone quite what they seem?

As the text message arrives telling them that one must spill their darkest secret if any are to escape, the group turns on itself hoping that anyone but themselves is the target. But secrets have a way of getting out…

While far from perfect, there was such readability about this book which kept me guessing the whole way through. In fact, I made the ill-advised decision to read the second half in one go, which resulted into staying up til 1am – and a very tired me the next day!

The author has a real skill in eking out the reveals and maintaining the reader’s interest. Little mysteries are solved, while bigger ones come to light. None of the characters are exempt, and we’re left wondering which of the dark secrets has set off this nightmarish situation.

The setting is a little cliched, but well drawn. A remote Scottish island with a luxury manor house, retreat for the rich and famous craving some privacy. I wasn’t entirely keen on one character being a famous pop starlet, but she does make a lot of the set-up make sense. It’s rather less obvious why Jen would have invited some of these people, though, but all of these kinds of thoughts are minor as the pace pushes relentlessly on.

The ending turns out to be very satisfactory, while not earth-shattering – perhaps some of the other revelations take away a little of the final punch, although there are some real shockers in the group’s secrets. Overall good, though, and the process of getting there was thoroughly enjoyable.

Great book!

Set on a remote scottish island and friends with secrets.

This has great characters, twists and turns and a few surprises.

I will be looking out for more Christopher Brookmyre books!

This is an entertaining thriller with a lot of secrets. It started off slow, but really peaked in the middle. It was very cleverly written. Loved reading about the characters and finding out all about their secrets. I’ve never read any of Cliff Brookmyre’s books, but it won’t be my last.

Jen and her friends head to a island off the coast of Scotland for her hen weekend. All is going well, until they find that there drunken friend has disappeared. Everyone has a secret, but with these friends, some are bad.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy for an honest review.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this thriller, twisting and turning throughout the different characters pasts and presents, to figure out who was behind the Reaper. I loved the setting of a remote island in Scotland, and found it creepy and spooky. A really good thriller ans would definitely recommend!

a great setting on a small remote Scottish island with a healthy array of characters. This book is full of suspence and has a great range of characters, i loved all the background stories and the twists and turns. this is a book where you can predict what will happen full of surprises

I found the start of this book very very slow. With so many characters, it was hard to get my head around them all and remember each ones back story and how they were all connected.
It only started to pick up about half way through but then I had half guessed the culprit which makes it less exciting.
Unfortunately I found the whole book very unbelievable, characters quite unlikeable and only really found the final 20/30% interesting.
I would only rate this 3 stars unfortunately, too many characters and info, not enough action and thrill.
#NetGalley #TheCliffHouse

I became heartily fed up with The Cliff House and eventually bailed out, I’m afraid. I have very much enjoyed Chris Brookmyre’s Jack Parlabane series, but I haven’t got on nearly so well with his other work and this was no exception. To be fair, it’s not a genre I’m normally keen on but I tried it because it’s Brookmyre. That was a mistake.

The whole thing felt pretty stale from the start to be honest; a party in a cut-off island location where several people have “history” and the organiser is worried about how everyone will get on...seriously? Again? And then the first part of the book seemed to go on forever as each person arrived and we very slowly learned a bit more about them, their relationship to the others and that each one has a Dark Secret and is worried about That Thing They Did being exposed – without, of course, telling us what the Secret or the Thing is. I got to the eye-rolling stage fairly early on in the book – and it got worse as absurdities and clichéd situations mounted up, so I was muttering “for heaven’s sake” (I paraphrase) pretty regularly until eventually I gave up because life was too short.

I’m sorry to be so critical. The prose is good and others who enjoy this genre may well like the book, but for me it was just a string of stale, implausible characters and situations. I hope that Brookmyre will hive us another Parlabane book, but it seems that his other fiction is really not for me.

(My thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC via NetGalley.)

Although I tend to categorise myself as someone who doesn’t really like murder mystery, I do like some of them. Brookmyre is an exception, along with Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie stories. I tend to like good characters and engaging narratives rather than seeking out the murder/thriller/crime genre label.

I’ve previously read a few of his Jack Parlabane novels, finding them to be fun and well written, and this one is no exception.

A hen do on a private, luxury island in celebration of Jen and her younger, handsome husband. A group of women who all have reason to be there and reason to bear grudges either for Jen or for someone else in the group. It might not be subtle, but it is enjoyable to see the story unravel around the women as they join forces (or not) against an unseen enemy (or not) on a remote island where they only have each other to trust for survival (or not).

The references to the nineties playlist and the band that a few of the women were in were spot on, and I found myself wishing I could listen to Cassidy while I was reading along. It sounds like Elastica crossed with Republica - very fitting.

Although the characters were almost all women, I found that Brookmyre manages to write them all well - richly illustrated, well rounded and most importantly, they all had their own voices. I didn’t get mixed up over who was speaking, which is remarkable really as it’s easy to do.

I also felt connected to them all - their reasons for being there, whether for good or bad intentions, made sense and were human and believable. No-one escapes scrutiny either and it’s fun to go round all of the characters to work out who the villain(s) are. No spoilers!

There were definitely some tense scenes and some violent action too, enough to make me keep the lamp on for slightly longer and make sure I read something else just before bed, in some chapters.

Recommended for fans of ‘Tartan Noir’, Lucy Foley and BritPop - this is available from 28th July 2022. Thanks to Netgalley and to Little Brown for the advanced digital review copy, as always!

I found this to be a bit of a slow starter but once the characters where established and the story started to unfold I found it difficult to put down.
Seven guests at a hen party on a remote Scottish island, the fun is just starting when the first body turns up, one has been taken captive and they realize that they are totally cut off from the outside world. The narrative is full of twists and reveals with a satisfying twist at the end. All in all a very enjoyable read.

A fun and original take on the secluded location thriller with a (mostly) female cast. The intrigue is built throughout the narration as the secrets of the hen party members are revealed. A clever and enjoyable novel.
Thanks toNetgally and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Really enjoyed this one and how intertwined all of the secrets were.

This book is a psychological thriller about a group of friends all of whom have secrets they wish to keep hidden from one another. Jen, a forty something successful business woman has invited her friends to a short break for her hen party on a remote Scottish Island staying in a luxurious Manor House. The only other people there are the Chef who will cater for them and Lauren who owns the property but lives in a separate apartment. Within hours of arriving and being served cocktails things begin to go awry in a most unpleasant manner. Jen’s future sister in law Samira goes missing and it soon becomes clear she is being held hostage. The women begin to receive phone messages with demands in return for Samira’s safe return. The story is character led and we get to know the secrets they wish to keep to themselves.
I found the plot slow in the beginning but it picked up pace about quarter of way in. Although the characters are well drawn I found none of them particularly likeable. The book was well written with quite a few twists and turns, although I had to suspend belief in some parts, but overall a very enjoyable book
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in return for my opinion

Fantastic journey,all girls go to an island for a hen night and histories unravel on said Holiday island with bad results.

Quite different from previous books I’ve read from this author but still very enjoyable. To be honest I’ve read a few books recently with broadly the same outline plot however, whereas the others had bodies mounting up almost daily, this one concentrates more on the psychological aspect of thinking you are going to be next!

Briefly, Jen has organised a hen party for 7 people on a remote Scottish island. They have been delivered by helicopter and won’t be collected for a few days. In the middle of a drunken first night one of them vanished and then a dead body is found. At the same time they receive a video call threatening retribution to one of them. As each of the girls holds a terrible secret chaos ensues whilst they try to work out what is happening whilst time is running out for one of them.

With multiple threads it was a feat in itself to get them to all knit together so seamlessly, but they did. A terribly clever thriller typical of the author as the secrets are revealed one by one with a shocking ending that I was not expecting. Brilliant ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this book. I thought it scary, page tuning and interesting. A lot of characters to get my head around and got a little confused in some places but glad I kept with it as it was a very good read.

Jen has rented an amazing venue for her hen party. A fantastic house on an island. Once the helicopter leaves they are on their own for 72 hours.
There are seven guests including Jen and they all have their secrets.
A member of staff is found murdered and then one of their party goes missing.
Who's secret will be the one to allow her release?

A classic set up of a group of women having a party on an isolated island when a murder starts a group meltdown. Chris Brookmyre handles the scenario deftly and manages to still make it feel fresh and interesting.
Everyone has a secret that is revealed; there is threat and a ticking clock keeping the suspense going; there are twists, red herring suppositions and a satisfying ending.
The geography of a remote Scottish island is well explored and feels part of the plot rather than just a setting to isolate characters.
The characters themselves are given time to develop and the interaction builds a backstory for them all that supports the narrative.
A grounded, gripping page-turner that keeps the reader second guessing the truth.