A Cornish glamping site (with hot tub) is the main setting for TV reality 'star' Dominic's family and their friends - sixteen people spread amongst the families.. Apparently to celebrate May Day

It didn't take long for some bickering amongst two of the families and tensions are simmering. People go missing, lots of violence all being investigated by the local detective.

The story is told in multiple timelines of which I am not a big fan plus there is narration from many perspectives. Luckily, the author has set out the many characters really well and I am glad I stuck with it.

Thanks to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster UK for the chance to read and review.

Not my usual choice of book, but having been offered it by Net galley, thought I’d give it a shot. Thoroughly enjoyed it, great characters, exciting plot.

I couldn’t put this book down! Basic premise is that five friends from university have a reunion about twenty years after graduation. Of the five friends, Max and Annie, got married and are hosting the reunion at their glamping site on the coast in Cornwall. The site is not yet formally opened but this is their new venture after escaping city life. They have a son, Kip, who is now 12 but was adopted at age 6 after a lot of abuse in his early life leading to many issues for him which give rise to challenging behaviour.

The other friends, Jim, Dominic and Kira come for a long weekend with their spouses/partners and various children. There are quite a few characters to keep track of but there is a useful list at the beginning which is worth bookmarking.

The planned reunion weekend soon turns ugly on the first night after an unpleasant spat between Kip and six year old Phoebe, daughter of Dominic and Tanya. Tanya is Dominic’s second wife and is not overly impressed with the whole set up as she prefers designer clothes and turns up in white jeans. Dominic is now well known as the pithy host of a reality TV show where he ‘tells it as it is’ to contestants.

Events take an even more sinister turn the next day and the reader learns of what has happened in a series of interviews with police interspersed by flashbacks to the weekend’s dramas. This is very well done and it was always clear to me where we were in the Friday-Monday timespan the book covers . I had a few theories as to who was good and who was bad but was still surprised by the ending.

This was a well-written and well-crafted novel. I am delighted to see that author, Hannah Richell, has other books which I shall look forward to as well as any future works of hers.

With thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - as soon as I started it, I knew it was going to be good. it was well written and kept up a good pace throughout with an interesting twist towards the end and a decent ending.

Architects Max and Annie sold their London home and moved their life to the Cornwall coast, along with their adopted son Kip. They wanted to give him a better life, as he had a troubled beginning. They bought a run down farm, and renovated it to open up a remote glamping holiday location. To test their new business, and to celebrate their long running friendship, they invite their old friends down for a weekend. Three other families come down, Kira and her boyfriend Fred and their new baby, free living Jim and Suzie and their three children, and TV star Dom, his daughter, and his glam second wife, who thinks camping - or glamping - is simply hell.

The friends have known one another for twenty years, and make an effort to meet at least once a year. This setting is beautiful, glamping tents with a fabulous campfire to meet around, hot tub, comfortable camp beds. Lots of time to eat, drink and catch up, and let the children play and enjoy nature. A perfect weekend. Until it all goes wrong. There is an argument, a fight, angry voices, fists raised, and words said that can’t be taken back. Then they realise someone is missing and someone found covered in blood, looking suspicious. Twenty years of friendship quickly starts to fall apart, and suspicions fly fast. There is no phone signal, a storm is raging and no help is coming.

This story is told from multiple people's perspectives, and also at different timelines. The story unravels as it progresses, and we start to see what each person thinks and really feels. The friendship we get told about so much at the start starts to look doubtful. Is it just a habit that these people still talk and meet up? Do they actually still like one another? And how many secrets are they all hiding from one another? We know quite early on into the story that there is tragedy, but the story teases us along and keeps tricking us into thinking we are going one route to solving the mystery, when another curve ball is thrown at us. The dynamic of the group is irrevocably changed forever in this event, and we feel the tension and drama in the writing.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but Richell does a good job of setting the story up at the start, with the opening scene, giving us a good opportunity to get to know them all. The pace of the story is a little slow at the start because we are getting to know everyone, but once the drama starts it tips along really nicely, and keeps you guessing. For a whodunit novel in the murder mystery category this was a great page turner that will keep you satisfyingly entertained.

*I received this copy from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

Well this book is full of surprises. A group of friends journey to Cornwall to spend the weekend glamping with a couple that has moved here from London.Secrets start to unravel and friendships that have lasted twenty years are at risk of breaking down. A very enjoyable read, very well written that will keep you guessing as to what has happened right up to the last pages. Recommended.

I needed a book to get me out of my book slump this month and this ARC hit all the right spots! Twists, turns and enough drama to rival an episode of Eastenders!! An amazing storyline mixed with amazing descriptions and a cool setting. 10/10 recommend!
Pre-order now! Out Jan 2024

Five long term friends go for a glamping weekend to a site in Cornwall just acquired by one of them, her husband and their adopted son. Kip, the son, has emotional issues from his past which make it difficult for him to fit in. That makes him a suspect as soon as things go wrong. There are all kinds of reasons for the group not to get on which are revealed gradually. One of them is a television star who is also a difficult personality. Then things go wrong as one of the children goes missing when they were meant to be in the care of the men. Various other quirks in their relationships are revealed to whet the reader’s appetite for more. Another interesting character is the employee Josh. Friends going off for a weekend which then goes wrong may not be a novel topic but this one makes the reader want more. It all comes together in a well orchestrated finale. I recommend it.

‘Locked room mysteries’ in beautiful wide-open spaces with a huge cast and multiple points of view seem to be all the rage in the current thriller market, so I was initially undecided about reading another tome that fits into this mould. I was glad I did, though, as The Search party is really rather good.
The ‘wide open space’ in this novel is Cornwall, where four families who are friends meet for a glamping holiday. The cast is extremely contemporary: GP Kira with her boyfriend and their baby in tow; Brighton social workers Max and Annie with their brood; reality TV star Dominic with his wife and their blended family; and finally, the hosts, architects Max and Annie, who own the land that has been turned into the upmarket campsite. The holidaymakers have barely parked their car when the first argument erupts, caused by an incident among the children. A powerful storm cuts the group off from the nearest village, and it is not soon until a person from their midst disappears...
Although the many different threads are complicated to follow (especially as there are so many children on the campsite!), the author does a good job of bringing them towards a satisfying conclusion and of maintaining readerly interest in so many characters, many of whom are unappealing. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for letting me read an advance copy by way of an ARC, gifted in exchange for this book review.

This was such a great little read!

I absolutely loved the pace and the setting of the book! The perfect thriller in my opinion!

Some of the characters I didn't "vibe" with but honestly that just added to the story!

also.. the ending! SO good!

I enjoyed The Search Party by author Hannah Richell. I feel like I have read quite a few of these sort of novels so was a bit dubious to read this novel but it did make for a good read.

There seemed like quite a lot of different characters which confused me somewhat to begin with and I did have to re-read some bits to understand the characters but do not let this put you off.

Annie and Max along with their son have started a new glamping venture and invited some friends to come together for a camping holiday and things do not go as planned.

A storm starts and the next thing a body is found and suspicion is on the campers.

The novel for me, was slower paced but I did keep reading the novel and glad that I did.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 stars from me.

I am such a fan of a thriller where group dynamics get torn apart and truths are outed; and The Search Party has this in abundance.

A group of friends get together at a Cornish glamping retreat to celebrate their friendship and spend some time together. There are 4 families - TV reality star Dominic, his glam second wife and the 3 children they have between them; GP Kira and toyboy Fred with cute baby Asha; youth workers Jim and Suzie who live a free lifestyle down in Brighton (nice choice of names for their children - very Brighton!) and architects Max and Annie who sold up their London home to buy the Cornish farm that they're all staying on along with their adopted son Kip.

The setting is absolutely idyllic, acres of landing, glamorous glamping tents with proper beds, campfires, hot tubs - its all there. But obviously it doesn't stay as perfect as that for long. Even on the first night, there is a falling out between two of the families which threatens to derail the whole weekend.

The story is told in multiple timelines that jump back and forth, so you find out some of the detail of what has been going on but not in a chronological order. It is narrated from multiple perspectives, so you can see what the characters all think of what is going on, their motivations and their feelings about one another and the weekend.

The choppy timeline and the subsequent police investigation keeps the action front and centre. We know quite early on that there's been a tragic accident but we aren't told who it is or what happened at the start. Secrets that have been bubbling under the surface are finally outed, true feelings are vented - it is a weekend that no-one can come back from.

I found it a very enjoyable read; the cast list was just the right size for me to get to grips with without mixing people up too much; the storyline propelled me along and I enjoyed it right up until the last page. Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read the advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and advance review copy of this thriller.

I couldn’t resist the premise of this - set in a glamping site on a Cornish cliff top, a group of university friends are meeting for a reunion. A gang of kids, running wild with some grown up secrets thrown into the mix - someone will meet a sticky end this weekend. But who? And why?

The multiple narrators of the novel soon reveals who isn’t lying at the bottom of the cliff, but the narrative style does still leave you guessing. And, unlike some novels of this genre, the ending is satisfying and ties up all the loose ends.

All in all, a gripping thriller that would be a great holiday read.

A brilliant story where you can really connect with the characters and make your mind up about how they make you feel. Some great shockers included in this.

This book kept me totally hooked especially as the relationships between the couples were so dysfunctional.
A good example of when it comes to the crunch, everybody is out for themselves.
A real twist at the end and a good compelling read.

I was offered an ARC of this book – out in January 2024 – by NetGalley, and though the blurb sounded interesting. I did, however, wonder if I was going to be bored by yet another ‘old friends reunion’ book – but I need not have feared at all!

Firstly I want to say how cleverly constructed this book is, and massive kudos to the author and editor for what must have been a painstaking task to ensure that everything entwined perfectly. I am a massive knob at pointing out plot inconsistencies – and despite this being crazily complicated, I didn’t find any! Before the book starts there is a list of characters which was super helpful to work out which children belonged to which parents etc.

The prologue is a very atmospheric description of a girl standing on a cliff top before jumping off – so you definitely have a idea of where the story is heading.

The book is then told from multiple perspectives – often by way of recounting events to the police. There are various timelines running – from the Friday evening when all of the old friends, and in some cases new partners and children, unite in Cornwall, to the Saturday afternoon when the storm happens, to the Sunday evening when the search is continuing as some of the group are at hospital and finally the Monday morning. I was concerned it would be really complicated and confusing – but it wasn’t at all, but kept the momentum so high as you were desperate for things to be further explained.

Max and Annie and their adopted son Kip have relocated from London to the coast of Cornwall, near St Ives (which I’ve been to recently and was described perfectly by the author) and before they open their glamping site to the public have invited their uni friends and all of their kids to try it out. Dominic is a TV star – and the ‘baddie’ on a TV talent show (in my head he was a hybrid of Simon Cowell and Craig Revel-Horwood and physically looked like Dom Joly!) His two teenagers from his first marriage were with him – along with his second wife Tanya and their 6 year old. Then there were Jim and Suze and their 3 kids, and Kira and her new boyfriend Fred and their baby daughter. So quite a mix of characters and ages, with various connections and histories – and secrets.

All of this then unravels throughout the book – jumping backwards and forwards, giving you little clues as to what is going to happen next, but not enough to work the whole plot out in advance – it’s just brilliant!

Obviously I don’t want to give away any spoilers – but I doubt you would be able to predict it all.

This is by far my favourite of the books I’ve read recently – but you’ll have to wait until January 2024 when it comes out – sorry!

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Multiple storylines but good writing skills means no confusion.
Superb. A well plotted story produces a great read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for this ARC in return for an unbiased and honest review.

I havent read this author before but im so glad I have what an amazing book from start to finish.

There so many twist and turns it keeps u guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for this ARC.

I was really excited to read this book, it sounded so interesting.

The characters were a fantastic mix of personalities. Their individual stories were so well crafted, each one was a pleasure to read about.

The story was a little more drama than mystery for a while but I still enjoyed it.

I'd recommend this book to those who enjoy reading dramas with a little mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher/author for this ARC copy. This would make a great holiday read - follows 5 friends on a holiday but with an added twist of a missing child. The story is told through multiple point of views which I do like in a book.
A well written, engaging story which I would have picked up from the shelf!