A party like no other is what Allegra has planned. She and her friends are sneaking away from their boarding school for the weekend in order to spend their time partying in Allegra’s family castle. Full of excitement for their forthcoming party…but it soon turns into an experience they’ll wish they’d not had.
Sneaking out of school is the easy part. There’s some talk of a group of locals who don’t like the plans Allegra’s father has for redeveloping the castle, but this is something of a diversion.
The group arrive at the castle in high spirits. Unfortunately, on their way there the weather turns and a storm sweeps in. This leaves the group of seven alone in the castle, with rising water blocking off their access to the mainland and heavy winds threatening any attempt they make to leave. You’d think they’d be safe to bunker down and wait the storm out.
That’s the plan. And all is going well until they wake to find one of their party dead. Jai had been injured by falling logs, and it’s feasible that caused her death. Increasingly nervy of the risk posed by the locals the group talk themselves into a heightened sense of anxiety, which seems appropriate as more of their party get picked off in increasingly violent ways.
A slow start, and then things progress at break-neck speed as the numbers are whittled down. It’s hard to get behind our key narrator, and the repetitive nature of the hunt became less effective. However, this was an entertaining read and I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review it before publication.