A spellbinding locked-room mystery about a glamping trip gone horribly wrong when a powerful storm leaves the participants stranded and forced to confront long-held secrets and a shocking disappearance.
Alright – what a ride this one is. Max & Annie invite their friends of 20+ years to visit their new home in Cornwall where they have taken a disused farm and converted it into the perfect glamping experience. You can get back to nature, but also have a shower and relax in a hot tub. It’s the perfect setting for college friends to get together with their respective families and have a fun long weekend together… or so you think.
The story starts at the end and works its way through as our detectives are trying to piece together the fateful events that happen as a large storm hits the coast. As we hear the story from everyone’s perspective, we discover secrets coming to light, undisclosed feelings and lies between the oldest of friends and the realisation that maybe some friendships have an expiration date.
I loved that we don’t quite have all the details and have to discover the clues as we move along in the timeline to figure out what has actually happened.
I felt the way that the character of Kip was managed was quite delicate, but still seemed to hinge on the fact that “quirky” kids must be prone to violence. We have a few other cliches, the typical stepmom with botox, the hippy mom with her yoga clothes and homemade breads and oats, the sullen teenage daughter trying to find cell phone service and the hot farmhand, helping everyone to survive the storm.
All in all it was a great thriller and a fun mystery – would recommend to anyone who likes Lucy Foley and Megan Miranda – similar vibes for sure.
I would like to thank Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy of The Search Party in exchange for my honest review.
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