THE HUNTING PARTY by Lucy Foley

Shades of Agatha Christie immediately come to mind with a group of old friends stuck together in one place, with one of them turning up dead. This is definitely a sit down in one place and binge read kind of book. So many mysteries and secrets that in true Christie fashion are gradually revealed, leaving everyone wide open and vulnerable. 

It is New Year's Eve weekend. Emma is the person in charge of organising the annual weekend away of four couples, now in their late 20s, who have been friends since university days. Emma has chosen a hunting lodge in the highlands of Scotland, and armed with champagne, illicit drugs and gourmet food they descend on the idyllic property for a few days of R and R under the watchful eyes of gamekeeper Doug and manager Heather, both with their own interesting back stories. Oh, and let's not forget the two random Icelandic hikers who have somehow ended up at the lodge too. 

 By New Year's Day one of these people is dead, but we don't even find out who that is until 2/3 of the way through the story. A bad snow storm isolates the hunting lodge from the outside world, which means that one of the aforementioned people is also the murderer. Imagine that, being stuck in the middle of nowhere, knowing there is a murderer in your midst. Old secrets begin to emerge, betrayals, jealousies and pettiness. The chapters are narrated in turn by Doug, Heather, Emma, and two of the other women in the group Miranda and Katie. The husbands/boyfriends feature of course in the story, but never actually have the story told from their point of view. 

The style of storytelling is exceptionally well done, the isolation and claustrophobia of being powerless adding tension and bit of paranoia to the characters and tone of the story. The environment is spectacularly described and detailed by the writer, contributing to the atmosphere of danger and powerlessness.