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 am always intrigued by stories that follow an adult friend group that is trying to stay connected. This group is getting together for a weekend in a more emote location for the weekend and things go expectedly poorly.

I found that it took me a long time to get into this one because there were so many POVs and I didn’t find the writing to be very clear between past and present. There was never a distinction and it all ran together as the story unfolded so I found it kept getting pulled out of the story as I was either trying to remember who the character the chapter was about or doing checking the timeline.

A lot of the twists were predictable but I also found by the end I was invested and quit enjoyed the story overall.

4.5 Stars! With a full cast of characters and a lot of POVs I was a little confused for the first bit of this novel but the author does a great job at giving everyone their own unique voices which set them apart. After the first quarter of the book, I was hooked! I enjoyed all the POVs (even the kids 😂), and was genuinely interested in their drama. I really liked the way you got to see the same events from multiple, very different perspectives. It gave me a sort of fly on the wall experience while still never being sure who was actually telling the truth.

The author utilizes two timelines in a really interesting way, with a past-present tense as characters are answering an investigators questions after the crazy events of the past weekend. I felt this added a lot to the slowly building suspense, as I knew (or thought I might know) the fate of some characters right from the get go. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen, making guesses along the way and reveling in the breakdown of the weekend getaway and the relationships within.

The writing was also really good as a whole. The setting was vivid and captivating and the relationships between our old college friends were well built and realistic.

While this is a locked room mystery, it doesn't follow all the typical plot points and pacing. It felt fresh and fun, with a good combination of mystery, suspense, and family drama. The author was able to do something different here that I greatly appreciated.


Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for providing me with this ARC.

I love a good reunion centered plot and this one is just that. However, because of the number of POVs and dual timelines, this one takes a lot of concentration to keep everything straight and that in turn slowed the pacing way down. Glad I read it but won’t be the first book I recommend

Intricate, ominous, and tight!

The Search Party is an engrossing, eerie thriller that delves into the complex bonds that exist between friends and family members and reminds us that behind all those happy, smiling faces often lies an abundance of escalating tension, simmering resentments, and devastating secrets.

The writing is taut and edgy. The characters are secretive, multilayered, and anxious. And the plot, told from alternating perspectives and using before and after timelines, is a sinister tale full of twists, turns, familial drama, secrets, lies, deception, infidelity, relationship dynamics, parenthood, reckless behaviour, swirling emotions, red herrings, vengeance, and murder.

Overall, The Search Party is a suspenseful, atmospheric, exceptionally clever tale by Richell that highlights everything is not always as it appears and is definitely one of the most gripping page-turners I’ve read in a while.

A closed circle mystery meets reunion mystery, as friends from college and their families get together on the Cornish coast on a glamping getaway, only to find themselves secluded and separated when the weather takes a turn.

When one of the party goes missing, secrets unfold and danger lurks behind every corner.

This book kept me entertained and I had no idea how it was going to end! Not my usual genre but couldn't put it down!

Thanks to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and the Author for an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Synopsis: Max and Annie Kingsley have given up their jobs in London and along with their twelve-year old adopted son Kip, have moved to Cornwall where they are opening a glamping business. To ensure a successful start to their new business, they hold a “trial run weekend” for three old university friends and their families but things don’t go according to plan. Kip, who they adopted when he was middle-school age, had been through tremendous trauma with his birth parents before he was taken into protective care and he is still suffering the effects. He has a hard time expressing emotions and words and doesn’t naturally fit in with other kids his own age. It doesn’t take long after all the parties arrive that the reader discovers that there are some that don’t want to be part of this reunion weekend, another has a secret that she has been keeping to herself, and Kip has an altercation with one of the guests. On top of that a violent storm cuts the power and one of the group disappears.

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading this. I was invested in the storyline and was interested hearing the story from the different points of view of the guests. Just like in every group, there has to be a jackass and there certainly was in this story but it added to the tension and uncertainty of how the story was going to unravel. I gave this book 4/5 stars – would certainly recommend picking this one up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for a review copy of this book. I will post on social media and Amazon on the publication date.

I really liked this one! It was about a group of friends staying at a "glamping " site out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by water and cliffs. Throw in a horrible storm and what could possibly go wrong? Not to mention that there is a large cast of characters who, even though they are friends, all seem to have something to hide. Everything is certainly not as peachy as it seems and with a group of adults and all of their children, it's basically a recipe for disaster. When one of the children goes missing, the stress of the situation brings things to light and there's a lot going on in the story.

It took me a while to figure out the characters at first, just because there were so many. But once the story got going, it was easier to keep track. I read this one pretty quickly because of the fast pace. There was a twist near the end but it wasn't mind blowing. I found the story really entertaining, but at the same time, it wasn't unique. Overall though, a great read that I would recommend. Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for my review copy. Pub date is January 16th.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This is a sold 3.5 rating, really having a hard time rounding down, but I don’t think it’s quite a 4.

Five old friends and their kids. One glamping weekend. And a storm that will change everything.

There are a lot of characters in this book. But I’m glad the author had a list at the beginning to help sort them out, it definitely helped. And I also enjoyed the map of the property.

There are secrets amongst the friends, drama between the couples and you have no idea who is coming out alive.

I felt like this booking was missing something. I can’t quite put my finger on it though. It did have some suspense, and the twists, however I think it needed something more to make me love it.




Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for a DRC. The Search Party is available January 16.

Glamping is the perfect experience for folks who want to experience the great outdoors without actually, you know, experiencing the great outdoors. It’s a sort of a great-outdoors-lite experience.

Max, Annie, and their 12-year-old son left London for Cornwall. They are preparing to open a glamping site, the Wildernest. This is the perfect time to invite their long-time friends for a reunion.

What’s the worst that could happen?

A lot, actually. A storm sets in. Someone goes missing. Tensions rise and eventually explode.

Some friendships are held together by the thinnest of threads. These are the friendships that probably shouldn’t be put out in the woods to be tested. Then again, maybe these are exactly the type of friendships that need to be tested.

Everyone has secrets. How these secrets interact with or include others can be recipes for disaster. This reunion in the beautiful great-outdoors-lite is nothing short of disastrous. What should have been a fun and relaxing get-together has resulted in the other two of our three timelines in the novel.

We weave between the “what happened” timeline, where we follow the events of the should-have-been-great reunion. Then, the hospital room where we try to piece together events in the aftermath. And finally, the police investigation that leaves us with more questions than answers.

There is a whodunnit atmosphere enveloping this thriller. But before we know whodunnit the reader has to learn what was done and who it was done to.

With characters that are familiar or relatable enough to either be us or be someone we know, we are teased along these three narratives at just the right place to keep us wanting more.

So, dear reader, our glamping bag is packed and ready to go. Its contents include secrets, big and small, a missing person, someone in the hospital, police asking vague or uncomfortable questions, a body found at the bottom of a cliff, and an almost magical singing sound that can be heard coming from the water.

Be sure to bring your friends on this relaxing getaway, what's the worst that could happen?

This book contained some of my favorite tropes: a remote location, extreme weather, and a locked room mystery full of unexpected twists!

I had a really great time joining the six old friends that reunited on a bank holiday for a weekend of "glamping". Each family unit had their own set of issues and no character was without flaw. When one of the children go missing and a surprise storm descends upon them, it causes each of them to reach their breaking points.

The author did a fantastic job of weaving between past and present and the I loved how the pacing steadily increased with the approaching storm.. This was my first read by Hannah Richell and I will definitely be checking out her backlist!

***Electronic ARC received with thanks from NetGalley and the publisher***

This book hooked me right from the start! Hannah created an incredibly cinematic book that brought me right into the setting.

I devoured this in one sitting! I can’t wait to read more by her

A secluded camping site, a storm, and strained friendships - what could go wrong?

Annie and Max invite their group of friends and their family for a weekend getaway at their new “glamping” real estate endeavour before it opens to the public. Threatening emotions and storms seem sure to ruin what should be an idyllic getaway.

I thought the locked room aspect was fun but thought the two timelines weren’t executed well. There was a lot of present tense being used while characters were telling their story to the DI, making the reader keep forgetting what timeline they're in.

There was definitely a lot of drama, intrigue and red herrings that were well done. You never quite know what is about to happen. With that said, I didn’t feel super compelled by the story or characters. It’s a decent thriller but I feel like this plot has been done better before.

The Search Party – Hannah Richell

Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024

Thank you @netgalley and @simonschusterca for this eARC.

The Search Party is about a group of old friends who come together for a weekend glamping trip. Dark secrets, a powerful storm, and the treacherous Cornish coastal landscape come together to add an element of suspense to the novel.

Narrated through multiple POVs as well as shifts between the present and the past (not too smooth, I felt, but good, nonetheless), the book managed me to keep me engrossed throughout. You never really get to know what happened until around the 75 per cent mark.

I was initially bothered by the fact that there were too many characters (8-9 POVs plus other characters) to keep track of. While it was a little difficult to keep up with in the beginning, I think it helped in adding to the confusion around what’s going on. And then, towards the end, much like the storm passing, the characters made sense to me, I connected with them to some extent…and the happenings of the weekend came to light.

Apart from taking a deeper look at relationships and friendships that have seemingly held the test of time, the novel talks about parenthood, particularly motherhood, from different angles. It served to add some depth to the narrative and I found it interesting. It’s not always that you get to read something thought-provoking in a suspenseful thriller.
While the identity of the “culprit” and their potential reason was quite predictable (I guessed it right at the beginning), the structure and the writing are what made this novel enjoyable.

Pick The Search Party for its engaging writing and suspense-building!

4/5

This was a pretty decent read. I wouldn’t say I was completely hooked on it but it did hold my interest. The format of alternating points of view and the timeline flipping back and forth throughout the weekend keeps you guessing at the chain of events.

The twists and turns towards the end were pretty good and there was plenty of suspense built up by then. I think what kept me from eating this higher is that I didn’t feel overly invested in any of the characters' lives. It was an interesting story but it didn’t have a deep impact on me.

This is such a great read I enjoyed the story and could not have been more pleased with how This book was

The Search Party by Hannah Richell is a feisty, twisty and turny mystery which takes place at an idyllic countryside glamping campsite. The owners and their son left the city behind on their new glamping venture and are eager to do a practice run before opening to the public. The amenities are lovely and there is no internet. However, nothing is as it seems.

Max and Annie invite three university friends and their families to their camp who show up with a range of kids aged five months to sixteen years. The motley crew of so-called friends contributes tension, especially when mixed with teenage angst, childhood trauma and layer upon layer of secrets. Talk about an eruption of drama and atmosphere! When a child goes missing, the camp is in upheaval. But there are so many other subplots to bite into as well.

In my view this is less of a locked-room mystery and more the flavour of domestic drama suspense. Regardless, my time with this fast-paced novel was very enjoyable. The police interrogations intermingled with multiple narratives were seamlessly written.

My sincere thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this enthralling novel.

I was intrigued by the book initially because the cover looks so ominous. Then the synopsis sounded really interesting with the locked room comparison and I liked that some of the characters moved from the city to futile their dream about having a glamping site.
Fast forward to me reading book, The Search Party had big promises but didn’t really reach its full potential for me. I didn’t get the locked room feeling at all since the story takes place in the wide open with beach/ ocean on one side, a farm and cow pasture on the other. The glamping site was barely touched on, just that they are doing it and waiting on permits and there’s a hermit neighbour who doesn’t want it to happen. They was no description of the sites at all, more stuff got added at the end that we weren’t aware of at the beginning (engine house). So the atmosphere didn’t do it for me I needed more.
As far as characters, there were about 25 people (exaggeration but close) we had to try and keep track of and remember who belonged to who as there were wives, husbands and kids. But then each family kind of had their own side stories going. In but you needed to remember who’s story was whose. The saving grace was each chapter had the character’s name. There was just too much going on that didn’t necessarily add anything to the story.
The twists were okay. There were numerous ones that kept being unravelled, which again some didn’t actually add anything to the story. In two instances I thought a different person was the person responsible for what happened then the actual person which was good. The very ending I didn’t expect but just goes to show family over everything.
I’m not too sure if I would recommend this book, it would be a lot for most people.
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Search Party by Hannah Richell Is a closed circle mystery about a group of friends who gather together with their families to enjoy a weekend of glamping. Soon after they arrive, they are cut off from civilization when a severe storm rolls in. Not only that, but one of the children goes missing.

I wasn't sure what to make of this story in the beginning. After the first chapter or two I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it, but it soon drew me in.

There is quite a large cast of characters in this book and we get to read from the point of view of quite a number of them, so for some people it may be a struggle to keep track of which pint of view you're currently reading. I did like that there is a list of characters at the front, as well as a map for reference, so if you forget who's who, you can easily check without too much trouble.

I found The Search Party to be relatively fast paced, and the author was good at keeping the suspense high. So many of the clues were ambiguous, it kept me guessing until almost the very end.

The one thing I found weird was that while a couple of the children were very involved in the story, the children of one couple were pretty much never mentioned after the first few chapters. I know there were a lot of characters, but I kept forgetting they even had children there was so little about them.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for other thriller lovers who like to be kept guessing.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

In the short prolog, the girl stands at the edge of the cliff and is encourage to jump. She sees no other way to escape from it all. So she jumps.

It was supposed to be a great weekend with three families whose friendships have lasted twenty years. Max and Annie opened a campsite in wild Cornwall. They invited their friends, but no one expected that the weekend would end tragically.

I was fully invested in the complex plot, which kept changing my predictions. I didn’t know who the victim was until halfway through the book, but then when it was revealed, another incident occurred and I was back to ground zero with my scenarios and speculations.

The timeline switched seamlessly between the day of the accident and the day of the police interrogation. During that time many secrets were revealed and the story became even more mysterious and complicated.

This was definitely a quick and enjoyable read, with lots of twists and turns.