“Picture a night club…If you’re on the outside, queuing to try to get in, all you can see is a bunch of people having what appears to be a good time. And then you get inside. And for awhile you think you made it. And then you realize in that club is a VIP area, where all the really exciting people are…beyond that is a VVIP area. And even if you manage to get in there you realize…”

Welcome to The Home Group, an exclusive set of clubs with locations all over the world. A place where only the most rich and beautiful people gather. Now a new location is opening, Island Home, an invite most celebs would die to attain, and a club where wannabe’s will once again, clamor to work.

But this is not the story of The Home Group’s latest launch. Rather it’s the behind the scenes story of what went wrong on the now infamous weekend and the sinister events that led up to it. The Club introduces us to a mix of characters- ranging from stockholders and workers, to A-list guests. Each has their own story to tell, chock full of twists and turns at every minted pillow.

While the slow moving story picks up in the second half, there are A LOT of moving parts to keep track of leading up to the big reveals. The Club gives the reader plenty to chew on, but one could argue it’s a bit too much. It was hard to have a favorite character because of this, and because most of them were varying levels of deplorable. If this is what getting behind the elusive velvet rope would really be like, I’d rather stay home-home instead. 😉

I tried reading this a few months ago and got about 60% into this book and realized I didn't know what was going on. I think the setting was creepy and great, and the story line was different and exciting. I just think there were a bit too many different POVs for me to keep track of what was going on. I'm hopefully going to come back to it in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the change to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The grand launch of Island Home is the latest of Ned Groom's exclusive global resorts, catering to the very famous, rich, and elite. Set off the English coast, the resort is accessible by boat, helicopter, or a causeway, when it isn't flooded. Phones are banned, giving the celebrity members complete freedom to do as they wish without any consequence... or so they think. The members and the Home staff have secrets, many of which could destroy lives. As tensions grow and the launch begins, not everyone will make it off this island.

The Club is a well written mystery, filled with manipulative characters and sinister secrets. Who ends up dead actually becomes less engrossing than unveiling the characters' pasts and reasons for being on the island. With a large cast of characters, this novel could have easily gotten bogged down by sideplots but Ellery Llyod (which is actually husband and wife duo Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos) manage to create these layered, unique individuals seemlessly and keep the plot moving. This is more of a slow build, however, with a lot of character development so do not expect a lot of fast paced action.

The examination of celebrity and image is emphasized between chapters with parts of a Vanity Fair article on the mystery of what happened that weekend. The reader gets to know the real events and can see how even after all that happens, the characters who are still alive are continuing their secrets and lies to cover themselves. Their concern is less about jailtime or how those close to them would react. They instead worry about a loss of their status and prestige, whether they could work again in the limelight or lose their lifestyle. Their protection of the persona they've created, whether they're a celebrity or celebrity adjacent, remains their priority.

The Club is a fascinting page turner.

This is a story about bad people with good reputations.

I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this, since the authors last didn’t work for me.. but this was so petty & fun. I loved the different perspectives of the “help”, and the descriptions of the messy guests. This book was made to be an HBO series!

Thank you so much netgalley & Harper Collins for the eArc & copy!

A compulsive thriller that brings to light the darker side of celebrity and wealth. The Club is full of dark secrets, compelling characters, and twists that keep you guessing until the very end.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Lloyd's The Club was a fun escapist-read. The large cast of equally-footed "bad guys" left the reader guessing at each of the author's twists and turns.

This was a good book, but it took me longer to read then most, it just didn't keep my interest for to long.

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

Sadly I just could not get into this one. I wanted to love it, but it was just too much detail and too much of a slow burn.

The author’s previous book and premise of this book had me very excited to read it, but it fell flat for me. The story line got confusing at times as did the characters. Overall, it was an okay read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

If Nine Perfect Strangers met The Guest List, it would be The Club.

Did I love it? No. But I did keep reading. Dramatic, intriguing, and mysterious. This book was twisty and I didn’t know how it was going to end, but it was missing something for me.

The Club is for the elite of the elite celebrities. However, it didn't seem like an above average place to be. In the story there are a lot of characters to keep track, and only one story line that I cared about. Overall, I gave this three stars because I found it average. There wasn't anything I truly disliked, but I was bored and disengaged at times and enjoyed it at other times.

Thank you NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I loved this book! I usually prefer shorter chapters, so that would be the only thing I had any complaints with (and it's not much of a complaint). The writing style was great. It was suspenseful and added in key information with perfect timing. I did not expect the plot twists and was happy we were able to read from the account of multiple perspectives (but not so many, as to be overwhelming). Overall, I really enjoyed this and think it's even better than their previous novel! Thank you so much for providing me with a digital copy, Netgalley, publisher, and Ellery Lloyd!

Fast paced and very engaging. It’s very well written and enjoyable. It kept me guessing the whole time. I would definitely recommend to others!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

It was hard for me to get into this book and keep track of all of the characters and accounts. After a pretty slow start, the action really picked up and became a more intense murder mystery. Overall, the storyline was decent, but the over saturation of descriptions, characters, and details was too much to overcome for me.

Tight, well paced thriller. All of the characters were well developed and motives were clear for most actions and reactions to major plot points. This book kept me interested throughout and I don’t usually enjoy thrillers.

I really wanted to liked this. Unfortunately, I never felt truly invested in this one. This is a book about mostly unlikable characters who are members of a private worldwide club. When a new clubhouse opens on an island off the coast of England, only the most VIP are invited and this is where things should get interesting. However for me, it fell flat. There was a number of different characters to remember, too much needless backstory (and I love a good character development, but this one was lost on me) and honestly not enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. I’m sure others will like this, but this one was not for me.

This was a heck of a book with many unlikeable characters, especially Ned Groom, who is the founder of luxury, celebrity getaways deemed "The Club," with his brother Dan. The newest "club" is treacherous to get to and you have to pass through a causeway to get in and what awaits is nothing short of everyone's wildest dreams. There is a 3 day party to celebrate the launch.

Of course the party goes to pieces. Many last minute demands by Ned, who works treats his staff like garbage. Staff wanting to sabotage the launch. Everyone has secrets.

But then several murders happen. HMM. This is when the book turns to murder mystery. At this point, I felt the book did not know what it wanted to be, but I wanted to pushed to the end.

Was there a happy ending? You will have to read to find out.

THanks to Netgalley, Ellery Lloyd and Harper for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available!

This books is dragged on so slow for me. I’m going to try and listen to the audio book when it becomes available at the library but I had a really hard time focusing to read it. The premise of the book seems like something I’d really enjoy.

This one was definitely an interesting premise and I loved the idea of the look into the lives of the incredibly rich/famous, and overall I enjoyed it. It felt like there was almost too much going on sometimes, so it was almost overwhelming, but I think that lent to the book feeling more immersive. Also I just wanted to note that this felt so different than the last Ellery Lloyd I read, so I loved the pivot and showcasing a different side of their writing.