To be completely honest, I didn't finish this book so I'm unsure how "valid" my review is (thus, I won't be reviewing on GoodReads but wanted to provide feedback to publisher). This was too similar to The Guest List by Lucky Foley. Usually I am a sucker for murder tropes (they are my weakness) but this goes beyond just a trope. Both books are located on an island in the UK (one in Ireland, the other in Scotland) with the guest trapped on said island. Both books involve guests arriving for an elaborate wedding, complete with a famous guest. Both feature the celebrity guest as someone who has burned bridges as a result of their fame. Both include a variety of guests with dark secrets. It all seemed redundant. I have too many books on my TBR shelf to bother with a book that is a copy and past version of another book. Tropes are one thing but this seemed too close to copyright for my comfort (or interest).

Who doesn’t love a mystery set in a reclusive locale? This is a really strong one, the characters have various connections & some have no connection at all. As secrets as slowly revealed I got pulled in more & more. What kicks off the trip going bad was such a shocker & I was gobsmacked at some of the revelations along the way. For most of the book I had no clue who to root for, the author does such an adept job at that. So many twists, so many turns, an insane amount of well thought out secrets expertly doled out at the correct times. And the writing itself was very strong. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you, NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the copy of The Cliff House. The book started out great as I got to know the characters and how they were connected to Jen. If you like your thrillers to end wrapped up with a pretty bow, you will love this one. I care more about how we get to the ending, so this was less successful for me. The action started and everything was still interesting, then every chapter was about a different person (not just their POV) and I couldn't keep track of who did what and when because there were so many different stories with new characters introduced. Every character was clumsily shown to have possibly been the enemy. It was so heavy-handed, it didn’t leave me space to draw my own conclusions, so that was annoying. The reveal was great though, and I liked how everything came together in the end, even if it was a little too neat.

This is my favorite mystery setting, private island in Scotland, bad weather, a group of friends (in this case a bunch of women for the Bachelorette party), secrets and then murder! Who doesn't get excited about that, especially if done right and this book was done right! I could not stop reading it! 5 star read.
I just reviewed The Cliff House by Chris Brookmyre. #TheCliffHouse #NetGalley
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This mystery has it all: fun characters, Irish and Scottish slang, a remote locale, and a murder plot that will keep you guessing. I loved the focus on women's friendships, old and new. The relationships are believable while also allowing a little bit of lifestyle voyeurism for the average reader (one of the women is a rock star like Stevie Nicks, another is a famous entrepreneur, another a tennis pro). I read this by the pool in two quick sittings but it will be a great fall book too.

1%-24%
I found this book a little hard to read with the way it was formatted. There were no chapter breaks only a name to indicate who’s perspective you we’re currently reading or switching to. And if you missed it it was very easy to get confused. The formatting may be different in a physical book but as for kindle it wasn’t ideal.

25%
The first death comes 25% into the book which is also about the time the book actually picks up. Up to this point we just have extremely long back grounds on the numerous characters. Even with all the back dialogue leading up to the “intense scene “ the “find the body scene” is still interrupted by a back story just in the middle of finally having some action… I feel like that could have been moved to before or after a very intense scene so as not to break the mood.

35%
Fortunately once you get past 25% the pace picks up ALOT. It took me 4 days to get through the first 25% but I’ve made it through the next 25% in about an hour and a half. This book is SO dense with information tho it’s definitely not skimmer friendly (speed readers who skim the information). I feel like the whole second fourth of the book was completely written by someone else because of how different the vibe is when you get to this portion of the book.

50% in I’m hooked. Hook liner and sinker. I feel like she must of had the middle written before the beginning and had to go back and write the beginning to make sense for the middle because the second half of this book? I can’t put it down. I am 👌🏻 this close to getting out a white board to connect all the dots. Im trying to think of motives , means , all of it it’s like a ball of yarn you pull one edge and you think it’ll all unravel but IT JUST BECOMES A BIGGER KNOT WHERE IS THE END

75%-100%
First off I’m so glad I didn’t DNF this book just because of the rough start. Unfortunately the formatting issues didn’t improve but the story overwhelmed the problems. I had about 6 different theories going for who done it and I am pleased to say I had actually a good bit figured out unfortunately if this was clue I would have still lost as I kept flip flopping on if it REALLY was right or not. The storyline was very twisty and absolutely worth the read I don’t think many people will guess the ending on this one! I do hope the writer or publisher corrects the formatting before this book comes out as I think it will be very distracting for some people. And add actual chapter headers as well as word spacing issues near the end. But other all the story was very well done and even tho some of the back stories were a bit drawn out it all wrapped up VERY nicely at the end of the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have feelings about this one. Premise : a remote, exclusive resort on a private Scottish island, a bachelorette party, and lots and lots of secrets. Execution: eh. There is not a single character in this novel I found likeable or even sympathetic. All of them are varying degrees of selfish and cruel, which makes it really hard to feel too badly for them when a homicidal maniac starts trying to kill them off. Too many twists made it completely unbelievable - at one point, I thought I took a wrong turn into a choose-your-own-adventure novel where all of the endings had been accidentally published in one chapter. A skip for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was an addicting locked room mystery involving eight women on a secluded island, each with their own sordid past that they would rather be kept secret. In the beginning this was a little daunting with so many characters to keep track of, but as it slowly goes into each of their stories, it became a lot easier to separate each one of them. As with stories that have so many characters involved, you get every personality along with it which makes this that much more interesting. Although I definitely despised a few of the women, their stories kind of made up for it making me a little more sympathetic towards them. While this was a bit of a slow burn, it holds your interest delving into their past experiences. This was enjoyable with a good plot, writing, and great character development. This was definitely worth the read. Four Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Penzler Publishers for this ARC.

A riveting closed room mystery with convincing red herrings. A classic trope that kept me guessing all the way to the end.

This is an unputdownable closed room mystery that's intriguing, atmospheric, and rich in secrets. There is a mix of likeable and unlikeable characters, and enough tension to make all types of readers flip the pages as fast as possible.

4.5 stars.

Thank you to Scarlet for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 11/7/23.

The Cliff House is grade A psychological thriller. 7 women, some old friends and some strangers come together for a hen party. Things go south quickly and just when you think you have it figured out it changes.
Secrets of each woman are central to the plot and each one seems worse than the others.

The characters shift as the book goes on - the seemingly "bad" characters become more likeable.

This is a terrific read if you want a book that you can't put down.

Jen has a hen party at Clachan Geal, a secluded island miles away from everything. She and her friends start getting threatening texts after one of them is kidnapped. They all have devastating secrets no one wants revealed. This was a very exciting read that I hated putting down. Thanks NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for this ARC that will be released November 6, 2023!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love locked room style mysteries, and this one was lots of fun!
Jen has invited six of her friends on a Hen weekend at a remote island location. Tensions arise early on between several of the guests, but when the chef ends up dead and threatening messages start coming in, they realize that they have to put their differences aside in order to survive. Because they are cut off from the mainland, they don't have Wi-Fi, and one of them has a secret worth killing for.

The setting was so well done. It was eerie and isolated, but still had a modern beauty about it that appealed. It was the perfect location to set a locked room mystery. I loved the build-up and the slow trickle of secrets being exposed. The conclusion was not what I was expecting, and I always like it when I can be surprised. That being said, the ending was very OTT and unbelievable. If you need a story to be more realistic, I'd say skip this one.

The one big flaw of the book, however, is pacing. There was so much backstory with some of the characters that it bogged the story down. A lot of the backstory was convoluted and could've been tightened up.
Otherwise, I did enjoy this book and recommend it to anyone whose a fan of the genre.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the premise and the setting. However, the suspense and the twists were also just delightful. I could easily recommend this to thriller readers.

Thank you to Penzler Publishing and NetGalley.

I was immediately drawn to the setting. Isolated home in a cold, dreary place? Sign me up! This book had lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending. A fun read through and through.

On a small and very remote Scottish island called Clachan Geal , Jen and her six guests gather for her hen weekend. All are looking forward to a luxurious getaway, but that is not what is in store for them. Everyone has a secret and someone is out to discover their secrets in a game of do or die. This was an edge of your seat read which kept me guessing who was behind the scenes to the very end. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading more of Brookmyre’s work. This was a 3.5 rounded to 4 star read for me.

Book : The Cliff House
Author : Chris Brookmyre
Pub Date : 07 Nov 2023

Thank you NetGalley, Penzler Publishers, Scarlet, & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I absolutely loved this book. The author gives you this amazing twisty mysterious who done it book that will make you question all things and side eye each character throughout the story. You are following Jen and her group of family/friends that she invited on what was supposed to be a calm relaxing get away on a little island. You follow these characters me by one or two by two and learn their deepest secrets as they try to uncover where one of their missing members has disappeared to.

The characters were well thought out and well developed with great dialogue and the plot was just perfect. I read this book in a few days and couldn’t finish it faster. SO GOOD. I kept pointing my own fingers at each of them and trying to figure out what was going to happen next etc and I never got it right. I didn’t even guess the ending of this book. I love a book that keeps you thinking and racking your brain until the very last page. You will absolutely love this book if you love fast paced, heart pumping mysterious who done it thrillers. This should be on your TBR or pre-order list asap. Will not disappoint.

The cliff house was hard to follow it had a lot of information thrown at the reader and it was hard to keep up with every bit of information that seemed important to know. But they were some nice twist and turns that I didn’t see coming overall this one wasn’t for me.

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, Action, intrigue, murder, gas lighting, abuse, mystery, revenge, a great who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This was another page-turner that I absolutely could not put down! I'm a sucker for thrillers taking place in isolated locations, so The Cliff House was right up my alley--Jen is holding her hen party at a fancy mansion on its own private island off the coast of Scotland. Of course, all the guests are hiding secrets of one sort or another--and in this case, their unwillingness to come clean may literally be a matter of life or death.

The action is fast-paced, with lots of twists and turns that really kept me guessing. I really felt for the characters as they agonized over whether they should disclose their secrets, when not doing so meant that one or more of them might be murdered by the mysterious Reaper. The characters were really well-drawn, particularly with respect to their relationships with each other. I'm definitely going to be hunting down more Chris Brookmyre books to read after this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.