Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

73 reviews

lexithelion's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Out of Lucy Foley's 3 murder mysteries, this is definitely my least favourite. However, that is not to say that this is a bad book, because it's not. This book is a great first mystery that combines the difficult inter-workings of friendships and an establishing plot-line that puts all the characters in an abstract and very solitary situation. The book does not drag and the story is incredibly easy to follow; props to Lucy Foley for being able to write a 0% confusing mystery novel that jumps back-and-forth in time and also utilizes multi-perspective chapters. I will say that this book seemed quite fast and the ending was incredibly abrupt which is a pattern I've noticed in Foley's literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Gore

Minor: Grief, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Medical content

jlblumenfeld's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, War, and Violence

bronzel's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Death, Alcohol, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, and Gun violence

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Animal death, Sexual content, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy

madeline_p4's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia and Addiction

natgoe's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Violence, Toxic friendship, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Stalking, Alcohol, Infidelity, Mental illness, Infertility, and Grief

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Murder, Stalking, and Pregnancy

tanacef's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Alcohol, Stalking, Mental illness, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Grief, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Violence

rita_mybooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Gostei muito mais de acompanhar a linha temporal de 2 de janeiro narrada pela Heather porque eu tal como ela estava a tentar perceber quem seria o culpado, no entanto não gostei nada de só ficar a saber qual das hóspedes tinha desaparecido para poder formar teorias mais sólidas de quem era o culpado. 
Cheguei à conclusão de que este grupo de amigos é, em geral, completamente louco. E as minhas personagens favoritas foram a Heather e o Doug. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Mental illness, Self harm, and Gaslighting

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Drug use

chris_reads's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

With the wintry isolated setting, a tense party of old friends, and toxic female friendships, I was reminded a lot of Ruth Ware's In a Dark, Dark Wood. I preferred this one. Didn't love it though.

I liked the plot structure. I really like dual timelines, and the decision to withhold the victim's identity. And how so many characters felt like legitimate suspects. If you want a book with likeable characters, keep looking. I think this is the aspect of the genre that stops me from truly loving it. The mystery keeps me reading, but I never get all that invested in the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Alcohol, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Body shaming, and Gun violence

Minor: Addiction, Vomit, Homophobia, Classism, Infertility, and Drug use

moyarb's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I did love the setting and how isolated it felt. It set the mood and the last 20 chapters or so were enjoyable. Unfortunately, this was too slow for me (It's 60 chapters plus an epilogue!), but I think if I didn't go in expecting a whodunnit and seeing the reviews on the back cover comparing it to Agatha Christie, I probably would've enjoyed it more. This wasn't a murder mystery, but more like a domestic drama with some suspense sprinkled at the end. The characters were either very unlikable or boring, and the ending wasn't satisfying. Of the trope about a group of longtime friends who secretly hate each other, this was the weakest. 

Earlier this year, I read The Paris Apartment which is Lucy Foley's most recent work and the first book of hers I read.  I loved The Paris Apartment, but having read The Hunting Party and the preview of The Guest List, Foley's mysteries are pretty much the same format: Multiple POVs set back and forth in time during the present and the time leading up to the present and I suppose it all depends on execution because I think The Paris Apartment was more engaging and had a good blend of the drama and the mystery. At least it showed that Foley improved on her formula. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Infidelity, Animal death, Death, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

Moderate: Bullying, Violence, Sexual content, Stalking, Drug use, Alcohol, Ableism, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Violence, Pregnancy, Blood, Cursing, and Outing