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Seven friends meet up to ring in the New Year together at a remote wilderness lodge. Two days later, one of them is dead. Told in alternating perspectives from three of the friends, as well as in alternating timelines, one leading up to the fateful event and one in the immediate aftermath, it begs the questions: What happened? Who was killed and why?

And here is essentially the first issue with The Hunting Party: we don't know who the victim is. Even in the aftermath narrative, the identity of the victim is obfuscated. We don't even know their gender until quite late in the book. And withholding this information takes all the fun out of it. It's no longer a mystery to be solved so much as a contrived tale, manipulated such that as much of the information is withheld as possible.

Reading this book gave me anticipation fatigue. There was a complete dearth of action and information. Sure, anticipation adds suspense and fun, but only for a little while. After that, I need something more: clues, reveals, investigation progress, anything. Otherwise, my brain starts to feel fried out from all that imminent expectation. It becomes overloaded and then turns to exhaustion.

In the meantime, we are treated to eye-rolling drama from the most unlikable group of friends I have ever come across. How these people, who are so snide and awkward around each other, are supposedly friends for decades really belies plausibility. They treat each other with disdain and open hostility. Who needs enemies when you have friends like that?

And the book is full of descriptions of the remote wilderness, with its snow and trees and mountains and silence. There was a point in the middle of the book, when nothing but petty drama and bleak terrain filled the pages, that I was so bored it was hard to make myself keep reading.

Eventually the book did come together, and the last bit was enjoyable. But I wish it was a more even reading experience throughout. I can't help but feel this was a bit of a missed opportunity, that such a promising premise and entertaining story had been written in such a way as to take the excitement and fun out of the majority of the book.

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See also, my thoughts on:
The Guest List
The Paris Apartment
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