I’ve loved every book Hannah Richell has written but wow! The Search Party is the best yet. Kept me guessing throughout!
I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts with you today.
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The Search Party by Hannah Richell
- Category : Thriller
- ASIN : B0C31F7NXF
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster UK (18 Jan. 2024)
- Language : English
- File size : 2718 KB
- Simon & Schuster | Amazon | Waterstones | Goodreads
The Search Party Summary
Five old friends.
One glamping weekend.
A storm that will change everything.
Max and Annie Kingsley have left the London rat race to set up a glamping site in the wilds of Cornwall. They invite old university friends – TV star Dominic, doctor and new mum Kira, and free-spirited Jim and Suze – and their children for a trial weekend but the reunion quickly veers off-course.
First, there’s The Incident around the campfire on the first night. The following afternoon, a storm quickly develops off the rugged North Coast. When one of their group goes missing, all hell breaks loose. And as the winds batter the bell-tents, emotions run high and tension mounts for all the characters.
Who is lying in hospital, who has gone missing and who is the body on the beach below the cliffs . . .?
The Search Party Review
It’s been a while since I’ve sat on the edge of my seat holding my breath at a scene in a book and even longer since that continued throughout the whole story. If you love tension and suspense in your stories, The Search Party has it in buckets! It’s brilliant!
The format is so clever. Each character narrates at different points over the weekend but not in order. We get to know them all this way … but the information about what happened is generalised and masks who it is happening to. We don’t know exactly what happened to who. And sometimes we know something took place but not what exactly. Names are not mentioned in these scenes. So tantalising …
For all the characters, their emotional angst, thoughts and feelings come from a place of insecurity. Their facades are stripped bare and how they really feel are laid out for all to see. The fear, at times, is palpable. I loved the dark undertow.
The weather is a symbol (as well as a character) of what rages internally for each of them – the outer reflecting the inner turmoil. Such a maelstrom! The isolation of the glamping site also made me think of how the friendships deteriorated. This friendship group become isolated from each other for obvious reasons. In Jim’s words “some things you can’t ever come back from.” Or can you?
The information we’re given, about personalities and past history, drew me to make conclusions that were oh so wrong! I made so many wrong choices that it blew me away.
The Search Party is a story you won’t be able to put down. You need to know what happened! And the outcome. Will there be a silver lining?
An outstanding read.
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About the Author
Hannah Richell was born in Kent and spent her childhood years in Buckinghamshire and Canada. After graduating from the University of Nottingham, she worked in the book publishing and film industries in both London and Sydney. She is a dual citizen of Great Britain and Australia, and currently lives in the South West of England with her family. Hannah Richell is the author of international bestsellers Secrets of the Tides (2012), The Shadow Year (2014), The Peacock Summer (2019) and The River Home (2020). Her work has been translated into twenty-one languages.
Hannah is active on her author Facebook: HannahRichellAuthor