The Search Party by Hannah Richell @hannahrichell @BethEyre @DickLeFenwick @SimonAudio @librofm

the setup…
Max Kingsley is a highly successful architect, married to Annie and living in London with their 12-year old son. They decided to abandon it all and move to the cliffs of Cornwall, setting up a glamping site called Wildernest. Before they officially open, they invite their longtime college friends to come for a test run and serve as their annual get together. Dominic Davis, a famous reality TV judge on a show called Star Search, is coming with his second wife Tanya and his three children; Jim and Suze Miller are bring their brood of three; and Kira de Silva, a surgeon, rounds out the group, bringing her 5-month old baby and her guy Fred. Things start well but soon go off the rails the first night. The next day brings more trouble when a storm sets in, power goes out and someone goes missing.

the heart of the story…
I liked the structure of this story, beginning near the end when the police are interviewing the adults to get a clear picture of everything leading up to what eventually happened. As with every group of friends, there are secrets and old fissures lying beneath the surface that are triggered in the midst of high tension, and there’s a LOT of them. We don’t even know exactly the “who” or the “why” but the journey getting there exposed the best and worst of everyone involved. I was hopelessly hooked, drawn into the drama and the mystery.

the narration…
Both Eyre and Parker are excellent storytellers and captured the essences of the characters very well, including the children. It was similar to them sharing a good ghost story by the campfire!

the bottom line…
Beware of red herrings and this is loaded with them, I mean really good ones. I’d figured most of it out by the time of the final reveal but there still were a couple of surprises. This was a bit twisty and be sure to check the sample for the character list so you don’t get confused by all those kids’ names (if you’re listening to the story). I might not have liked a lot of the adults but they were well crafted and human. This was a wonderful “locked room” mystery that kept me engaged and guessing in a perfect setting.

Book Info

• Release Date: January 16, 2024
• Narrators: Beth Eyre & Jamie Parker
• Audio Length: 10 hours, 13 minutes
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Listen to a Sample!

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(Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)