I love a good Friend Group Thriller and when it’s a Locked Room Mystery as well, I’m in! The Search Party was a group of college friends on a glamping weekend gone wrong. What did I think? Check out my Review of The Search Party.
The Search Party by Hannah Richell
Published on January 16, 2024 by Atria Books. Thanks so much to the publisher for the advance copy of the book for me to read and provide and honest review.
Jen’s Quick Take on The Search Party
- A friend group with secrets
- An isolated location with no cell service (so a closed circle mystery)
- Harsh weather
- An intricate plot with a lot of surprises
Review of The Search Party
I have to admit I am getting more picky with my Friend Group Mysteries, especially now that there are so many of them. So I picked up The Search Party with a fair amount of skepticism.
I will say that initially, there were a lot of things about The Search Party that reminded me of The Guest List, the book that (I think) started off the whole travel/destination thriller trend back in 2020, right before the pandemic hit.
A group of friends gathers in a remote spot to celebrate a milestone. One of the group has become famous. In The Search Party, this is Dom, who is the critical judge on a singing competition called Star Search. (Think Simon Cowell from American Idol.) There are couples keeping secrets from one another.
A new twist on a familiar premise!
But as I kept reading, The Search Party took on its own identity. I thought it was well-plotted and, unlike many thrillers I have read, didn’t take a bizarre turn at the end.
If you’re old enough to read your college alumni magazine, marvel at what everyone is up to, and ponder the road not taken, I think you might enjoy this book. I liked the themes of how friendships can grow and change (and strain and even get a little toxic) over the years.
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Spoilers for The Search Party
Please leave your questions, thoughts, and takes on the book in comments! And feel free to answer anyone else’s question!
Why does amber hear the same words before she commits suicide that Josh speaks to Scarlett “do it” “what are you waiting for”
I assumed that when those words are said in the prologue, it’s one of those flash forward prologues and it’s supposed to be Scarlet.
But I went back and looked. Toward the end, Josh tells Scarlet that Amber snuck out of their house to jump off the cliff, so he wasn’t there. And he was distraught at her death, so I don’t think he would have said that to her. And the words that made her want to take her life were Dominic saying that she was a bad singer and shouldn’t give up her day job.
BUT you’re right; there is something strange about it. In the prologue, the girl jumps (“launches out into the void.”) And in the similar scene toward the end of the book, Scarlet notices the same things (wind, gulls) and then “spread out her arms wide like the wings of a bird, praying for a miracle.”
I still think it’s Scarlet in both scenes, because that’s the only interpretation that makes sense to me. If anyone else has theories, or disagrees, let us know!