The Hunting Party is very much a traditional whodunnit, but updated to 2019. The plot includes:

• A remote location with no way in or out
• A limited list of suspects
• A group of friends who on the surface all like one another, but that hides some seething resentment between some of them
• An appealing locale

The good news is that this is a fantastic page turner, that keeps you guessing until the end.

The remote hunting lodge that our group of friends are going to be celebrating the New Year together is deep within the Scottish Highlands, where Doug and Heather look after their guests. The group who come up from London don’t seem to be all that likeable. The novel tells its story in the first person, zipping around between many of the characters. The group of friends originates from school and university, and the colourful set of characters feel real enough.

The life and soul of the group is Miranda, but she’s not altogether loved by everyone else – although she may be lusted after as well. Her cattiness is enormous fun on the page.

The novel flips back and forth between the pre-New Year’s Eve festivities, and the post-New Year’s Eve discovery of a body. Foley carefully withholds details of who the dead person is, not even revealing their sex for a few chapters. That all means that while you might guess who the likely victim will be, you’re not altogether certain.

Like a good whodunnit, the clues are all there, and things hang together when we reach the resolving of everything.

An entertaining book to be read at this time of year.