Book Review: The Search Party by Hannah Richell

Theresa Smith Writes

February 4

About the Book:

Five old friends reunite for an idyllic glamping holiday on the rugged Cornwall coast, but tensions rise when a storm leaves them stranded and someone goes missing.

Max and Annie Kingsley have left the London rat race with their twelve-year-old son to set up a glamping site in the wilds of Cornwall. Eager for a dry run ahead of their opening, they invite three old university friends and their families for a long-needed reunion and a relaxing weekend.

But the festivities soon go awry as tensions arise between the children (and subsequently their parents), explosive secrets come to light, and a sudden storm moves in, cutting them off from help as one in the group disappears.

Moving between a police investigation, a hospital room and the catastrophic weekend, The Search Party is a propulsive destination thriller about the tenuous bonds of friendship and the lengths parents will go to protect their children.

Published by Simon & Schuster Australia

Released January 2024

My Thoughts:

Hannah Richell's historical fiction has long been a favourite of mine but in her latest release, The Search Party, she has taken on a new direction with her writing, the contemporary domestic crime thriller. Readers can expect the same high quality of writing, character development and intricate plotting that they are used to with any Hannah Richell release. She knows how to write an absorbing and compulsively readable tale, there are no doubts about that.

However, adults behaving badly and kids not doing what they're told is a well-trodden path within this genre, and I'm not a fan of that particular storyline, or of domestic thrillers in general, truth be told. There is a lot going on in this novel, plenty of red herrings and convoluted storylines, characters accusing each other of this and that, old grudges coming to the fore. It's an entertaining read and fans of the genre will no doubt love it. It wasn't for me, but that's a matter of personal taste and no reflection on the quality delivered by the author.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.