A fast paced and intriguing read. Really liked robin’s character and was hoping he’d be able to solve the case. Great to hear the multiple viewpoints from the search party themselves as the secrets were revealed

I liked the description of this book and thought it would be very much a book that I would enjoy.
Sadly, for me, I couldn’t get past the writing style. It felt like half of the conversations were missing and it made it hard to focus.

Overall, not a book for me.

This was my first read by Simon Lelic and it has made me keen to try more of his books, as I think this book has many positive elements.

Let's start with what I liked about this book. I liked the premise of the book, as it becomes almost like a double or maybe even triple mystery. Where is Sadie? What happened in the woods? Are they being followed? I liked the different narrative voices that were given, as it made easier to keep track of, understand and identify with the five friends who were searching for Sadie. I liked the setting of the book - the expansive wood and the tumultuous weather definitely added to the tension and curiosity in the book. I also loved the twisty and exciting ending. It was believable but something I saw coming.

The main thing that let it down for me is the detailed narrative given to DI Fleet's backstory and his unhelpful interactions with his colleagues. Although of course I agree characters need to be developed, and cannot appear one dimensial, even in the case of a clearly established role like a police inspector. However, I do feel that the writer's decision to try to include, evaluate and in some cases even solve so many of DI Fleet's personal and relationship issues, detracted from the story and affected the pace of the novel sometimes.

Having said that, I think Simon is a talented writer and I also read reviews where readers have named the development of Fleet's character as their favourite element of the story.

A solid 3 stars from me!

A twisty turny atmospheric thriller that gripped from the first page. Told through a mixture of interviews with the members of the search party and narrative from the detective investigating the disappearance of a 16 year old girl.

The story begins with the search party of 4 friends being found after several days looking for missing Sadie and one person dead on the ground beside them.

From there we get the lead up to this discovery through interviews with the 4 survivors and present from the detectives perspective.

I really enjoyed the narrative and writing styles and felt it drove the story on. The characters were distinctive and easy to identify whose point of view it was.

Overall an excellent thriller I would recommend.

Another excellent title, which will challenge readers and writers alike. Excellent choice of protagonists and plot line that will engage all.

"The Search Party" by Simon Lelic is a gripping and atmospheric thriller that masterfully blends elements of mystery, suspense, and psychological drama. The story revolves around the disappearance of 16-year-old Sadie Saunders and the ensuing search that unfolds into a harrowing witch hunt, where the lines between friends and suspects blur dangerously.

I love being given the opportunity to update our school library which is a unique space for both senior students and staff to access high quality literature. This is definitely a must-buy. It kept me absolutely gripped from cover to cover and is exactly the kind of read that just flies off the shelves. It has exactly the right combination of credible characters and a compelling plot thatI just could not put down. This is a great read that I couldn't stop thinking about and it made for a hugely satisfying read. I'm definitely going to order a copy and think it will immediately become a popular addition to our fiction shelves. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

Fantastic read with many twists and turns. I was confident I knew who the killer was, and was shocked when I was wrong.....very wrong.
Characters are very believable

This book is written in an unconventional style and it therefore took me a while to settle in and realise what was going on. Where Cara Hunter successfully uses interviews and social media posts to help tell her story, this book uses purely the interviewee's responses during police interviews to tell the tale in the majority of chapters Because of this I found the overall story much more difficult to follow. The chapters from DI Fleet's perspective are written in a more traditional style and I found these flowed much better. Sections of the book felt as though it was the author's writing rather than language and phraseology a young person would use, the authenticity often switching within a chapter which I found off-putting.
The premise of the book is that a 16 year old girl is missing, feared drowned, and the local police force are focusing the search for her in the river. A group of her close friends have decided they know her far better and decide to form their own search party in another area, and it gradually becomes clear that this hasn't ended well for them.
None of the narrators is reliable and, where I usually love this in characters, unfortunately there are so many story threads that I just found it incredibly messy. I suppose this would be an accurate representation of how things would be for the police in a real-life case of this kind, however in a fictional world it came across a bit clunky.
I didn't dislike this book and I look forward to reading more from this author and loved his previous book The House - but I'm not sure I would re-read this one.
3.5 stars out of 5 from me

This took me a while to get engrossed into it. Once I did though I wanted to keep reading as it was an interesting concept and story. The twist at the end I was not expecting!

I was apprehensive going into "the search party" because I made the rookie mistake of reading the Fleet series in the wrong order but it turns out to not be a problem. The problem is with the strange writing style and the comparisons to Stephen King. King is a master. No one compares. The teenagers were vapid and flat, and the whole back and forth between timeframes is disorientating. I realise this is a stylistic device to keep the reader unsettled but in this case, it wasn't handled well.

Told through police interviews with the kids and from DCI Fleet The Search Party is a well written, tightly plotted thriller with lots of suspects that kept me hooked to the end.

I would like to thank the publisher & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

I enjoyed this twisty turny unusual crime thriller but you have to concentrate hard. I would not like to have been the detective trying to solve this one!
Well thought out, confusing and intriguing. Recommended.

This is a decent thriller that Caught my attention and kept me on the edge of my seat. I had not read this author before but l
Will look for more of their books.

It took me a long time to get into this story about a group of friends who go to look for a close friend who went missing. One of them knows exactly what's happened and where they should be looking - but will they help solve the mystery or make things worse?

It's a slow burn but worth persevering with. The characters are interesting and the twists bring extra depth to the novel. Overall, while it wasn't my favourite book by Lelic, I'm still glad I persevered.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Overall a good thriller that became quite absorbing as you got into it. I liked that the story was written in the style of police interviews with the friends and was a really effective way of writing it! I think it matched well with the teenage characters and really gave you a sense of who they were.

Lots of twists and turns and I was constantly changing my mind on what I think happened! Some parts didn’t feel particularly thrilling but this was perhaps because it involves teenagers so nothing majorly shocking happens. A nice cosy thriller that keeps you guessing until the end!

The Search Party has a really interesting premise. the use of teenage friends of the victim being part of the narration (through police interviews) could've been a really great way to bring in doubt for the reader, except it didn't really work. It wasn't introduced well, and so felt strange and moved Fleet's position to that of clarification of plot. Not for me.

It took me a while to read this book because I couldn’t get into it fully. I liked the character fleet but the teenagers I couldn’t really get into because their stories kept changing and they were always second guessing each other and you didn’t know what to believe. The ending I didn’t expect though and it did bring the story together though.

It has taken me a while to get around to this book but I’m glad I finally read it. I liked the way it flipped between the perspectives of the characters during their interviews with the police to allow you to piece together the story, however sometimes it wasn’t clear when the perspective had shifted due to this being an early release I assume. It was a gripping plot and had such a good twist at the end which I wasn’t expecting at all. I read this book in one day as I just needed to know who the guilty party was. Thank you netgalley.

When sixteen year old Sadie goes missing in a seaside town the police spare no expense trying to find her. The authorities don’t seem to be making any progress so on day six Sadie’s brother, boyfriend and three friends decide to form their own search party and head for the local woods. They have no clue what they will find during their search but as secrets and lies that were well hidden begin to surface, it’s clear that someone knows exactly what has happened to Sadie. But which one is it?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. I liked the characters in the book and the writer did a cracking job of bringing the friendships between them to life. The story is told through a set of police interviews with the teenagers and I loved this writing style though I can see how it wouldn’t work for some readers.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.