The Party House by Lin Anderson

 

Joanne and Greg meet at a conference in London and there is instant chemistry, little does Greg know that Joanne has actually instigated the meeting. Joanne is desperate to flee London and a coercive relationship. Greg is gamekeeper to an estate close to the small Scottish village of Blackrig and Joanne hopes that this will be far enough away from her ex. Joanne is also a journalist and the village of Blackrig has a number of secrets she wants to uncover, not least of which is the case of a missing girl who may have links to Greg.

I found this novel to be a slow burner, there are lots of secrets hinted at, and a number of different story-lines, however the progress is quite slow. For me the most interesting thread was the post-pandemic world we are living in. The idea that a group of people broke lockdown rules and traveled from London to "The Party House", bringing the virus with them, is shocking. When you then discover that as a result of this five children and an adult died you are filled with anger. You can feel the animosity between the villagers and the company that own "The Party House", particularly when the company still doesn't seem to care.

I couldn't get invested in the relationship between Joanne and Greg, they seemed like a very unlikely couple. They seemed to be maneuvering around each other, occasionally meeting for mind-blowing sex, then retreating to the skillful maneuvering again. They both had a number of secrets, some more devastating than others, which were slowly uncovered. 

The best part of the novel were the descriptions of the amazing scenery, Scotland in summer is vivid and varied. Beautiful woodland and stunning lochs make you want to jump in the car and head there.

The Party House by Lin Anderson will be published on 4th August 2022 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a review copy.