The Club
Fiction
Harper
March 1, 2022
Advance reader copy
304
Free from publisher
Envisioned as a luxurious home-away from-home for Very Important People, The Home Group is a collection of celebrity members clubs dotted across the globe, from London to Lisbon, Malibu to Manhattan, where the rich and famous can party hard and then crash out in its five-star suites, far from the prying eyes of fans and the media.
The most spectacular and exclusive of all is Island Home--a sprawling, closely-guarded complex of faux-rustic guest cabins, spas, bars and restaurants just off the English coast. To mark its opening, Home's mercurial CEO Ned Groom and his team have planned a glamorous three-day launch party, easily the most coveted A-list invite of the year.
But behind the scenes, tensions are at breaking point. Years behind schedule and vastly over budget, the project has stretched a long-serving and long-suffering team to their limits. There's Ned's trusted PA, who has over decades maneuvered her way from coat-check girl to Home's inner circle; Ned's younger brother, who has sacrificed his marriage and morals to be Ned's right-hand man; the Head of Membership keeping the world's most spoiled and jaded individuals entertained using any means necessary; the Head of Housekeeping, who plays silent witness to the guests' very worst excesses. All of them have something to hide - and that's before the beautiful people with their own ugly secrets even set foot on the island.
As tempers fray and behaviour worsens, as things get more sinister by the hour and the body count piles up, some of Island Home's members begin to wish they'd never RSVP'd at all.
Because at this club, if your name's on the list, you're not getting out . . .
My review:
I feel like the synopsis of this one does a very good job of setting up the premise and mystery of this book. However the first couple of lines in the prologue were a definite setup for me to keep reading to find out more.
By the time the Land Rover was halfway across the causeway it must have been obvious they were never going to make it. Not at the speed that tide was coming in.
After the explosive first pages, this book does take a bit to set things up and get going, but then it is a wild ride with many surprises as you try to figure out who makes it off the island and who doesn't (and who is in the Land Rover?). The twists and turns are leaked out a few at a time (just the way I like my thrillers) and the story is told from the perspective of four people, all elemental in the functioning of the Club. There are really not any likable characters in this one, they are all either spoiled celebs or nefarious grudge holders, but for me that was what made it more fun. You are more invested in the secrets they all have, and why they all have such an affinity for this club, rather than rooting for any one character. I definitely didn't figure many parts of this one out, and certainly not the major plot twists.
Despite a bit of a slow start to set up the ensuing drama, this one has a nice payout. If you are a fan of rich people behaving badly, you are definitely going to want to get your hands on this one.
