Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Another mystery/thriller from Lucy Foley that kept me on the edge of my seat. The opening night at The Manor is meant to be spectacular. The land has been transformed into an oppulent high end resort where no expense has been skipped to provide people with the highest quality vacation. But when the secrets of the past slowly start to unearth themselves, you find the guests and those working at The Manor are not all who they seem!
Foley has a way of taking multiple point of views and just making it work. I always worry I won't be able to keep everyone straight. Or that having more than one point of view in a mystery/thriller will take me out of the story. But, in reality, having all the points of view, plus journal entries, really helps the story take shape. And it lends to the author's ability to slowly reveal what is really going on and the truths the characters have to face. I also loved how each person in this story is not quite who they seem. They all have more than one identity or something they are hiding that effects the overall thrill and mystery of the story line.
The flashbacks with the journal entries really give great background to the characters in the story. It's easy to see how they have changed over the last 15 years and what the actions of their teens set in motion as they turned into adults.
I will say I did figure out a few of the mysteries along the way but this didn't detract from me enjoying the story line, I loved the inclusion of the local folklore. In all honesty, I felt like this book might actual take a turn into magical realism with how Foley presented the legend. But I know that's not really her style. And part of a mystery is to leave you wondering how such magical type things are happening when there's not real magic involved.
Foley has a knack for creating a tension that keeps you turning the page in a book. As each character develops you find yourself wanting to know just exactly how they fit into the story and what their background is. I also loved the shorter chapters. Short chapters are always something I appreciate. I feel like they really help push the story along and they kept my attention more so than longer chapters would have. And her ability to set the scene and vividly show you exactly what The Manor looks like is great. I could practically feel and smell the ocean air and the woodsy scent throughout reading the story.
Overall, I think this might be my favorite Foley book so far. I liked the idea of how things unfolded and there were definitely some things I was not 100% expecting. Lucy's fans will love this one as much as all her others.