The Club

A fun, murder mystery thriller set on an island. This one was perfect on audio and reminded me so much of The Guest List. Hollywood stars belonging to an exclusive club have secrets and sordid histories that complicate the opening of a new location. It was just what I was in the mood for and I loved each twisty reveal. The different POVs and red herrings made for a fast and entertaining read!

Welcome Home! The Club where you have to kill to get into. This was a real slow-burner of a thriller. In some ways it reminded me of locked-room mysteries from the Golden Age of Detective fiction. But in others it was a book full of homicidal maniacs, narcissist and misogynists. The book starts out slow, as all the odious people are introduced. This is a select group of the super-rich and/or super famous that shows up at a little island just off the shore of Britain. The only way in is by helicopter or a road that is only available during low tide. No expense has been spared in this sumptuous Home location. Home is the name of all the club houses throughout the world; all run by Ned Broom and his brother Adam. As the setting and show more characters are slowly revealed, the back story of Ned and Adam's very successful Home club and of all the protagonists is slowly revealed. There are lots of meltdowns, arguments and fights, and lots of drunken, heinous behaviour as the backstories are slowly revealed. The action takes place over the space of a weekend, and by Sunday morning the whole situation has imploded with violence and mayhem. This is what happens when you get a bunch of greedy, rich and self-important people together with unlimited alcohol and drugs. All of the seven deadly sins are displayed in one way or another and I'm sure there are a few more added to the list as the story unfolds. I can't say that I enjoyed the book. The people were too odious, and it was like watching a train wreck as it all unfolded. I also felt like I had to have a shower whenever I put the book down. The pace of the book picked up as I read, and when I finally closed it, my first thought was that it wasn't too bad a story. Well-crafted and set at a pace that kept me reading. Do I recommend it? I'm not sure, but if you like mysteries that are a little off the wall, you may enjoy this one. This is a Reece's Bookclub book. show less

"And that was when the party of the year turned into the murder mystery of the decade."

I'm so tempted to round this 3.5 up but there are a few things holding me back. Before you sit down to start this one, it might be good to know a few things. First, there are only 9 chapters to they will be long and have multiple POV in each one, but each POV is broken out by starting with a character's name so it's easy to know who you are with while reading. Second, there are A LOT of characters. Seriously, start paying attention right from the start because, since they aren't actually stars and famous people we know, it's easy to tangle and lose the thread for certain people until they suddenly become important.

However, I loved the way this story show more was told. I liked the broken out POV giving different perspectives and views of this amazing opening weekend of a very expensive resort. Each persective breaks out certain timeframe and events and the whole event becomes a puzzle with each person being a piece that fits somewhere in it. There is also, to end every chapter, an article piece that explains the aftermath of it all, the "now" since the other POV are from the party that's already happened. It was a great tool to really pull you in to wonder what was going on!

I recommend reading this one with a friend, too! I enjoyed this so much more when I compared ideas and theories and bounced around what we each thought happened! It gave that perfect element of gossiping about famous people and was the perfect addition to this story!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. show less

I was pleasantly surprised. From the premise I thought it would be lame, but it ended up being quite entertaining and I really didn't see a lot of the twists. It isn't quite a thriller, but it was worth the read. If you want some good intrigue and mystery where everyone has a secret- this book is for you.

Also, I don't really watch movies, but I would like to see this turned into a film or show. It has a bit of a cinematic quality to it.

The Club is an exclusive resort run by Ned Groom. His brother, Adam Groom, owns a small stake in the company, which they call HOME. They are planning to open a new resort and anyone who is anyone is invited to attend. It is an exclusive invitation. The staff includes Annie, Nikki, and Jess.
When the high profile guests are summoned to a dinner by Ned, they are told of a proposal - which is more of an ultimatum. When bodies start turning up, the party of the year has turned into the murder of the decade!
This is a tale of excess, of secrets, of blackmail, and of revenge.
I thought the story was slow to start, but then picked up. Once you understood what the guests and the staff were hiding, the story became much more interesting. Yet, show more none of these people were likeable!
Be careful what you wish for - is it really great to be a celebrity and have your life on view 24/7? Who can you trust with your secrets? Does everyone have an ulterior motive?
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC, all opinions are my own and freely given. show less

The Club by Ellery Lloyd is a recommended locked room murder mystery set in an exclusive resort off the English coast.

Ned Groom is CEO of the Home Group, which has several members only clubs across the world. They are known for catering to their very elite clientele, so when the Island Home is opened up off the coast of England, the three day launch party is a coveted invitation. Island Home is located on a private island and is accessible by car only by a causeway at low tide. In the prologue two unidentified people are driving on the causeway when, as the tide rises, they realize they are not going to make it. Naturally a death on this island is big news, so more than one is unthinkable.

The narrative is told from the third person show more point-of-view of four characters: Jess, a new housekeeping manager; Annie, the head of membership; Nikki, Ned's personal assistant and one of the founding members; and Adam, Ned's younger brother and a co-founder. Additionally excerpts from a Vanity Fair article are inserted at the end of each chapter.

This follows the formula for a classic locked room mystery. While very well-written, after the opening car scene the pace slows way down and readers will have to have patience for being introduced to fictional celebrities, background information, and gossip. And there is a plethora of background information and characters to learn. For the purposes of a mystery following this closed-room structure, it might have behooved the husband-and-wife writing team Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos who are Ellery Lloyd to make the introduction of the characters and their stories more succinct to keep the plot moving along which would assist in holding a readers interest.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
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Een nieuwe luxueuze club opent haar deuren op een eiland. Enkel de rijkste gasten zijn er welkom en een toegangsticket bemachtigen is geen sinecure. Eenmaal je er binnen bent, wordt je als een prins of prinses behandelt en is er een breed scala aan mogelijkheden om te ontspannen en genieten. Hoewel er achter alle pracht en praal ook duistere zaken schuilgaan en er meer speelt dan je aanvankelijk zou denken. Sommigen hebben meer problemen dan ze op het eerste gezicht laten zien… De club focust op enkele kernpersonen die hun zegje doen in de hoofdstukken en waarbij we goed kunnen volgen hoe alles zich afspeelt in de club. Er zijn meerdere verhaallijnen en personages die wat te verbergen hebben en die bijdragen aan de climax. De club show more krijgt geen al te beste rating op boekensites en ik snap niet goed waarom. Het verhaal is spannend en echt niet zo slecht geschreven. Hier en daar kan het misschien wat beter, maar daar lees ik snel over. Het verhaal zit goed in elkaar en hield me in de ban. Ik vond het dus zeker een aanrader en zou absoluut nog meer vertaalde werken gaan lezen van deze schrijver. Een dikke 4 sterren!
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