"The Hunting Party, my debut crime novel, is about a group of old friends who travel up to a remote estate in Scotland to celebrate New Year’s Eve. At first it’s all fun and games, drinking champagne and reminiscing about times past. But over the course of the next few days things take a darker turn as old, friendship-destroying secrets come out. On the morning of New Year’s Day, in the worst snowfall the estate has seen in decades, a broken body is found in the snow. Whodunnit?

I had such a great time writing the book (and letting my dark side out!). I’ve always been a huge fan of Agatha Christie and the Golden Age locker room style murder mystery — and I’d like to think of The Hunting Party as a modern homage to that.

The whole publishing journey has been incredibly exciting, though perhaps never more so than when I had the fantastic news that the book would be number four in the weekend Irish Times bestseller list! I was overjoyed — particularly as I’m incredibly proud of my Irish heritage.

My grandfather was born and raised in Athenry, Co. Galway and I have a huge number of cousins living on the west coast and in Dublin. As a result, whilst my grandmother was English, my father who grew up spending childhood summers near Lough Corrib, has always thought of himself as an Irishman through and through. So I’ve always felt much more than part Irish (I support Ireland in the rugby, naturally!).

The support from Irish booksellers and readers has been fantastic — including from one particularly renowned reader, Ryan Tubridy, who gave the book a shout out on his radio show! Shortly after, the official @Ireland account mentioned it on Twitter and I had photos from my cousins in Ireland showing the book on shelves labelled ‘Ryan Tubridy’s latest obsession’. This whole wonderful journey came full circle when I got to chat to Ryan recently on his radio show about the book and my Irish roots.

I’ve also just finished writing my second murder mystery, set at a wedding on an island off the west coast of Ireland, not so far from where my grandfather was born. Watch this space!"

 

Lucy Foley