Review: The Search Party by Simon Lelic

Synopsis: The entire town thinks Sadie Saunders is dead. Missing now for a week, they say she was murdered. And they think they know who did it.

Aware of the suspicion that surrounds them - and one of them in particular - Sadie's five best friends vow to find out the truth. So they pack their bags and set off for the woods where Sadie was last seen.

But what starts as a search quickly turns into something more sinister. Each of them has a secret, and they all know more about Sadie's past than they are willing to admit. As the landscape opens up, and the darkness closes in, the reality of their situation begins to dawn on them.

It was never really a search party. it was a witch hunt. And not everyone is going to make it home.

Wow. I actually really enjoyed this.

A missing girl; her teenage friends the obvious suspects; small town claustrophobia and prejudices; a search party that does not end in the spirit that it set out; obfuscation and misdirection (and not just on the part of the author!); clever use of the one sided interview to reveal the story from the perspective of the group - what more could a reader want!