Lead Review (The Summer Party)
- Book: The Summer Party
- Location: Portsmouth
- Author: Kate Gray
It’s the 20th June and the design agency Flavour has arranged to hold their employee Summer get-together on Point Grey, a striking man-made island, built in 1867 to protect Portsmouth Harbour from the threats of a French invasion. It is now owned by Cobalt Hotels and is a luxury and discreet getaway.
The team has travelled over by boat and spent the day and early evening enjoying the party. Eight people have been singled out to stay overnight, which of course upsets the dynamic between the employees. Those not chosen head back to the mainland, leaving the others behind to settle into their luxury suites, enjoy the jacuzzi and generally socialise.
At some levels this jolly get-together feels inappropriate because at the Christmas party held six months ago, they lost one of the team, who seemingly froze to death in her skimpy dress before she could get to the warmth of her own home. She is remembered at this Summer party, fond memories coupled with a real sense of unease.
Mel is in charge of HR and is keen on Charlie. Everyone knows about her unrequited love for him and she is taken aback that her longing for him is so publicly evident. Much of the story is told from her perspective. She senses fairly early on that things don’t feel quite right, compounded by the AC stuck on its lowest – freezing – setting, the water in the jacuzzi turned to high so that it is scalding. And then someone is found dead, someone slips and breaks an arm and there is no internet, no available landline, all adding to the sense of being marooned atop this island. The story channels Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, as people fall by the wayside…
Police interviews are slotted into the narrative at intervals early on, together with newspaper reports which all alert the reader to the fire that takes place during the night of their stay, and thus the reader already knows that things get wildly out of control. Who is behind the killings and why?
An easy to read story that perhaps loses a little of its momentum partway through, then ratchets up as the incarcerated party guests frantically fight against unseen forces. And of course a storm inevitably adds to the panic-stricken atmosphere, mayhem is unleashed as everyone strives to find ways to get to get to safety.
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