After a bunch of horror reads, I decided to break the chain and try something from the mystery genre. My second favourite go-to genre. This has been with me for quite some time, so I decided to give it a try.
The Manor has just opened, and it is a high-end luxury getaway targeting the rich. No stones are left unturned to give the perfect experience. But beneath all the luxury and humbug, there is something dark and sinister waiting for the right moment. Some of the people in the Manor are not really guests, and the incidents that happened years ago are haunting the place. A major fire happens and there is a dead body is found. What happened at the Manor? What dark secrets does the place hold? forms the story.
An interesting premise, right? Well, for me, it was. The blurb caught my attention before diving into the read. This was my first read of Lucy Foley. As I mentioned earlier, the premise was very good and has all the abilities to keep us invested in the book. The language was easy and good, and the book is divided into many small chapters. The book moves in a non-linear pattern through the point of view of the main characters, along with the journal entry telling us the flashback. Initially, it starts out all good. But as we read on, the reading starts getting cumbersome. There are many chapters, and the jump from one POV to another starts dragging the story. Most of the story seems to have a cliffhanger. When that story picks up after a chapter or two, we get irritated. It gives us a feeling that it is being forced upon us. The book could have done better with at least 30 - 40 pages fewer. The characters are well written, and the journal part, which tells us what transpired years back, is quite interesting. After the initial quarter of the story, it becomes lethargic till towards three quarter of the book. After that, it gets really interesting, and the way things unfolded was very satisfying. The book gives a feel of a movie with a great story, let down by a mediocre screenplay.
To sum it up, a decent read for mystery lovers. An interesting story with great potential, let down by a lethargic structure and an average feel.