2024 Ned Kelly Award for Best International Crime Novel (nominee)
Pre-order ONE DARK NIGHT, the claustrophobic new thriller coming from Hannah Richell in July 2025!
‘Hannah Richell's The Search Party is a compelling thriller told with real emotional insight and depth. An absolute page-turner!’ Lucy Clarke
Five old friends.
One glamping weekend.
A storm that will change everything.
Max and Annie Kingsley have left the London rat race to set up a glamping site in the wilds of Cornwall. They invite old university friends – TV star Dominic, doctor and new mum Kira, and free-spirited Jim and Suze – and their children for a trial weekend but the reunion quickly veers off-course.
First, there’s The Incident around the campfire on the first night. The following afternoon, a storm quickly develops off the rugged North Coast. When one of their group goes missing, all hell breaks loose. And as the winds batter the bell-tents, emotions run high and tension mounts for all the characters.
Who is lying in hospital, who has gone missing and who is the body on the beach below the cliffs . . .?
Gripping, cleverly structured and brimming with secrets and lies, this is a masterclass in narrative tension and a chilling exploration of the ways in which aspiration and anxiety collide. It will keep you guessing until the last page.
'In this compelling, beautifully-observed story of a Cornish glamping trip gone spectacularly wrong, Hannah Richell never lets up with the tension and suspense. This is a best-in-class family thriller you'll read in one sitting’ Kate Riordan, author of Heatwave��
Genre: Mystery
‘Hannah Richell's The Search Party is a compelling thriller told with real emotional insight and depth. An absolute page-turner!’ Lucy Clarke
Five old friends.
One glamping weekend.
A storm that will change everything.
Max and Annie Kingsley have left the London rat race to set up a glamping site in the wilds of Cornwall. They invite old university friends – TV star Dominic, doctor and new mum Kira, and free-spirited Jim and Suze – and their children for a trial weekend but the reunion quickly veers off-course.
First, there’s The Incident around the campfire on the first night. The following afternoon, a storm quickly develops off the rugged North Coast. When one of their group goes missing, all hell breaks loose. And as the winds batter the bell-tents, emotions run high and tension mounts for all the characters.
Who is lying in hospital, who has gone missing and who is the body on the beach below the cliffs . . .?
Gripping, cleverly structured and brimming with secrets and lies, this is a masterclass in narrative tension and a chilling exploration of the ways in which aspiration and anxiety collide. It will keep you guessing until the last page.
'In this compelling, beautifully-observed story of a Cornish glamping trip gone spectacularly wrong, Hannah Richell never lets up with the tension and suspense. This is a best-in-class family thriller you'll read in one sitting’ Kate Riordan, author of Heatwave��
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"Living the dream becomes a living nightmare. Richell's tense new destination thriller will make you wish you weren't here as friendships crumble and families fall apart on a glamping weekend gone wrong. A gripping and twisty plot laced with Richell's trademark deft feel for family dynamics sees the pages practically turn themselves." - Kate Lord Brown
"Hannah Richell's The Search Party is a compelling thriller told with real emotional insight and depth. It was a pleasure to be transported to the wildest edge of Cornwall and have a ringside seat as a group of old friends are pushed to their absolute limits. An absolute page-turner!" - Lucy Clarke
"The Search Party is a dexterous blend of best and worst case scenarios, a chillingly relatable journey into the unexpected. With her cast of expertly crafted characters, evocative setting and taut prose, Richell has written a standout page-turner, thoroughly gripping from start to finish. Fans of Lucy Foley and Sarah Pearse will not want to miss this." - Anna Downes
"A glamping weekend for old friends on the rugged Cornish coast devolves into mayhem and murder in this deliciously sinuous thriller brimming with atmosphere. Hannah Richell is masterful, deploying white-knuckle pacing, pitch-perfect prose, and characters whose emotional depth is fully mined, making the twists feel maximally earned and resonant. Gripping, clever, and as enjoyable to curl up with as a Christie - I inhaled it in a day!" - Jaclyn Goldis
"Everything about this Cornish glamping thriller hooked me from the off. An atmospheric and ever-twisting read that's full of compassion and emotional intelligence. I loved it." - Emylia Hall
"Hannah Richell was born to write thrillers. Twisty and adrenaline fuelled, I devoured this whip-smart novel set against a backdrop of remote Cornish cliffs. All the ingredients I love in a thriller - jealousy, revenge, lust and anger - simmer ominously beneath the surface before coming explosively to the fore. I was in equal parts agonised and satisfied when I turned the final page. Trust me, you will not be able to put this book down!" - Ali Lowe
"Filled with atmosphere and a closed-set mystery worthy of Agatha Christie, fans of Lucy Foley will love The Search Party!" - Catherine McKenzie
"The Search Party pitches you forward from the first page, sending you rushing headlong towards its thrilling conclusion. I loved this novel for its multifaceted, multi-voiced take on a single weekend, and a satisfying and emotionally honest portrayal of what we see in others, and ourselves. Hannah Richell's first foray into the thriller genre is simply not to be missed!" - Hayley Scrivenor
"Hannah Richell's The Search Party is a compelling thriller told with real emotional insight and depth. It was a pleasure to be transported to the wildest edge of Cornwall and have a ringside seat as a group of old friends are pushed to their absolute limits. An absolute page-turner!" - Lucy Clarke
"The Search Party is a dexterous blend of best and worst case scenarios, a chillingly relatable journey into the unexpected. With her cast of expertly crafted characters, evocative setting and taut prose, Richell has written a standout page-turner, thoroughly gripping from start to finish. Fans of Lucy Foley and Sarah Pearse will not want to miss this." - Anna Downes
"A glamping weekend for old friends on the rugged Cornish coast devolves into mayhem and murder in this deliciously sinuous thriller brimming with atmosphere. Hannah Richell is masterful, deploying white-knuckle pacing, pitch-perfect prose, and characters whose emotional depth is fully mined, making the twists feel maximally earned and resonant. Gripping, clever, and as enjoyable to curl up with as a Christie - I inhaled it in a day!" - Jaclyn Goldis
"Everything about this Cornish glamping thriller hooked me from the off. An atmospheric and ever-twisting read that's full of compassion and emotional intelligence. I loved it." - Emylia Hall
"Hannah Richell was born to write thrillers. Twisty and adrenaline fuelled, I devoured this whip-smart novel set against a backdrop of remote Cornish cliffs. All the ingredients I love in a thriller - jealousy, revenge, lust and anger - simmer ominously beneath the surface before coming explosively to the fore. I was in equal parts agonised and satisfied when I turned the final page. Trust me, you will not be able to put this book down!" - Ali Lowe
"Filled with atmosphere and a closed-set mystery worthy of Agatha Christie, fans of Lucy Foley will love The Search Party!" - Catherine McKenzie
"The Search Party pitches you forward from the first page, sending you rushing headlong towards its thrilling conclusion. I loved this novel for its multifaceted, multi-voiced take on a single weekend, and a satisfying and emotionally honest portrayal of what we see in others, and ourselves. Hannah Richell's first foray into the thriller genre is simply not to be missed!" - Hayley Scrivenor
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Hannah Richell's The Search Party