What a lovely surprise this book was! I am a huge fan of Christie-style mysteries and I was expecting much more of a traditional thriller based on the cover of this book. To my delight, it is most definitely a murder mystery with a lot of elements of the old school genre.
The Invitation is the story of three female friends and their families. The wealthiest friend, Rachel, invites the others to her island for a reunion. It soon becomes clear that a lot of bad blood has built up over the years with the various dramas culminating in the murder of one of the group at dinner. There is no 'main character' of the book, with the narration instead rotating between the majority of characters throughout. Through this method you really get to experience the different dramas and secrets each of the characters are going through.
This book definitely has more of a humorous, light-hearted tone than a serious murder mystery. There's a lot going on in this and some dark stuff is mentioned, but usually it is lightened by the tone. I found some of the characters a bit lacking and I did tend to confuse a couple of them. Particularly with the main three women, I felt their backstories blended together to me so I was often confused as to who was partnered with who etc. Having said that, a lot of the characters were more unique than those in your typical murder mystery and I definitely appreciated that. There was an interesting cast and it added a lot of depth to the story.
Overall, this book is great if you're looking for a fun murder mystery with a sharp sense of humour. It doesn't have the most complex or intricately plotted murder around, but there's a lot to like here and Castle is a distinct and welcome voice in the genre. I am excited to see what is in store for them as an author.
Overall Rating:
.5
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