How Did "The Hunting Party" by Lucy Foley End? What Was the Twist? Spoilers!

How did "The Hunting Party" by Lucy Foley end? Are you looking for an explanation of all those twists and turns because this thriller was super twisty! TLDR?

"The Hunting Party" by Lucy Foley had more twists than most thrillers and if like me you have a hard time a week later remembering all of those twists and turns - or maybe you just want to skip straight to the twists, keep reading - but remember - - "The Hunting Party" by Lucy Foley spoilers ahead!

The Hunting Party

by Lucy Foley

goodreads // amazon // library

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.  The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.  Now, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it. ( from amazon.com)

How Did "The Hunting Party" by Lucy Foley End?

What Are the Twists and Spoilers?

First of all, that cozy lodge is actually a front for a drug smuggling ring! 

Heather, the Lodge manager, heads to an abandoned building on the property to check for Iain. Iain is fairly suspicious - he likely never left on the holiday he said he was, he has access to a missing gun, and he had ominously told Heather to not let the guests wander outside at night.

Doug, the groundskeeper, calls Heather over the radio saying that he is going to come to her and stop her, but Heather is undeterred. Once inside she finds a bunch of packaged cocaine and is then hit over the head and passes out, when Heather comes to, she recognizes the person who hurt her as Iain. 

Iain holds Heather hostage, but thankfully because Doug was on his way to help Heather anyway, Doug shoots Iain setting Heather free. Iain confirms Heather's suspicions about the drug smuggling and we learn that the creepy train guy was creepy because he was helping with the drug smuggling ring, too. Oh, and those creepy Icelandic hikers? Yep, they were in on it also!

Emma is *obsessed* with Miranda  

The twists in "The Hunting Party" really begin to take off when drunk Emma slips up during one of their lodge get-togethers. Emma asks Miranda if she remembers something from college - a time before Emma had supposedly known Miranda. 

Emma, they've been told, went to a different university so the comment is definitely odd! Miranda, also drunk, doesn't think much of it, but it is clear that Emma is referring to something Miranda did before she is believed to have known the group which is very suspicious. Clearly, Emma has been observing Miranda since long before she started dating Mark and joined the friend group. 

Then things get more suspicious! While visiting Emma, Miranda is pleasantly surprised when she sees that Emma has the same lipstick that she wears. This is convenient because Miranda's has gone missing ( very sus). Miranda then finds a box at Emma's, opens it, and sees inside all kinds of previously lost items of hers that Emma had stolen and kept! Previously in the novel, Miranda and the group had discussed her college stalker, and it becomes clear that that person was Emma. 

The perspective switches to Emma's and we learn that Emma has always felt that she didn't have her own personality. Instead, Emma liked to watch others and borrow theirs. Miranda, being "that girl" was a natural choice; Emma has been obsessed with her ever since meeting at their college interviews. 

Miranda's husband, Julien, is cheating on her with Katie, Miranda's best friend.

And there is an added twist to this twist, which was a pretty good twist because I don't remember any hints at this one! We, the readers, know that Katie's character is pregnant. Miranda also puts this together from clues and then asks Katie if the father is her husband, Julien. And it is! This is especially hurtful because Katie is Miranda's best friend and Miranda has been struggling to become pregnant herself.

The biggest twist of all - Emma is the killer and she kills Miranda, kind of by accident - maybe?

Miranda tries to leave after finding out that Emma is her stalker. but Emma runs after her. Miranda, understandably upset about finding out about Emma, calls her some unkind words. This causes Emma to flash back to elementary school when something similar happened. Not thinking about what might happen next, Emma grabs Miranda's neck and strangles her. She then pushes Miranda backward allowing her to fall and guaranteeing her death.

Emma then attempts to take revenge on Katie

After killing Miranda, Emma lies low in the cabins, believing it is unlikely that they would ever be able to pin the murder on her. Emma also decides that she needs to take revenge on Katie for hurting Miranda. Emma twists what happened in her mind, blaming Katie and Julien for making Miranda upset. Emma believes that is why Miranda said the hurtful ( true ) things to Emma that motivated Emma to kill Miranda. Emma tries to kill Katie, but thankfully Heather and Doug have made their way back and Heather throws herself at Emma taking the bullet and saving Katie. Heather recovers and is fine.

Other possible suspects

This novel had one too many red herrings in my opinion. Here are some of the other characters and how the author leads you to think that they might actually have been the murderer -

Bo acts suspiciously, taking extra care of a very intoxicated Miranda, kind of hiding her away. Miranda seems confused by how she became so out of it, suggesting that she might have been drugged.

Giles confronts Miranda about revealing that she slept with someone insisting that Miranda not tell his wife, Samira.

Through all of this Miranda is very coy - suggesting that she has dirt on every one of the people upset with her and she is more than happy to spill it. Miranda always seemed like the one most likely to be murdered. Which isn't really a superlative you want to win.

Miranda spends some time with Doug who has PTSD and anger issues. When Miranda goes to see him she taunts him calling him a coward and the chapter ends with us not knowing whether Doug lashes out, as we know he has a prior history of doing when angry.

And that's a wrap on "The Hunting Party" by Lucy Foley! Let me know below if I missed any twists! Did you figure out this thriller early or did it take you by surprise? Thanks for reading, readers!

 Looking for more spoilers? Check out this post below!