Warning: This book contains storylines about death, manipulation, abusive relationships, and addiction.
The Club by Ellery Lloyd’s neon cover first appeared on my Instagram feed in a post by Reese’s Book Club – which has rarely steered me wrong. Having been on a mystery/thriller genre kick these past few months, I was instantly intrigued by the tagline “everyone’s dying to join…” on the cover.
Thanks to a quick Google search, I learned that The Club was a recount of the days leading up to a murder on an exclusive, media-free, and celebrity-only island off the coast of England. The story is told from five different perspectives over the course of the island’s three-day launch/grand opening. The plot is layered with the pasts of each narrating perspective, providing the book with a series of unexpected plot twists.
As I waited for my book to be delivered, I kept coming across its vibrant cover in posts all over Bookstagram—those Instagram accounts devoted to reviewing popular books. I was ready to dive into the pages but worried that it may not live up to the hype of it’s “Reese’s Book Club” or “Instant New York Times Bestseller” label.
The book arrived Friday afternoon. Thanks to DC’s cooperative weather, I could sit outside, soak up the sun, and imagine myself in the world of the uber-exclusive and luxurious island where the book takes place.
Reese and the New York Times were right, because this book was exactly what everyone had been saying it was.
Ellery Lloyd (which is a pseudonym for a couple who wrote the novel together) wastes no time introducing the murder through an article published in the present day. Learning about the final moments before the murder happened hooked me in – so much so that I read the first 150 pages that evening.
While the basic structure of the plot is not uncommon across the mystery/thriller genre, I found that the intensely developed backstories of each character—which in the beginning seemed a bit random—contributed more and more to the story as I read on.
These backstories and seemingly minute details allowed the story to keep me guessing until the end. Right when I thought I had solved the mystery, the authors would introduce another aspect of a character or plot, which brought me right back to square one.
It was not just the plot and characters that pulled me in. The uber-exclusive world of celebrities in an environment without the pressures of the media or fans was contrasted with the lives of the non-celebrity perspectives and brought up interesting points about celebrity behavior.
The combination of the island’s setting, the wealth and celebrity of many characters, and the added mystery vaguely reminded me of HBO’s “The White Lotus.”
To me, this book truly stood out in the way it connected the hardships of each character together, yet subtly revealed these connections every so often throughout the book. It was as if each storyline was a ribbon with the ending of the novel culminating in a bow that tied them all together.
Initially, I was nervous to read this book. I had hoped it would not just be another mystery/thriller that could be solved halfway through. Instead, it far exceeded my (already high) expectations. I cannot stop recommending this book to people and understand why it was an instant bestseller.
If you are looking for a book that draws you in and keeps you turning page after page, this is for you.