If The Hunting Party worked for you because of the Scottish Highlands, snowstorm isolation, old friendships, buried resentment, and small suspect group, your next thriller should probably recreate at least some of that pressure.
The best books like The Hunting Party are not simply murder mysteries.
They put people somewhere difficult to leave.
They give those people history.
Then they let weather, secrets, resentment, and suspicion make the situation increasingly uncomfortable.
Some of the books below use snowy chalets and mountain resorts.
Others use isolated hotels, remote islands, ships, or places where the characters become trapped together.
What connects them is atmosphere.
Expect:
- isolated locations
- difficult relationships
- hidden histories
- limited suspect groups
- bad weather
- psychological tension
- destination settings
- secrets that refuse to stay buried
Quick Picks: The Best Books Like The Hunting Party
If you want the shortest version, start here.
Closest overall match:
One by One by Ruth Ware
Best if you want more Lucy Foley:
The Guest List
Best snowy friendship thriller:
Shiver by Allie Reynolds
Best Alpine mystery:
The Chalet by Catherine Cooper
Best atmospheric hotel thriller:
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
Best fast survival thriller:
No Exit by Taylor Adams
Best darker snowbound thriller:
The Drift by C. J. Tudor
What Makes a Book Feel Like The Hunting Party?
A similar thriller does not need to take place in Scotland.
It does not even need snow.
The more important ingredients are structural.
A small group arrives somewhere.
The location limits their freedom.
Existing relationships begin to fracture.
Old information surfaces.
Suspicion spreads.
Then the setting makes everything harder.
The strongest matches usually combine several of these elements:
- remote location
- limited group
- shared history
- buried resentment
- dangerous weather
- shifting loyalty
- psychological pressure
- growing distrust
That is why snowy resorts work so well for this style of thriller.
The location looks beautiful.
But the same mountains, roads, and weather that make the trip attractive can also make escape difficult.
1. One by One by Ruth Ware
If you want the closest overall match, start with One by One.
A group from a technology company travels to a luxury chalet in the French Alps.
Then an avalanche isolates them.
Company tensions were already high before the weather became dangerous.
Once people begin disappearing and dying, the chalet turns into a contained environment where everyone becomes more suspicious.
The similarities are strong:
- snowy mountain setting
- isolated luxury accommodation
- limited group
- existing interpersonal conflict
- dangerous weather
- changing suspicion
- multiple perspectives
- murder inside the group
The biggest difference is the relationship structure.
The Hunting Party is built around old friends.
One by One uses workplace conflict and competing business interests.
Best for: the closest modern snowbound match.
Read our full One by One Review: Is Ruth Ware’s Snowy Thriller Worth Reading? for a spoiler-light look before starting it.
2. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The most obvious next choice is another Lucy Foley closed-circle mystery.
Instead of a snowy Highlands reunion, The Guest List takes place around a wedding on a remote island.
The social relationships are different, but many of the same strengths remain:
- isolated location
- multiple viewpoints
- limited suspect group
- hidden resentment
- complicated relationships
- old secrets
- atmospheric weather
- gradual reveals
The wedding creates a more polished and social atmosphere.
Underneath that surface, the relationships are just as uncomfortable.
Best for: readers who want Foley’s style in a different setting.
Read our The Guest List Review: Is Lucy Foley’s Thriller Worth Reading? for the full spoiler-light review.
3. Shiver by Allie Reynolds
Former competitive snowboarders reunite at an isolated French Alps resort.
They already share history.
Some of that history is uncomfortable.
As the reunion continues, memories of competition, rivalry, and a missing former member begin affecting the group.
The combination of:
- snow
- mountain isolation
- competitive friendships
- past secrets
- limited group dynamics
makes Shiver one of the most natural recommendations after The Hunting Party.
The athletic competition also adds another layer of rivalry that separates it from Foley’s novel.
Best for: snowy isolation and old-friend tension.
4. The Chalet by Catherine Cooper
If you want another luxury Alpine setting, The Chalet is a strong option.
The story connects a present-day stay in the French Alps with events surrounding a disappearance years earlier.
The mountain environment looks glamorous.
But history follows the characters into the resort.
That makes it a particularly good fit if you enjoyed the way The Hunting Party uses an attractive holiday destination to contain something much darker.
Expect:
- French Alps
- luxury setting
- past and present connections
- buried secrets
- suspicious relationships
- winter atmosphere
Best for: Alpine luxury and a mystery rooted in the past.
5. The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
A former sanatorium has been transformed into a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps.
The building is isolated.
The landscape is cold and dramatic.
Then someone disappears.
This book leans even harder into atmosphere than The Hunting Party.
The location itself creates unease.
The building has history.
The mountains make everything feel enclosed.
If the Scottish Highlands were your favorite part of Foley’s novel, The Sanatorium is one of the strongest choices on this list.
Best for: dark mountain atmosphere and an unsettling hotel.
6. An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
A group of guests arrives at a remote hotel in the Catskills.
Then a winter storm cuts the property off.
The power goes out.
People begin dying.
The structure is classic closed-circle mystery.
The group is small.
The location is isolated.
Communication becomes difficult.
And the possibility of an outsider becomes less comforting as suspicion turns toward the guests themselves.
It is more straightforward than The Hunting Party, with less long-term friendship history.
But it delivers the trapped-in-winter feeling extremely well.
Best for: readers who want a focused snowstorm murder mystery.
7. No Exit by Taylor Adams
A young woman becomes stranded at a highway rest stop during a severe snowstorm.
Only a handful of strangers are there.
Then she discovers that someone in the building is hiding something terrifying.
This book moves much faster than The Hunting Party.
There is less slow-burn relationship drama.
There is much more immediate danger.
But the environment creates the same essential pressure:
a small group, bad weather, nowhere easy to go, and no clear idea who can be trusted.
Best for: readers who want snowy isolation with much faster pacing.
8. The Drift by C. J. Tudor
If you want the winter isolation turned up significantly, try The Drift.
The story follows multiple dangerous situations unfolding during severe winter conditions.
Characters find themselves trapped in places including:
- a crashed coach
- a stranded cable car
- an isolated chalet
The book mixes thriller, mystery, survival, and darker speculative elements.
That makes it less similar to The Hunting Party socially.
But the cold, confinement, distrust, and sense that help may not be coming make it a strong atmospheric follow-up.
Best for: readers who want something darker, faster, and more dangerous.
9. Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
A married couple travels to a remote location in Scotland for a weekend away.
The relationship already has problems.
The isolation does not improve them.
This is more intimate than The Hunting Party because the central tension comes from a marriage rather than a friendship group.
But it shares several appealing elements:
- remote Scottish atmosphere
- winter isolation
- secrets
- unreliable relationships
- psychological tension
- a location that feels increasingly uncomfortable
If the Scottish setting and interpersonal mistrust were your favorite parts of Foley’s novel, this is a strong next choice.
Best for: psychological tension and a smaller, more intimate suspect dynamic.
You can also explore our Alice Feeney Books in Order: Complete Reading Guide for more from the author.
10. The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh
A New Year’s Eve celebration.
A freezing lake.
A dead man.
And a community full of people with reasons to dislike him.
The Last Party is less of a pure closed-circle mystery than The Hunting Party, but the New Year setting makes it an interesting companion read.
It also uses:
- winter atmosphere
- community secrets
- complicated relationships
- resentment
- a suspicious group
- past history affecting the present
The investigative structure is stronger here because detectives play a more central role.
Best for: readers who want New Year atmosphere with a more traditional investigation.
11. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
A travel journalist boards a luxury cruise.
Then she believes she witnesses something terrible involving a neighboring cabin.
There is one problem.
No passenger appears to be missing.
The cruise ship creates a highly controlled environment.
The passenger group is finite.
The ocean makes leaving impossible.
And the central character struggles to convince others that something is wrong.
The social setup is very different from The Hunting Party, but the confined luxury location gives it the same feeling of being somewhere beautiful that gradually becomes threatening.
Best for: luxury confinement and uncertainty about who to trust.
12. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
A family gathers at a mountain resort.
Their relationships are complicated.
Their history is unusual.
Then another death gives everyone something new to worry about.
This is more playful and self-aware than The Hunting Party.
It does not have the same cold psychological tone.
But it offers:
- mountain isolation
- difficult relationships
- family history
- limited suspects
- murder
- secrets
- snowbound mystery atmosphere
It is a useful choice when you want the same kind of structure but need a change in tone.
Best for: readers who want a lighter, cleverer take on the snowbound mystery.
Which Book Is Most Like The Hunting Party?
For the closest overall match, start with One by One.
Both books place a group in a luxurious snowy environment and then use weather to increase isolation.
Both also rely heavily on conflict within the group.
The difference is where that conflict comes from.
The Hunting Party:
old friendships
One by One:
workplace politics
If the friendship history was more important to you than the snow, Shiver may be an even better choice.
Best Books Like The Hunting Party by Mood
Still not sure?
Choose based on what you want from your next thriller.
Want another snowy group mystery?
Read One by One.
Want old friends and competition?
Read Shiver.
Want another Lucy Foley book?
Read The Guest List.
Want luxury Alpine atmosphere?
Read The Chalet.
Want something darker?
Read The Drift.
Want something much faster?
Read No Exit.
Want another Scottish setting?
Read Rock Paper Scissors.
Want a lighter mystery?
Read Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.
The Hunting Party Fans Should Try Ruth Ware
Ruth Ware is one of the easiest authors to recommend after Lucy Foley.
Both writers often use:
- isolated settings
- small groups
- strong atmosphere
- difficult relationships
- secrets
- psychological tension
But their storytelling tends to feel different.
Foley often distributes attention across an ensemble.
Ware frequently spends more time inside the experience of one or two central narrators.
For The Hunting Party readers specifically, One by One is the clearest starting point.
If you enjoy it, explore our Books Like One by One: 12 Isolated Thrillers to Read Next.
Should You Read The Guest List Next?
If you want more Lucy Foley, yes.
It is the most natural next step.
Instead of snow and a New Year reunion, you get:
- an island
- a wedding
- rough weather
- a broader social group
- hidden resentment
- multiple perspectives
The atmosphere changes.
The core closed-circle tension remains.
For more recommendations built around that book, see Books Like The Guest List: 12 Closed-Circle Mysteries to Read Next.
What to Read After The Hunting Party If You Want More Snow
Choose:
One by One
for a luxury chalet and workplace tension.
Or:
Shiver
for an old group with competitive history.
Or:
The Drift
if you want winter survival to become much more intense.
What to Read After The Hunting Party If You Want Something Faster
Choose:
No Exit.
The danger arrives much earlier.
The suspect pool is small.
The weather prevents easy escape.
And the plot becomes a survival problem almost immediately.
What to Read After The Hunting Party If You Want More Atmosphere
Choose:
The Sanatorium.
The Swiss Alps and converted hotel give the book a strong sense of place.
Or choose:
The Chalet
if you want luxury travel, Alpine scenery, and past secrets.
Final Picks
The best follow-up to The Hunting Party depends on what you most enjoyed about it.
If it was the snowy isolation, start with One by One.
If it was the friendship history, choose Shiver.
If it was Lucy Foley’s storytelling, continue with The Guest List.
If it was the luxury winter setting, try The Chalet.
If you wanted more danger and speed, choose No Exit.
And if you want the cold atmosphere pushed into something darker, The Drift is the strongest departure.
You do not need to find another book with exactly the same plot.
Find the element that made The Hunting Party work for you, then choose the thriller that recreates that feeling.
