Rating: 
Summary: Very good but sluggish second half. . .
Review: Bret Lott is a great writer, very lyrical and fluid. It's a joy to read his writing -- to an extent. What brings this book down is the muddled plot and the way that the second half doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Reading Huger's thoughts and feelings is fascinating, and Lott's descriptions of the South are wonderful -- being a transplanted Southerner myself, reading this book only makes me long more severely for my home state. But I was really disappointed by the way that it seems he felt he had to give the plot a lot of twists and complications. The pleasure I got from reading this book stemmed from his artful use of characters and how everything affected them, not the flimsy murder-suspense plot. I was glued to it at the beginning, but as I approached the end, my interest began to wane.
Rating:
Summary: Well written but dull
Review: Bret Lott's "The Hunt Club" is a well written novel with a promising premise: fifteen year old Huger, acting as caretaker to his blind uncle, discovers a corpse in the fields of the Hunt Club, a shooting range that serves as a meeting place for Charleston's wealthy professionals. After an enigmatic visit from the deceased suicidal wife, Huger is off and running in a mad dash to solve the murder. If only the premise lived up to its potential. While well written -- Lott is particularly gifted at vividly sketching characters in one sentence-- the novel is slow and the characters flat. Like many novels, Huger is on a journey from innocence to experience and will never be the same after the things that happen to him, including a hacknied and predictable revelation about his paternity. Even at a relatively short 240 pages, I was bored midway through and relieved when it was over.
Rating: 
Summary: Home sweet Home, or is it?
Review: Brett Lott's The Hunt Club is a wonderful mystery filled with murder, lies and cover-ups. Starting with page one you are presented with lies that you will not learn of until well into the book. The plot is so thick you could cut it with a knife; mysteries build on top of mysteries. Just when you think you have it figured out, the next page will prove you wrong. This is not your average murder mystery. It starts out with what may appear as just a murder and a possible cover-up. Then soon turns into a world of lies and confusion, that one boy must discover to save his precious land, Hungry Neck. It starts with a piece of land, covered in swamps and growth totaling 2,200 acres. Basically nothing anybody would want, except for Huger Dillard (pronounced "YOU-gee") and his family. One day as Huger drove the members of the Hunt Club to go hunting, he stumbled upon a dead body. The corpse with little of a head, and the hands are skinned. There laid Charles Middleton Simons, a member of the Hungry Neck Hunt Club; and then on starts the twisting and turning of the truth. The more he learns about the death of Simons the more he learns that this might not just be about a murder. Huger learns after much investigation with Unc that greedy doctors, also members of the Hunt Club, are behind this. The people who loved to hunt the land every Sunday, are now trying to get Unc to sell his land for their profit. However this is Huger's land and there is no way they are going to take it away from him, or so he thinks. Huger and his family gets drawn deeper and deeper into this mess and find themselves right in the middle. The doctors weren't the ones setting all this up, it now gets even more dangerous as the police get in the scheme. But the question is, can the police be trusted? It seems that everyone they looked to as a friend will betray them all in the name of selfishness. The plot only starts to unwind, when your typical villain decides to unveil his masterful plan right before he kills them. The end is shockingly good, you're heart will drop to your stomach. Will they survive?
Rating: 
Summary: Rather disappointing
Review: Having read several good reviews from various critics, I lookedforward to this book's paperback release for some time. Unfortunately,while Lott seems to be have an adequate grasp of the language, hisstorytelling skills just do not rise to the same level. A whodunit of sorts is marred by an overly tedious narrative and far-too-convenient plot twists that ultimately lead to a flat climax. Furthermore, the story is tied up just a tad too neatly--when the person........... You've no doubt seen any number of cheesy James Bond villains do the exact same thing ("Since I am going to kill you very soon, Mr. Bond, it doesn't matter if I let you in on my little secret, does it?"). Ugh. Take a pass on this one--it's not worth the effort. END
Rating:
Summary: Great novel. Highly recommend.
Review: I loved this book. I thought the book was exceptionally well-written with a lyrical quality about it. I could visualize the scenes in my mind as I was turning the pages. I found it difficult to put the book down and finished it in two nights. I hope there's a sequel in the works.
Rating: 
Summary: Quality mystery with a let down ending
Review: I picked up this book because I had read about the author, a literature professor at Chapel Hill I think, and I wanted to read something from him. I enjoyed the mystery which was strong and well-conceived. I felt that I had visited Charleston because of the rich detail Lott gives. I'll read the sequel, if he writes it.
Rating:
Summary: Makes you forget that "page-turner" is a cliche
Review: I usually don't go for novels about murder, unless they come highly, highly recommended by someone with reading tastes not unlike my own. So when my sister recommended this book, I sat up and took notice.
Huger (a French name, which is pronounced YOU-gee) Dillard is the 15-year-old who narrates this story of murder, betrayal, and family secrets. Despite things he doesn't understand, Huger's heart is intertwined with the life and fate of "Unc," Uncle Leland, made blind by a household accident. The accident was all the more dreadful because Unc lost something dear to him in the fire. But that's only the beginning of the dark secrets and tragedies that unravel slowwwly in this book.
Slowly, because you feel every breath the characters take--but also quickly, because you'll read like a speed reader just to find out whether the main characters survive what is happening to them . . . not only in body, but in heart and spirit.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it a lot
Review: I've always been a mystery person, and I liked this books plot and its charm that is unique to the Charleston area. Those who have seen the desolate Awendaw, the WASPY McClellanville, and the stanky North Charleston can get a clear picture of this book. It's a great read, very beautifully written.
And Lott named Huger's mom after mine :) So I might be a wee bit partial.
Rating:
Summary: Quality mystery with a let down ending
Review: Like so many other mystery books, The Hunt Club begins with a murder. However Bret Lott quickly distinguishes the story from the average murder mystery with his direct writing style, original and interesting characters, and complex plot. In the beginning the murder appears to be the work of a disgruntle wife. However, story changes from a simple murder to a confused mystery when the protagonist, Huger Dillard is visited by victim's wife. The plot grow more confused as Huger and his Uncle Leland, who owns the hunt club, receive threats and discover a conspiracy by the members of the club and the police to try and steal their land. However the real architect behind the scheme is the very last person anyone would suspect.
The constant twist and surprised in this book were defiantly the most enjoyable part for me. I also thought that the vivid and well developed setting was a contributing factor to why I liked this book so much. Most of Bret Lott's characters I thought were well developed and believable wit the exception of the deputy Thigpen. I thought his character was a hindrance in the end of the book, with his sudden personality shift. In fact the entire ending of the book was, in my opinion, its greatest weakness. The strength and tension that was build up in the beginning of the book seemed to fade during the end and finally died by the end of the chase through the woods. The final showdown with the unmasked villain was not climatic at all and ended abruptly. Despite this I would recommend this book if only for the great mystery in the first part.
Rating:
Summary: Great novel. Highly recommend.
Review: This book was ridiculously full of everything the author could think of: multiple murders, blindness, deafness, a parental identity "mystery", shoot 'em ups, chases and inter-racial, adolescent attraction. Oh, yes, and then there was the part where a teenage girl wants to be called by a different name and regardless of her reasons, that whole concept was stupid and should have been left out (along with a lot of other stuff). The story was told from a 15 year old boy's perspective which wasn't a bad idea. This book was chosen for our book group and not one person in the group would recommend it to anyone.
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