The Gathering by Rachel Lynch is a thriller that takes place in a castle in Scotland, where group of family and friends gather, presumably to celebrate the anniversary of the owner, Del, and his wife, Ada.
I had high hopes for this book going into it, but it turned out to be just an okay read for me.
I found it hard to connect to any of the main characters in the story except for one, Finn, one of the employees at the castle. Most of the characters were unlikeable, and secretive, and at times they did things that made no sense.
The plot was convoluted, and so made it hard to know exactly what was going on. In addition, as the story continued on it became harder to know who to believe. While there were a few surprises that I didn’t expect, I found the story somewhat predictable , and was able to guess several of the major plot points.
There was no lack of action and with so many characters and so much going on the story did keep my attention, and was a relatively quick, easy read.
I was not a big fan of the ending, but if I say why I might spoil it, so that’s about all I can say about it.
Overall The Gathering was an average thriller for me. I’m sure it will appeal to many people, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Gathering will be available on June 17 2026.
Life, Tea, and Everything 