The husband-and-wife writing team known as Ellery Lloyd follows up their smart and savvy debut thriller, PEOPLE LIKE HER, with THE CLUB, an all-expenses-paid, eye-opening trip into the world of celebrity clubs.

Thirty years ago, Ned Groom inherited The Home Club in Covent Garden from his grandfather and immediately set to work transforming it into Home, a highly exclusive and gossip-worthy hotspot for only the most elite celebrities. Whether model Kate Moss was hosting her birthday party there, or the cast of “Friends” was taking over the roof terrace, Home was always the center for all the best tabloid news. Since then, Ned and his brother, Adam, have turned Home into a genuine global brand through a collection of 11 members’ clubs with attached hotel suites, each offering trendy, sophisticatedly cool decor and the promise of privacy to any members lucky enough to have gained access.

"Perfect for readers of twisty novels and star-studded casts, THE CLUB is a glitzy, glamorous thriller with a dark and deadly mystery at its heart. If you’re ready for an escape from domestic suspense, plan your next trip to Island Home."

Still, nothing compares to Ned’s latest venture: Island Home, a four-square-mile island only 90 minutes from London and covered in acres of woodland, beaches, five-star restaurants, top-of-the-line spas, tennis courts, swimming pools and even a helipad. At a price tag of 5,000 pounds a night, Island Home has been booked for a solid year before it has even opened. That’s where the trouble comes in.

The ambition of Island Home, combined with Ned’s reputation for perfectionism, has led to numerous delays in the club’s opening, and tensions are at an all-time high by the time the three-day launch party arrives. Everything must be perfect, and it requires a whole team of people to ensure that the launch is a success.

Narcissist Ned, prone to rage-fueled outbursts, seems to be unraveling at a shocking rate, even for him. His longtime assistant and confidant, Nikki Hayes, is doing everything she can to cover for him and keep the guests and employees happy, but even she can see that the team may have been pushed too far. Adam should be as eager as Ned for the launch, but his wife has recently presented him with an ultimatum: her or continuing to work for the Club, forever living in Ned’s shadow.

The Club’s head of membership, Annie Spark, who knows everyone and their business, has been tasked with keeping the guest list at a small but exclusive number, which means playing her cards right and keeping the right people happy. And then there’s the Club’s new head of housekeeping: hard-working but totally out-of-her-league Jess Wilson, who has more than one good reason for taking this highly coveted but equally demanding job.

Add to these five beleaguered characters some colorful, quirky celebrities and an island setting, and you have the makings of a perfect getaway. Or murder.

THE CLUB begins with a bang as we see two people heading toward a clearly fatal end in a Land Rover…and no idea who they are or how they got there. A Vanity Fair article detailing a party of the year turned mystery of the decade follows, and we are then dropped into the launch weekend as the unsuspecting guests arrive. As Ellery Lloyd quickly makes clear, no one hides a good secret like the rich and famous, and no one has more to lose. Within hours of the launch, we learn that nearly everyone on the island --- the workers, the guests and even a few surprise characters --- is hiding something. Even worse, everyone has a reason to want someone else gone, or at least silenced.

This unflinching look into the lives and (horrifically bad) decisions of the glitterati makes the book unputdownable, even as their egos make you groan. But with so many secrets and stories to unpack, the characters are really secondary to the plot, which is utterly riveting. Everyone loves a look into the lives of celebrities and socialites, and Lloyd clearly had a lot of fun writing about their devilish secrets and hijinks. This is made all the better by the perspectives of the Club’s workers, who see what the guests are really like. It’s not a spoiler to say that almost none of them are likable, but the backstabbing, clumsy mistakes and stop-at-nothing drama is like watching a car crash or a true-crime documentary: you simply can’t look away.

Perfect for readers of twisty novels and star-studded casts, THE CLUB is a glitzy, glamorous thriller with a dark and deadly mystery at its heart. If you’re ready for an escape from domestic suspense, plan your next trip to Island Home.