Moving backward and forward through time, and cutting between the perspectives of various characters, the guests arrive on the island, which is owned by Aoife, a wedding planner, and her husband Freddy, a chef.

[2][4][5] Similar to Christie's works, Foley often writes closed circle mysteries, wherein the murderer cannot escape the scene of the crime and there are limited suspects.

[2][7] The audiobook was published by Harper Audio in 2020 and was voiced by an ensemble cast of Jot Davies, Chloe Massey, Olivia Dowd, Aoife McMahon, Sarah Ovens and Rich Keeble.

[4] The plot was described by Marie Clarie as "enthralling", with Harper's Bazaar commenting that "Foley has honed her unique brand of reverse-whodunit suspense down to a science".

[19] Jane Murphy in a review for Booklist argued that the dark tension detracts from the novel in places but commented that the tone and plot will be enjoyed by fans of the genre.

[2] Good Housekeeping and The Washington Post praised the tension, which was described by the former as "building [...] to breaking point", and the atmosphere, including peat bogs, a mansion and caves.