The corporate retreat is a universal symbol of performative productivity—a weekend of forced icebreakers and “synergy” exercises designed to mask the grinding reality of the 9-to-5. But in Rachel Moore’s upcoming novel, the retreat is no longer a social obligation; This proves a bloodsport.
Arriving May 19, Safari Murder Party is positioning itself as the best thriller of May 2026 by blending the high-fashion toxicity of The Devil Wears Prada with the visceral, high-stakes survivalism of Ready or Not. It is a story that transforms the climb up the corporate ladder into a literal fight for survival, where the only way to get a promotion is to outlast your colleagues.
The narrative follows Fletcher Spence, a personal assistant who has spent three years in the orbit of the terrifying CEO of Cartwright Media. Fletcher is the archetype of the modern overachiever: she clocks 70 hours a week, has sacrificed her social life, and is trapped in an engagement to a man she doesn’t love—all for the hope of eventually becoming a travel photographer. When the company heads to a remote, private safari-park island for their annual retreat, Fletcher views it as her final chance to prove her value to the firm.
That ambition takes a gruesome turn when the CEO meets a sudden end in the jaws of a lion. The subsequent reading of the will reveals a sadistic twist: the staff member who survives the remainder of the week will inherit the entirety of Cartwright Media. Suddenly, the office politics of the boardroom are replaced by a survival game in the wild.
A ‘Soup’ of Genre-Bending Ambition
Moore, who is making her adult debut with this title, describes her approach to the story as a culinary experiment. The novel functions as a hybrid of corporate satire, a steamy romance, and a slasher film, creating a tonal tension between the absurd and the horrific.
During a discussion about her creative process, Moore likened the genre mashup to a hearty meal. “I love soup,” Moore said. “There is something so hearty and healing about a big, steaming bowl of a food made entirely from your favorite ingredients. That’s the same way I approach writing books.”
This “soup” includes the high-octane thrills of action-adventure cinema paired with the emotional core of a romantic comedy. For Moore, the book served as a creative outlet for her own frustrations with the professional world, noting that writing the novel was a “delightful outlet for raging against the corporate machine.”
From YA Roots to Adult Horror
While Moore has previously written for young adult audiences, Safari Murder Party marks a shift toward bloodier and more explicit territory. The transition required a deeper dive into the macabre, with the author spending significantly more time researching “horrible ways to die” than she did in her earlier works.
Despite the increased gore, Moore suggests that the emotional drivers remain the same across age groups. “Inside all of us are the 15-, 16-, 17-year-old versions of us, tucked away like nesting dolls,” Moore said. “No matter our age, we all crave the same things: to be safe, to be loved, to not be eaten by lions.”
The novel’s conceptual framework draws from a variety of high-tension sources. It opens with an ominous quote from Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game, a classic story of human hunting. Moore also cited the eerie, sterile workplace environment of the series Severance and the intricate plotting of the Knives Out franchise as key inspirations for the atmosphere of Cartwright Media.
Alliances and Animal Instincts
Central to the plot is the relationship between Fletcher and Waylon, the CEO’s “infuriatingly handsome” son. In a company filled with people desperate to kill one another for a windfall, Waylon becomes Fletcher’s only viable ally, turning a survival thriller into a high-stakes office rivalry romance.
The setting itself is a character in the story. To enhance the campy, outrageous nature of the plot, the book includes a detailed map of the fictional island, which began as a Canva mock-up before being refined by the Penguin Random House design team. This map serves as a guide for the protagonists as they navigate the manor’s cigar lounge and the deadly terrain beyond.
Moore also warns readers that the island’s wildlife is as dangerous as the corporate greed. While the plot features lions, she specifically highlighted the peril posed by hippopotamuses, noting that despite being herbivores, they are among the deadliest animals on the planet.
The novel’s intersection of power, greed, and love serves as a critique of the lengths to which people will go for professional validation. By placing the “Devil Wears Prada” dynamic in a “Ready or Not” scenario, Moore explores the primal forces that emerge when the corporate veil is stripped away.
Safari Murder Party is scheduled for release on May 19, 2026. Readers can find pre-order information through major book retailers and the publisher’s official site.
Do you think you’d survive a corporate retreat turned survival game, or would you be the first to go? Let us know in the comments.
