One group of friend but how well do they all know each other. Who hold secrets. Beth is determined to find out what happened but who can she trust and will she be safe.

Lovely book getting to know the charecters and their lives.

Enjoyable read

The premise of this book is good. I felt it was a slower pace than I would have liked for a thriller.
The characters are well developed
An average read

The House Party is full of twists and turns that will keep you entertained. It starts with a party at a house, and one of the woman dies. Who did it. Why did they do it? Nothing is as it seems and you are kept guessing until the end! Recommended.

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I really enjoyed the story and it was a quick paced thriller. I enjoyed the setting snd it reminded me of books I read when I was a young teenager. I will be recommending it to family and friends. This author was new to me but I will be looking for more from this author in the future. Thanks again for the opportunity to read this book.

The description for the book made it sound fantastic and exciting. But sadly it didn’t live up to my expectations. It could have been written so much better. It had the plot right. Just sadly it never got there

A new author to me and one I’ll be looking up now. This is a slow paced easy read. You can relate to the main characters as they are all likeable and because of this I’ve given it 4 stars. Not often you really like all of the characters.

This book was ok. It was a slow paced book with a winding story. The characters were difficult to connect to. It was very predictable and sometimes confusing . It still drew me in and kept my interest .

This is one party you certainly don’t want an invite to! Mary Grand’s chilling tale of lies, deception and betrayal, The House Party, is a juicy and satisfying thriller that will keep you glued to the page until the very last word.

Kathleen has thrown an intimate house-warming party to show off the renovation she has done in her home on the Isle of Wight. Kathleen should be on top of the world, but she cannot help but be fearful and apprehensive. Kathleen is convinced that one of her guests is dangerous and that they will go to any lengths to wreak their revenge upon her. When Kathleen confides in her best friend Beth about her fears, she is absolutely convinced that one of her guests has got murder in mind – a suspicion that proves correct the following morning when Kathleen is found dead at the foot of a cliff.

Beth cannot believe that her best friend is dead and after their last conversation, she begins to question just how well she knew the people she has been friends with for years. As she begins to dig deeper, she realizes that they all have secrets which they have gone to great lengths to hide. But which one of them was desperate enough to kill for it? As Beth finds herself edging ever close to the truth, she finds herself courting danger because the killer has already killed once and they won’t hesitate to kill again…

Mary Grand stirs a pot spiced with scandalous secrets, deadly desires and dangerous obsessions in The House Party. A tightly-plotted page-turner that will send many a shudder racing down your back, this tense, twisted and terrifying thriller is one that will keep you up way past your bedtime.

A chilling tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat, Mary Grand’s The House Party is a psychological crime thriller you shouldn’t miss.

The Isle of Wight, a small island off the England, is the setting of Kathleen's spectacular housewarming party for a group of very close friends. Found dead next day, one off the guests a Beth is determined to find the killer in this closed-room thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed this one - despicable/pretentious characters, nasty backstories galore, you just have to keep reading!

This was an easy relaxing read. I enjoyed the guessing game. The author did a good job of including twists and turns. I would have given it a higher rating but there were so so many characters that I had trouble keeping track of who was who at first. Overall, I would recommend this book to other readers and would like to read more by this author!

A fab read, really enjoyed it. Just what I was looking for.

Full review to follow on my blog, Thanks to the author and publisher for such a gripping tale. An easy 5 stars!

House Party Turns Deadly....
An intimate house warming party turns deadly in this well drawn murder mystery exploring, often unexpected, and complex familial relationships. A claustrophobic atmosphere and credible characters adds to the slow burn, mounting tension. Engaging reading.

At the house-warming party of Kathleeen's spectacular new coastal home on the Isle of Wight, she confides to her friend, Beth that she is very frightened of one of her guests but she doesn't go into detail and won't tell Beth anything more about why she is so terrified. Early the following morning Kathleen's body is found at the foot of a cliff and whilst the evidence could indicate a dreadful accident, it could also point towards something far more suspicious. Beth is determined to do all she can to get to the truth of the matter.

The House Party is a delicately plotted suspense story which looks at the minutiae of the lives of those close friends and family who attended Kathleen's house-warming party. As the story progresses it becomes obvious that all these guests have something to hide and I enjoyed following in Beth's footsteps as she does her best to deal with her own grief at losing a close friend whilst at the same time questioning everything she once thought was true about her relationship with the other house party guests. I enjoyed observing how this small fictional town, with its share of do-gooders and gossipmongers, starts to reveal its closely held secrets.

The story is something of a slow mover, which I think is quite deliberate, as it allows an introspective look at all those characters who could have wanted to do Kathleen harm. The tension builds gradually and there are some interesting layers of suspicion so that for a while I really had no idea who, or what, was responsible for Kathleen's untimely demise.

Part psychological suspense and part cosy crime mystery, The House Party is an interesting debut novel. I look forward to seeing just what this emerging author does next 😊

4-5 stars, couldn’t give a full 5 stars, because while for the most part it was unputdownable and thrilling to read, other parts were very slow paced making it much harder to finish! I did think the writing was quite good, also loved the Whodunnit aspect, but sometimes it was so slow I had a hard time picking back up after a break! I still enjoyed it, as I was reading, so thought it did deserve the full 4-5 stars. I’m not sure I would see the story as a house party, like the title suggests, but it still provided some good thrills, chills, and shocks! Do highly recommend to those looking for a new whodunnit!
Will make sure to buzz it up on the platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

This is a contemporary murder mystery set on the Isle of Wight. It starts at a house warming party attended by a close knit group of friends. The hostess, Kathleen, tells her friend Beth that one of their friends is threatening her and she’s terrified. However, she doesn’t name who it is but says she’ll meet Beth the next day. When Kathleen’s body is found the next day Beth doesn’t believe her death is accidental and she’s determined to discover what happened to Kathleen.

This is a story full of secrets. It shows how we only see what others are prepared to share with us and that they may all have secrets of their own. Her own family, their friends and their families are all suspect in Beth’s eyes as she becomes somewhat obsessed with discovering the truth about Kathleen’s death. Was it really an accident or could one of their friends be a murderer? When something doesn’t feel right, should you ignore your intuition or investigate it further? Despite the antagonism of her friends, Beth is determined to find the truth, inadvertently discovering just how many of them have secrets . . . . but someone doesn’t want her to find the truth. She has threatening phone calls telling her to stop looking, her friends are no longer friendly, what should she do?

This is a great read which is full of twists and turns. I would start to suspect one of the friends only to change my mind a few pages (and other clues) later. It is an intriguing read and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I’ll definitely look out for more by Mary Grand in future and have no hesitation in highly recommending this to anyone who enjoys crime thrillers, cosy mysteries and murder mysteries as it is a brilliant, suspense filled mix of these genres.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book and this is my honest review after choosing to read it and being enthralled from the very beginning to the surprising ending.

This is definitely one of my favourite physocological thrillers for 2020. I had no idea who the murderer could be and I have to admit every one of the friends was definitely a suspect in my mind. At the start you love all the characters and want to have a friendship group like theirs. Until someone in the group dies and all the secrets and hidden lives start coming out. It was a little bit of a slow burner but the twists and turns kept coming in terms of suspects. One second your like I know who done it then they explain themselves and you think okay it wasn’t them. I recommend everyone to read this book.

Celebrating at her house-warming party, Kathleen isn’t herself and confides in Beth that she’s scared of one of their friends, someone at the party. She promises to tell her what’s going on after yoga in a few times time….but she doesn’t live that long. The next day Kathleen is found at the bottom of a cliff, deemed an accident. But Beth knows there must be more to it, especially following Kathleen’s revelation. Despite a warning from her Husband to keep quiet and not go meddling, Beth can’t help but start looking into their friends – and the more she does the more secrets she starts to uncover. But one of them is prepared to kill to keep their secret safe – but who? And will Beth be able to uncover the truth before her time is up?

This is a brilliant psychological thriller that kept me guessing right until the end. The fact that it could be any of their friends keeps you on your toes, and Grand does a fantastic job of raising your suspicions against everyone! I literally thought it was every single one of them at some point, and still didn’t have a clue who it really was as I came towards the end of the book!

The characters are all likeable at first, but then as you discover things about them your opinions might change; mine were certainly all over the place!! Beth is an incredible strong lady; despite what she goes through she perseveres and puts herself in some potentially dangerous situations – all so she can find out the truth for her dead friend. And some of the truths she learns about her friends, changes what she thinks and makes her question whether she truly knows anyone…..

The storyline was gripping and enjoyable, and I just wanted to keep reading to see what the conclusion would be. The setting was also fantastic and I enjoyed the characters walks and cliff views.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and was completely sucked in to the story. If you’re looking for a psychological thriller that will slowly unravel, but keep you hooked then you should check this out. Recommended by me! I look forward to reading more from this author.

This is an excerpt from the book review on my blog https://trails-of-tales.com/

.......have correctly guessed the conclusion of many a mystery novels. (Okay, maybe a little pride.)

‘The House Party‘ though, kept me in the delightful dark all throughout its pages. In fact, it is funny but the protagonist’s journey through the labyrinth was so engrossing that I didn’t really stop to solve the mystery myself. I just kept following Beth.

I gasped when she gasped. Was excited when she was excited. And I tried to hold her fictional hand when things got really dangerous.

That is a testament to the author Mary Grand‘s ability to engage the audiences with the emotional spectrum of her characters........

I loved the ending. Just the right amount of excitement and danger for me. I absolutely recommend ‘House Party‘ to all crime thriller fans out there......

Mary Grand has used a classic locked room format for this mystery thriller but given it a larger stage and it works so well.

Kathleen and Patrick have just finished building their beautiful house in a small town on the Isle of White. During her housewarming party Kathleen confesses to friend Beth that she has made a terrible mistake and now someone is threatening to expose her. She is scared, out of character and she reveals someone in their group is not who they pretend to be. The next day Kathleen’s body is found and first thoughts are that she fell over the cliff in a tragic accident however Beth feels there’s something sinister at work but who can she trust to help?

Beth becomes completely consumed by her final conversation with Kathleen and is convinced there was more to her story. The more she questions and talks with friends, the more small things are hinted at or revealed which makes everyone a suspect.

The plot unravels at a steady pace – it’s not a novel that races through things however it allows the reader to soak up every piece of information. I completely put myself in Beth’s shoes and I analysed every conversation and action of her friends. I searched for clues within everything and the more I learned, the more suspicious I became of everyone. Nobody is who they seem to be and everything feels off. I always enjoy a novel that makes me feel like this – I love untrustworthy characters and I love playing guess who.

The setting provides the perfect backdrop to this mystery. From the beautiful cliffs to the mentality and community spirit of a small village, the description and choice of venue compliments the plot perfectly. I think the closer the character is to everyone and everything, the more tense things feel.

An excellent character driven mystery.

At the house party Kathleen confides in Beth that she is terrified of one of the guests at the party but will not say who it is as they know a secret of Kathleen’s.
The following morning Kathleen is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs at the bottom of her garden . Was she pushed or was it suicide or an acccident.
Everyone thinks it’s an accident but Beth is sure it’s not and decides to find out who Kathleen was frightened of.
The guests at the party are all close friends so when Beth keeps digging into what happen she upsets quite a few people. They all have something to hide. But can Beth find out before something happens to her.
A good read
Thanks NetGalley