Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

The Birthday Party by Wendy Dranfield revolves around young Charlie (Charlotte) who is dropped off at a birthday party but never comes home. What happened to her?

There were so many secrets that were gradually told throughout this book, however I wasn't sure why these things were not known at the beginning. They weren't considered secrets to the characters in the book so I am not sure why these facts were withheld from the reader?

All in all it was a good book with lots of twists and turns and finding out 'whodunnit' was a journey.

Good psychological thriller.

When I read the synopsis for this book it grabbed my attention. I have read a couple of Wendy Dranfield books and enjoyed them.

When I got about a 1/3 through I became frustrated. We are given info about certain things that keep changing in ways that you question why? Why weren’t you given this info upfront? It feels forced and strange. Especially since the POV of the characters it is about knew these details. It becomes one of the most unbelievable stories where I started guessing at what the most contrived build to the next reveal was going to be and then was not surprised when I hit it on the nose. Once all the major reveals occurred approximately 80% through the book it got better and moved through a more normal process.

It is normal in a book for someone to reveal that they’ve kept secrets from everyone suddenly. I don’t feel it’s normal for 3 main characters in a book to not reveal some pretty significant things while dealing with their child who has gone missing. It’s much more than keeping secrets.

With that said this book could have been great. I wanted it to be.. It just missed the mark. I will keep a look out for the next book by Wendy Dranfield.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review.

I got full-body chills while reading the book.

As Kathy drops Charlie at the Birthday Party, all she can see is joy on the little girl's face. As she drives away - the main and only worry on her mind is her troubled marriage. If she only knew that a few hours after this moment - her world will change, and all the family secrets will come crashing down like a domino effect.

First of all, as a new mom - this novel hit me hard. I was crying alongside Kathy. Second - the cruelty of the mother towards her own child was simply despicable. I've enjoyed the fast pacing theme of this novel. The author throws the reader right in the middle of the rollercoaster. The dual timeline worked perfectly for this novel, explaining Kathy's background. But most importantly I loved the way an author has connected all the pieces in this horrific puzzle at the end. This novel left me with confused feelings. It felt wrong to be happy for the family after such a horrific loss. Nevertheless, it was a thrilling read, the secrets and twists were well written into the story. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced and free copy of the novel.

Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I had both the audio and the ebook. I decided to listen to the audiobook version. I love the Maddison Harper series so I was very excited to read this book.

The main character in this book is Kathy. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Kathy but as the book progressed I felt so sad for her. She has been through so much and for what reason? Well, I won’t spoil that but in my opinion, it wasn’t worth it.

The first half of this book really concentrates on the investigation of missing little Charlie. This was seen from all angles. The family, the press and the police.

The second half really focuses on the why of Charlie’s disappearance. As more and more secrets were revealed it was clear to me that this all could have easily been avoided with the truth. Wendy does a great job keeping the tension and suspense up and the suspicions high. I didn’t trust anyone!

Sarah was an excellent narrator. Her voice reflected the situations and it was easy to tell who was speaking at what points.

I really enjoyed all the twists and turns in this book and I can’t wait for Wendy’s next one.

Kathy dropped off her daughter, Charlie, at a birthday party held at her in-laws. When Charlie failed to go back home, alarm bells went off and it soon become apparent that something had gone terribly wrong. An investigation was immediately launched to find her and that is when it was discovered that her babysitter, who was supposed to pick her from the party, was also missing.

This was such a captivating, twisty read. I enjoyed the fact that everyone had a secret. This provided a large pool of suspects and I couldn’t guess what had happened to Charlie and who was responsible. Investigators had little evidence to go on and the secrets that keep being revealed had everyone on their toes.

As always, Wendy Dranfield has delivered yet another fast-paced, intriguing, enthralling belter of a psychological thriller. The story did get emotional. After all, there was a missing child. Nonetheless, I was at the edge of my seat with each chapter.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Birthday Party' by Wendy Dranfield.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Wendy Dranfield, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 7th January 2022.

This is the third book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'Cry For Help' which is the second book in the 'Detective Madison Harper' series and 'Little Girl Taken' which is the third book in the 'Detective Madison Harper' series and which I would highly recommend.


I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Gone Girl and Teresa Driscol. ' I am a huge fan of Lisa and 'Gone Girl' so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a fan of Wendy Dranfield and if this is half as good as 'Cry For Help' and 'Little Girl Taken' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 66 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Vermont, USA 🇺🇸.

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are Kathy Hamilton and Detective Chase Cooper. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out on anything.

'The Birthday Party' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Wendy discusses/includes a abuse and assault. I wasn't sure whether to include a trigger warning as I don't want to give too much away but I think it's important to state that some triggers include a child so felt it important to include.

Wow!!!! Just flipping wow!!!! What an absolutely epic page turner!!! Well done Wendy you done it again!! Absolutely smashed it!!!!!!! YOU HAVE JUST HIT NOT ONLY MY TOP 3 PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER BUT MY TOP 5 AUTHOR LIST!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVED!!! JUST OMG READ THIS NOW!!!

This books is very well written with vivid descriptions creating the perfect atmosphere for the storyline. The book cover and synopsis works perfectly with the book plot and I am most definitely looking forward to reading not only the next book in the 'Detective Madison Harper' series but also the next heart racing page turner!!

An addictive, nail biting, page turning, heart racing and compelling storyline which had many layers of mysteries and crimes for the reader to be kept guessing throughout. This book just kept on giving and giving and giving and OMG the bombshells just kept on coming!!! Filled with twists, turns, shocks, tragedy and red herrings throughout I had no idea who did what until the end. This is an achievement in itself as it is definitely getting harder to surprise me with the amount of crime novels I've read. The plot was unique and realistic. It started straight in the action and kept you going on a roller-coaster ride of suspension throughout. I was almost in tears when I read certain things, absolutely heartbreaking and certain people got what they deserved in my eyes whilst others deserved so much more. I am so glad that another certain character got their comeuppance too, although I would have liked to see many tortured!!! It is so hard to say how glad I am and how gutted I was about certain events without giving anything away to future readers but I'm sure once people have read it they will know exactly what I mean. Each chapter just left me wanting more and more and I CANNOT remember when I was soooo addicted to a book. I was absolutely hooked. Seriously, don't start this if you have plans as I can guarantee you won't be making them!! Well done Wendy you did absolutely amazing and everything was tied up perfectly. Although certain aspects at the end were absolutely heartbreaking and devastating other endings were just as they should have been.

Before you start this make sure you clear your schedule because once you pick it up you are not going to want to put it down!!!!

I absolutely loved meeting certain characters which definitely included Charlie, Kathy and Chase!! I loved the fact that the main leads were a strong female with alot of background and yet having gone through so much and still going through so much and a very sweet, gorgeous detective whose story broke my heart! I also enjoyed Megan's character and my heart really did go out to her 😔 really liked Chase's character and how he still held a torch for Kathy and I hope he gets everything he deserves. I absolutely despised a certain character who was just complete and utter scum, evil, filth, I could go on and on, I cannot STAND them and don't understand how someone could be sooo despicable. I really can't say anything more as I don't want to give anything away but please when you read this get back to me as I need to rant to someone who knows how I feel. If you don't raad this then seriously your losing out!! I enjoyed that Wendy gave just the right amount of background information on the characters to let us know about them for it to be a standalone. I have never read any of her standalone books and as I've only read the ones in a series I was a bit wary but OMG as I hear many people say 'the girl did gooooooodddd'!!! I'd also like to thank Wendy for bringing certain topics to light, they must have been hard to write about and you've done an amazing job of portraying certain 'things', sorry I can't go into details, again not wanting to spoil it, but I'm sure this will help many people who are struggling so thank you.

Absolutely fantastic Wendy. My heart is still pounding and this story will stay with me for a long, long time.

Congratulations Wendy on yet another success and for absolutely blowing my mind time and time again!!! An absolutely addictive page turner that I would LOVE to see turned into the world's best psychological movie!!!

Overall a pulse racing, engrossing, addictive page turning psychological thriller thay will keep you on edge and will blow your mind over and over again!!


Genres covered in this novel include Thriller, Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Suspense, Psychology Thriller and Mystery amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans Melissa Leigh,Lisa Jewell, 'Gone Girl', Teresa Driscoll Angela Marsons, C. L Taylor, Carol Wyer and anyone looking for a great read.

391 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Kathy grew up in a wealthy and privileged but controlling family. When she falls for a boy from the wrong side of the tracks she tries to hide their relationship and is devastated when it falls apart.

Decades later, when Kathy's daughter goes missing, hidden cracks in the prestigious Hamilton family facade rise to the surface, as nothing is quite as it seems.

Gripping and compelling read. My first by this author but I look forward to reading more.

Kathy and Mitch Hamilton are long-time, upstanding members of the community. Kathy teaches at the Junior High and volunteers at the domestic refuge for women. Mitch is a successful real estate businessman. Kathy’s family is wealthy and have lived in the town for generations. Kathy and Mitch are the parents of Fay, 16, and Charlotte (Charlie), 5. Charlie is a happy, well-adjusted little girl, but Fay is currently having some problems and is seeing a counselor.

Kathy has taken Charlie to Mitch’s brother, Scott's home for a birthday party for his and Cindy’s 6-year-old twins. They are having a huge party for children and adults alike. Both Kathy and Mitch have other commitments so aren’t going to stay for the party. Instead, their babysitter, Megan, will pickup Charlie later and bring her home. But when Kathy and Mitch arrive home, Charlie and Megan aren’t there. When Kathy calls Megan, there is no answer. Where are they?

The police send out Detective Chase Cooper. Kathy and Chase went to school together when they were younger and he is a solid individual who is intent on finding Charlie.

There is a lot of petty and mean finger pointing at one another within the family. Can they even trust their family?

Wow! This is a terrific plot with lots of people disliking one another for one reason or another. However, there is also a lot of love shown, thus the author has created a great mixture of personalities. The story is sad, yet hopeful. Very well done and the culprit was a surprise to me. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wow wow Wow what a book! A masterful tale, packed with suspense. Addictive and twisted. A five star read. Do read this one.

Wow, this is a great story! There are so many twists along the way as well as lots of characters to get to know I had a hard time keeping them straight at times. I had figured out a couple of the reveals along the way but the ending blew me away! I truly love this beautifully written totally relatable book. Buy this book! You will be so glad you did!

Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this amazing arc for my honest review.

This is my fourth book by Wendy Dranfield and I'm so glad I picked it up. Fast-paced, where nothing is like it seems, I really enjoyed the way it all came together at the end. Although I feel I need to take a break from stories involving missing children, I still found The Birthday Party completely riveting and absorbing. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

This book was really slow to start until about halfway through, I honestly felt it was neverending. Once it picked up it was really entertaining, there was so many red herrings and twists and turns all over the place; some of the twists I guessed and others I didn't see coming. The only thing stopping this from being 5 stars was that I felt in parts it was a bit far-fetched with everyone and everything being connected. I can wholeheartedly say that Connie is one of the worst characters I've ever came across in a book. Also, this book may be upsetting for some; as a Mum it's my worst nightmare for something to happen to my wee boy so I did get rather affected by this.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Wendy Dranfield for the copy of this book. All views are my own.*

First, I want to thank Wendy Dranfield, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

O.M.G!! 2022 started off with a bang with Wendy Dranfield’s totally addictive, mind blowing, edge of your seat, intense, deep, emotional, twisted, dark, nail biting, 5 star must read psychological thriller The Birthday Party!! You have not read a missing child case quite like this one before! Go out and grab your copy today-you will be glad you did!! I absolutely fell in love with this book! My favorite Wendy has written so far!

I loved the cute cover for The Birthday Party! Kudos to the graphic designers for creating it. However, don't let the title or the graphics fool you-this is not an easy read by any means! Wendy addresses some very important but sensitive topics in this book that may trigger some readers.

Wendy clearly demonstrates in this book that she is one creative storyteller! I would love to pick her brian and find out where inspiration for this wild storyline came from. It was just so fast paced and if you blinked you missed a specific detail that was so important! There were times I went back to reread parts! It was just an awesome read.

One monumental theme in The Birthday Party is family and more importantly the dynamic of families.

Ohh there were so many emotionally driven scenes in this book that my heart just broke for the characters. I will admit at times I did tear up. I don’t know if I would have handled any of the situations that they were put in. Wendy wrote so many strong characters into these storylines.

The twists and turns were wicked in this book and there were bombshells that went off left and right! For once in my life I was left with no words!!

Wendy, your book has to be made into a NetFlix Series!! It is so good!!!

I have to admit that it took me quite some time to get into this story. It has a lot of the elements I enjoy in a crime thriller, including a relatable detective, short chapters and the emotional pull relating to the trope of the missing child.

However, apart from the admirable Chase, I really didn’t like any of the characters and that set me off kilter for quite a while. Once I’d come to terms with the fact that although I wanted this child to be found safe and well, I didn’t actually feel sorry for any of Charlie’s close family. This didn’t fit well with me at first, but at the story goes on, you come to realise that this may actually be the point and it casts suspicion on a far larger number of people than you’d originally suspect.

This, along with a fast moving plot and significant and unexpected twists make you question a lot of what is going on and really throws up into the air who is actually to blame for the girl’s disappearance.

There was one plot point in particular that I guessed quite early on, but this actually hooked me in more in a sense as I was wondering if I was right, and how it would play out when it happened. The ending is definitely the best part of the book and I struggled to put it down for about the last quarter.

It is clear that Wendy Dranfield is talented at creating believable characters, complex storylines and setting up and unpacking unexpected crimes. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Sometimes the instigator is someone you should least suspect... 👀

Told from various perspectives, Charlie who's desperately waiting for the time to go to her cousins birthday party. Kathy drops off her daughter to her sister-in-law's house, only to find that shortly after, Charlie has disappeared.... Can they find Charlie before it's too late...

Well written, lots of secrets gradually unfolding throughout the book. Some which I'd guessed before hand, but I hadn't quite foreseen the end. I've not read any books by this author before, but would look out for their book titles going forward. A definite should read.

This was a great read

I couldn't put this book down once I started and I was so engrossed in the mystery that I finished this in one sitting.

Kathy drops her 5 year old daughter off at a party leaving her in charge of her sister and brother in law but things don't go as planned.

The story is paced well and is full of tension and suspense.

Too much backstory and the present tense writing didn't work for me. Thank you to the author, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The twists and turns The Birthday Party took kept me guessing the entire time. It wasn't until we got close to the end that I figured it out but I think the author wanted it to be obvious at that point. I was constantly guessing who the suspect was as well as if this was going to be a happy ending or not. Often times, I feel as though the author felt compelled to provide a happy ending to the story so I was very pleased that the author took a separate route. This was my first novel by Wendy Dranfield and I am eager to read more. If you enjoy thrillers, I highly recommend this one!

The birthday party by Wendy Dranfield.
Kathy Hamilton drives away from her sister-in-law’s pristine-white suburban house in Maple Falls certain she’s left her daughter in safe hands. On the hottest day of the year, a birthday is the perfect excuse to gather friends, family and neighbors around the pool for a barbecue. But when she returns hours later to find her little girl has vanished, her world shatters.
Very good read with good characters. I did enjoy this book. Great story and characters. 4*.

Oh wow. This book sucked me right in. I could not read it fast enough.. There were so many twists and turns. This book was all up in my head. I was able to guess some things but I feel like it was right before it was revealed. I believe the writer wanted us to guess. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if I was right. I loved this book. Highly recommend. Absolutely get this book right now. It launched today! This is my first read by Wendy Dranfield and I will be reading more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.