This story is written from multiple POVs. The story was full of twists and secrets. The story is very repetitive. However, the tension is evident. The ending was predictable.

I really enjoyed reading this, despite realising who the perpetrator was quite early on. It was well written and I liked watching the way it unfolded and getting to know the characters. There were the ones you loved to hate, the nice ones and the ones you weren't sure about. It was a well balanced thriller.

The Party House is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Party House asap.

As a huge fan of this author’s series featuring forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod, I was keen to try The Party House, a standalone thriller set in the Scottish highlands. The book opens with a flashback to when seventeen-year-old Ailsa was last seen alive. Five years on and the mystery of her disappearance has never been solved. The locals are angry that the Blackrig estate plan to reopen ‘the party house’ as their disregard for lockdown rules led to six deaths in the village. Some of the young men in the village set out to vent their anger, but get more than they bargain for when they uncover the body of a young woman. Has Ailsa been found at last and, if it is her, how did she die?
Lin Anderson paints an authentic picture of life on an isolated estate in the Scottish highlands – contrasting the beautiful scenery, and peace and quiet of the woodlands, with the mistrust of strangers, everyone knowing each other’s business, and the dislike of the estate being owned by an investment company and used as a playground for the rich.
The characters are well drawn and believable, though none are particularly likeable. The relationship between Greg and Joanne is not entirely convincing to me, as they are hiding so much from each other, but when their secrets are disclosed their behaviour is at least understandable. It is fairly obvious that they did not meet by accident – the question is why? As the police investigation continues, old wounds are opened up as everyone is once again under suspicion. I found The Party House to be an extremely enjoyable tense and atmospheric thriller, and look forward to the next in the Rhona MacLeod series. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

Lin Anderson is a new to me Scottish author and certainly one I will be reading more of in the future!
Loved the premise of this book, especially that it was bang up to date and included repercussions of Covid.
The setting of this book was brilliant and I really felt like I was there alongside the characters. I loved the close knit community and the dynamics between them, especially to outsiders.
I couldn’t put this book down once I started and found it to be a very exciting read!

This book did not grip me as much as the blurb intrigued me. It turned out to be an okay but not very memorable read sadly.

Lin Anderson has something new to offer, away from her Rhona MacLeod series - an absolutely cracking psychological thriller that gets under your skin.

The Party House takes readers to Blackrig in the Highlands of Scotland, into what seems like normal village life, as also depicted on a map, then into its heart and soul with the residents. What emerges is that readers are cleverly lured into a false sense of security in its familiar scenic cosyness.
Blackrig, when delved into deeper, is brimming with a dark atmosphere that is quietly sinister, which then, in turn, becomes an involving read.

Alisa disappeared 5 years ago, this is where the book begins. The chapters then go between Greg, head ghillie and Joanne and how the estate and traditions such as The Highland Games was affected by lockdown and about how to get events back up and running again after lockdown. There is disquiet amongst the locals about anything that meant tourists return and especially displeasure about the opening of The Party House. 

There are many aspects of the lockdown period that readers will relate to and then the book gets really twisty and dark, when a hot tub is smashed and there is a death at The Party House. So much intrigue is built up about the secrets that people are trying to keep hidden. It is then up to PC Harry McGowan and his team to solve the case and to discover the truth of what is really happening within Blackrig. Almost everyone is suspicious and hiding something and as it develops, it does, in part, become quite chilling.

The Party House may initially seem a romantic idyll, but as it quickly becomes an increasingly suspenseful and psychological thriller. It is a page-turner!

Greg brings Joanne, who he met in London back to his home town. The locals are still wary of outsiders, as there were deaths of babies and children during lockdown, when visitors broke the rules at the Party House. Now locals vandalise the property, uncovering a teenage body from years ago.
Twisty thriller with lots of secrets! Each villager copes with guilt and suspicion, and it all links up. Great story a d I really enjoyed it!

Engrossing and immersive, this book is fantastic.

The plot of this story is both exciting and topical, adding in parts of life from the pandemic seamlessly.

I couldn’t put it down and I would recommend it to anyone that loves a beautiful location and a sound mystery.

A brilliant atmospheric psychological thriller set in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands.

In the village of Blackrig the locals loathe ‘The Party House’ a luxury mansion owed by a corporate company. The locals blame its last occupants for bringing the virus to their doors, and as a result the community nurse and five children died.

The Party House is set to receive its first guests since the outbreak and the night before the hot tub is vandalised. However this is not the only problem as a body has now been unearthed where the hot tub once stood. Who is the victim ? And who killed them ?

The locals are all suspects but who knows what really happened and will the truth finally be revealed ?

This is a great twisty psychological thriller set in some beautiful surroundings. The main characters are very relatable and you will find yourself hoping that they are nothing to do with the goings on in the village.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Another new release I just couldn't put down - I finished 'The Party House' in just a few days!

A romance come murder mystery story set in a rural highland village in Scotland there is plenty of secrets to keep you turning the pages to find out what happens. I found the two main characters, Greg and Joanne, very likeable and wanted them both to come out successful in the situation they'd found themselves in. The way Greg was written I suspect if I met him I'd be attracted to him too... I must say the real mystery isn't two the murder is because that became clear to me about half way through but there are plenty other lies and untruths to uncover that made this a suspenseful thriller.

This was a good story. I read this book in one day. I really loved the cover as it drew me in. This book held so much promise to be a 4 or 5 star read. I was so excited to read it as it was set in Scotland. The story line was good but failed to excite me hence the average star rating it missed out on some many chances to create twists. It was too predictable. I also got very confused by the change of heart at the ending. I won't be giving anything away but it just didn't make any sense to me. I liked some of the characters but others were annoying or underdeveloped. I am still glad I read as it was OK I just didn't find anything that was stand out exciting to give a higher than average rating. Remember I am just one person my views on books maybe very different than your so I always suggest you read a sample of the book to see if you love it.

Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating an interesting story. 

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-party-house-by-lin-anderson-pan-macmillian-3-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

When journalist and blogger Joanne and gamekeeper Greg meet at an event in London where Greg is promoting the Blackrig estate in the Scottish Highlands after the lockdown during the pandemic. They quickly become involved, and when he returns to Scotland, Joanne quickly follows and comes to stay. Greg is unaware that Joanne has a hidden agenda. and actually they didn’t meet by accident. Not without his own secrets, both Greg and Joanne work hard to keep their secrets from each other, but they have an explosive chemistry that neither of them expected. Named the party house by the locals, they are enraged to hear that now the pandemic is coming to an end, the corporate company who now owns the grand estate is planning on hosting there again, bringing with the CEO of the company and his companions. The villagers are up in arms because during the lockdown, illegal parties were held there by people from London, who consequently brought the virus to the small village resulting in the death of 5 children and a nurse. The local young men are so angry, they decent on the house, he’ll bent on causing destruction, but instead by damaging the hot tub a body is uncovered beneath it. This turns out to be the body of missing teenager Alisa Cummings, who went missing 5 years previously, after causing issues between the villagers. There are several suspects in the frame, so what if anything does Greg have to hide? And will Joanne’s problems in London catch up with her in the Highlands?

This was the first Lin Anderson book I’ve read, and I found it a bit slow at first getting in to the story. As I read on, I became more invested in the characters, especially Joanne and Greg, I found myself wanting to read on to discover what happens. It took a while but I eventually was sucked in to the story, it was well written, and I was fully invested after about the first third of the book. I found it very descriptive, and places and scenarios were so well explained I felt like I had jumped in to the pages and I was actually there watching the story play out. The only thing was I had worked out the culprit before the ending, but that didn’t matter as I was still reading on to find out what the conclusion was going to be. I really enjoyed this book, and I’ll be checking out this author’s other books!

Thank you for letting me read this in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a huge fan of Lin Anderson’s series featuring forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to read her first stand-alone novel, The Party House.

This is a super involving read and I was glued to this book for the best part of two days. Ghillie of the Greg Taylor is in London to promote the re-opening of the Blackrig Estate now owned by Global Investments Holdings. He’s there with very mixed feelings. He wants to keep his job in one of the most beautiful parts of the Highlands where wildlife flourishes and the landscape is fantastic. But, at the same time, re-opening the estate means bringing sore wounds, which have not had time to heal, right up to the surface where they may lie open and festering.

For Blackrig is home to The Party House, a big modern house equipped with every luxury and used by Global Investments for tourists and shooting parties as the main source of income for the estate. It was different when the old Laird, Main owned the estate. Then he had wanted to focus on developing the woodlands as a site of natural beauty. But then he died and the estate was sold on.

Now the villagers have come to hate Ard Choille, or the Party House as it is known to all. Because during lockdown a party of tourists came to the Party House bringing with them a deadly virus and soon after CoVid raged through the village, killing 5 children and the District Nurse.

Now resentment simmers, barely under the surface, and the locals are very clear that it is far too soon to re-open the Party House but the deeply arrogant and repugnant Aidan Stratton who looks after the Party House is adamant that this activity must resume now that lockdown restrictions are over.

So Greg is reluctantly in London attending a Game Fair to help attract new custom and that’s where he meets journalist and blogger Joanne Addington. The pair hit it off and soon Joanne is turning up at Blackrig to take up Colin’s offer to stay at Beanach, his cottage home.

Both Joanne and Greg are keeping secrets from each other; secrets that threaten to destroy an emerging relationship. They’re not the only ones. This is a village with many secrets and it is holding them all close.

When a body is found under the recently vandalised hot tub of The Party House, there’s no doubt in Greg’s mind that it is Ailsa Cummings, a 17 year old young woman who disappeared from Blackrig village some 5 years earlier.

A police investigation led by DI Snyder leads police to a number of suspects and harks back to a time when the Party House was in full on excess mode. As a number of villagers come under scrutiny, things are looking black for Greg and for his relationship with Joanne

Lin Anderson creates a fantastic picture of life in a beautiful area of Scotland with a close knit village community where everyone knows the business of their neighbours and doors are seldom locked. The scenery is vivid and gorgeous and the village itself has that vivid sense of marrying tradition with contemporary values and the clash of cultures that can bring.

The sense of anger over Covid rule breaking feels very real and raw as does the Global corporation’s hold over local employment and the resulting resentment that brings. Lin Anderson reveals and exploits these divisions in a novel that is suspenseful, twisty and compelling.

Verdict: The Party House has tension, pace and interesting characters. It is a psychological thriller with many secrets simmering in a fabulously idyllic Highland setting. Though it’s not too much hard work to work out who the murderer is, there is more than one villain here on which to focus one’s thoughts as neighbour starts to turn on neighbour in this suspenseful thriller. A most enjoyable read.

This book had me stumped. Sitting smug and thinking I had it all thought out, the author put me in my place. Finally we have a thriller that will keep you your toes.

‘The Party House’ is the first standalone from the author of the acclaimed Dr MacLeod series, of which I am a huge fan! This is a psychological thriller set in the Highlands of Scotland just after a wide sweeping pandemic. It was captivating from the start and I devoured it in one sitting! It was extremely well written with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing right up until the end.

The village of Blackrig has been devastated by the recent pandemic and the locals are outraged when the large estate house announces it is once again open for business. This stirs up a lot of tension in the locals as they blame the owners of the house for the six deaths that the village suffered from. As the anger builds some of the locals ended up willfully damaging party of the property but whilst doing so they uncover the body of 17-year-old Ailsa Cummings who went missing five years ago. Old tensions boil to the surface and questions are asked of all the males in the village, including Greg the head game keeper who has just embarked on a new relationship with Joanna. Greg refuses to talk to Joanne about Ailsa and as his anger increases Joanna starts to think there is more to his denials than he is saying... But then Joanna has secrets of her own!

This was an engrossing and entertaining read which has me gripped from start to finish. Although I guessed some parts of the story it was a well-crafted and solid narrative that built upon the intrigue from the get-go. Lin’s description of the Highlands was sublime and made me want to return up to Aviemore even though I was only there last year. Also if this house was based on a real-life example please let me know as it sounds like a slice of heaven! Lin managed to capture the essence of the landscape, the close-knit communities and the battle between locals owning the land instead of large corporations. Was it just me or was Colin based on Duncan from Monarch of the Glen?! I quite liked Greg as a character even though we all knew there were grey areas in his history. The narrative managed to layer on lies and omissions, ulterior motives and red herrings till you started to question everything you were reading. This was a page-turner for sure!

Let me know if you read this one!

A dark and gothic thriller focusing on the disappearance of a young girl years ago that has a community in turmoil due to new developments in the case, with a love story hanging in the balance. Definitely worth a read!

I'm not usually a fan of the "remote party house and someone ends up dead" stories but this book puts such a unique twists on it that I really enjoyed it. I loved how true to life the setting wad and the context of covid rules being flaunted and people putting making money over the cost of human life which again, very relevant in today's world! So that was a really nice start, even if the beginning is a bit slow in itsself. I really enjoyed the whole book, the characters were interesting, the setting was very apt with a dark and tense atmosphere throughout. And there were twists and turns a plenty! I thought I had it figured out quite early on but I was wrong and the actual ending was way better than what I'd predicted.

It was the setting of The Party House that initially grabbed my attention - there's nowhere better than the Scottish Highlands. I couldn't wait to get started on it and it did not disappoint. It had plenty of interesting characters, plenty of twists and turns and kept me guessing all the way through. I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my ARC.

This was a well written thriller! Loved the read and the story. The reference to the actually pandemic and how committed have come together as well. The twists and turns keeping you going.