Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. What a twisty wild one. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The writing was well done and kept me intrigued

The Party by Nora Valters is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you on edge from start to finish. The story follows a group of friends whose lives unravel after a disastrous party where secrets are exposed and tensions run high. As past mistakes come back to haunt them, the plot twists and turns, keeping readers guessing until the very end.

Valters does a great job building suspense and creating complex characters with dark secrets. If you enjoy a fast-paced, unpredictable thriller packed with drama, The Party will definitely deliver.

The book introduced at least 20 characters in the first chapter alone, which required me to use my Notes app to keep track of them. Only about right of these characters continued to be relevant. The action mainly revolves around the main character, Ruth, who is spiraling out of control. I anticipated a significant twist early on, but there were still some surprising developments towards the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for providing me with a complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

This was a 4-4.5 ⭐️ book for me up until the ending. I found the writing super enjoyable and the story intriguing. I was super curious where the plot was headed! I felt like towards the very end, I figured I knew where it was headed and it felt a little unbelievable / the twist was trying to be “too big”. There was still quite a bit left in the book and I lost a bit of interest once I got the big reveal. I really enjoyed the authors writing style so was super pleased with my reading experience up until the ending. I found the main character to be super interesting and very much enjoyed reading from her POV. There was a good mix of small twists along the way to keep the reader interested. definitely would be curious to read other books by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books.
This was a really good thriller but I got a bit confused due to the number of characters. This was fast paced and interesting and once I got into the story it was really good.
I would recommend and don't give up with this its worth it in the end!!

3⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Setting ~ Salisbury & London
Publication date ~ November 16, 2022
Page Count ~ 312 (p+ 30 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 8 hours 5 minutes
Narrator ~ Lucy Price-Lewis
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ injured baby, awful father, secrets, lies, infidelity, murder

The prologue is intriguing and sets the plot up nicely, but it also gives quite a bit away.

Ruth is having a grand old time at an annual Christmas party until she accidentally drops her friend, Holly's, baby. The party comes to an end and Ruth is practically shunned from the tight knit, unlikable group.

We have an unreliable narrator that likes to tip back the drink and make OTT decisions which makes her seem unhinged. Gotta say I was surprised by how it all went down, so yay for that, but then again not with everything if you paid attention to the prologue.

I don't like to cause harm to anyone, especially the elderly, but Ruth's father was awful and totally deserved a swift kick to the nards. She's 37 and he tells her she must produce at least 2 heirs, when she's clearly stated time and time again she does not want to have children. He was not supportive and just all around rude to his wife and daughter, but lovely as a fried pickle dipped in thousand island, not ranch, to everyone else.

Overall, fine, but not great. It was super fast paced so there's that. Can't say I was thrilled about the epilogue either.

Side bar ~ the whole thing with the paperweight seemed quite implausible.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

A great thriller - I would recommend it!

This is a fast paced thriller. There are too many characters that were introduced which became confusing. There were unlikeable. There were some good twists

Ruth and her fiancée go to visit her hometown for Christmas to visit family and friends. Everything is going great and she meets up with some old friends. One friend just had a baby. Holly. While visiting with Holly, Ruth accidentally drops the baby and all hell breaks loose. Soon Ruth once perfect life goes awry. Now she has to search for the truth about what really did happen that night because things are not what they seem to be. This a great story, wonderful characters and an exciting plot. The author is a wonderful storyteller.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A good read, although Ruth's actions are a bit OTT and I found her quite irritating at times. Some really good twists though and enough to make me want to read more from the author.

Oh WOW what a book, the twist and turns are a complete rollercoaster. I genuinely couldn't put this book down because everytime i thoughtI knew the outcome i was totally wrong. The ending was so unexpected and I don't think I will forget it for a llong time.

This book unfolds as a gripping tale with a Christmas Eve party gone awry. Ruth, living a seemingly perfect life in London, faces a shocking incident when a baby is injured at the party. Convinced she's not to blame, Ruth digs into the Murphys' seemingly idyllic facade, risking her relationships and career. While I did find the book predictable, I commend it for its detailed narrative and relatable characters. The addictive chaos, Ruth's determination, and unexpected twists keep the story engaging. Though the plot takes liberties with realism, it proves to be an enjoyable work of fiction, leaving readers guessing until the end.

This book started out with at least 20 characters introduced in just the first chapter. I had to take notes to keep them all straight. Only about a third of them were continuing characters. The majority of it involved the main character Ruth becoming manic and obsessive, making terrible decisions and watching her train wreck of a life unravel. It kept going on and on to the point where, as a reader, I just couldn't wait for it to end. I figured out a major twist early on, but there were a few unexpected twists at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this eARC.

At there regular Christmas Eve party the old school friends are having a great time until Ruth drops the baby. He has bruises all over him but Ruth doesn't think it was from her dropping him. Ruth begins to investigate and what she discovers noone was expecting! I loved this physcological thriller and I didn't think Ruth was deluded at all. It was fun trying to piece together the puzzle and I had in no way solved it when it was revealed. Bloody brilliant writing!

I want to start off by saying this book has good bones. The details are great, and the characters were pretty relatable. I just found it very predictable and I called everything before I read it and before the end. Overall, it’s a solid three stars, because it is a good book, I just don’t like when I can predict the ending.

Ruth & fiancé Kofi are at a Christmas Eve party with her friends and family, having fun dancing and drinking when Ruth accidentally drops baby Dylan injuring the little boy or did she?

Ruth is adamant she did not cause the babies injuries and that they happened before the party. She starts to dig around for the truth, but it's hard when everyone blames her and she is shunned by her friends.

A great page turner, I just knew this was going to be good from the first page. I will definitely be reading more of Nora's books.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I just couldn't get into this, I couldn't work up to feeling anything for the characters and the plot was so unbelievable that I was 2nd guessing most happenings as I presumed they must be red herrings but no real twists transpired.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Addictive and chaotic is the best way to describe this book. And I mean this in a good way.
Ruth knew something wasn’t right and that she would go to extremes to prove she did nothing wrong.
Plenty of twists and surprises.

I was totally thrown for a loop with this one. It felt a bit all over the place but I kind of enjoyed the chaos. There were a lot of distinct characters in this so it was easy to differentiate them and throw suspicion on each one. Not a single character felt trustworthy, which is my favorite part of a good thriller. After the party ended, I really had no idea where this would lead because I thought it would center around the party. I was delighted by the turn of events and was shocked by it all. The pieces were all there for me to fit together as to who had hurt the baby and what was going on but the ending still threw a huge curve ball! I'll definitely be looking out for more from this author. I really liked her writing style. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very addictive book from start to finish. I could not put this book down. The plot was very exciting. Well thought out. The book was very well written. What an ending too