I absolutely had to finish this book to find out what happened to Dylan! The author did a great job with the twists, although a few did seem a little far-fetched. I had a little trouble believing how Ruth’s decisions were validated- I mean, some of the choices she made were so unrealistic. I couldn’t help but cringe! But the author hooked me from the beginning with the premise, so I couldn’t put it down until I found out what happened!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

The Prologue made no sense at all. I should have skipped it and gone straight to chapter one. It was a whole lot of mysterious stuff that used a lot of words to say things, without really saying anything. Even after finishing the whole book, I couldn’t figure out whose first person PoV had featured in the Prologue. Nor did I care.


Ruth Hargreaves and her school friends have gathered together for their annual Christmas Eve party at Thandie's house. At the party both accidentally drops Holly's baby, Dylan. Once Baby Dylan quiets down, Ruth sees that there are some bruises on his body which could not have been caused when he fell out of her grasp. But no one else will see reason.

Suddenly she is blacklisted. Ruth is thrown out of their WhatsApp group. Except for Lewis, no one else wants to have anything to do with her. All her friends turn against her with Mihika, a notorious gossip, assuming a very belligerent stance. Even her fiancé, Kofi, breaks off the engagement, and her dad turns against her.

Pushed to a corner by Mihika's relentless badgering, Ruth decides to investigate the cause of Dylan’s bruises. But is she on the right track? Or will she alienate all those who care about her?

The book is written in the first person present tense PoV of Ruth Hargreaves.

I liked the manner in which the author evoked the setting of Salisbury, with descriptions of the local architecture.

We meet a large cast of characters right at the beginning of the book. Between spouses and multiple children per person, there are just too many people named, and this makes it very confusing since it's too early in the book for us to know who's related to who. Very few of the original cast really mattered with reference to the plot events, so it would have been better if the author had given us a sense of a crowded house and a roaring party without naming and introducing every one of them.


I’m mentioning this, because I nearly considered dropping the book, on account of this issue, and picking another. That would have been a pity, because subsequently the book grabbed my attention and didn’t let go.

I couldn't understand why everyone had to treat Ruth so badly. Her dad too is unnecessarily mean to her.

Despite her insane choices and her drinking habit, I felt invested in Ruth because she had her heart in the right place. Fortunately the drinking habit was truly under control. She was genuinely motivated to help Dylan. I watched her make the dodgiest of decisions, certain that she was about to crash and burn, hoping she wouldn’t.

The only other character I cared about was her mother. She was the only one who wasn’t quick to think the worst of Ruth.

The book checks the diversity quotient, inasmuch as it refers to Indians. The annoying Mihika, police sergeant Sid Ahuja and Ruth’s colleague, Amrinder, that’s three characters more than any other nationality.

Of course, other than Mihika, they weren't important.

While I liked the manner in which the story progressed, I didn't appreciate the choice that Ruth made with reference to her relationship.

Some of the sentences were awkwardly constructed. After the main clause, the author suddenly truncated the sentence by dropping the use of valuable pronouns.

A fairly safe premise of a party and then an accusation of a dropped baby I felt Ruth was portrayed well but some of the other characters didn’t quite work and a couple of incidents I doubt would have happened at a nursery these days
But I did enjoy it

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This was a fast paced read. Overall, this was a good book and kept my attention. There were shocking twists and turns which is right up my alley. But there were also some parts that were quite unrealistic. I think that part was the reason why I could not give it 5 stars. But for readers that like thrillers, this is something you will enjoy!

I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!!

Ruth loves her life in London, she is doing well in her high-powered career and a handsome and successful fiancé. who she loves. what could go wrong? she is coming home for Christmas with her fiance, she wants him to meet all her family and school friends, especially Holly Murphy who is her closest friend and she has a new baby Boy.

As the Christmas Eve party is in full swing, the unthinkable happens. Ruth drops the baby, injuring the little Dylan.

Or did she?

Ruth becomes convinced she didn’t cause the baby’s injuries, and they were inflicted before the party, that the Murphy's are not the lovely family they appear to be.

Ruth needs to discover what really happened to the child, and digs for the truth. She will not stop even when she’s shunned by her old friends, alienated from her fiancé, and sacked from her dream job.

From this first page, the pages turned themselves. I could not turn them quick enough to find out what was happening. It didn't take me long at all to get into 'The Party'. I got to the end of the first page and I knew that I was reading something special and that I would find it rather difficult to put the book down for very long. 'The Party' is extremely well written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Nora Valters. Nora has an easy going writing style that is easy to get along with and easy to get used to. It begs the question What would you do if this happened to you? and I think in times like that - you are on the side of the protagonist and waiting eagerly for what happens next.

I didn't quite expect that ending. The story was very well-written and well thought out. It was a fast-paced thriller and I couldn’t put it down, devoured in one day.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Party' and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Nora's work in the future.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC. I had not read anything from this author prior but had heard good things about this title.
It definitely did not disappoint!! While I was a little confused in the beginning on how everyone immediately turned on the protagonist, things eventually cleared up and everything was laid out clearly. I could not put this book down and wanted to keep reading to see where it was going and what was going to happen. While some parts seemed a little too drawn out and, again, left me very confused how unrealistic the story was with turning on our protagonist, things fell into place later on.
It took me a little to be drawn in at first but, once I was, this was a page turner. I absolutely loved the ending but do not want to gove any spoilers. I also loved that the author did not leave the reader hanging to figure out how everything would end up for everyone. The add on with "10 months later'was a great addition and put everyone's mind at ease to know what the author wanted to finish the story and not leave it up to the reader to "think" ehat would happen at the end.
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a page turner!!! It definitely was one for me.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review .

The Party is a fast paced, believable and page turning thriller that was hard to pull away from. We follow Ruth who accidentally drops her friends baby and gets distanced and shunned by their group of friends after this as the baby received injuries from the fall. Even Ruth's boyfriend and dad have distanced themselves from her and she feels very alone. Ruth gets a sense that she isn't the one to have caused the injuries to the baby and suspects her friend of hurting her baby herself. I liked that the book made you question yourself and what you would do in this kind of situation. The story was well fitted together and I loved the twists and turns the book throws at you. The pieces are all there for you to fit together as to who had hurt the baby and what was going on, but the ending still threw a curve ball! I'll be looking out for more from this author!

Ruth has a high powered job in London that she adores. She is engaged & the future is rosy. She comes back home for Christmas & they are at the traditional Christmas Eve party where old school friends get together. She is happily catching up with everyone, having a few drinks & enjoying herself. One of the group, Holly, has a new baby. Ruth is not a 'baby person' but she gives in to the pressure to cuddle Dylan. Suddenly the unthinkable happens, as Ruth reaches out her glass for a refill Dylan lurches forward & falls. When one of the guests goes to check Dylan they find he has a number of red marks. Everyone is horrified- especially Ruth- how could she have caused them? Soon everyone is against her. He fiance calls it off. Her friends won't speak to her. She is determined to prove that dropping Dylan, although unforgivable, did not cause those marks.

Ruth definitely needed some kind of psychological intervention as her actions were totally over the top. In spite of that I found it hard to believe that her group of friends, who had been close for so many years could cut her off so dramatically- it wasn't as if she meant to drop the poor child! This was a book that needed to be read to the end, even if I found it totally unbelievable! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Party' by Nora Valters.

Read and reviewed for Nora Valters, Inkubator Books, Booksprout and Zooloo's Book Tours.

Publication date 16th November 2022.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated 'The Party – the gripping psychological thriller perfect for fans of Mark Edwards, K.L. Slater and Miranda Rijks.' I am a HUGE fan of all three of these authors so am looking forward to seeing if this statement is true. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Inkubator. I have yet to read a book published by Inkubator 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 a prologue, 30 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium 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 Salisbury, Wiltshire and London, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.I have actually holidayed in Wiltshire so am intrigued to see if I recognise places based on anywhere I visited while there.

This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonist is Ruth. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them.

'The Party' discusses some topics that may upset 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 Nora discusses cruelty child abuse.

OMG!!!! WHAT DID I JUST READ!!!! I DID NOT EXPECT THAT!!! MIND BLOWN MUCH!!!

Wow!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.


Well, Well, Well Nora!!! Sign me up for your next tour as if this is anything to go by it is guaranteed to be an absolutely mind blowing page turner!!! One of the things I love the most about this book is that it is completely unique!! I have never come across a storyline like this one and after reading hundreds of books this is getting harder and harder to come by so WELL DONE NORA on creating suce a one of a kind plot!!! I was absolutely absorbed throughout this page turner. It is filled with tension, friendship, family, lies, suspense and omg the twists!!! It ticks absolutely every single box when looking for an absolutely riveting psychological thriller!! I DID NOT see the twists and turns coming at all and I was left absolutely gob smacked not once, not twice but several times!!! A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS Nora! It is getting harder and harder to shock me but by God you did that over and over and over!!! What an ending!!! One of the most gripping unputdownable nerve wracking psychological thrillers I have EVER read!!! You lady have one hell of a talent and I cannot wait to get hold of your previous and future books. I cannot remember the last time I was so hooked by a book but you managed that big time!!! ! There was so much going on and it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Nora's writing style and depth had me so engrossed that when I looked up to see the miserable Welsh weather it took me a moment to realise I was even reading!! This is also one of those books that you sit there and have absolutely NO IDEA who to trust or who to believe? Is Ruth losing the plot? Is Holly and Shane telling the truth? Are Ruth's friends hiding something? Who can be trusted? Well, you'll just have to pick up a copy to find out!!

Clear your schedule before you start as I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down!! I was absolutely hooked!! I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!!!

It wasn't just the storyline I was completely invested in but also the characters. Every single one of them seems to be up to or hiding something and you question who to trust the whole time. It is really hard to say what I feel about each of the characters without risking giving anything away. I will say that I absolutely despised Ruth's father and the way he treated her and her mother. It was absolutely disgusting and I was extremely pleased by the ending. I also wasn't a fan of. Kofi and the police and the way they treated Ruth was disgraceful regardless. Anyway, no I really can't say any more.... Arggghhh!!! Pick up a copy, get sucked in and pop me a message when you've finished as this is one of those books I need to talk about!!!

Congratulations Nora on a true page turner! This may be the first book I have read by you but it most definitely will not be my last!! Here's to your next success 🥂

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the first chapters of Nora's 'Now You Know' and 'Her Biggest Fan' which are promising to be just as addictive as this book and I cannot wait to get stuck into them!!!

Overall an absolutely heart racing, never wracking, unputdownable addictive psychological thriller!!!


Genres covered in this novel include Suspense Thriller, Domestic Fiction, Mystery, Women's Psychological Fiction, Domestic Thriller, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, and Psychological Fiction amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Mark Edwards, K.L. Slater, Miranda Rijks, Gone Girl' , 'The Girl on The Train', 'The Wife Between Us', Liane Moriarty, Lisa Jewell and anyone looking for an explosive thriller filled with bombshells you won't see coming!!

312 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited and £9.99 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon 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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WTF?!?!?! Hahahaa guys, wtf?!?! 😳
I started this book one morning and damn it, swallowed me like a monster with claws 😐 I was totally invested and forgot about real world for hours!!!! Inwas shocked and mad and shocked and mad and shocked again and then worried and then concerned and then mad again and I was like in a rollercoaster of feelings!!!!!! I can't even explain how obsessed I am with this book!!!!! I will definitely get a physical copy because it needs to be in my bookshelf that has been designated for thrillers and true crime!!!!! I wasn't expecting anything that happened even if I'm good at it (normally). This book is so good. I'll read ANYTHING this author writes!!!!!!!

You're a thriller fan? Get this one!!!!!

This was just an average read for me. I thought there was too much of the main character looking unreliable and doing some really questionable and at times stupid things to prove their innocence.

The Party by Nora Valters is an author that always has me gripped from the beginning till the end especially as it was full of twists and turns that just had you turning the pages to find out what happened next.

"This will be a Christmas Eve's party to remember. But, all for the wrong reasons."

Ruth loves her life in London, she is doing well in her high-powered career and a handsome and successful fiancé. who she loves. what could go wrong? she is coming home for Christmas with her fiance, she wants him to meet all her family and school friends, especially Holly Murphy who is her closest friend and she has a new baby Boy.

As the Christmas Eve party is in full swing, the unthinkable happens. Ruth drops the baby, injuring the little Dylan.

Or did she?

Ruth becomes convinced she didn’t cause the baby’s injuries, and they were inflicted before the party, that the Murphy's are not the lovely family they appear to be.

Ruth needs to discover what really happened to the child, and digs for the truth. She will not stop even when she’s shunned by her old friends, alienated from her fiancé, and sacked from her dream job.

I highly recommend this book and was a really good page turner from start to finish.

The Party by Nora Valters.
This will be a party to remember. For all the wrong reasons.
Ruth loves her life in London – she has a high-powered career and a handsome and successful fiancé. This Christmas she’s bringing him back to her home town to meet her family and school friends, one of whom, Holly Murphy, has a new baby.
A brilliant read. Loved it. 5*.

A strange, unsettling read that was mildly entertaining but mostly outlandish.

Ruth is at a Christmas party with friends and family, introducing her new fiance. She's holding her friend Holly's baby when the unthinkable happens and she drops him. There are injuries on the child that Ruth is sure she's not responsible for, and the plot becomes quite bizarre when Ruth is almost immediately shunned by all of her friends. She goes on an unhinged crusade to find out what really caused the injuries on the baby.

While not graphic in nature or description, child abuse is a topic not often seen in thrillers, and I'm not sure it worked well in this book. I liked the writing style well enough to try another title from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my early copy. THE PARTY is out now.

This book got better as it progressed. Ruth accidently lets a baby fall at a party after she has has a drink or two. The baby is covered in bruises and she is blamed for this on the friendship group app. Her fiance also needs time to come to terms with what she has supposedly done to the little boy. Ruth cannot let the situation lie and becomes obsessed with the baby and his parents, stalking them and gathering evidence. This is the part of the book that I had problems with, her behaviour was really creepy and she seemed to alienate everyone around her.
Later in the book there are a couple of twists in the plot that do sort of justify what she was doing. I I cannot believe that she knew her group of friends for so long and that none of them supported her or even listened to her (her parents didn't either) .
I was going to give this book 2 stars, now I have read to the end, albeit skim reading in parts, I will upgrade to three. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

A creative plot after a baby is found dead. Impossible to predict the ending and impossible to stop reading. A twisted and compelling read.

This was a decent thriller. I felt it had a unique spin on the plot and really wanted to see where the author took it. There were so many characters introduced immediately I struggled to keep it all straight. Once the accident occurs things tumbled into suspense. There were a lot of characters I disliked. Most of them in fact. Some I enjoyed hating while others were annoying. There were a couple plot holes that I hope get tidied up before publication.

This kept me engaged but it wasn't my favorite. It seems pretty run of the mill as thrillers go. A typical popcorn thriller to me personally.

I picked up this book in the “read now” section of Netgalley and boy I’m glad I did. It was fast paced and I enjoyed trying to figure it out which I confess I didn’t. Highly recommend.

The Party was a fast paced page turner that I could not put down. It was full of twists and turns that I did not see coming. Fantastic!

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my ARC.