WOW! Were the hints there? Yes. Did I see it coming? NOT AT ALL.

This was such a gripping thriller. As described in the synopsis, it all starts with a Christmas Eve party and Ruth dropping a baby (my personal recurring nightmare). In the panic that ensues, the baby is shown to display bruising, and Ruth is convinced that there is no way that her actions could have led to that degree of bruising. In an attempt to uncover the truth (according to her), she begins her own investigation, which leaves her more and more alienated from her loved ones. The question is, will her investigation exonerate her and show that there's something more sinister happening, or is it all in her head?

Nora Valters does an incredible job at laying the groundwork for this thriller. From the beginning, we get a sense of each character's personality and how we can expect them to react throughout the story. The book uses first-person narration so we have a better understanding of Ruth's character, however she is incredibly perceptive of others' actions, which helps us build a character-rich world. I think that it's because of this character-rich world that, when Ruth's increasing isolation becomes apparent, the reader is completely drawn into the feeling. At times, you can't help but agree with those around her that, perhaps, she may have misunderstood what's happening around her.

I also found that the author did at amazing job at pacing the book, using the tempo to get the reader to feel a sense of normalcy on the one hand, and urgency/anxiety on the other. Much like Ruth, we all want to get to the bottom of what's happening! We are also left with small pieces of information all along that has the reader placing weights on the scale of either side of Ruth's innocence or guilt. The way it all ties together in the end is just absolute perfection. Personally I saw some things coming (I think any thriller reader will do the same) and others took me completely by surprise.

This is probably one of my favourite Thrillers of the year, and I think thriller readers who love fast-paced reads with tonnes of clues will love this book. I will definitely be reading Nora Valters' other works. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!!

Although some of the narrator’s actions made me cringe and there were moments I literally balked at my novel because of how crazy she was acting, this was a fun read. I like how fast-paced it was and I didn’t see the ending coming - which says a lot, because after reading countless mystery/suspense/thriller novels, I’ve developed a knack for predicting endings. The narrator’s investigation got a little dull in the middle but I was never bored for too long.

WOW!!! It's safe to say that I didn't see the twist coming at all!! And Ruth is probably the most determined character I have ever read in a while. This book was driven by lots of drama and it escalated fairly quickly especially in the last 100 pages. While, I finished this book in one siting, I wasn't a big fan of the writing on how certain characters were communicating.

I loved this book- full of twists and turns it was completely up my street- I didn't want to put it down!

Fantastic! This book had lots of twists and turns. I did not expect the ending. I really enjoyed reading this author and definitely will again!

Wow, I really, really loved this book! It was full of crazy twists and I never knew what was coming next!

Relentless Ruth is what I wanted to call the main character. She just wouldn't give up.
This story while not terribly believable was certainly entertaining to read. Lots of twists and turns.
Things escalate pretty quickly with every character in Ruth's life. From the baby, her friends, fiance, family. It seems to all blow up rather fast making you disagree with the decisions Ruth makes.
Overall it's a good quick read that will keep you guessing.
Thank you Netgalley, publisher, and author for the RAC.

Thank you Inkubator Books and NetGalleu for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars for DNF as I cannot comment on the overall quality of the book. I was hankering for a good "citizens gone rogue" thriller and this seemed like a good option. Unfortunately, nothing happened in the first 10% of the book except for shallow, visual descriptions of the cast of characters and designer name dropping. I found the writing to be a bit too surface level for me to continue.

Had me turning pages at the speed of light, fast paced and gripping with well developed characters and full of mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this ARC. I read this book in two days and didn’t want to put I down!

Ruth is absolutely ruthless pun intended!) when it comes to finding out the truth about the suspected abuse of her friend’s baby and to clear her name. The book was well-written, although the things Ruth would do as part of her investigation were far-fetched. I kept reading to find out what insane thing she was going to do next! It had quite the twist at the end that made you dislike a lot of the main characters but wrapped up nicely, giving the characters a satisfying ending.

A fantastic page turning! Lots of twists and the ending was excellent. Ruth’s unreliable narrative due to her insomnia only adds to the unease in reading and is so well handled. The characters are beautifully developed and the plot plays out at a pace. A real page turner.

Where is loves her life in London. She has a high powered career and a handsome and successful fiance. This Christmas, she’s bringing him Back to her hometown to meet her family and school friends, one of whom, Holly Murphy, has a new baby.
But as the Christmas Eve party is in full swing, unthinkable happens with drops, the baby, injuring the little boy.
Or did she?
Ruth becomes convinced. She didn’t cause the babies injuries, that they were inflicted before the party, that the Murphys are not the lovely family they appear to be.
Determined to discover what really happened to the child, Ruth digs for the truth, and won’t stop even when she’s shunned by her old friends, alienated from her fiance and sacked from her dream job.
What are her suspicions justified? Or is she in the grip of a deadly obsession that threatens to utterly destroy her perfect life?
Really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books
I just reviewed The Party by Nora Valters. #TheParty #NetGalley

I’d give this book 3 stars. I loved the premise of the book. A woman who has everything going for her in life, but ends up “dropping” someone’s baby and causing injuries. She starts to ruin her life trying to discover if she really causes the injuries or note. I enjoyed the fast pace of the book, but felt the ending was a bit rushed. I also had a problem with the main character. Especially halfway through the book because of the choices she was making. Overall, solid read and would recommend.

This was the first book I've read by this author, it was brilliant, so many twists and turns, 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.

Ruth has an unfortunate accident on Christmas Eve by accidentally dropping her friends baby. The immediate aftermath reveals some strange bruise patterns on the baby. Ruth feels something else is not right and sets out to investigate what is happening with the baby, becoming obsessed and alienating her friends and family in the process.

This book is so enthralling—it puts me on the edge of my seat! I became very excited when I read the first chapter and became invested in this story until the end! A page-turner, indeed! I am so sure, you won't be able to put this book down. I was so annoyed and frustrated with all of the characters here, especially Ruth's father and that busybody friend of hers. Ugh! I could totally feel and understand Ruth, but there were some moments when she was so annoying too, due to her reckless actions and decisions. And there goes the plot twist! I was not really shocked, because I already suspected it at the back of my mind, but was just unsure of it. 😂

I had a love-hate relationship with this book, but overall, I enjoyed reading it and it's kind of addicting!

Thank you @netgalley and @inkubatorbooks for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 💙

I give: 3.5/5☆

"The Party" was certainly a very twisty read! I really enjoyed reading it even though it was pretty unbelievable at times. But that's part of what makes thrillers appealing, right?

Ruth manages to alienate almost all her friends the night of a Christmas Eve party where she has a bit too much to drink and accidentally drops her friend's baby. This is made worse by the fact that the baby appears to have a bunch of bruising all over his body after being dropped. Ruth owns up to dropping the baby, but insists that she couldn't have caused all the bruises on his body, due to their color and placement. Interestingly enough, Ruth's friends seem poised to forgive her and move on--up until she starts denying having caused the bruises, and insists she is going to investigate them.

I won't say more than that for fear of divulging spoilers, but this book kept me on my toes throughout, and culminated in a final twist that I definitely did not see coming. 4.5 stars rounded up!

Thanks so much to Inkubator Books, Nora Valters, and NetGalley for this eARC!

Wow-what a great book! Poor Ruth has a tragic accident and drops Holly’s baby and he has injuries-but did Ruth’s actions cause those injuries? Ruth’s life is about to change forever. When all of Ruth’s friends blame and alienate her she must dig to find the truth and clear her name.

Just when you think you have it all figured out you will soon realize you don’t; things are about to take a wild turn.

This was my first read by Nora Valters and I plan on reading the others. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the ARC.

What did I just read!? This book was crazy. I knew there’d be a twist but I seriously thought the main character was acting suspiciously throughout.

The story follows Ruth, a woman who is recently engaged and doesn’t want children. She’s considered an “auntie” to the children of her friends. On Christmas Eve, she attends a party with them and accidentally drops one of the children. There is extensive bruising and she is guilt ridden that she caused such horrible pain to the child. She believes something more sinister is going on, and she follows her gut.

The end of this book is pretty satisfying with the double twist. I thought the Ruth was losing track of herself with the insomnia, and her friends were not supportive. Her fiancé wasn’t either, he dropped her like a hot potato when she was suspicious of the bruises on the baby.

I will not say any more, but this was a very quick read. I didn’t put it down once. Definitely pick this one up!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an early copy of The Party. Sooo many different thoughts on this book. The beginning chapters waiting for what you knew was going to happen made me sooo very anxious, my heart was racing. Finding out about the bruises was way toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long, went round and round forever. The main character was a bit ridiculous with the ways she went about things. Also, I did know who it was giving the bruises pretty much from the beginning. There was one twist that definitely got me. It was a very good plot but the writing a bit boring after the first anxious chapters.

This one was very interesting…i’m torn because I really enjoyed the overall story, the concept, the mystery and then twist but the characters were all super annoying, unrelatable, and honestly just not believable. The character that most infuriated me was the gossiping friend, no one in real life would ever be as extra as her. Another thing to point out is that this story talks about child abuse and kidnapping so trigger warning. The twist was very well done though, I had no idea until the very end, it was a definitely a page turner, 3.5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books, and Nora Valters for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book.