Omg! Such a breath kf fresh air and finally an original storyline without all the "read it a million times before" plot twists and turns. I can't speak highly enough of it, I wad absolutely hooked and loved every second of this one. Its just such a taboo and such a unique concept that you have to find out what's going on and get to the end!! This is what I wish all domestic noirs were like, relatable and yet just so so creepy lol

Ruth and her fiance are at a party in her home town, when she accidently drops her friends baby.
The baby is covered with bruises, and her friends alienate her.

Her best friend tells her that he saw the baby being changed before the party and the bruises were already on the baby's body.

Ruth is determined to find out what actually happened to the baby, and as a result, loses her job and her fiance breaks up with her.

She finds out who her true friends are during her investigations, and uncovers many secrets, losing all her friends in the process.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was my first book by this author. It kept me engaged throughout, with it's many twists and turns.
I really felt sorry for Ruth, her Mother was her only supporter through the book.

I give it a solid 4 stars, and look forward to reading more of Nora Valters' books.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gobbling Goblins! 😳😯🤯

Wow! This novel definitely packed a huge punch with the plot and the ultimate crazy conundrum. I happily gobbled this novel up and it was a fast-paced, unrelenting turn of events over and over. It kept me fully invested, unsure, doubtful and put me at the edge of my seat. I was completely enthralled. A very interesting & different plot for me that I had high expectations for. However, I will say the ending of it somehow fell a bit short for me. While the writing was great, the premise was wonderful, I kept getting very frustrated and irritated with the main character about half way through and a lot of her choices. The ending also felt a little rushed to hit a conclusion and while I will say it did deliver, it felt a bit too smooshed. But Valters definitely knew how to catch you off guard, knock you off your seat & leave you shocked. Definitely a satisfying read like a welcome cup of coffee after a long day!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: Ruth is at a point of loving her life. Now living in London with her fiancée, working as an investor and financially stable. With Christmas approaching, the annual get together with her friends and their families back in Salisbury. With all the merry and jolly easy going fun of food and drink, the unthinkable happens; Ruth drops Holly's baby causing injury. As the days pass after the incident, Ruth becomes unsure if she caused the injuries and before she realizes it she's turned her life upside down and inside out to investigate the truth. The question is, what is the truth?

Thank you to NetGalley (Inkubator Books) for this ARC.
Release Date: November 16, 2022

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 3.5 / 5 Jack-o'-lanterns! 🎃

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for this e-ARC.

This book hooked me from the beginning. It was a little farfetched in the middle and end, but I do enjoy an unreliable narrator and this book had just that. I had no idea who to trust throughout, and the twist at the end was very unexpected.

The Party is a psychological thriller that catches you up right away and is more engrossing with every page.

Ruth takes her wealthy boyfriend home to her small village in England - the big "meet the family and friends" visit.
At a party on Christmas Eve Ruth accidentally drops the baby of her friend who becomes deeply hurt.

Ruth begins a journey to find out if she really inflicted all of that damage - or had he already encountered violence before his fall.

Twisty and windy - I couldn't get to the end fast enough and then was sorry when I did.

Ruth accidentally drops a child at a party and is subsequently ostracised for the bruises that appear. But did she cause these?
A fast paced, easy to read novel. To say that a lot of this becomes far-fetched, is an understatement. Once I put aside the likelihood of some events and just enjoyed it as a novel, I was well away.
I knew there would be an unexpected ending and yet I was still miles away from guessing. Well worth a read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

What would you do if this happened? You are at a Christmas party with friends and your new fiancé. You have a successful, well-paid career in finance but you occasionally drink a bit too much. So after a few glasses of wine, you volunteer to hold your friend Holly’s baby boy. And then you drop him. He cries, everyone is upset and the party ends. You know that the baby is hurt but you also know you didn’t drop him that hard. Someone else must be responsible.

All this happens to Ruth. She is convinced that someone has been deliberately injuring that little boy. And she is the only person who can save him. What happens next is unpredictable, sometimes unbelievable and totally engrossing. You will not be able to put this book down! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Nora Valters for this ARC.

A fast paced thriller surrounding an event and the reality of it.

I found this easy to read, it had great pacing and you could feel the tension. I like the way the author leaned in to suspense and left this with a real nightmarish quality.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Inkubator Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Edge of your seat thriller that keeps you guessing.

The Party by Nora Valters is my first read from this author, and I can promise that it will not be my last. Nothing is more addicting in psychological suspense than an unreliable narrator, and I was enthralled from beginning to end.

Ruth is at a Christmas Eve party with her fiance and friends when the unthinkable happens, and she accidentally drops her friend Holly's young baby, Dylan. Immediately cast as the villain by those to whom she is closest, Ruth replays the incident over and over in her mind, convinced that Dylan's injuries are not all down to her tipsy fumble. As Ruth begins to look more closely at the child's parents, she realizes that not all is as it seems. As she begins to obsessively seek out the truth, her own state of mind is questioned by those who know her best.

This was a page turner from beginning to end, and I cannot wait to add more of Ms Valter's titles to my TBR. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an ARC.

Whoa whoa some shocks at the end! I did feel like the book was a little long and could be told quicker, but some good suspense and great ending. Ruth goes home to visit and accidently drops her friend's baby. She becomes suspicious that things are not what they seem. As she digs, she finds some shocking twists! Good ending.

Ruth loves her life in London, with her high flying career and wonderful Fiancé, she has everything going for her. Until one night changes it all. Ruth returns to her home town to see her childhood friends for their annual Christmas party and the unthinkable happens. Ruth drops her friend's baby and the baby is injured.
As her friends and family turn against her Ruth begins to suspect something isn't right, she believes she didn't cause those injuries and starts an all out investigation to find the truth - no matter the cost.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a fast read as you keep wanting the next piece in the puzzle. Full of twists and turns, it'll keep you wanting more until you know the truth. The main character was well written, and her anxiety over the whole situation came across very clearly.

Suspenseful throughout- I finished in one sitting! Interesting premise and full of twists and turns. New author to me, but I will definitely look out for more from Valtes and recommend The Party to other thriller lovers.

The Party is a fast paced, well plotted and developed story.
Our characters were almost all relatable or to some degree.
The pacing was good. Even though I found some descriptions slightly drawn out, Still a solid read.
There were also some pretty chilling moments here that took me by surprise.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel by Nora.

Overall Rating: 3.9

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Inkubator Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Mixed thoughts on this book - it had so much promise with a unique plot. It’s told from the perspective of Ruth, who drops a baby by mistake at a Christmas party. When one of the moms at the party decides to check the baby out, it’s covered in bruises. Ruth doesn’t think she could’ve caused the injuries, so she starts investigating, at the expense of everything else.

I thought it had potential and I was really excited to read this one. The writing style was not my fave, a lot of conversations seemed unnatural - and I found it hard to get into because the party at the start of the book had so many characters that it was confusing. I don’t think it was necessary to include them all since most did not return for the remainder of the book. The book is also very clear that Ruth’s fiancé is American, but his dialogue reads like a native Brit. There were also inconsistencies and plot holes relating to timing - one of the most obvious being how the heck is Ruth’s 68 year old mother the youngest of 3 children when her mother is 81?!

I am ok with reading books with characters you dislike, but these ones were just so far fetched it didn’t even seem remotely realistic - especially when combined with the ending where everything is wrapped up nicely.

Sadly, this one wasn’t a win for me - I’ll have to give it a 2/5 stars ⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I have just read The party on netgalley.A real page Turner,with a twist at the end that I didn't see coming a lot of red herrings thrown in but an excellent plot and well thought out looking forward to reading more books from this author.

There is a lot going on in this book and I wonder if the author would have done well to spend a bit more time getting to the resolution. At times, it seemed a bit rushed. But it is a ripper of a story with some fascinating, if not very nice, characters.

Wow, what a wild ride of a story. I picked up this book to read and didn't stop until I finished! The cover and title drew me to this book, but I didn't read the synopsis as I feel they give away too much of the story. Ruth is home for Christmas when a small accident turns into her fighting to prove her innocence. As she deals with insomnia, her mental health begins to suffer as she makes rash decisions. The reader gets a taste of her chaotic thought process as it's told from Ruth's POV. The first scene introduces a lot of characters, some that don't show up in the story again. Halfway through the book, I realized a main character has children that was introduced in that first chapter. Ruth's relationship with her fiance felt unbelievable. The author hints at a drinking problem with the main character, but replaces that trope with insomnia. I did relate to her struggles with her family and was happy to see how that storyline finished. I would recommend this book if you enjoy psychological thrillers. I felt uneasy the whole time as I picked up on Ruth's mood. CW for physical/emotional abuse.

I thought this thriller had a strong premise: Ruth accidentally drops her friend Holly's baby at a party and is blamed when bruises pop up all over his skin. But Ruth doesn't believe the baby's fall caused his injuries, and sets out to investigate. I also liked the way that Ruth's friends turn on her after the incident, betraying their unconscious prejudice towards a woman who has chosen not to have children. Unfortunately, I ultimately didn't find the story or characters believable, and literally nobody in the book was likeable. Ruth's commitment to her investigation didn't make sense to me: I felt there needed to be more backstory to explain why she became so obsessed with finding out the truth. There's some suggestion that she drinks too much and is emotionally unstable, but this is glossed over by the end of the novel, which left me confused; I didn't believe in the perfect ending for these seriously flawed characters. And while I don't think protagonists always need to be likeable, for this story, it felt important that we were rooting for Ruth, and I wasn't really, as she seemed to be her own worst enemy. The Party is very readable and flows easily, but I was a bit disappointed.

Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, murder, and so many crazy twists! The storyline was crazy but very interesting! It had me glued to my Kindle! I will definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!