Very enjoyable and a good premise. A murder at the start of a party where we know who the victim is but aren’t sure why! It kept me hooked all the way though.

Amy Stuart is a new author to me and I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced, tense thriller that I found built the tension chapter by chapter. The secrets and haunting memories just add to the tension. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph Penguin Random House and the author for the chance to review.

It’s strange to read a book where you don’t engage with any of the characters yet you still want to know what happens to them.

Told over the course of a single day, leading towards a party being held in honour of a sixtieth birthday, we learn of the death of the protagonist’s aunt exactly 30 years before.

Engaging but just didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

This thriller is structured in an original way: rather than introducing the victim at the beginning and keeping the reader guessing throughout the plot as to who the perpetrator might be, ‘A Death at the Party’ reveals the killer straight away but the reader is kept guessing as to who the victim might be. For great sections of the book, it does not appear to be a thriller at all but rather the unravelling of a complicated mother-daughter relationship between the protagonist, Nadine, and her mother, Marilyn. The author pulls off the difficult task of making a fairly unlikeable character compelling reading and there is much we learn about Nadine: from her latchkey childhood to her mother’s sudden fame as a novelist that throws both women into the limelight, to her tricky relationships with her husband Paul and two teenage children. Other marginal characters, such as neighbours and guests at the garden party Nadine is hosting for Marilyn, are introduced but it is mainly about the relationship between these two women. An unusual read – but a satisfying one! Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for the digital ARC I was gifted in exchange for this honest, unbiased review.

I found this novel difficult to start with, too many characters and different timelines. However, once I got into it I enjoyed it. Nadine is very protective of all her family but she is keeping secrets from all of them and she knows more than she is revealing. She is trying to organise her mother's 60th birthday but the past keeps coming back to haunt her, can she keep all the balls in the air at once or will the truth finally be revealed?

Great summer novel - total page turner, Finished in one day. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

The majority of the action in this novel takes place over the course of one day; as protagonist Nadine prepares for, and hosts, a party. Nadine has planned the perfect party, every detail has been carefully chosen. She’s also planned the perfect murder. As she puts together the final touches the reader begins to learn about her life and that of her family; the backstory to Nadine's actions covers a lifetime. Past and present are deftly woven together, along with other family dramas, gradually revealing Nadine’s motivation for murder.

This was a gripping read and one that really resonated, prompting questions about how we can be defined by the way we deal with adversity and tragedy. The subplots were also compelling, something I find rare (often they are just used to flesh out and pace the main story). A compelling, chilling plot, great twists and well-developed characters. I loved and raced through it so it’s a very strong recommendation from me and all five shiny stars 🌟

Thanks to @michaeljbooks for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review

A slow burner with a narrator you aren’t sure that you can trust, especially as the book starts with her standing over a dead body. Most of the characters are keeping secrets and are viewed by the skewed vision of the unreliable main character. I’ve read so many thrillers recently with multiple POVs that it was refreshing to read a book that wasn’t. The story kept me gripped, but I was a little disappointed by the abrupt ending. As I rend to prefer all the ends tied up.

Nadine Walsh is throwing her mother, best-selling author Marilyn Millay, a sizable 60th birthday celebration.

However, the party is in full flow when the novel opens, but Nadine is down in her basement office, standing over a dead body. Why are they there and who is this person?

As time passes, we learn that when Nadine was just 15 years old, her aunt Coleen was also found dead at Marilyn's 30th birthday celebration. Is this just a coincidence?

It quickly becomes clear that a large portion of the characters in the novel, including Nadine, are all hiding secrets from thirty years ago. The story alternates between the party's planning, the party itself, and other historical events that occurred 30 years ago.

I enjoyed this book because it has a interesting plot and was easy to read, and kept me guessing who it was Nadine was standing over, but I didn't really like the characters, especially Nadine.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

Nadine Walsh is hosting her mothers 60th birthday party but then there is a death at the party. The story then really begins as it looks at the events leading up to and during that fateful event. I wanted to love this book, the storyline intrigued me. I found it to be very predictable, even the twist was something I expected to happen. The ending left me feeling a little deflated, I was expecting given the circumstances surrounding it. The writing made it an easy read so once I got reading, it was a quick one to get stuck in to.

An exciting thriller read with twists that keep you guessing till the end! Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

I raced through A Death At The Party. Loved the family component plus the small-world feel you get from Nadine's interactions with everyone in her neighbourhood and the sense of unease from everyone knowing everyone else’s business.

The chapters are short, making this a quick one to get through. The action all takes place in the space of one day, with Stuart using flashbacks to help us understand the protagonists past and how it is colouring her actions. . The identity of the body doesn’t get revealed until the end, which kept me guessing. There were some great twists along the way with lots of moving parts, that the author neatly stitches together. The underlying secret that led to the death is revealed slowly but surely, with an additional twist at the end.

Good. A compelling thriller that makes you feel like you are with the characters rather than just reading about them. The story just flows and I couldn't put this down.

Canadian author Amy Stuart brings us 'A Death At The Party' a quick read, I read the book in a day. Deception and the celebration of a sixtieth birthday with a party with a secret revealed and the drama unfolds when events of thirty years ago are revealed. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Nadines mother is a best selling author and it’s her birthday so Nadine decides to throw her a huge party. But by the end of the night, Nadine will be standing over a dead body in the basement.Who is it and how did it come to this. Will Nadine’s secrets come out?

From the off this book started with a bang as the main female character pretty much allows the person on her basement floor to die. So instinctively I’m guessing it’s her husband. But then as the book went on I doubted myself. Normally I’m quite a Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher and guess straight away and am normally correct. Was I right this time? You will have to read the book as no spoilers here. Anyway one twist I saw coming but the victim’s identity kept changing in my mind as I read through the chapters. Overall a good twisty thriller.

A Death at the Party is a gripping thriller that is told over the course of a single day. The first chapter makes it clear that there is a murder at a party, but of who? We follow Nadine as she goes about her day, preparing for a special 60th birthday party for her Mum - the famous author, Marilyn Millay. Her day is interspersed with memories from 30 years previous, where her sister tragically died during her Mum's 30th party. We meet her family throughout the book as well as various other acquaintances and gradually start to piece things together.

This was a fast paced thrilled that reeled me in straightaway and kept me hooked. It was a nice, quick read and I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute.

The characters were well written and I felt that I really empathised with Nadine with her sadness, frustration and friendships.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

A book of dark twists and turns with a variety of characters harbouring secrets from up to 30 years ago.
It’s crazy how much I enjoyed reading this novel as to be honest, as I disliked all the characters. No one seemed to have any redeeming qualities. So this reason alone shows how well written it was as you want to know how it is to end.
Would recommend.

I liked the fact that you didn’t have to wait for the murder to happen and it was at the beginning. Too many characters to keep track of but I enjoyed the reveal and how everybody was connected

A Death at the Party Amy Stuart
4 stars

Secrets from long ago come to light

Nadine Walsh married to Paul with two teenage children is holding a huge 60th birthday party for her mother, Marilyn Millay, a world-renowned best-selling author.

However as the book starts, the party is in full swing but Nadine is down in her cellar office standing over a dead body. Who is this person and why are they there?

As we go back to years gone by, we discover that Nadine’s aunt Coleen had also been found dead at the 30th party of Marilyn when she was just 15... Is this just a coincidence?

It soon becomes apparent that not only Nadine but also the vast majority of the characters involved in the story are all harbouring secrets from 30 years ago. The story jumps between the preparations for the party, the actual party and the various events of the past from 30 years ago right up to the present day.

I did find the story interesting and enjoyed the ending but I did not really engage with the main characters, in particular Nadine who seems particularly unhappy with her life. I did not really understand the significance of her affair of 6 months ago or her strange relationships with her children. However the book has a good plot and is very readable and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good domestic thriller.



Karen Deborah
Net Galley

After reading the first chapter I thought this was going to be a great book, but it was too slow for me. The book is all about the day of the party and very little about the death. It has a lot of characters and it’s too much of a back story to what happened before the death.

Nadine is hosting a 60th birthday party for her mother, the book starts with a dead body at the party in the evening, then starts again on the morning of the party and what leads up to the death. It also flips back and forth to the death of her mothers sister 30 years ago.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.