This story revolves around a party a death and Nadine, the host. It sets the scene with the start and the murder and the story leads you through shifting timelines and Nadine's quest to host the best summer birthday party for her author mother's birthday.

The story is a fun and fast read, with plenty of twists and turns added mystery and intrigue. The characters are fun and well rounded and contain plenty of interesting hints and clues as to what happened to end up with the opening situation.

Just like an Agatha Christie but more modern day!The chapters were short (I like to finish my chapter not leave it midway through) I flew through this book! My reviews contain no spoilers All i can say is just read it, you will love it! Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart revolves around Nadine Walsh, who is determined to host an unforgettable summer garden party. However, as the event unfolds, Nadine's attention is divided. Her husband offers little assistance, and her grown children are preoccupied with their own worries. But it is Nadine's own hidden secrets that pose a threat to her seemingly perfect party. The night takes a dark turn when Nadine discovers herself standing over a lifeless body in her basement while the guests celebrate upstairs. The book is a gripping thriller that kept me engrossed from the very beginning. Although I anticipated some of the twists, the unfolding of the story was still captivating. However, I found it challenging to connect with the characters on a deeper level. While I sympathized with them to some extent, I didn't feel fully invested in their lives. Additionally, the introduction of several characters without delving into their complexities left me wanting more. The ending left too many unanswered questions for my liking, and I wished for a more satisfying resolution. Despite these shortcomings, I thoroughly enjoyed the overall narrative of the book.

Good story. Lots of twists and turns. Worth reading.
The story starts with a death and then spends the rest of the book making you wonder has died. Excellent

Looking forward to more from Amy Stuart
Many thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC and opportunity to enjoy this wonderful book

This book jumped timelines, but only enough to be relevant. I found I had to keep reading it to find out what was happening with each character and who was responsible for what. There were twists, with the one announced at the party an obvious one to me, but others had me guessing. The characters were an interesting mix too.

Death At The Party is a super fun summer read. It’s easy to become immersed in the world of Nadine and her famous mother, author Marilyn Millay.

From the title of the book, we know there will be a death at mystery author Marilyn Millay’s 60th birthday party but we don’t know who or why the death will occur. As we meet a close knit group of friends who are all hiding secrets, you’ll begin to suspect everyone of something. The question is who will end up dead and who has the drive to murder. I loved the way Amy Stuart fleshed out these characters into fully dimensional people who can imagine walking around your own neighbourhood. The novel explores three mysteries in total: what happened to Colleen, Nadine’s auntie 30 years ago; what happened to River, a very similar girl in the present day; and who will end up dead. At points, it felt as though the characters were all slightly too linked, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it for a page turning summer read.

The story opens with Nadine Walsh in the basement of her home, waiting for a man to die, whilst a party with a hundred guests is in full swing upstairs.

Famous author Marilyn Millay has hit 60, so what better time to celebrate. She’s not at all enthusiastic about the forthcoming party her daughter, Nadine, is hosting. This is probably due to the tragedy which occurred the last time she had a birthday party at the age of 30, however Nadine is insistent.

Nadine and Marylin have a loving but somewhat strained relationship in part due to Marilyn’s lifestyle when Nadine was a child, and in part because of what happened 30 years ago. Marylin doesn’t like to be reminded but, for Nadine, the memories are ever present, affecting her on a daily basis.

I hadn’t expected to enjoy this as much as I did. The author manages to conjure the right atmosphere of all the stress involved in the preparation of the party, but the tension between mother and daughter, along with Nadine’s memories of her childhood. There are many layers to this story: Nadine’s teenage daughter is also experiencing grief and trauma as her friend lies in hospital, the suffocating small town atmosphere where everyone knows everyone, and many of the characters have known each other for decades. So many secrets, so many lies.

Not exactly a “beach read”, but a great, fun read nonetheless, perfect for long summer days when you want a bit of a mystery with a couple of twists.

This was a great read. I made an assumption from the start of the book and was very surprised at the end. A compelling story, although it did move a bit slowly through the middle. I didn't find it detracted from the overall narrative though.

This is a great book, well-written and suspenseful. Even though we know the outcome at the start of the book, the clever way in which we are taken back and walked through the events of the day led the suspense and pace.

Characters were believable and all loose ends were tied up. My kind of book

A great thriller- the book starts with a dead body then goes back and forth in time from preparations for a party until it culminates in the final twist- who is dead and more importantly why did someone kill him? It reminded me of Liane Moriartys style and kept me guessing 👍

This book was OK and I sort of enjoyed it, but I could not warm to any of the characters and that spoiled it for me. Nadine and her kids really got on my nerves! I was hoping for a good thriller but this was more of a family drama/mystery. I liked the beginning as it was unusual to know who the murderer was in the first chapter, but after that I felt it was rather slow with too much unnecessary padding. The ending was quite good but I’d like to have known what happened next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read it.

Nadine is planning a big blow out party for her mother's 60th birthday- the story opens with a dead body at the party, and then we go back to the start of the day to find out who was killed, how and who by. There are lots of secrets in the small town that she lives in, lots of mysteries circling around a very wealthy group of friends. For Nadine, the main mystery is the death of her aunt Colleen exactly 30 years earlier - no-one was ever found guilty and its been a mystery overshadowing her life ever since. Slowly as the day moves closer to party time, she finds out more than she ever thought possible.

It was a slow burn of a book, a few too many characters for me to comfortably keep hold of in my mind, and their excessive fussing made me exhausted to read about.... so 3.5 stars for me
Thanks for the chance to read it.

I really enjoyed this book.
A twist to the normal who-dunnit, as the reader knows from the start who has committed the 'murder' but doesn't know who or why.
The characters are excellent, the setting very good.
An easy read that every time I put down I was waiting to pick back up again.
Whatever type of book the reader likes, this book will suit.
Thank you to the author for a brilliant, enjoyable read, and to the publisher for an advanced copy for honest review.

The opening chapter introduces the reader to Nadine the main character who is standing over a dead body in her basement, which leads the reader puzzled as to what has happened. No worries the rest of the book untangles the mystery and all that leads up to it.
Not my usual sort of subject, but have to say I really enjoyed it.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It started slowly, but gradually built up, although I did find the main character and the length of the day if the party both slightly ridiculous. However the ending made up for the start.

The story is told through Nadine, a 40ish year old wife and mother.

We know from the beginning she has killed, or at least helped to kill, a man in her own bathroom but we don't know who that man is until the very end.

I thought this book was extremely well-written and really gave an insight into the characters. Even the secondary characters, some of whom you don't meet, tell a lot about themselves and how they fit into the story.

The plot has its twists and turns all the way through, but in a way that progresses, builds and intertwined the stories and sub-plots.

A fantastic read that I would recommend.

Nadine Walsh is planning her mother's 60th birthday party, however it takes a dark turn when Nadine finds herself standing over a dead body in her basement whilst guests are upstairs celebrating. What happened and how did it come to this?

I really struggled to put this book down. It was such a fast paced thriller that I was engrossed in what was going to happen from the first chapter. Whilst I did predict what was going to happen, it was still interesting to see the story develop the way that it did. However, I didn't feel particularly much for any of the characters. I did feel sorry for some of them but I didn't feel invested in them or wanted to know more about them. I feel like a lot of characters were introduced but then we only got to know them on a surface level, not anything deeper. There was also some repetition.

I was not a fan of the ending, I just felt like there were too many things that had been left unanswered. I do wish that the book was longer and that it addressed those remaining questions that I had. Overall, I really enjoyed the story but I wanted more from the characters and ending.

⚠️ CWs: student/teacher relationship, derogatory language, murder, alcohol use, suicide attempt, death, profanity, grief, child porn, child molestation, blood, slutshaming, inappropriate touching; mentions cheating, absent parent, needles, drug use, victim blaming and escorting ⚠️

Death at the Party is my first novel by Amy Stuart. I wouldn’t call it a psychological thriller as such, more a neighbourhood mystery involving secrets and lies.
The opening scene was full of tension. Nadine, a wealthy stay at home mum, has organised a birthday party for her mother’s 60th birthday. Her mother, Marilyn Millay is a famous writer. Nadine is first featured standing over a dead body while the party is still going on. We then cut back to the rest of the day with everything that happens in the morning, afternoon and evening. The writing is a single perspective, that of Nadine only. There is some allusion to a previous tragedy 30 years ago, but we have to wait to find out more details.
I didn’t outright hate this novel, but there wasn’t much to like either. It was too slow burn for me. Also, I couldn’t empathise with Nadine at all. She’s too self obsessed, twitchy and over anxious. Because the entire story is told from her perspective, it is easy to become a bit sick of her. Maybe, if another character had told some of the story from their perspective, it would have helped. Unfortunately, the other characters are not much better. Nadine’s mother is selfish, her husband is a pain and her children are insufferable.

The ending was ok, but a bit rushe.

So, all in all 3 stars. Quite a good story, characters not so good, but not really a psychological thriller., more of a domestic drama with a death for good measure.

Thanks tionNetgalley and the publishers for letting me have this copy in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. So this book was ok. I read the beginning, skipped around a bit and then went to the back. I got the jist of it pretty quickly. I felt it was long winded in the middle but the ending was good.

A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart is a twist on the classic whodunit mystery novel, we know whodunnit, but dunnit to whom and why? The book opens with the hostess of the party and a man she has just murdered.
The story follows the hostess, Nadine, as she prepares for her mother's birthday party and recounts events from her past. The book builds up a significant cast of possible victims, as we find out about Marylin's previous party during which her sister died and the web of connections between events and Nadine's neighbours and family friends. It's an interesting twist on a whodunnit that becomes more compelling the closer we get to the truth.

The writing style keeps the reader hooked throughout the book. The flashbacks to Nadine's earlier life and the events leading up to the murder are well-timed and add depth to the characters. Overall, A Death at the Party is an excellent read for mystery lovers who are looking for something different. It's a compelling and thought-provoking book that will keep you guessing until the very end.