A Death at the Party is a great summer read, with an intriguing plot - who died at author Marilyn Millay’s 60th birthday party, and why?

The story starts in a basement bathroom, with Nadine, Marilyn’s daughter, seemingly watching someone die without giving any assistance. We then rewind to the beginning of the day, with the story split into 3 sections - morning, afternoon and evening - covering the extensive party preparations, and introducing us to family members, friends and neighbours, all of whom carry secrets with them. The stress of organising the party, together with a recent injury, are really taking their toll on Nadine. She is also finding herself particularly troubled by events from her childhood on the anniversary of a tragic event.

I really flew through this book, which is always a great sign. I love a circular narrative - it pulls you in from the very start and I found myself constantly thinking about who would end up in the bathroom with Nadine at the end. It’s slightly shorter than most books in this category and I think that’s to the author’s credit - the pacing is great and it doesn’t feel like there’s too much superfluous information.

I think this is a great book for fans of Lisa Jewell. Perhaps even people who like Liane Moriarty but would prefer something a bit shorter and concise.

A nicely built intrigue, albeit with some extraneous characters and events. I couldn't decide whether the cousin helping was necessary or whether she was just there as a distraction?

Everything hinges round the birthday party for a famous novelist, the mother of the protagonist. We know from start that someone does, but not who or how. It kept me guessing, and was neatly brought together. It's a good read, with enough tension but nothing horrific to keep you awake!

I flip flopped with this book and wanted to know what and how the death occurred while at the same time not really caring about the characters. I didn't warm to them and they all seemed self indulgent - which was perhaps the point!

I must be honest when I first started reading this book I was concerned that it had not really interested me and it seemed to randomly jump around. I persevered, got used to the writing style and then I was hooked. I loved the way the book covered the day of the party with flashbacks to earlier life and relationships. From a standing start I ended up binge reading the final third, as there was so much going on in everyone’s lives. So glad I persevered, I would have missed a thoroughly good read.

Nadine is checking the pulse of a man stretched out on her bathroom floor. He is dying and she is waiting to see that he does. Who is he, and why is she not calling for help? After all there are 105 guests, loads of caterers and a band upstairs so there would be no shortage of assistants. Instead she waits ‘til his heart stops, then calmy strolls up the back staircase and rejoins the party. She hasn’t been gone long, and besides as the Hostess she has spent the evening circulating around the various rooms in the house with frequent trips out to the garden, so she hasn’t been missed. The party is a celebration for the sixtieth birthday of the world famous, bestselling author, Marilyn Millay, Nadine’s mother. Her mother hasn’t had a party since her thirtieth, mainly because, Colleen her young sister had died during that party and Nadine, aged ten at the time, had been the one to discover the body. The questions for the reader are the pair posed at sentence three above, and the connection, if any, between this death and that of Colleen.
The story is told entirely from Nadine’s point of view, and is set in Winngrove, a small, upmarket, suburban enclave, “a village within a city”. It starts before 8 a.m., with Nadine, leaving her husband and two kids still asleep, and nipping out to get some last-minute items. It is just as well that Winngrove is small because, during the next twelve hours, as the party is assembled, Nadine nips out several times and others come and go across very small time-intervals. We observe the dynamics of the village, learn about Nadine, Marilyn, and Colleen’s pasts, and meet all the main protagonists, including a number of men who could end up being the guy on the bathroom floor. Nadine is a somewhat unreliable narrator, because she has recently recovered from a serious fall (broken hip, bang on head, infection) and is haunted by the failure of her ten-year-old self to tell the police what she saw the night Colleen died. I rate this as a psychological mystery, domestic (not quite cosy) crime. It is a very well constructed tale, with information being dripped in as the day progresses, but it isn’t hard to work out who the victim is, how he died and why he died. It is quite an easy read.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

A Death at the Party unusually started with the ending first...an ending which immediately hooked and drew me in.

I completed the book in two sittings and was most disgruntled when I had to take a break from reading and go off to work. I found that my mind kept drifting off to the story as I waited to get back to finish it.

This book kept me guessing until the end and really did have some unexpected twists.

The characters were well formed, although not entirely likeable, and the storyline flowed well. There was bad language so perhaps not for those who are easily offended.

I don't feel the need to go into the story itself as the book's synopsis gives a good outline without risking any spoilers.

I personally feel that there was one unanswered question, however it was a good enough read for this not to bother me too much.

For me, an easy and well deserved five stars.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the author for a free download of the novel in return for an honest and unbiased review.

The opening chapter quickly sets the foundations for a suspenseful and dramatic story. A man dies in the basement bathroom during a 60th birthday party. He is not alone but has a short and emotionally charged conversation with the parties host, Nadine,who does nothing to help save his life. Who is this man and why did he die in these circumstances?

The story continues by going back to the start of the day and the actions, conversations and reflections of Nadine in the final preparations for the party. There are to be 110 guests at the party and over the following chapters we are introduced to Nadine and her family and the people around them. Nadine also reflects on another party for her mother 30 years earlier which also ended with a death. There is intrigue, deceit, jealousy, hatred and the list of potential victims grows. The story is skilfully presented with elements from the two parties 30 years apart colliding. There are unexpected twists throughout and the pace is maintained through to the conclusion.

It’s not a spoiler to say that someone dies during a party, because that’s where the book starts.
However, who dies, and why is what becomes clear during the course of the book.
Nadine is organising a 60th birthday party for her mother, a best-selling author, and the whole book takes place on the day of the party.
Nadine is fragile, she broke her hip 6 months ago, and has not really recovered mentally. Her daughter’s best friend is in a coma, her son has his own problems, her husband tries to help.
She has a habit of drifting into the past, and losing track of time, which is when all the circumstances leading to the death become clear. I would find this trait very annoying, and don’t think I could be Nadine’s friend, but it works very well here.
It is cleverly written, as the truth slowly emerges, with lots of red herrings along the way, I certainly had many candidates for the dead body!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for the opportunity to read this book.

Nadine is the daughter of Marilyn Millay, a famous author, and is organising her 60th birthday party. There was a tragedy at Marilyn's 30th birthday party, held at her parent's farm, which has overshadowed Nadine's life. Nadine now lives with her husband Paul, and her children Isobel and Damian.
The story is told in flashbacks to Nadine's youth, and the present day with the preparation for the party. There are a lot of connections and secrets between Nadine's family, friends and neighbours, and all the secrets start coming out of the woodwork as the preparations for the party develop.
Recommended

Nadine is hosting a party for her mother. As well as being her mother’s birthday, it's also the anniversary of her Auntie's death. It's been a difficult year.

I liked how this storyline was the build-up was to who was murdered and why. It was a refreshing change from most other murder/mystery books. It felt more like a family drama than a thriller read, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

This story is different. It starts at the end and then continues to tell the reader what happened and why through the eyes of Nadine over the course of one day.

Nadine has planned a 60th birthday party for her mother - a well known novelist. I'm not sure whethervthis us a thrillers, physologica family drama or a murder mystery. Over several hours old family secrets are unveiled as are more recent unknown events.

The ending was a surprise i many ways. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and couldn't put it down until the last page.

This is the first book I have read by this author but won't be my last.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for allowing me an advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book is so unique. I love how it was written and the complex and brilliantly flawed Nadine. I found this book impossible to put down and read it a day, and think it would be a great tv series. A great and fast paced book that I really enjoyed.

The story was good, but I didn't like the characters so found it hard to care about any of them. I was expecting more of a mystery, rather than a family drama.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publisher for allowing this.

This book is an exciting, tense mystery that takes place over one day. We start by knowing someone has just died at a party but not who. We then go to the beginning of the day where we follow Nadine as she sets up for her mother’s 60th birthday party. Nadine is distracted and stressed by the memory of her mother’s 30th birthday party where her aunt Colleen tragically died.

The day of the party we see Nadine trying to keep everything together while learning secrets about her children, dealing with the behaviour of unpleasant party guests, keeping her mother happy, hiding her own secrets and dealing with her anxiety about her aunt. As we get through the day more is revealed until Nadine is forced to makes some decisions.

Nadine is a complex character. She’s made certain personal choices that make her hard to like and yet she’s quite sympathetic because of her anxiety. She’s also recovering from a broken hip. Her stress is palpable and it adds some real tension to the book. While most of the drama in the book isn’t Nadine’s fault, she has made personal choices that threaten to ruin her family life.

I felt quite sorry for Nadine, in spite of everything she’s going through people are completely dependent on her. She’s asked her family for help and yet often they’re ignoring her instructions or causing problems and creating more for her to deal with. Her family are also quite dismissive about her ongoing grief around her aunt who she was very close to as a child.

This was an easy read, fast paced and exciting. I was really engaged and it was enjoyable to discover all the reveals and see how the story resolved.

I am in two minds about this book. While it was undeniably readable, and a real page turner, with some good twists, there were other aspects I liked less. The narrator is rather irritating, and although much is explained away because of a prior head injury, her neurotic behaviour and thoughts became rather wearing. I also felt that quite a lot of breadcrumbs were dropped (fair enough - to make us wonder who the murder victim could be) but these were then resolved in a rather superficial way. People she had heartily disliked were suddenly viewed more sympathetically, just because of one small incident. And one character - Margot - doesn't seem to have much to do at all, other than conveniently be in the right place to assist the narrator once or twice. The husband is also very bland. I'm being more critical now than I was when I read it - and I did enjoy it.

Really enjoyed this one and I actually liked the main character for once!
Only gripe is there were too many people in it which confused the plot at times!

A Death at The Party took place in a single day. Like the main character, my anxiety significantly increased as the day continued and more information revealed. Nadine is clearly struggling with information she finds out, whilst hiding secrets of her own.

I struggled to put down this novel.

An ok read which just took me a while to get into.
More of a drama than a thriller in my opinion.
This would appeal more to readers who don't like anything to dark.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was so well put together, which kept me intrigued the whole way.

The links and twists were brilliant! I loved that each character had their own story, which added to the suspense.

The death was in the first chapter, and then the story was explained throughout the book. I honestly had no idea the whole way who it was or why it had happened!

This is my first book by this author, and it definitely won't be the last!

Overall, I found this a really easy, enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it!

A dying man in a bathroom . Will Nadine phone for an ambulance? No.
A great start to this novel and i found the rest to be gripping. I read it so quickly that i thought it must be very short , but i see that it is listed at 304 pages.
The story is told throughout the preparations of a 60th birthday party for Nadine's mother Marilyn , a best selling author. There are echos of Marilyn's 30th birthday party when Nadine's aunt Colleen died.
Many of the residents of the wealthy suburb grew up together and are connected through business and through Nadine's grandparents farm. There many secrets and Nadine is struggling to keep her nerves under control as she finds it increasingly difficult not to spend too much time thinking of the past and doubting those close to her.
It is not until the very end of the book that we discover the identity of the dying man and it was not the one i had first suspected . It is a good ending with secrets being exposed and Nadine facing her demons and coming out of it stronger.
I liked all the family dynamics and writing style of this novel and it reminded me of the books by Lisa Jewell and now that i have finished i see that the publisher suggests Lisa Jewell fans will like it. I agree.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.