Two people in a basement bathroom, one, male, clearly unwell, the other, female, who is making no effort to call for help. And so the reader is already drawn in. Who is the man, there are so many unlikeable characters to chose from, and why is the female reluctant to assist?

This book started off really well, and the plot line was cleverly contrived, as the number of possible victims steadily grew. I did enjoy the book, (though this author certainly loves a basement and uses the word whenever possible) but found it incredibly slow, with a fair amount of repetition. The characters were a little bland. I do think that the backgrounds of the men (boys) who knew Colleen could have had more depth, it seems no one was asking the right questions.

And the errands! Cigarettes, cheese platters, peonies! On such a big, busy day, what was that about? Added nothing to the story, just filler.

An enjoyable read, but not enough wow.

Thank you NetGalley.

Thank you for the ARC of Death at the party. I found this book intriguing as it meandered through the past and future and I couldn't tell where the story was taking me until the end. It was a little slow at the start but gathered momentum towards the actual party. I enjoyed the book and would recommend to others.

Any book that starts with somebody standing over a dying person has got my interest piqued. I do enjoy a fast paced thriller and Death at the Party was a very bingeable read. Told over the period of a day, with flashbacks to the past, this book will have you turning those pages into the night.

This domestic thriller/drama, focuses on Nadine and her family. Her famous writer mother is turning 60 and Nadine is determined to throw her a big party. The last birthday party her mother had ended in a family tragedy and those feelings are all brought to the surface again. We she Nadine try to get everything ready for the party, whilst dealing with various family issues. We get an insight to her thoughts and frame of mind, while trying to hold it all together.

It is a tough book to put down, each chapter giving you something more to think about. Thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for my advanced copy of this book to read. Publishes on August 3rd.

A great Thriller.

Nadine the daughter of a famous (her mum) novelist is hosting a party for her Mums 60th birthday. It's 30 years after a previous fatal party.

So this thriller starts with Nadine standing over a dying person all you have to do is work out who it is and why he's dying. It becomes clear why as you read by who well that will take a bit longer! Actually very close to the end and that's great because well you will see as you read. There are a number of things going on in Nadines life and her families but to say what will ruin the suspense but it doesn't take long to start discovering and it doesn't stop well up to till the end like I said.

This is just such a great read fantastic characters thrilling suspense and hence plenty of drama, every character will play their part even if its just a bit fishy well in a red herring sort of way. Nadine struggles as do so many but she's a super star in her own right even if its only the reader (you and me) can see it o and the author obviously. This is a highly recommend read in my point of view I hope you get it and love it as well.

This is a good story with constant revelations keeping the reader engrossed. Nadine Walsh is hosting a party for her mother’s sixtieth birthday. That is an event the guests are keen to be invited to because Marilyn is a very successful author. Thirty years ago at her party for that celebration, a teenage girl died. The assumption was that she was Marilyn’s much younger sister. Nadine has never got over the loss of her mush loved relative and this second birthday celebration brings it all back. Nadine has always thought she saw someone at the death scene all these years ago but is only now going to discover who it was. So, the title of the book could be a death at two parties! This is a good read that keeps the reader wanting to know how it will end. I recommend it.

An absolutely riveting story. I loved how the story unfolded from the death of what turned out to be her sister many years ago. Nadine set out to have a 60th birthday party for her famous mother who was a writer. I liked how Nadine sought to find how who the man in the black vehicle was. Very clever how that unfolded keeping the reader on tenterhooks. It was quite chilling but a must read nevertheless.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was an okay read, enjoyable but not great.as some of the characters were quite annoying

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Nadine is married to Paul, and together they have two teenagers. Nadine is throwing a party for her mums birthday, her mum is also a well known author. Right from the start, we know that there is a dead body in the basement. But what we don’t know straight away is who that body is, and how they ended up there.

This was the first book I’d read from this author, and I wasn’t disappointed. We read from Nadine’s perspective throughout, and the book is divided into three sections of morning, afternoon, and evening. Nadine is a complex character, with many secrets, but this really drives the story forward. This was the perfectly plotted domestic neighbourhood mystery, and I would highly recommend.

Really excellent. This book starts at the end, with someone about to die. It then takes you back to the beginning to read why and who is going to die.

The pace is great, thrilling and twisty as possible, with the great writing and the really fun timeline you’ve got a winner here.

I was sent this book to review by the publisher - firstly thank you for the opportunity.

I enjoyed the storyline but found the book to be quite slow. The twist and turns weren’t that exciting and it didn’t make me want to rush to finish it.

I felt that the author could have made it more dark, go deep into Teddy’s past, really go into detail about what happened to Colleen. I feel that it just scratched the surface, and therefore it wasn’t for me.

Well this kept me up all night, a nice twisty turny read, kept me guessing until the end and brought to a satisfactory conclusion

This book gripped me from the very beginning. I loved the whole book from start to finish. The introduction to the book made you think the story was going one way and then the twists and turns take you in another direction! Amy Stuart has an excellent style of writing and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!
Thank you to Amy Stuart and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a quick read but boy did it still manage to drag me I and have me hooked from the start! It's quite a light thriller, and you get fully immersed jn the main characters world of secrets and suspicion. I loved the twists and didn't see the ending coming. Its a really satisfying read that doesn't ever slow down or drag out or get overly confusing, just a good wee domestic thriller plain and simple

#ADeathAtTheParty #NetGalley
Best of 2023.
Nadine Walsh is determined to make her summer garden party the event of the year.
Everyone deserves a celebration after the year they've had. A chance to forget.
As she prepares to welcome her guests, however, Nadine can't help but be distracted. Her husband is of little help to her. Her two grown children are consumed with their own concerns. But it's Nadine's own secrets that threaten to destroy her perfect party.By the end of the night, Nadine will be standing over a dead body in the basement. How did it come to this? And how far will Nadine go to keep her secrets buried?
I adored it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me an advance copy.

An enjoyable read. The book starts with a murder at a party. We then go back to the morning of the party to learn of the events which led up to this.

I thorough enjoyed the book, but it was spoilt slightly by inaccurate descriptions of Nadine's son with diabetes.

I dashed through this in a day - great fun, considering it's about a murder. The books starts at the party with someone almost dead and begging for help. Then we move back to earlier that day with various other flashbacks thrown in to tell the full story. The main character Nadine is a slightly unreliable narrator in that she doesn't tell her readers everything, just what she wants them to know at that moment, but the whole story comes out in the end. It's actually quite a light-hearted book at its heart, with a close family and lots of friends. Often I find books like this are hard going because I keep forgetting who all the people are, but somehow this is not a problem here and it's all clear throughout. It's a satisfying read, and the twists and turns in it aren't manufactured or completely out-of-the-blue unexpected, they all flow quite naturally and make sense. I liked it!

Omg what a thrill of a read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Twisty and full of suspence. I was on the edge of my seat. Gripped from start to finish. Read in one sitting. Couldn't put it down. Definitely recommend. 5*

Canadian author Amy Stuart's 4th crime novel is not a whodunnit? but a whydunnit? and also a guess the victim.. Nadine is throwing a 60th birthday party for her mother, Marilyn a successful author, but this party falls on the anniversary of another death - one that has haunted Nadine's family for 30 years. The story starts with an unnamed party guest lying close to death in the basement. During the rest of the novel, told in flashback, the reader must guess which of the party guests is the victim. The plot kept me guessing right up until the final revelation and I thoroughly enjoyed trying to work out the ending. I liked the way all the loose threads were tied up to give a very satisfying conclusion. I had not read any of Amy Stuart's other books but I will do now.

Compelling Domestic Noir…
Nadine Walsh is holding a long anticipated sixtieth birthday party for her famous mystery writer mother and, whilst she is determined that the party goes off with a bang, no one could have anticipated the end result. Starting with an unknown death and moving backwards the reader becomes swiftly immersed in Nadine’s world and all that it entails. Compelling domestic noir, where secrets and lies may well be the order of the day, with a deftly drawn cast, an immersive narrative and a neatly done twist in the tale.

Nadine is an only child of a single parent, who happens to be a famous author with a big birthday coming up, so naturally Nadine is throwing her mother a party. However, it’s not that simple. What follows at times feels as though Nadine is losing her mind. There is a complex and unusual relationship between the two women, theirs lives and the secrets that they keep. It’s often hard to differentiate between love and hate, and at times Nadine does hate Margot, whilst making huge sacrifices to protect her. Unfortunately I couldn’t take to Nadine, didn’t particularly like all the errands that were being run on the day of the party, or that most of the characters, to Nadines mind, were looking at her strangely, or at each other significantly. However, the writing was really good, there are some very interesting plot lines and an unexpected ending, it’s just that it’s not the book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.