Unfortunately, I just couldn't finish this audiobook. The locked-room-mystery-on-the-moon seemed to be right up my street, but the narration and the very saggy middle section meant that I was continually drifting off into unrelated thought and missing whatever was (or wasn't) going on. After too many rewinds I decided that this title just isn't for me.

This story was told from many points of views and being set on the moon set it a parts from other murder mystery’s. It was quite fun even thought felt a blur messy at times.

In "The Launch Party" by Lauren Forry, a group of ten lucky people get the opportunity to attend the opening of Hotel Artemis, which is the first lunar hotel ever. As they return to Earth, they are excited and eagerly prepare to be part of a meaningful event in human history.
The guests on the moon initially feel excited about the luxurious amenities like flowing champagne and room service. However, their excitement doesn't last long as they soon realise that there are no staff members to attend to their needs, leaving them feeling completely isolated. When one of the guests is found murdered, fear spreads amongst the group, leading to a series of complex events. With no communication with the outside world, the guests must come together to survive.
While "The Launch Party" is a pleasurable mystery novel, it doesn't bring any innovative elements to the genre. Nevertheless, it's an ideal choice for someone seeking a relaxed and undemanding read. The story's plot is enthralling and will keep you engaged till the end.
Forry does an impressive job of setting each character apart from the others. At first, I felt overwhelmed by the ten different names, professions, and backgrounds, but the author quickly clarified their distinctions. The audiobook narrator also contributes to the characters' uniqueness by using distinct accents for most of them. Despite addressing significant themes such as anti-capitalism, class, gender, and race, the book only touches on them briefly.

My rating feels harsh because this book wasn't bad - it kept me engaged a lot easier than a lot of audiobooks and I was intrigued as to where it would go... it just didn't give me enough.
I would've liked to spend more time in the hotel just being in the hotel and exploring.
I'd have liked to have been able to piece together clues myself more (though this could be the fault of my next point)

I also struggled with points where I think we changed POV but there was nothing in the audiobook to say so except that I noticed when it felt like we'd switched POV, there wasn't a pause - the last sentence barely ended and the next one started. It was jarring and that is 100% an audio-production issue and not the author.

I would recommend this for people who are interested in it, but it's not going to be the mystery that sticks out in my mind. It just lacked a little something for me, which is disappointing as I think otherwise, it was. a really good book and I am planning to check out the author's other works.

DNF. I found the premise of this book very interesting but unfortunately, I was disappointed. It was very difficult to get into the story as there were a lot of unnecessary descriptions and inner monologues. I found myself not caring about the characters at all - to me, they read as caricatures, fake and impossible to relate to. The fact that they were on the moon was rarely mentioned, which made me think the author only put them there to try and put a new spin on what was otherwise your stereotypical locked-room mystery.

The reviews if this book have been a little tough and let’s face it the setting is the only unusual thing. It’s a locked room mystery and who doesn’t love those! I really enjoyed it!

The best thing about this book was the unusual premise - a bunch of people in a hotel on the moon. But, unusual setting aside, this is in effect just a standard locked room mystery. Fair enough, I like those. More could and perhaps should have been made of them being in space, it featured a little bit but not as much as you might expect.

The characterisation wasn't great and I kept getting a lot of the characters confused - it was only the different accents (and conveniently they all had different accents since they were all from different countries) that set them apart on the audiobook. But they all felt a bit like caricatures - the billionaire Japanese man, the racist German woman, the earnest American criminology student, the doctor who just happens to work for Dignitas. the hard-boiled tabloid journalist and then there was Penelope (not Penny, never Penny) the main character who is supposed to be a police detective and yet appears to be phobic of absolutely everything. It didn't ring true at all. I just couldn't see how a woman with this many phobias could actually survive every day life, let alone hold down a job with that level of importance.

I found the writing quite clumsy at some times too - one of my pet hates is when the same words or phrases are used in too close a proximity to each other, and this was happening a lot, so the text didn't flow nicely and it sounded repetitive.

The pacing wasn't quite right either. It seemed to take ages to set the story up, then there was a lot of people pointing the finger at each other, and then the explanation for the murder all came out really quickly and the story ended. I wanted more time devoted to explaining how and why everything had happened, since it really wasn't that clear and didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Despite all these gripes, I did still quite enjoy the audiobook. It wasn't bad, I just think it could have been a lot better.

I really liked this book, the story was original and entertaining and maybe the best, the narration which was very well done. Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this copy.

I really wanted to love this book as it had such a great premise but I thought it fell a little flat. The author alluded to so many different things that could be happening and the reason behind them but then the twist was just a bit out of the blue and not as exciting as it could've been.

I also felt like there was so much room being given during the middle part of the book, and then not enough where it was needed to explain the reveal and the twist. The reason why there were no staff also didn't make much sense and again this could've been something really big.

Thank you NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio for the audiobook.

Thank you to Bonnier UK Audio, Zaffre and NetGalley for the free audio-ARC which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows a 'just-about-believable-if-you-squint' plot following a detective who is chosen to take part in the inaugural trip to the moon where she will stay with 9 other contestant winners at first of it's kind, Hotel Artemis. However, when things start to go wrong, and one of the other contestants is found dead in the hotel, it appears that not everything is as it seems.

The narrator does a wonderful job at differentiating between all 10 characters on the trip, although Alison, Sasha and Charlotte do blend together at times, though context allows for this to not be too bothersome and, for the most part it is very clear who is speaking at each time.

Pacing is slightly skewed towards the end which does affect the reader's enjoyment however the red herrings and twists and turns throughout helps to keep them on their toes. While belief does have to be suspended for the moon-based hotel, the intricacies of human nature is well documented and makes this a modern day take on the traditional Who Dunnit? 3.5/5

Such a fun premise! Forry has provided us with a fascinating cast of flawed characters and thrown them all in the wildest of situations, a locked room murder mystery set in a hotel on the moon? Sign me up, I could not put it down. Addictive storytelling with so many could have been’s!

Forry’s set dressing was so distinct, I could picture each location so clearly that I could have been watching it all take place before me. Speaking of, this would be a great story to bring to the small screen.

The Launch Party takes closed room murder mystery to another level, completely out of this world! In fact, it is set in space in a newly built space hotel. 10 (un)lucky members of the public have been chosen to experience the hotel in a first of its kind launch party. The guests soon discover that not only is there an absence of media, but the promised hotel staff that are meant to be at their service are missing. When one of the party is found dead, suspected murdered, that can only mean that one of the remaining ten is a murderer. As their numbers dwindle, tensions rise and the stakes get higher, it is a race for survival and a race to finish reading to reveal the truth. The audiobook immerses you fully into the story and is perfect for fans of closed room murder mysteries. #thelaunchparty #laurenaforry #netgalley #closedroommurdermystery

I recently had the chance to read "The Launch Party" by Lauren Forry, and I have some mixed feelings about it. To be honest, I was a bit bored at times. The concept of a locked room mystery set on the moon with the need for a spaceship to arrive and leave certainly had potential, but it didn't always hold my attention.

One thing I appreciated was the variety of characters in the story. There were so many of them to get to know, and the narrator did an excellent job of portraying each character's unique personality and accents, which added depth to the narrative. It gave me a bit of Cluedo vibes, which I enjoyed.

However, the story being written in the third person made it a bit challenging to connect with the characters on a deeper level. With so many characters in play, it was easy to get muddled up sometimes, and I found myself losing track of who was who.

As for the mystery itself, it was a classic whodunnit, which I usually love. However, I found that I just wasn't invested enough in the story to truly care about solving the mystery. The ending, unfortunately, felt a bit flat for me.

On a positive note, I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. It's always a pleasure to discover new reads through their platform. While "The Launch Party" had its moments, it didn't fully capture my attention or enthusiasm.

Unfortunately one of the most disappointing reads I've encountered in a long time.
The beginning was boring, very slow paced. I didn't care for any of the characters and their backstories, least not Penelope who I found a lifeless protagonist. The story had so much potential with its location on the moon but really, why was it on the moon? What was the point? Simply for the remote location and locked-room thriller vibes? You could've put it on Earth and very little would have changed. Out of Alison, Sasha, and Frau Richter (audiobook so ?spelling) I couldn't tell them apart for 90% of the story. The plot exposition was so far fetched and unbelievable, far too coincidental, and the unravelling was unsatisfactory. Not to mention one characters blatant racism towards the only black character in the book and his 'dirty fingers', amongst other things, which was brushed aside and not mentioned again, no consequences came of and none of the other characters called her out on it?

The burb makes this sound like it is so much more. Its is just awho dobe it based on a hotel on the moon. The narrator goes a good job of keeping the characters distinguished.
The main issue with this is there is no character arc we only start to learn about them from about 85%. The pacing is off and rhe plot diffucult to enjoy as it was not revealed too late. It waa a fab idea just purely executed.
I am sure this could appeal to readers who like a long drawn out story with no plot reveal and little character background. It was over too quickly when the plot was revealed.
Thank you netgallery publisher and author and narrator for my arc. Sadly not one for me but had so much promise. A sad 3 star im afraid but i can still see there may be an audience for this.

Agatha Christie meets Andy Weir is just a view of marketing but the whole premise used the setting in the moon to have a murder mystery story. The story is fun. Quite predictable. I do hope it conceptualized more of the location plus the murder mystery.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced version of the audiobook.

The Launch Party is an enjoyable, slightly futuristic mystery set on the moon. I don't think it does anything revolutionary with the genre but it's perfect if you're looking for something medium-paced and not too challenging. The mystery is compelling and keeps you guessing, though, in my opinion, the final reveal is a bit underwhelming compared to the other possibilities that were theorised earlier by the characters in the book.

What the Launch Party did really well in my opinion, which is sometimes a struggle of similar locked-room mysteries or books with a group of characters at its centre, is really distinguishing all the characters from one another. I got a bit scared when, at first, I was given 10 different names, jobs and backgrounds, but within a few moments of listening, I had a pretty good idea of who all the characters were and how different they were from one another. This was also aided by the audiobook narrator who did convincing and distinct accents for most of the characters, making it clear who is speaking at any given time. I very rarely got confused and also had a pretty good overview of the relations between the characters.

However, what disappointed me a bit was that despite a few allusions to bigger issues going on, such as anti-capitalist, class, gender or race issues, the book never really delved into any of them and mostly used them for character motivation or background. I guess it's fine to make a choice not to include those kinds of discussions in a story but it does make it feel more superficial and I personally think that in a book with a premise like this one, they should be more prominent.

The Launch Party is an intriguing locked room mystery where the location is the real main character because, without it, some of the pivotal plot points would have been difficult to manifest. That said, I did find myself asking questions aloud as I listened along, and certainly enjoyed trying to figure out whodunnit.

The concept felt original - murder mystery on the moon but this book could have been set in a hotel down the road for all it mattered. The writing was fine but all the excitement of the moon was irrelevant to the story.

I'm surprised the reviews aren't better for this book. I enjoyed the whodunit story, simple and you know, set on the moon, so there's that. There seemed to be a few things that coveniently fell into place and maybe a couple of things that didn't make perfect sense, but I enjoyed it all the same. Good narration on the audiobook. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this, my review has been posted on Goodreads and Bookmory so far.