I loved The Deaths of December so I was thrilled to see that Susi Holliday had written another book featuring DI Eddie Carmine and DS Becky Greene. The book is a real Christmas cracker which moves at a good pace, has a well developed plot and kept me intrigued all the way though. It is definitely not a cosy crime thriller as it gets quite dark at times. I loved Carmine and Greene, and enjoyed their banter. I'd love to see more books featuring this pair.

The book was well narrated by Imogen Church and Simon Mattacks.

This book was an easy listen, I enjoyed it all from the start. I might go back and read the first one now, I didn't realise there was another when I started. I found out lots about the killer but since it is a series about two coppers I thought it was seriously lacking any character arc or personal development about them. There was very little information about them at all, I didn't leave particularly caring about either cop. However, enjoyed the book and would read more.

🎧Audio Book Review🎧

The Party Season
SJI Holliday

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I just couldn't resist adding this one to my Christmas book tbr - my favourite genre and set at Christmas time - what more could I ask for!

"The Party Girl" has sussed out the best hotels for office Christmas parties and is making her plan - crash the party, snag a man, kill him and get out fast.

It was great getting to know "the party girl" bit by bit both through her own pov chapters and as we see the investigation develop over the book.
At first, obviously we want her to make mistakes, want her to be caught - but as we see her outside of this facade and we learn more about her reasons (and her victims) - I actually started to understand her view and her reasons for her actions and really felt for her.
I loved how her story develops from her childhood, her relationship with her mum, the killings and in the end, her justification and judgement.

The detectives were also brilliant - very relatable and I loved the banter they had between them all in the department. They stuck by each other and worked great as a team.
Becky seems to have an interesting past that was just touched on in this book - but hopefully this will be explored more in future books in the series??

The ending was great - I'm giving no spoilers - but I loved the outcome!

The writing style totally had me gripped throughout this - even though there was no element of "whodunit" - it was brilliant watching the investigation play out.
A little different from other books I've read, as knowing who the killer is from the start has us willing on the detectives to have all the clues come together to a satisfactory conclusion to the case.

Not as twisty as some books in this genre...but definitely still a page turner! Loved it!


*I listened to this on audio book and loved that there were multiple narrators for the different pov's - this really made the characters stand out*




💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

I don't like giving negative views but in all honesty I couldn't get into the story, To be honest the voices put me off, I found them difficult to like so that stopped me being able to listen and finish the story.

Narrated by Imogen Church; Simon Mattacks ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by SJI Holliday ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was so enjoyable.
I love the main characters and her story.
The motivation was realistic
And thd narrated did a fantastic job making this play out like a movie in my head.

Definitely a book I would recommend and buy for a reading buddy.

Overall, I give this a 2.5 . It was slow paced and I typically enjoy thrillers and police procedural books but I couldn't really get into this one. The plot was okay and the cast of characters were not that dynamic. I found some parts of the story compelling and others fell flat. I still don't understand her motive, This was my first holiday theme thriller and maybe I just wasn't the audience for it. I could see other people really enjoying this book!

A perfectly seasonal audiobook for those of us who like a side order of murder alongside our turkey and trimmings!

'The party season' tells the story of a tragic young woman seeking retribution against any man she feels represents sexual power over women. This woman strikes at Christmas parties, and pity help the poor man who attempts to entice this young woman to his hotel suite for a more intimate celebration!

This book has the feel of a series with a strong focus on the detectives investigating a spate of murders at said Christmas parties. I am fully expecting to meet these detectives again in future novels from this talented author.

A great listen that might just have us rethinking our decision to attend that work Christmas party....!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this audiobook in exchange for an advance copy.

This was so, so good! I love the different povs and characters were interesting. Listened to it in about 3 days - brilliant!

Firstly I need to mention that this isn’t the first in a series featuring the detectives. Having said that I hadn’t realised when I began to read this and have to say it works just as well as a stand alone novel.
This is the story of a woman seeking revenge for crimes committed against her mother. However until well into the book she doesn’t know who the perpetrator was and so revenge is carried out against a type of person and before you know it our protagonist is a serial killer.
The book brought to mind Bella Mackie’s How to Kill Your Family and Katy Brent’s How to Kill Men and Get Away With It. If you enjoyed either of those then this is one to add to your TBR pile.
With thanks to the publishers and author for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my personal, honest review.

I could not stop listening to this! It was the perfect accompaniment on holiday and loved the way the narrative developed!

Sadly not the gripping thriller I had hoped for. The characters are all very “nice” but the plot lacks depth.

The villain was revealed very early on in the book and so there was no suspense or intrigue, just a simple story about the characters within the book, while the police try to track down the killer.

I struggled with the narration as the male narrator spoke faster than the female narrator and so I had to keep switching speeds within the app. I also didn’t understand why the male narrator was speaking for Becky, a female character.

A pleasant enough read, which redeemed itself a little with an unexpectedly good ending!

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

If you are looking for a Christmas themed read with a bit of bite then this one is for you!
A female serial killer with a clear agenda, a couple of likeable and entertaining detectives and a strong supporting cast make this a very entertaining read.
Lots of suspense, quite dark and told from multiple POV with superb narration.
I didn't realise this was the second book in the series but it stands alone well - I just need to read the first book now!
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced listener copy of this book and am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

A killer is on the rampage during the festive party season with men being found with sudden heart attacks in hotel rooms. The pathologist discovers a needle mark between the toes of one and so the hunt begins. Meanwhile the killer is escalating.
This story is a very sad one as it looks into the reasons behind the murders and you are left feeling more compassion for the murderer than her victims.
This is a proper old school British police procedural and comfortingly enjoyable as such

Very slow paced .... each character telling their story but all off them seemed dull

The party girl dressed to kill looking out for victims at hotels and bars at Christmas time.
It's all about her Hermes bag which links her to the kills.

I didn't find it very interesting, so 3 stars only

Thank you to Netgalley

This is first book I have listened to by the author and I really enjoyed listening to this and found it hard to stop as you find yourself wanting to find out more about the party girl. The dual narration is excellent! I found this book
to be an entertaining festive mystery & if you love a quick thriller this would definitely be for you. Looking forward to checking out more of the authors books.

A cozy little hallmark Christmas title this is not, my goodness am I glad of that. Our party girl is out to serve justice murder style, and quite poetically so. I do love a good vengeance murderer. Not so much a mystery as the party girl does reveal herself fairly early on. I enjoyed the easy relationship between the detectives, even if they struggled to see what was right under their noses.


The writing was gripping and intriguing and the dual narration excellent!
An easy 4 stars 🌟

I didn’t realise at all until a few chapters in, that this was a follow on and while the previous story is referenced throughout I didn’t feel like I’d lost the story so it worked for me as a standalone novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed a few of this authors other books, so was looking forward to this one. I am a bit gutted that I didn't realise it was a sequel, but it just means I have just added another book to the tbr!

In The Party Season we follow 'The Party Girl', attending festive parties at hotels and picking her male victims indiscriminately and leaving their bodies to be found while she slips out. We also follow Detectives Eddie and Becky, who are trying to find her before anyone else gets hurt.

This was a quick and solid police procedural read. I had worked out quite early who the killer was, but was still an entertaining, festive mystery!

I usually love SJI Holliday books, especially narrated by the amazing Imogen Church but this one, although good, wasn't as fab as her others. I liked the tale of revenge, the main character was great and also the police investigating the similar deaths. They were well fleshed out but I didn't feel sorry enough for Heather to warrant how she behaved. It reminded me of Promising Young Women.

Narration was excellent and ultimately I did enjoy it. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks for the opportunity for an advanced listen.

Entertaining crime thriller audio book about a psychotic party girl out for revenge. Dark, but not too dark. Be good at the Christmas party because being naughty won’t get you any presents and you may find yourself dead, with the Police left scratching their heads. Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine freely given.

I have never read or listened to anything by this author before but they’re definitely someone I would pick up again! I really enjoyed this book and loved the characters. Secretly rooting for Eddie and Becky to get together and this alone has made me want to keep an eye out for the next book!
I thought the different perspectives were good as it really progressed the story well and kept the reader guessing.
If I was being absolutely nit picky then I have to say the female narrator did make the party girl sounds a bit whimpering at some points which I thought seemed the opposite of how the character was written, but the party girl doesn’t have a lot of chapters so it wasn’t a massive issue. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who’s a fan of crime books, and I’d rate this 5⭐️
I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next one!