I absolutely loved this book. A fast paced dark, gripping atmospheric read full of secrets, lies and revenge. It draws you in right from the first page. I was totally hooked and wanting to find out what happened next. I couldn’t put it down. With plenty of twists, red herrings and speculation keeping you engaged throughout.

It’s the event of the year-the company summer party. Mel can’t wait to let her hair down with her colleagues. Sun, sea and her sights set on her work crush. One big happy family. But as the champagne flows and the sun begins to set, cracks in the team start to appear. Secrets, lies and revenge. No one is as innocent as they seem. But could one of them be guilty of murder. Mel soon realises someone is orchestrating a deadly plan. And she must uncover the truth if she’s going to get out alive.

Told in dual timelines with the day of the party and the aftermath. I liked the newspaper articles and police interviews. The storyline is exciting, dramatic and believable, plenty of eeriness and tension. With well written and interesting characters who keep you guessing, you don’t know who to trust.
Overall, a brilliant twisty locked room thriller. Definitely worth the read. Highly recommend. I can’t wait for @KateGray next book.
With thanks to #NetGallery @Headlinebooks #MountainLeopardPress for an arc of #TheSummerParty in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 4 July 2024.

The man in charge of the company, Flavour, liked to think of his employees as a happy family. Everyone was very sad when one of the employees had an accident after the Christmas party and died. But time passed, and the employees were excited to hear that a luxurious hotel was so pleased with work the company had done for them, they were hosting a Summer party and several fortunate members of staff would be invited to stay over night. The hotel was on an island, a boat was arranged to take the party goers back from the island, while the lucky few remained to enjoy the facilities. The names of the staff who could stay at the hotel would be drawn out of a hat randomly.
Mel never thought she would win a place, but her name was drawn out, and she was excited to be staying overnight at such an amazing hotel. When the boat left the island, the few remaining were still in party mood, but as more drinks were consumed, tongues loosened, and it was discovered that the employees were not the happy family they were thought to be. Mel knows something isn't right, someone is out for revenge, and she needs to find out who. It seems like everyone has lied, and everyone has a secret.
The plot twisted and turned in this locked room thriller, and I couldn't put it down. It was a riveting read right up until the last page.

This was a well written, exciting and page turning read that I didn’t want to put down. A perfect summer thriller with twists and turns and plenty of red herrings and speculation. Set in an eerily perfect paradise.

For the employees of ‘Flavour’ , their annual summer party is the event of the year they all look forward to. This year it is being held at Point Grey, a luxurious hotel on a remote sea fort off the coast of Portsmouth, where 8 members of staff drawn from a hat get VIP stays to also spend the night. Mel, the office HR lead is especially excited as her office crush Charlie and herself both won VIP stays.

But the staff are reeling in the aftermath of the death of coworker Holly after their Christmas party, and things soon come to a head once alcohol is involved and emotions are high. A fire breaks out at the hotel on party night and we are kept up to speed by chapters with newspaper articles and police interviews following the fire and chapters in the day and night of the summer party.

Who survives?
Who is to blame?
And why?

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for my arc in exchange for my honest review.

Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery? The summer party revolves around a company party at a luxury hotel where secrets lead to murder. Mel, an HR manager, discovers hidden truths about her colleagues and the mysterious death of a past employee, Holly. This book was an enjoyable read, it’s perfect for the beach holiday or sitting in the garden (maybe not on your way to your work summer party!). Highly recommend.

It's time for the company summer party. You head off there but will you come back?
Top thriller with a very unusual locked room scenario. Thriller from page one and very unique - despite the murders, this is something I would want to go and a place I would want to go.

I love a locked room whodunit, and I enjoyed 'The Honeymoon' so I was looking forward to reading this one.

It had promise, and there was a lot to like about the book. I really enjoyed the corporate party theme as workplaces have so much potential for drama and juicy secrets. I also liked the police interview transcripts and online comments, which broke up the prose nicely and added an extra element to the story.

Unfortunately I didn't connect to the story as much as I wanted to. The ingredients for a great plot were there, but I don't feel like we got to know the characters well enough for their deaths to make an impact. The pacing was a little off as well - there was a lot of build up and then suddenly people were being killed off left, right and centre.

Overall I would recommend this book as it was a reasonably enjoyable read, but in my opinion there are better books in this genre available.

This was a tense read feeling very claustrophobic even though the setting was in the middle of the sea. I liked that the story was set on two linear threads, on the day of the party and the other the aftermath as police interview transcripts. We know something bad happened at the party but not who survived. I thought it was a great read

Great little summer read here. Set around a digital agency, Flavour. One of their clients has offered eight lucky staff members to spend the night in their luxury hotel on an island. They have been chosen randomly or have they.
A year ago at another staff Christmas party, a young graduate trainee died of hyperthermia as she walked home coatless and intoxicated. Now a year on it's the summer party and there are plenty of drinks and celebrations going around. As staff let their hair down we start to see their back stories and cracks start to surface. Poor Mel in HR can not cope a break as she is desperately eager to be liked by the team or noticed by Charlie, a charismatic account handler. Dominique over does it as she accuses her team of disrespecting Holly's death and is removed from the Island. As the party erupts and drinks are spilt, It quickly becomes apparent that this group are anything but a happy family. Those randomly chosen have all had something to do with Holly during her time at the agency and it look like someone is out for revenge .
I guessed the culprit early on symply by the dynamics but that didn't spoil the plot.
I loved the structure of using social media to accompany the events. We learn fairly early on that there has been a fire and several bodies have been found. Gray then switches to show what really happened. It's high octane stuff and there are twists and turns at every page. Highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

Draws you in from the first few pages. I loved it, the story was believable and it was a fast read that kept me wanting to read more. 4stars

I really enjoyed this book I thought it was the perfect length so it wasn’t dragged out and that it had a good amount of suspense placed throughout the story line. Furthermore the addition of adding the newspaper articles and police interviews was a really nice touch.

The summer party revolves around a company party at a luxury hotel where secrets and lies lead to murder. Mel, an HR manager, discovers hidden truths about her colleagues and the mysterious death of a past employee, Holly.

The plot is full of twists and turns, the characters are interesting, although Mel can be annoying at times! This is the perfect summer read for anyone who enjoys a suspenseful thriller.

The Summer Party has plenty going on from the very beginning. It’s the event of the summer, the company party. A chance for them to celebrate their successes but some are hesitant based on what happened at last year’s Christmas party. This is a tale of secrets and lies. It’s dark, gripping and atmospheric. Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and the author for the chance to review.

The setting of a group of people being away on a holiday break which ends with one or more murders is certainly not original but this one does have a complicated outcome. A firm which was charged with renovating an upmarket hotel on an island is given a party for its workers and seven are given the reward of an overnight stay. Then the complex reasons as to why the chosen were selected kicks in. The murders are a form of revenge and the complicated reasons for this group being together are played out. An employee of the firm, rumoured to be about to reveal damaging secrets, was murdered a few weeks previously. Her death is important to what happens on the overnight stay. The story does keep you wanting to know how it will all play out. The end is drawn out a bit and could benefit from editing. I enjoyed the book.

I was offered an advance review copy of The Summer Party by Kate Gray on Net Galley – and saw that it was recommended for fans of Lucy Foley – so I said ‘yes please!’.

The book is told primarily from the point of view of Mel – who works in HR at a PR company, Flavour. I have to say she reminded me quite a lot of Eleanor Oliphant – the eponymous heroine of a book published in 2017. She is one of the ‘lucky’ VIP members of staff to be picked randomly to stay overnight at an exclusive hotel set on a historic fort in the middle of the Solent. After all of the Flavour staff have finished their summer party – the lucky few will remain over night in the lap of luxury.

The weather is a scorching heat wave – and the oppressive heat as the party starts is written really well and you can really feel it. You know from near the start that something has happened to a previous colleague, Holly, who died after the Flavour Christmas party – and Mel in particular seems to be being reminded of her at every turn – even the bedroom smells of her perfume.

The party goes off reasonably smoothly – although with a drunken speech and lots of alcohol involved – and then most of the staff head back to the mainland. Things then get weird! It’s written really well and is incredibly evocative of the VIPs being totally stranded on an isolated fort with no way of getting off.

There’s murder and intrigue and you’re never quite sure who can and can’t be trusted. It had a great pace and made me want to keep reading to unravel what was happening!

Overall a great read for this summer.

A bit thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC. It’s out on July 4th – busy day for books – and voting!

Wow! This was some story! The friendships, the lies, the threats and the overall horror of this story played out on a luxury holiday was awesome, a bit remiscent of Agatha Christie which is a compliment, I thoroughly enjoyed this twisty turny book immensely!

I knew I would enjoy this one after loving the authors first novel last summer. The title and cover instantly caught my eye! This would be the perfect holiday thriller read as it's fast and keeps you engaged through out. I did guess what would happen half way in and found Mel the main character a bit annoying at times but this is an excellent suspenseful thriller, well written and I flew this book! Looking forward to already what the author will write next! Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this arc .

Mel works at design agency Flavour and is excited for their summer party at a luxury, remote hotel. As the party gets under way, cracks begin to appear and soon she discovers someone has come up with a deadly plan. Will she make it through and discover the truth?

Having read this author’s debut, The Honeymoon, when it was first released and really enjoying it, I knew I needed to get my hands on her second novel. The Summer Party was another great offering. The story starts strongly and I found myself invested, wanting to find out what happened next. There is plenty of eeriness and tension to keep you reading. By the end up head was spinning, not knowing who to trust.

I think the characters are written well, but there are a lot to remember and Mel’s personality frustrated me at times. Although the storyline was entertaining, it felt as though it was slightly too long and could have done with reducing some of the repetitive parts. These are just a few minor issues however, and overall I found this to be a suspenseful, fun thriller, which is a perfect holiday read. I look forward to more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This is the first book by Kate that iv read and I will definitely be looking for her other one to read.
I enjoyed this a lot. It Keeps you gripped, I love a locked room mystery and the setting if this one was gorgeous, mayb a little predictable but there wer def a few red herrings to keep you guessing. A perfect holiday read by the pool with a cocktail by your side. Definetly recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this early copy.

It's the event of the year - the company summer party. Mel can't wait to let her hair down with her colleagues. Sun, sea, and her sights set on her work crush. One big happy family.

But as the champagne flows and the sun begins to set, cracks in the team start to appear. Secrets, lies, revenge. No one is as innocent as they seem.

But could one of them be guilty of murder? Mel soon realises someone is orchestrating a deadly plan. And she must uncover the truth if she's going to get out alive……

You heard it here first (or maybe not 🤣) this is going to the be the thriller of the summer!!!! The Honeymoon which was Kate’s debut thriller last year was a summer spectacular - this is just as good!!

I absolutely love a locked door thriller and this one was not only locked door but an old military fort only accessible by boat!! This certainly ramped up the tension for the people who were at the party and also for me as the reader.

The characters were all so well written. They kept me guessing throughout as to if they could be trusted or not. I love unreliable characters in a thriller, they really keep you guessing.

For me this had absolutely everything that you want in a thriller - great atmospheric location, numerous untrustworthy characters and a fantastic plot that kept me guessing until the end.

If you’re going on holiday later in the summer this is the perfect suspenseful beach read. If you have no holidays planned get beach sounds on Spotify and just pretend 🤣🥰

3.75

Such a fast read that kept me gripped throughout. I started reading it one morning and had it finished that same night.