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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Death at the Party - Amy Stewart
She killed him. That’s not a spoiler. It’s the first page.
Who he is and what drove her to his murder remain to be seen and we’ll find it all out in one day. The story centres around Nadine as she puts the last minute details on her plans for the party of the year to celebrate her mom’s birthday. We follow her through the last minute prep but also dive into all of her ruminations and evaluations of the past. Her head and her heart is on a roller coaster ride as she remembers the past, wallows in haunting memories, sorts through secrets and wades through her opinions on every neighbour and possible guest.
But the party. That’s supposed to be her focus. Her mom.
Oh, and her aunt that was killed 30 years prior at another of her mom’s birthday parties.
This is a quick read with short chapters and lots of moving parts. For the most part, those parts come together nicely at the end. While the big reveal isn’t “big” or flashy, it, again, wraps it all up in a way that makes sense with the narrative created.
I would call this a cross between a domestic and a neighbourhood suspense so if that’s your jam, give this one a try.
Thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for my e arc in exchange for my honest review.
She killed him. That’s not a spoiler. It’s the first page.
Who he is and what drove her to his murder remain to be seen and we’ll find it all out in one day. The story centres around Nadine as she puts the last minute details on her plans for the party of the year to celebrate her mom’s birthday. We follow her through the last minute prep but also dive into all of her ruminations and evaluations of the past. Her head and her heart is on a roller coaster ride as she remembers the past, wallows in haunting memories, sorts through secrets and wades through her opinions on every neighbour and possible guest.
But the party. That’s supposed to be her focus. Her mom.
Oh, and her aunt that was killed 30 years prior at another of her mom’s birthday parties.
This is a quick read with short chapters and lots of moving parts. For the most part, those parts come together nicely at the end. While the big reveal isn’t “big” or flashy, it, again, wraps it all up in a way that makes sense with the narrative created.
I would call this a cross between a domestic and a neighbourhood suspense so if that’s your jam, give this one a try.
Thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for my e arc in exchange for my honest review.
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.
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.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dark, fast paced, and effortlessly keeps you hooked! Super enjoyable but stressful read.
3.5
A fun, quick little literary thriller in the same vein as Ashley Audrain.
Balanced with back story, this book stakes place over the course of a day as Nadine executes a party for her mothers 60th birthday. She processes and comes to terms with a number of secrets from her past, with many big reveals taking place at the party.
This book was never particularly thrilling, nor did it affect a larger commentary (a la Audrain), but it was compulsively readable. Read it when you need a light palate cleanser between heavy books!
A fun, quick little literary thriller in the same vein as Ashley Audrain.
Balanced with back story, this book stakes place over the course of a day as Nadine executes a party for her mothers 60th birthday. She processes and comes to terms with a number of secrets from her past, with many big reveals taking place at the party.
This book was never particularly thrilling, nor did it affect a larger commentary (a la Audrain), but it was compulsively readable. Read it when you need a light palate cleanser between heavy books!
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
This twisty thriller, which takes place over the course of one day, is more of a “who’s the victim” than a whodunit, full of unsolved deaths, family secrets, affairs, and a nasty child predator. The book opens with a man dying on the floor of a basement bathroom, with the protagonist, Nadine Walsh, standing over him and not helping, while a party celebrating the 60th birthday of her mother, famous author Marilyn Millay, is in full swing upstairs. From that scene we go back to that morning, following Nadine as she preps for the party and her reminiscences about the various interactions of the characters over the course of thirty years. While the story does flashback to events in the past, all of the story’s action takes place over the course of one day. The narrator and many of the other characters are unreliable, which makes the murky tale complex and intense.
I enjoyed this book, I wish I could give half stars because I would rate this 3.5 stars overall. It held my attention but I did get a bit weary of how bizarro the main character was behaving. She doesn't eat or drink, except alcohol, she's shaky, she's controlling and has many lists of things to do. It was exhausting being around her for the whole book. I get that she is damaged but she seemed to be a big contradiction. Wanting to show outwardly that she is strong, throwing party for her mother's birthday even as she wants to distance herself from her. And the focus on the death of her aunt 30 years earlier.
It was intriguing and I would read more from this author. Just not for a bit if her other main characters are as exhausting as this one.
It was intriguing and I would read more from this author. Just not for a bit if her other main characters are as exhausting as this one.
Decent twists, but it took me a while to get into the book because it was a bit boring.
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes