A review by tania2atee
A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Great build-up 

A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart has been on my TBR for a while, and I’m happy I picked this one up to read this year. 

The book starts off with us finding out that a dead body is in the basement of a home, while a party is happening upstairs. 

The person who finds that body is Nadine Walsh, our protagonist. And chapter 1 starts us back to the beginning of the day as she prepares to host a party with hundreds of guests, to celebrate her mother’s birthday. Her mother happens to be a famous author and Nadine really needs everything to be perfect. 

Her husband and two children don’t seem to be much help, and seem to forget that the day also marks another somber anniversary that keeps consuming Nadine’s mind. 

With lists in hand, Nadine keeps to the task at hand but keeps getting sidetracked by memories, secrets and which guests will show up. 

This book had a great build-up and the author did a great job of going back to the past to understand what memories plagued Nadine, but also followed her through her hectic planning. 

Since we already knows that somebody ends up dead at the end of the party, the whole book happens over the course of one day, and somehow introduces us to more than a handful of people who could be that person. 

The book had me hooked immediately and also clearly drew the story of the history of all the characters in question. It was gripping and engaging and kept me on my toes until the very end to learn everyone’s secrets. And while I think I figured out the ending before the author meant me too, I still very much enjoyed this book. 

4 stars 

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