Book Description:
We were all at the party. Which of us wanted her dead?
As the smoke from the bonfire spirals into the night sky and the cool drinks slip down our throats, none of us can take our eyes off Lacey. She dances in the dunes, her long golden hair damp from her late-night swim, her smile dazzling, her blue eyes closed.
Everyone who is close to Lacey sits by the smoky fire. Her adoring boyfriend, who holds onto her, perhaps a little too tightly. Her little sister, always in Lacey’s shadow, sifting fine soft sand through her fingers, never taking her eyes off Lacey. And me. Sad and full of rage, after an argument forced the man I love to leave the party early.
When the fire burns out, we stumble away from the beach, along the cliff path – faces burned by the wind, hearts full of secrets. But Lacey never makes it home. The next morning, her body is found in the sand dunes, a heart-shaped locket missing from around her neck.
Who would have thought our beach party could end the way it did? Close friends gathered on the last night of a long hot summer – which one of us could have killed the girl everybody loved?
An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with an ending you will NEVER see coming! Strap in for a twisty rollercoaster ride that will keep you turning pages all night long. Perfect for anyone who adored The Holiday, The Guest List or Gone Girl.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Beach Party' by Amy Sheppard.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Amy Sheppard, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication Date 25th August 2022.
This is the first book I have read by this author.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching beautiful cover and intriguing as well as intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Perfect for anyone who adored The Holiday, The Guest List or Gone Girl..' I am a huge fan of Gone Girl so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue and 62 chapters. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Cornwall, England 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually been on holiday to and visited Cornwall many times and am going back next year so will definitely be intrigued to see if I recognise anywhere or get ideas where to visit or avoid!!!
This book is written in first person perspective with the main protagonist being Katie. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.
'The Beach Party' discusses some topics that may trigger or upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Amy discusses/includes rape.
WOW!! IF YOU WANT A BOOK WITH AN ENDING THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND MAKE SURE YOU PICK THIS ONE UP!!
This book was very fast paced, unqie and addictive. I devoured it in one reading and was completely absorbed throughout!! This is only the second book that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but for the second time I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Amalia Vitale who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Amalia did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Amy but also to listening to more books narrated by Amalia! The storyline is rammed with suspense, tension and mystery throughout and I loved the unique way we are told the story through podcasts. Amy created a suspense and tension filled atmosphere and Amalia executed it perfectly through her narration. The location was perfect for the storyline and I could picture everything perfectly through Amy's vivid descriptions. The only niggle I really had was the short sentences which haltered the storyline somewhat. There were so many characters who had motive to kill Lacey and I was left guessing throughout. The twist at the end absolutely blew my mind, I certainly did NOT expecting that coming!!!
I was completely invested in the storyline and the characters throughout. The characters were all strong and realistic making them easy to picture. However, I can't honestly say I particularly liked any of the characters which given thay I was hooked on the storyline surprises me. The main character Katie seems to be very spoilt and there are several ways this shows in the book including the fact that she never seems to contribute to anything when staying with Sophie and Tom such as cooking. Katie also seems to bad mouth most of the females including her so called best friend Sophie and yet seems to have fallen in love with the three main male characters. I just didn't seem to click with her at all and was annoyed with the way she seemed to look down at other characters while being quite hypocritical herself. Sophie also reveals herself to be quite a spoilt brat on several occasions and it always seems to be what she wants. She had a tendency just to disappear doing her own thing and I must say who pushes their so called best friend into doing a podcast she didn't want to do? Tom was another confusing character who seemed to fancy Katie but was in a relationship with Sophie. It was a shame I didn't find one character that I could relate to but I still found it a very enjoyable read.
This is the first book I have read by Amy but I'm most certainly looking forwards to reading more!!
Overall a page turning mystery that will fill you with suspense and absolutely shock you at the end!!!
Genres covered in this book include Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Fiction,Fiction and Domestic Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of The Holiday, The Guest List or Gone Girl.
294 pages/ 9 hours 12 minutes.
This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, £8.99 in paperback, £18.29 for the audiobook or £7.99 of you have Audible membership via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@TheBeachParty @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86 @AmySheppard
Author Bio:
Amy Sheppard is a busy mum of two boys, living in Cornwall. Her obsession with making budget friendly family dinners, led her to writing two cookbooks. Amy creates recipes for her followers and for brands @amysheppardfood
Her debut novel is out in August 2022. A psychological thriller set in Cornwall called 'The Beach Party'
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Amy Sheppard here:
Purchase Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0B3XQYKCDsocial
Audio:
Listen to a sample here:
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you'll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo
Comments