The Party: A totally unputdownable, twist-packed psychological thriller by Tríona Walsh
Book Description
It was only supposed to be a small wedding. Intimate and perfect. But my blood turns to ice when I see someone I know wasn’t invited. My first husband – who I thought was dead.
My world shattered when Declan disappeared five years ago. My grown-up children fell apart without their father, and it was up to me to pick up the pieces of our broken lives.
I never thought I’d get married again but then I met George. Some people might think we’re moving too fast. But as I look round on our wedding day at our little family, the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses ringing out, I know that I’ve made the right decision.
Until Declan steps out the shadows. He says he still loves me, and now he’s back for good. But where has he been all this time?
My legs shake so much that I can barely stand… Even though he lied to me so many times, as I stare into Declan’s sparkling blue eyes I realise that my new husband can’t compare to the love we once shared. But at least I can trust George. Can’t I?
Before I even have a chance to decide, Declan is found murdered. A chill races down my spine as I realise – his killer must be one of our wedding party. Did Declan bring back secrets that should have stayed buried?
Now, we’re trapped in this house in the middle of nowhere and my heart pounds as I realise there’s no escape. Why is Declan dead? And can I get me and my children out of here before one of us is next…?
A totally gripping psychological thriller, packed with secrets and gasp-inducing twists. Fans of Lucy Foley,K.L. Slater and Shalini Boland won’t be able to put this down.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Party' by Triona Walsh.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Triona Walsh, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 23rd June 2023.
This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read her debut novel 'The Snowstorm' which I would also recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing and eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. I enjoyed 'The Snowstorm' by Triona and of this is as good as that one I'm guaranteed to enjoy this one too!! The synopsis stated that this book is 'A totally gripping psychological thriller, packed with secrets and gasp-inducing twists. Fans of Lucy Foley,K.L. Slater and Shalini Boland won’t be able to put this down'. I am a huge fan of K.L Slater and Shalini Boland 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, 11 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Ireland 🇮🇪, 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 holidayed in Ireland so am intrigued to see if I recognise places based on anywhere I visited while there.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Lizzie. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
This book is fantastically written with vivid descriptions that absolutely grip the readers attention and puts them right in the middle of it all feeling the hair raise on your arms and feeling the sweat run down your back.
This book is an interesting 'locked room' mystery set in one of my favourite places in the world... Ireland!!! I listened to this book on Audiobook and absolutely loved listening to the Irish accents which Roisin did a fantastic job portraying along with bringing the characters to life. We meet Liz who is fresh rehab after an alcohol and drug addiction. Liz's mother Claire picks her up from rehab with her soon to be husband George and Liz's brother Liam, to take her back to George's isolated country house. Claire's first husband and Liz's father Declan has been missing for years and is presumed dead. When they arrive at the house Liz meets George's daughter Freya and Freya's husband Hudson. Liz is in for several surprises starting with finding out that her mother has in fact already married George!! Liz promises herself that she will do her best to get along with George, Freya and Hudson as she could do without the stress anyway. However, things are made even harder as her own brother Liam is even refusing to talk to her. The next shock is a mind blower for everyone when the door knocks during the dinner party to celebrate Claire and George's marriage and when the door opens it is to none other than Liz's missing presumed dead father Declan!!! Declan refuses to go anywhere until he wins back the love of Claire and his children. Why did Declan fake his death? Will he be able to win his family's love back? Is he really there to do that or is he hiding something? Why is George's cook Mia blackmailing him? To find out the answers to these and many more questions then grab your copy today!!! This book is a slow burner but it is also ram packed with tension, drama, twists, lies, mystery, family, secrets, red herrings and much more! The fact that it is based in a remote location gives the book a chilling and ominous atmosphere which makes it a perfect book to read on a winters day in front of a fire or wrapped up in bed especially during the moments that make the hair on your arms stand on end. The suspect list is quite small so you are continuously guessing which of the small group is a killer. There were several twists throughout the book. I love how everything is wrapped up and explained at the end leaving no loose ends which I am not a fan of at all so well done Triona. The only niggle I really had with the storyline itself was the fact that I expected more of a an actual party than just a dinner party and it was just that little bit too much of a slow burn for me. However it is still a gripping and intriguing book with shocks I never seen coming and considering how many crime books I have read that is definitely a huge bonus as it is getting harder and harder to surprise me.
It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture
This is one of the few books 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 Roisin Rankin 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 Roisin did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Triona but also to listening to more books narrated by Roisin!
The characters were all realistic although I would have liked to see them more "filled out" as, personally they just fell that little bit flat for me. This normally puts me off a book but the twists and turns and Roisin's fantastic narrative skills made it easy to look past this fact. I wasn't a huge fan of many of them although I did like Claire and my heart went out to her throughout the book. This is a book filled with lies, twists and one where you have no idea which characters are telling the truth or who are hiding secrets so I won't go any deeper into my feelings of the characters as I don't want to spoil it for future readers.
Overall a suspense packed drama filled with twists you won't see coming!
Genres covered in this novel include Psychological Fiction, Crime, Thriller & Mystery Adventures, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Suspense Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Womens Psychological, Crime Thriller, Mystery ,Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction and Thriller amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Lisa Jewell, Rachel Abbott, K.L Slater, Melinda Leigh, Carol Wyer, Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot, T.M Logan, Lucy Foley, DK Hood, Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni, Rachel Caine, The Widow, The Housewarming, Shalini Boland.
349 page/10 hours 7 minutes
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited, £8.99 in paperback and £20.03 in Audible via Amazon at time of review, 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.
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Author bio
Tríona Walsh loves reading and writing crime novels but is fairly law abiding in real life. A twice winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair competition she lives in Dublin with her four kids, three cats and one husband.
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