DNF. Did not enjoy it very much and decided to stop reading.I think the plot is clichéd and I have read the same idea a lot of times in other books! Abandoned.

Great book, love this author and how they can keep my attention to the end! The plot is well developed, characters are believable and they obviously paid attention to detail to make the story worth your time to read.

The Birthday Girl features an intriguing premise with some unexpected surprises along the way.

Four friends gather to spend the weekend celebrating one of their fortieth birthdays. But what Carys, Zoe, and Andrea don’t know is that Joanne has a weekend full of surprises planned for them. And when the weekend is over, their secrets will be exposed. Isolated in a cabin far from civilization, their celebratory weekend quickly becomes one of survival.

The idea of a weekend full of scavenger hunts and games is one I really enjoyed. I think my favorite part of this book was the first half when Jo has everyone playing games with no clue as to why. I spent a good portion of the book trying to figure out her endgame and I liked what it ended up being when it was finally revealed. Unfortunately the second half of this book didn’t work as well for me. After something happens while the four women are isolated at the cabin, the book takes off in an unexpected direction. My main issue was that the characters' reactions made absolutely no sense. I understand that there was someone moving behind the scenes, organizing things to get the characters where they needed them to go, but if the characters had bothered reacting in a logical manner, none of what happened in the second half would have happened. I will say the book is fast-paced and full of suspense, I just couldn’t get past the characters acting so illogically leading to so many bad decisions.

The characters in this book were well done with each developed well enough that I was easily able to tell them apart. The relationships between the four women were very realistic with petty grievances, shared secrets, and hidden hurts. Of the four women, we spend nearly the entire book following Carys’s character so we got to learn more about her than any of the others. I liked Carys, she had her flaws and secrets, but they made her more interesting. Interspersed with Carys’s chapters are chapters from the point of view of an unknown person who clearly wishes to harm Carys. I spent a good part of the book trying to figure out who those chapters followed and I was surprised when it was revealed.

Overall while I didn’t love The Birthday Girl, it was still an enjoyable read and I would recommend it if you’re looking for a mystery that will keep you guessing.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

With a slow start, and a rather over-the-top far-fetched story, I certainly have mixed feelings about this book.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book. I barely put it down and read the book very quickly. The tension and suspense is built up instantly from the start. We were given a few characters that clearly all had their own secrets, and then a mysterious weekend that involved a lot of surprises and no phones - of course it kept me constantly guessing!! However, I did struggle to find the story believable and convincing. The 'real' conclusion was better, but the whole weekend being put on was just silly. I find it very hard to believe that people are that petty to go to all the trouble just to out a few secrets?!? Don't know. I couldn't wrap my head around it.
Anyway, I would still recommend this book, as others may have a different opinion to me, and I enjoyed it for the most part. The story did have it's flaws, but still a heart-racing read!
I still am looking forward to reading the rest of this author's books.

'The Birthday Girl' is the first book I have read by Sue Fortin - and I have to say that I loved it!
I have read some of the other reviews, and yes, I agree that the beginning is a little far-fetched; but isn't that what fiction is all about, pushing boundaries?? And yes, the girls are all rather unpleasant to each other and I wouldn't want that sort of friendship personally, but doesn't that contribute to the uneasy atmosphere of a thriller?
As far as readability goes I couldn't put it down! The ending was neat, all ends were tied up and it wasn't all happily ever after!
Easily a five star read for me and I will be reading more Sue Fortin in the future!

Zoe, Carys, Andrea and Joanne are friends. Well, Joanne not so much because she is not the nicest person. Throughout the story you can feel the tension between the women which leads to us wondering what happened and who caused it. Great read.

Who needs friends if you have enemies like this.... I didn't particularly like the beginning of the book, it was a bit slow at the beginning, and the whole traveling to the lodge was extremely unnecessarily tiresome but after that the book got momentum and was a great read with a thrilling ending! Recommended.

Based in secluded cabin in the woods, Joanne has a motive for inviting her friends for a weekend away, one of them has a secret she's going to reveal, a creepy psychological thriller that had me gripped to the end, a real page turner!

Dear Carys, Zoe and Andrea
Come and join me for my fortieth birthday adventure weekend, full of mysteries and surprises
the like of which you can’t imagine.
When Joanne’s friends reluctantly accept an invitation to her birthday party, it quickly becomes clear that there is more to this weekend than they are expecting.
One of them is hiding a secret.
And Joanne is planning to reveal it…
A weekend away in a cottage in the woods sounds like fun – until no one can hear your cries for help.
Four friends.
A party to die for.
Who will survive?

I have only just discovered Sue Fortin as an author and after reading her gripping novel Sister Sister I was drawn to this and it didn’t disappoint.

I would highly recommend this, I couldn’t put it down with all its twists and turns and fantastic plot.

A brilliant dark and gripping tale . The best book yet by this author. A book that keeps you gripped

I was gobsmacked by this book. The twists and turns had me guessing the whole time. And for once, I didn't guess the ending! I loved the set up, the tension and the characters were fab. Would love a prequel to before the weekend!

The Birthday Girl was a truly thrilling novel. I love the story, the cover, and can't wait to pick up Sue Fortin's next novel.

Gritty, unnervy..i loved it! Kept me gripped throughout. Highly recommended

I had seen this book EVERYWHERE in bloggersville (a lovely place to visit!), and everyone there was gushing away and yet, I kept leaving it to the side. For whatever reason, I kept skipping over it. How much was I missing out?! (It's okay, you don't have to answer this question, the answer is loads!)

This is the story of a group of friends who aren't really friends anymore, something has happened to separate them from Joanne, whose birthday it is. When they receive an invitation to her birthday, they're a bit wary about going, but go anyway and it's only when they get there that they realise it's not exactly a spa weekend that they're going on! With their phones taken to add to the adventure, we soon realise that someone has something planned for them, but with twists and turns that suddenly turn you from obvious culprits and lead you all over the place, including back to the obvious! This book never let up. When I realised that not only were they in a secluded location with no access to transport or communication, but also they had an expanse of wilderness to traverse, I was fully in! Excellent settings, brilliant characters that bounced off each other, creepy game playing ... I loved this book! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this book in return for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5

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MMMMM not bad!!!
3 friends are invited by a 4th to a ‘mystery’ weekend to celebrate her birthday, it all starts intriguing with cars picking them up and an aeroplane ride but then they have to give their mobiles up, and they do in the name of the game, this to me was unbelievable, no one would give their mobby up, for anyone, for any reason!!! It all turns out ( of course ) that the friend has got them there for an ulterior reason and they all have a secret to hide that she intends to bring into the open........
It is an interesting and at times exciting tale that wrong footed me once or twice and compelled me enough to finish it but it was flawed, some of it was just unbelievable and not sure how to explain it but the writing style at times was ‘basic’
The characters were flimsy yet each one had enough to make you get to know them fairly quick
The ending was intense and quite a shock
As say not a ‘bad’ read, and I did enjoy it but there was just something missing
7/10 3.5 stars

I've only recently started enjoying psychological thrillers so am I glad I was approved to read this one. Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for approving me to read this ARC.

The Birthday Girl is about 4 women who are on a weekend getaway arranged by one of them as a surprise filled with twists and turns, arranged to mess with the readers mind. It was a captivating, enthralling, atmospheric psychological thriller. I absolutely loved it. And that ending---WOW. I'm still reeling from it. You know a book's good when you're still thinking about it long after it's over. It's definitely one of my favourites I've read this year so far. There are so many different elements and suspects at play but I did guess who the culprit was towards the end but it was freaky. I highly recommend this as a must 2018 read. It was also very well written and engaging.

*thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperImpulse for a copy of this In exchange for an honest review*

3.5 stars

Most of this book was really good! I liked how each page made me want to read the next to find out what was happening. The story doesnt tell you everything about the characters and their past, so you are left guessing and wondering which is also great. The whole story was a 4 to 4.5 stars up until the last 20% where I felt the story started going downhill. The massive ending I was expecting didnt happen. It was pretty easy to predict which left me feeling disappointed. Still, it's worth reading and I will be reading more from this author.

Sue Fortin is a new author for me and a very welcome one if this book is anything to go by. The story follows 4 best friends - Carys (the main character), Zoe, Andrea and Joanne who have been friends for a significant amount of years. Joanne is about to turn 40 and invites the other 3 to a "surprise" birthday weekend at an unknown destination which turns out to be a remote and atmospheric cottage in Scotland. This sets the tone of the novel immediately as secrets, lies and deceptions come to the fore along with underlying resentments within the group of friends. Initially appearing to be a straightforward murder-mystery this is so much more. Twists and turns keep the story flowing at a perfect pace and suspicion falls on every character at various points throughout making second guessing the culprit fun and interesting. A great read, dark and thrilling and definitely a good advert for keeping your friends close and your "frenemies" closer - 5 stars! Thanks to Netgalley UK and publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another amazing read from Sue Fortin! This woman cannot do any wrong when it comes to writing addictive storylines! another MUST READ!

I need a stiff drink after this one. Wow.

When Carys receives an invitation for a weekend away with her best friends - whose relationships have been strained in recent years - she is hesitant but trusts it’s all about to be put behind them. But then things go from weird to worse, and no one can be trusted. Everyone’s hiding secrets, including Carys, and not everyone is going to make it home alive.

This is definitely a great mystery book with a great set-up. It’s got a remote location, secrets and twists galore. Some reveals were quite shocking.

This novel had me so hooked, I went from 40 percent read to the end in one afternoon- I couldn’t put it down! There’s so many moving parts here that there’s a lot of possibilities and scenarios.

I didn’t guess the ending before it was revealed; like I said, there were too many moving parts. But everything worked out smoothly. And it was really freaking creepy too. That last chapter? Chills.

I really enjoyed this one, and would encourage anyone who loves thrillers to pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed!