Another compulsive read from Sue Fortin.

A suspenseful, fast paced and gripping page turner. Birthday girl, is written in a way that you feel like you are in the room watching and listening rather than reading.

Another 5* book from Sue Fortin.

Thank you to Harper Collins and Sue Fortin for the ARC in return for an open and honest review.

This was a very addictive read.. Finished in 2 days. It was a good story with lots of twists and turns but.. I found it a bit far fetched at times.

What can I say about The Birthday Girl by Sue Fortin other than I absolutely loved it!!

For the first page you are immersed into the drama of the book as it gathers momentum into a gripping finale.

Four friends have gone away for a birthday weekend but it’s not what they’re expecting. Secrets are revealed along with twists and turns along the way.

This book was so hard to put down. I was hooked from the very beginning. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK Harper Impulse an the author for the chance to review this book.

Creepy, eerie, atmospheric, baffling but utterly addictive are all words that I would happily use to describe The Birthday Girl.

This is a story that kept me guessing , and then something else came to light, andI started to guess in other directions, but at no point was I able to put 2 and 2 together.

The first few chapters were a great introduction to the characters and also in giving a full idea as to just how excluded the croft that the friends would be staying in was. It was like a magical mystery tour - only not magical in getting them to this incredibly remote location, and they had even handed over their phones for the weekend.

Imagine being invited to a weekend away in the woods with your closest friends only the friend that invited you has had falling outs in the past year with all the other guests. Ramp up the tension with an isolated location in the middle of nowhere, no means of communication with the outside world, and at least one person who seems to have an ulterior motive for the weekend.

Well that is just the scene setting for Carys, Andrea, Zoe and Joanne, as they embark on a weekend that I doubt any of them will ever forget.

There are outdoor adventure activities, guessing games and clearly plenty of secrets to be unveiled, From the second I fully got into the book, which was a bit further in than it should have been due to outside influences on my reading, I was hooked and didn't want to stop reading for any reason, although I am purely blaming the author if I have nightmares this evening.

The descriptions conjured up such vivid pictures that I had a really good feel for the isolation the characters must have been feeling, plus all the confusion and all the other emotions. Some of the secrets were more troubling than others and Carys already had to go through far more in her past few years than anyone should have to deal with.

The Birthday Girl crept under my skin to the extent that I had no idea whether it was the feeling of creepiness from the book that lead to me feeling like something was crawling up my arm, or whether there really was something there. Sue Fortin is to my eyes becoming an incredibly accomplished author and pretty much a must read for me every time she releases a new book, simply superb.

This was a birthday party that will stick with you for a long time, and if you do buy this as a Birthday present for anyone, I think it needs to be given with a disclaimer that you hope their celebrations don't turn out like they do in the story!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read any books by Sue Fortin before so I was unsure what to expect and I can say I was very pleasantly surprised. The book is easily a top read of 2017 for me. I found the book hard to put down and finished it in just a few evenings.

The book follows the events of 4 best friends celebrating a birthday weekend away in a remote location. However events take an awful and unexpected twist and one friend is discovered dead. The friends are left unsure who to trust and what to do. The journey of discovery is fraught with danger and suspense. The book is fast-paced and is full of twists and turns if you like thrillers with a quick pace and lots of surprises then I recommend this book.

Let me start off with MIND BLOWN!

The Birthday Girl by Sue Fortin was the perfect mystery book.I was intrigued and on my toes from the very beginning. I chose this book mainly because it is my birthday month and thought it would be a fun read, i was correct,

The book starts off with the ladies getting a letter from their friend Joanne:

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.

The other Girls half-heartedly accept her invitation and so the adventure begins! Joanne sends her friends to a private location with their phones being taken away, leaving them all with this false sense of security. As you start to get to know the characters, you think to yourself " I know who the bad girl is going to be" ..... WRONG! The author couldn't of done a better job of keeping me guessing all the way till the end. Then after your sitting there with your jaw to the ground this mysterious nameless voice is written in and your like WHO THE HECK IS THIS PERSON!?

Sue Fortin took me on a roller coaster ride that i would love to ride again. She did not disappoint. If your looking for a good thriller/mystery this one is definitely a winner. This now has me itching to read her other books.

Thanks again for letting me dive into this. 5 STARS!

I was so happy with this novel when I first read it.....then just over halfway through it grated on me,I found it so ridiculous and obvious I gave up and deleted it. what a shame..it started so well

Joanne invites her 3 best friends to a secret weekend away for her 40th birthday. There have been tensions between the women in the past, but the 3 friends hope that the weekend is Joanne's way of bringing them all back together and cementing their friendship. However, that is not the purpose of the weekend and events soon become darker and darker with secret resentments being revealed, revenge being taken and even a murder being committed.
Plenty of twists and turns throughout the story, and the reader is never sure who is the perpetrator and who is the victim.
Really well written with some real OMG moments! This book certainly keeps the reader turning the pages, I would certainly recommend if you like a good psychological thriller with some nasty characters!
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.

I enjoyed this book a group of woman went on holiday to celebrate a birthday but nothing is quite how it seems on the surface. As things go wrong the doubt creeps in and friendships unravel before your eyes. Really well written just as I thought I got it the dynamics changed

This was the first book in a while that had me really gripped. It was really cleverly plotted so that I really didn't guess what the outcome would be. Recommended. I will now be going to check out sue's other books as this was the first book of hers that I've read.

I really enjoyed Sister Sister when I read it last year. I was especially impressed by Ms Fortin's skill at creating, shall we say, interesting characters and providing them with a very well plotted storyline that kept me guessing right until the end. So to say I was quite looking forward to reading this would be a bit of an understatement. Although with all that in mind, I did approach the book with a modicum of trepidation as my expectations were indeed quite high.
Shouldn't have worried really. This book matched my expectations nicely and, once again, left me with a very satisfied feeling at its conclusion; satisfied but also a wee bit in shock.
So, it's Joanne's 40th birthday and she decides the occasion needs marked accordingly. So, she invites her three best friends - Carys, Zoe and Andrea - to spend the weekend with her at a mystery location. Sound like something that anyone would jump at. Well, you see things haven't been that tight between Joanne and her three friends recently. Could this weekend be the event that brings them all back together, or with things go completely the other way? As the shenanigans begin, it appear evident that Joanne has an ulterior motive for calling them all together. But who is keeping the secret and what repercussions are about to befall our cast?
Blooming heck... this book hit the ground running, literally at a rate of knots and didn't let up until the very end, holding me powerlessly in its thrall continually throughout. Even though for half the time my impression on where the heck the author was taking me was completely different from where I actually went! So much so that I starter to question EVERYTHING. Every little thing, nothing was taken on face value. I really wish I could qualify even just some of my gushing admiration but I tried and invariable it included hints at spoilers and that's a big no-no.
It was quite an intense read for me. Not just because of the action packed nature of the storyline, but the characters really got under my skin. Even though I was at a loss about certain motivations and couldn't see through the lies and duplicity half the time, I just couldn't help getting a bit emotionally involved with certain characters.
Honestly, I can't really express how impressed I was when finally all was revealed. It was worth all the confusion and wrong guesses I made along the way. Be warned though, be prepared to forgo all other responsibilities once you open this book. Personally, I wish someone had warned me as, once I has started reading, the times I spent away from the book just had me pining for when I could get back to it. Another one for the top five reads f the year methinks.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

In the immortal words if one if Strictly's judges 'Absolutely fabulous'. I loved this book from start to end. What more SAN I say except I shan't wait to read more by this very talented author. The tension and suspense were beautifully executed and the relationships between the characters was exquisitely defined. Great writing and one to watch. Thank you!

🌟🌟🌟🌟STARS
Now never having read anything of Sue Fortin before I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this.
Well, Wow, this certainly didn't disappoint.
I read this in practically one sitting, it was such addictive reading that I struggled to put "The Birthday Girl" down I was so engrossed.
This story tells the tale of four best friends, Carys, Zoe, Andrea and Joanne, all in or approaching their forties.
All Bogged down with the usual life dramas, petty jealousies and rivalries that usually come with groups of girls of all ages.
So when one of the girls, Joanne to be exact, decides to throw a very different fortieth party.
The other Girls half-heartedly accept her invitation.
Straight from the get-go, I loved how the scene was staged, Johanna lulling her friends into a false sense of security, outwardly not portraying her anger, but showing her game face and going in for the long con.
So there you are, You think you know where This tale is going, who the baddies are, when suddenly and without warning "The birthday girl" changes directions on you leaving you floundering in the wake of the upheaval.
And you're left there scratching your head in total confusion.
The Birthday girl will seriously confound your expectations and have you questioning everything that happens, nothing will be taken on face value and nobody is above suspicion.
On top of all this, there is also the mysterious voice that seems to hate Carys so much, I was so wrong on all fronts with this when attempting to use my sleuthing skills to unmask, brilliantly done indeed.
So the story that unfolds here drew me in straight from the beginning.
It manages to build layer upon layer until gradually a bigger overall picture is finally revealed.
This was so well done and it actually helped make the Birthday Girl such a page-turner.
this has all the ingredients of a five-star read and it wasn't until the last chapter that for me this lost some of its star quality.
I just really didn't like the ending, I've never really been into self-sacrificing or cutting off my nose to spite my face and that is what the last chapter to me stank of.
So Sorry to be so cryptic, but needs must as I really don't want to spoil this experience for others.
So there you have it, in a nutshell, this was such a good solid read, it flowed brilliantly, kept the reader guessing till the final pages and overall just pulled you right in.
So yes I would most certainly recommend this if you like a good psychological thriller, this is hands down, definitely one of the best I have experienced for a while.
So All that's left is to say thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with an ARC of The Birthday Girl this is my own honest and unbiased opinion.

Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

It’s actually Sue Fortin’s fault, I got into psychological thrillers. Her book Sister Sister is one of my fave books this year, so naturally I really wanted to read this.

This story has a very mysterious start, which got me all excited and hooked. Carys, Zoe and Andrea get invitation for a weekend away from their friend Joanne. A lot of mystery is surrounding this letter and the women are not sure what to think. The weekend is full of surprises and one of the ladies is hiding a secret. It’s also clear that a lot is connected to their past. It was very interesting finding out more and more about their lives and their connections to each other.

The book is full of twists and turns and lies add a lot to the tension as well. I was hooked from the start and couldn’t put the book down. It’s a real page turner and very intense. You really don’t know in what direction it’s going and Sue Fortin’s writing is on point. Every detail is right and the storyline is so gripping.

Rating: 4.5/5

The premise of 'The Birthday Girl' sounded great, so great in fact that I dropped everything else I was reading to get stuck in with this one. Three friends join Joanne for her 40th birthday weekend in a secluded cottage in a mystery location. However, what at first appears to be a mysterious, fun weekend soon turns into something more sinister. The book starts off with the makings of a really great story, full of intrigue and tension. I won't deny that the book was packed full of twists and turns and certainly falls into the fast-paced 'thriller' genre. The plot is intricate and very well-written, however for me I found it very far-fetched and at times it really dragged. It seemed to alternate between chunks of fast-paced excitement and then long periods of prose where not a lot happened. I must admit I was really surprised to see so many 5-star reviews as for me, 'The Birthday Girl' is really lacking something. Perhaps it's the fact that the plot got so far-fetched at times that it no longer gave me the adrenaline rush of fear and apprehension that such a book would usually offer me.

(Unfortunately I completed this book a couple of weeks ago whilst on holiday - I wish I had been able to write the review whilst fresh in my mind as perhaps I'd have a few more insights to share!)

What a thrilling ride!! Three friends are invited to spend a weekend with their friend, Joanne, who loves to play practical jokes on her friends. They are whisked away on a mysterious journey, unaware of where they are going and without their cell phones. As they begin their weekend, Joanne wants to play mind games with her friends. Several things happen that make the friends worry a little bit about what Joanne has in store for them.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. I will be recommending this one to many of my friends. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Birthday Girl is one of those books that is hard to review because, once you get past the initial idea, there are too many secrets and too many twists and turns – making the risk of spoilers just too great.

So, what can I tell you about it? It starts with an invite, three friends (Carys, Zoe, and Andrea) being invited by a fourth (Joanne) to go away from the weekend to celebrate Joanne’s 40th birthday; as it’s Carys’ too, they can celebrate that as well.

What could sound better? Well, for Carys, pretty much anything as she and Joanne aren’t on the best of terms – though it isn’t clear why at first – and neither, it turns out are Joanne and Andrea. In fact, Zoe, is the only one who seems to be getting along with everyone and excited for the weekend.

Thinking it will be a way of getting their friendship back on track, Carys and Andrea agree to go along and start regretting it almost immediately as they are taken to a remote location and it becomes clear Joanne doesn’t want to bury the hatchet but confront each of her friends over slights in a very public way.

Which brings me to the secrets and twists and turns and potential spoilers. With the story told by Carys and a mysterious voice, which could be anyone and isn’t revealed till the very end, it’s hard to know the truth, especially as Carys is definitely hiding more than one something.

I do like these type of books, with an unreliable narrator and relationships at breaking point, though I had burnt out on them and needed to take a break for while. It’s good to be back with such a good book. It’s a great read, with pace and tension. I had no idea what was going on (in a good way) and there were plenty of “wow” moments.

There were also a few moments where I had to suspend belief but I think you have to in these type of books and I didn’t mind at all because I was enjoying myself so much. I liked this one a lot!

The Birthday Girl is a novel full of secrets and lies, and it is one jaw-dropping read! I couldn't put it down, finishing it within a day, so desperate was I to know what happens next!

Joanne is turning 40 and has decided to organise a weekend trip for herself and her girlfriends Andrea, Carys and Zoe. As with the best of us, things haven't been as easy between them as they usually are and this is a chance for them to get back the status quo. In order to keep it all a surprise, the other three only receive their invitations the day before departure so not only is it a surprise, it's also unexpected. So off they set on a mystery trip ...

What kicks off as a celebratory weekend soon turns into something sinister with Joanne extracting revenge under the guise of 'fun'. A series of events unfolds making all participants very uncomfortable and uneasy about what is going to happen next and this is the type of novel where you don't want to allow your attention to be diverted in any way whatsoever - for fear of missing something! But no matter how attentive you are as a reader, believe me, there are surprises and shocks in store.

This is an enticing read. Each chapter leads onto the next and it is very hard to put down. In between chapters there is narration by an unknown person - but who? At the end of the book, all the questions which have been spinning around in your head are answered - but probably not how you think. And don't for one moment think it's all wrapped up because the biggest twist is on the very last page . . .

As a psychological thriller, this is up there with the very best and is a heart thumping, blood pumping read - and not one which you will easily forget. One last observation: I, too, have a 'big' birthday on the horizon and if ANYONE invites me to a surprise weekend - I am not accepting!!

I would like to extend my grateful thanks to publisher HarperImpulse for granting me an arc via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Fast paced phycological thriller, full of countless twists; this books grabbed me from the very beginning and didn't let go until the last page. I haven't read any other books by this author but will definitely give them a go now.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

A fast paced thriller. A birthday party with a difference. Three friends are invited to a weekend away to celebrate a 40th. The party girl Joanne brings them to a remote location for an action packed weekend. Games with a difference are introduced. A book about secrets that are in danger of being disclosed. Each character possibly has one and has motive for the tragic incident that happens. So many untrustworthy characters and incidents from the past being delved into. So many twists that have you convinced of the culprit but keeps you guessing until the end. A great conclusion.