This is my first book by this author and I am sold. 

I can understand when you have done something in the past your regret and are not proud of, you don't want to share it with anybody. But how can people not start feeling suspicious around you and start to question everything you say or do?

Honesty is the key word, but people keep their mouth shut and hope it will all just go away. It doesn't, does it though and it only goes from bad to worse until the feeling shrivel and might disappear altogether. 

The writing style is very fluent and the author kept me guessing until the very end. I did not who I could trust or believe. It seemed like everybody had something to hide and some would go a long way to keep their secret a secret. 

My favorite person is Jemma. She has a big heart and I do understand why she showed it, because she saw the reason why. I hope all ends well for her too. 

I loved this book, the characters and the background story. I am looking forward to reading more books by her hand. 5 stars

Thank you

The Invitation by Rachel Abbott is one of my favourite books by her. I highly recommend all Rachel's books
They have been all a cracking read.

It has been a very long time since a book intrigued me enough to stay up nearly all night reading, and then finish it the next afternoon. It has interesting twists and turns, and a "killer" climax. The characters are fleshed out and the writing is excellent!

Really good, some creepy plot twists that kept me hooked, and a great premise. Loved it! I would recommend this to my friends.

A twisty read with a shocking ending - yes please! This was an interesting book with a strong premise that would grip the reader’s attention from the beginning. I love discovering new thriller authors so I can’t wait to read more from her.

3.5* The premise of The Invitation was great, but unfortunately overall, it fell short for me and left me a little disappointed. I wanted more and was left with too nay questions.

A taut, compelling thriller that kept me turning the pages. Recommended! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC.

What a thrilling ride! I love a book that will suck you in and refuse to let you set the book down until you've turned the very last page.....and that is EXACTLY this story.

Fast-paced, unrelenting and with twists I never saw coming, this is one thriller that I cannot recommend enough!

It took me forever to finish this book, but I did. It was long & slow & I just couldn't keep myself interested. This one just wasn't for me.

The first time Jemma and Matt were invited to Polskirrin – the imposing ocean-view home belonging to Matt’s childhood friend Lucas Jarrett – it was for an intimate wedding that ended in tragedy. Jemma will never forget the sight of the girl’s pale body floating listlessly towards the rocky shore.

Now, exactly one year later, Jemma and her husband have reluctantly returned at Lucas’s request to honor the anniversary of an event they would do anything to forget.

But what Lucas has in store for his guests is nothing like a candlelight vigil. Someone who was there that night remembers more than they’ll admit to, and Lucas has devised a little game to make them tell the truth.

Jemma believes she and Matt know nothing about what happened to that woman… but what if she’s wrong? Before you play a deadly game, make sure you can pay the price…

I think this book was well written with one exception, it went on too long and was very repetitive! The story itself was good. Jemma is going with her husband Matt to his childhood best friends wedding at their family home. The night before the wedding, the grooms younger sister dies in an apparent suicide. The groom, Lucas, does not believe she killed herself. So one year later he invites his closest friends/guests who were at the home that night, to participate in a murder mystery game to find out just what happened the night his sister Alex, died. The premise itself was good, and I admit I went back and forth on who could have done what. I would just say that this book needs to be edited to be a bit shorter and to the point. It has a great didn’t see that twist coming at the end though!

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

We were all there that day. Now one of us is dead.

Atmospheric, intriguing characters, secrets, friendship theme, blackmail and murder. This book has it all plus excellent writing. There are a lot of characters in this and it can be hard to keep track.

I found that while I like this book it wasn't one that I would recommend. It is forgettable for the most part even though it was well written

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Invitation by Rachel Abbott. Jemma and Matt witnessed a horrible event - their friend Lucas's marriage ceremony - ending in the death of the bride. They were horror stricken. The wedding was held at a beautiful home on the ocean but the memory of that day is cemented in their memory. Now a year later, Lucas wants them to return to commemorate his bride's death. But this is not your standard anniversary party, and Lucas is not who he was a year ago. Lucas has some games planned for his guests - who will win and who will lose - it's a death game and Lucas will get the truth no matter what the cost.
2.5 stars.

This is my first Rachel Abbott book and what a delightful introduction to her work! Although it is the second novel to feature Cornish policewoman Stephanie King, it read just perfectly as a stand-alone. Though some might consider it to be a police procedural, the police actually took the back seat in this story. They were present, but the group of friends were under the spotlight more than the police investigation.

The premise was very clever and the characters intriguing. The ‘friend‘ dynamic seems to cover up lots of enigmagtic secrets, power-plays, and precarious loyalties. The writing kept me riveted throughout. I’ll admit I did guess one major plot twist about halfway through the novel, but that in no way marred my reading enjoyment.

In addition to the overriding theme of friendship, the novel also touches on blackmail, murder and abduction.

Would I read another Rachel Abbott book? Certainly! I cannot imagine what took me so long to discover this great crime novelist!

A group of old friends, with the exception of one person, who’s POV we get a lot, gather at a lavish mansion for a wedding. However, the night before the big day, the grooms troubled younger sister is found dead by an apparent suicide.

A year later, the wealthy groom, Lucas, calls everyone back to the mansion for a “game”. He believes his sister was murdered, and the same guests, wearing the same clothes and doing the same exact things as the year prior, will help him to uncover who did it.

I like the premise of this book a lot, but it was a bit slow-flowing for me at times and the characters, although very developed, were unlikeable. I didn’t read the first Stephanie king novel, but it doesn’t matter when you read this one, which is always good! The tension and mystery were good as were the twists.

Thanks to NetGalley, Rachel Abbott and Bookouture for the egalley!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc.
I never thought I would say a book was absolute rubbish but this is a first!!
It's a whodunnit for kids!! And even then that's pushing it!!

Many books right now are Agatha Christie/closed room mysteries and this is one of the best out here. Last year a small group of friends are Invited to a manor house for a wedding and a tragedy happens. Low and behold, they receive an invitation to return this year on the anniversary of the event they all want to forget. Now comes the fun, for us, not them, as Lucas the groom is determined to get to the truth of what really happened. This is a creepy mystery thriller rather than a psychological Thriller and there are obviously a whole group of guests/suspects to keep an eye on and move in and out of our guilty /most awful category.. This is actually the second appearance Of Detectives Stephanie King and Angus Brodie but you can certainly read this one out of order. Any of them could have been guilty for me, although I had an idea (which was wrong) before the whole plot explodes with several unexpected and a couple of really stretched twists!

What devious game is about on the anniversary of a wedding party on a lavish estate gone horribly wrong when the sister of the wealthy groom dies in an apparent suicide on the morning of Lucas and Nna' s nuptials? The first are the same close-knit circle of friends who were in attendance at that event, and it becomes clear that Lucas, at least, hasn't invited them back to mark that tumultuous day but to reenact in in order to satisfy his obsession - his belief that Alex, his sister, was murdered, and that one of his closest friends was responsible This is a tricky thriller that kept me guessing to the last page - and also wondering why any of Lucas s wedding guests are willing to play the Murder Game.

This is definitely a thriller. I couldnt put this book down. I was so into this story. This is the first book I have read by this author and she did not let me down. The many twists and turns keep you guessing. The characters are real and the story definitely has a dangerous tone to it. The ending was really shocking. I loved it.

Stephanie King is back, somewhat, and has been promoted to detective. Additionally, she and her romantic interest, Gus, seem to be doing well. As I read this book, I realized that the series isn't really written to learn much about Ms. King. Her presence is incidental and merely a tool to tie murder investigations together. We learn a lot more about the people involved in the actual murder than we do about her, even though this is her second book. This is okay as long as the reader is expecting that. I feel this treatment was much more successful in this book than in the first in the series. Additionally, the murder story itself felt stronger. It very much felt like an Agatha Christie mystery with several intertwined characters and secrets. While I normally urge people to read series in sequential order, this series reads as much like a couple of stand alone books that have a few overlapping characters.