Basically this is a who dunnit so the plot is central. Beth wants to find out what really happened to her friend Kathleen when she is found at the base of a cliff - apparently a suicide.

What annoyed me about this story was the way the writer had her protagonist ask lots of questions which were obviously meant as red herrings for the reader. Part of the pleasure of reading a mystery is figuring out who to believe but in this story the writer tries to tell us what questions to ask. Some pointed questions every so often is fair enough but a barrage feels like manipulation.

In addition, the actions of Beth and the perpetrator were simply not believable. I won’t give anything away but one long discussion between the perpetrator and Beth felt ridiculous. But despite these considerable flaws, it was a page turner and I was intrigued enough to want to see how it all turned out.

Beth goes with friends and family to a house party on the Isle of Wight. Beth is gossiping to Kathleen out of earshot of everyone else at this luxury home along the cliff top. When the other guests approach, Kathleen abruptly stops the conversation and assures Beth she will tell her the rest later. However, the next day Kathleen falls to her death from the cliff at the bottom of her garden. Did Kathleen slip, commit suicide or was she pushed? Follow Beth as she gets to the bottom of this mystery fatal fall.

I loved this mystery and the way it was told. The author’s voice carried over from Mary’s previous novels and once again the lead character has a cocker spaniel, this time called Ollie. Mary has a cosy writing style, like a grandmother regaling times gone by. I liked how every character, all present at the house party, had a part to play. Beth had suspicions about everyone at the party, including her own husband, son and daughter. I had a lot of empathy for Beth as Kathleen had finished their conversation with that most frustrating of comments that she would tell Beth later. In everyday life it, “I’ll tell you later”, is very, very annoying but when that person dies before explaining, it can be torturous. Beth is then caught in the trap of all the characters not sharing with her what Kathleen may have said to them because those conversations were said in confidence.

I loved the plot of The House Party. Central to the theme of this mystery was whether Kathleen slipped, committed suicide or if she was pushed. If the reader guessed Kathleen was pushed, then every character could have been the bad guy.

I found The House Party to be a very entertaining mystery. I liked the pace and how Beth worked through the clues to solve the tragedy. I loved how there was lots to consider before getting to the conclusion. The clues will nag at you, especially between reading sessions. I loved how there was no padding in this story, it was all rich content with countless what-ifs. I feel this novel should appeal to both crime and cosy mystery fans. The House Party ticked all the boxes for me, so get’s the top score of 5 stars. There was one short line that made me smile…

Beth felt she was back in Wales; the lady was obviously looking to chat.

...As any husband on furlough in Wales due to the coronavirus will tell you, so very, very true. Thank goodness for unlimited landline calls.

This has been a good read. I have found it's full of tension and suspense. The plot is interesting, although slightly different to anticipated I have enjoyed reading this one and found it has been a unique read.
I have liked the characters in this book, they have seemed real and likeable. Grand has given them personalities that become clear as you read this one.
Although this is a book which is more slow paced than I usually prefer. I have found that the ending has really picked up the pace and thrown surprises in which have left me speechless.
This book has held my attention and kept me guessing so I would recommend this one.

Public review to follow on blog tour

Beth: "You can't be scared of anyone here. We're friends, we all know each other so well."
Kathleen: "I used to think that. But when I saw one of them do something, I realised I'd got them completely wrong."

Beth and Kathleen have this conversation during a house party. The following day, Kathleen is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. Beth spends the novel trying to prove that Kathleen was murdered by one of their friends. Unfortunately the language is quite simplistic and the mechanics are often tedious as well as being complicated and confusing. There are a lot of red herrings. I imagine a truly dedicated mystery reader would enjoy.

My thanks to NetGalley, publisher Boldwood Books and Mary Grand for this Advance Reader's Copy of The House Party.

I was a big fan of this book. I found it hard to put down and enjoyed the way that the central mystery unfolded, with the author revealing the secrets of each character at the perfect time. I would recmomend to any thriller fans.

Tension and suspense


Kathleen tells her best friend Beth that she is frightened of one of their close circle of friends. The next day Kathleen is dead.
An involving thriller as Beth sets out to discover which of the small group of friends is not as they seem, and possibly a murderer. As she looks at each of the group and uncovers details about the night Kathleen died, so I became convinced I knew who was responsible for Kathleen’s fear, only to change my mind a few pages later, and so it continued throughout the book! Strong emotions come through Mary Grand’s telling of this involving story, with a well thought out plot, and plenty of twists
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5*s from me as this was an exciting read, with plenty of tension and suspense. The fact that there were few characters, lots of excitement, and a lovely setting on the Isle of Wight made this a great escapism book for me, when nothing else could hold my attention (due to stuff going on my world). Do we know our friends as well as we think we do?

Sorry, this wasn't a page-turner for me. The characters were a bit too dry, a DNF @ 17%. Thank you for the opportunity to check out this book!

The pacing in this one is really off, but the premise and writing end up making up for it in the end. More for fans of slow paced thrillers.

This was a tale full of secrets and betrayal. It has plenty of red herrings and twists and turns to keep you interested. I did feel the pace of the book lagged at times but it was a decent read.

This book admittedly didn’t hook me right from the beginning, it all seemed a little predictable and slightly confusing.

However, as it went on I got really drawn in and found myself struggling to put it down, it just kept developing.
There were so many twists and turns and theories, it had my head spinning!

Beth goes on such a journey to figuring out what happened that morning and I really enjoyed how it was written. You are invited into hearing Beth’s thoughts developing and her ideas. It really made me feel connected to her as a character.

The last 20% of the book was incredibly unexpected and the ending was tied up nicely, very satisfying.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read in return for an honest review. Set on the Isle of Wight, in a fantastic new build, a house party is taking place. At the end of the night, host Kathleen admits to best friend Beth that she’s being blackmailed over a past misdemeanour by someone at the party. When Kathleen is found at the bottom of a cliff the following day, Beth seeks the truth. A fantastic premise and there were moments of super twists. However, there were too many characters for me to keep track of and I found myself going back and forth to double check details. The book slowed in the middle, but picked up pace towards the end. Not a page turner, but I’m glad I stuck with it, as the ending was nicely tied up. I would question the title, only because the house party plays little part in the plot other than provide a list of those in question. A good read, but not great.

This book is a decent read with a great plot and plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. Sadly I got a bit bored halfway through, but the book eventually picks up towards the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the preview of this book. It was a great read and there are plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing & your attention wrapped. It will keep you guessing angry the ending will genuinely surprise you

Someone is about to die… Someone is about to lie…
At the intimate house-warming party for her glorious ‘grand design’, Kathleen confides in her best friend Beth that she is terrified of one of their close friends, but daren’t reveal which one. The guests are a tight-knit group, but Kathleen is convinced one of them is dangerous.
The next day Kathleen’s body is found at the foot of a cliff and Beth must face the sickening truth that she may have been killed by one of their trusted friends. With little help from the police, Beth’s decides to seek answers.
All the friends have secrets they are desperate to hide, but only one of them is ready to kill to keep theirs safe…

This was an incredibly slow story. I had high expectations for this one and I was a bit disappointed, and there was a house party that was about half a page in the entire story. I was waiting for something to happen and it just kept going around in circles. Not anything special, struggled to get through.

A book with a good premise and a good lot of suspects with everyone looking guilty and red herrings along the way. It has everything for a solid read but is pulled down in the middle by running around in circles. It picks up again about 70% of the way and the conclusion is very good. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Boldwood Books for the ARC.

This story is set on the Isle of Wight; Kathleen and Patrick are holding a housewarming party to show their close friends their designer home, just a small group of six others. Beth knew there was something wrong with her best friend but she looked at the guests in a different light when Kathleen told her she was frightened by one of them - she had witnessed some wrong-doing and was being threatened. The next morning Kath was found dead at the bottom of the cliff at the end of their garden. Everyone thinks it is a tragic accident - but Beth is determined to prove them wrong. As she works her way through her list of suspects she constantly has to back-track and change her mind over her conclusions - all of which became a little bit tedious - Miss Marple going around in circles.

There are just so many characters it was hard to remember who was actually who; I enjoy complex plots but I say that this one was definitely complicated. There are lots of little twists to Beth's investigations and just like her character the reader needs to keep back-tracking and taking stock of their assumptions. The conclusion was extremely atmospheric and surprising which I think made up for some of the tedium throughout.

Great story. I do love a thriller with houses involving ed. Good background story and was definitely a page Turner that kept me gripped

I was given a free copy of this book by Net Galley in return for a review.
The description of the book was enough to instantly make me want to read it- Kathleen confides in Beth that she’s terrified of one of their friends, and the next day, she’s found dead. Who wouldn’t want to find out what that was all about?!

I did really enjoy this book- the pace to it was just right; there was always enough happening to keep my interest piqued. You might wonder why then I’ve only given it 4 stars? In any type of whodunit, there needs to be several suspects- and this book is the same- however I felt that there were maybe too many people, or perhaps the character development on them hadn’t been thorough enough. I found myself really having to think about who certain characters were, and what the relationship between them was- which was a slight distraction.

The book kept me guessing right the way through- I changed my mind several times as to what was going on, and why!

I’ve not read anything by Mary Grand before, but I’ll certainly be looking out for books in the future!

I had trouble getting into this book. There were a lot of characters and I just didn’t seem to connect with them. It was an ok read, but just didn’t hold my attention.

This was an OK read, though rather slow paced. Firstly, despite being called "the House Party", the book really had nothing to do with the house party other than that was the setting of the first chapter. This led me having a different expectation of the book, than what it turned out to be. The story centers on Beth- her friend Kathleen (who she hasn't seen as much recently as she did in the past) confides in her at a house warming party that she is being threatened and that one of their group of friends is not who they seem. She refuses to tell Beth any more, but turns up dead the next day, and Beth is convinced she was murdered by the person who had been threatening her.

Beth takes it upon herself to investigate and I felt that this got a little tedious. She repeatedly annoyed her friends by constantly accusing them of things, and often repeatedly added and subtracted people from her suspect list. All of this led to me not liking Beth as a character. I felt the pace was slow and read a little more like a drama than a mystery.

The end of the book picks up the pace a bit and was a surprise, but the author did a good job of making the culprit's actions believable.

Overall, I give this book a solid 3 stars- will not be hugely memorable to me but mostly held my interest throughout.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.