In the small Welsh town of Cwn Coed it's time for the New Year's Eve swim but instead of a quick sip they find a body. Accident? Murder? The body is that of a local boy who became a star, now on his way down. Timelines bounce between past and present and suspects abound as Ffin Morgan and Leo Brady investigate. Beautiful descriptions, characters who build on each other and of course suspense make this a book you hate to put down. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Rhys Lloyd has made a name for himself professionally, but most recently with "The Shore," a collection of vacation homes he's had built on the land his father left him. And yet, he's still floating dead in the lake by midnight at the start of the New Year.

Ffion Morgan, detective constable and local, now has the task of finding out who among them not just wanted Rhys dead, but actually made it happen. Not an easy task when these are your friends, family members, and neighbors, and you have your own secrets to protect. Throw in a detective from another area to work on the case with you after sharing a "one night only" nighttime encounter, and solving the case gets a bit more awkward.

This is the kind of book where you have to suspect everyone, even though you know it can't be whoever feels the most obvious.

In the end, I appreciated who it was/wasn't. I enjoyed the twists, but the ending was still clean enough that there was no jaw-dropping cliffhanger. Also, everyone hates Rhys.

CW: physical violence, death, murder, infidelity

This was a great story: a murder mystery whodunit that was full of characters who were all so well developed and interesting. On the edge of a small Welsh town, where everyone knows everyone's business and history, Rhys Lloyd a local boy turned famous opera singer has developed lakeside land into exclusive vacation properties for only the wealthy. On New Year's Day, the locals go for their traditional cold swim and the body of Rhys Lloyd is discovered in the water. Since the lake sits on the border of Wales and England, Ffion Morgan and Leo Brady, detectives from both sides of the lake, work together to find the killer. Secrets are uncovered along the way. More than just a murder mystery, the story explores relationships between characters and how past hurts, grudges, and kindness affect how we behave and interact with one another. It's a beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy!

A little slow to start but I eventually got into it. Good descriptions in this book & I felt I could picture the areas really well. This was a good multilayer crime story & I really liked Leo & Ffion’s characters!

Although at times a bit complicated, zigzagging between Welsh and English references - The Last Party was terrific and I would definitely recommend it. Replete with a rather stodgy young English detective and a feisty Welsh Ffion Morgan, also a detective, the demise and solving of the Rhys Morgan mystery had all the elements needed. It had great scenery, interesting characters and an ending that was never really obvious.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Clare Mackintosh for the advanced copy of The Last Party in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved every Clare Mackintosh book I've ever read, she's definitely solidified herself as an auto buy author for me. I unfortunately have to say this is my least favorite book of hers to date.

One thing I actually thought was pretty cool was the inclusion of Welsh language throughout the book, I just wish there was a pronunciation guide to help with the dialogue and names sprinkled in. (In no way is this a criticism of the inclusion of the language, just something I personally would've found helpful).

The pacing in this book is far slower than her other novels, and I felt it could've been quite a bit shorter. Additionally, while I love alternating timelines and POV chapters, the timelines in this one almost alternated too much to keep track of what happened and when. I did enjoy the glimpse into the minds of each of the big characters, however.

Nevertheless, I will always pick up a new Mackintosh book when it hits shelves, and while I didn't *love* this one, it still had a couple twists in the end that I did enjoy.

This was a decent, solid thriller but I often lost interest or found myself distracted. I believe the names and some words that were different didn't sit easily with me.

It's New Year's Day, and almost everyone in the Welsh town of Cwm Coed is out for the traditional lake plunge. There was a massive New Year's Eve party the night before at the exclusive lake community called The Shore, and some people are hungover while others are still drunk. But the annual event is abruptly cancelled with a body is found floating offshore. Since the border of England and Wales runs right down the middle of the lake, a detective from each side is assigned to the case. It soon develops that everyone in the community has something to hide or someone to protect, as well as a reason for wanting the victim dead.

Very good mystery that kept me guessing. There is a good twist in the middle that I didn't see coming. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys contemporary mystery fiction.

A cast full of dislikable characters in a fascinating police procedural when even the investigating detective constable can't be trusted. On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd, a local bad boy who grew up to be a successful singer, hosts a party for the wealthy residents of the lakeside lodges at The Shores as well as the neighbors from Cwm Coed, the Welsh village. When the villagers take their New Year's Day swim, Rhys' body turns up. Welsh Detective Constable Ffion Morgan teams up with English DC Leo Brady. They both have troubled personal lives, but it's Ffion's secrets that could destroy their investigation.

An excellent launch of the new DC Morgan series as the police try to uncover all the secrets surrounding Lloyd's death.

Another great novel by Clare Mackintosh!

There were a lot of characters! It took a while to build the background needed but then once we were going, I could not put the book down! I loved how all the of secrets unfolded and we got to hear all the gossip and rumors.

Ffion and Leo have great chemistry and depth of character that we got to see come out as they were trying to solve the murder.

Highly recommend this book!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This author is mixing it up after many years of writing straightforward thrillers - man cop/lady cop team up after a “meet cute” from hell, the local color, the stifling bureaucracy, but she makes it fresh and it works! Excited to see that she has the next one in the series in the works for 2023! Easy five stars.

When a local celebrity is found floating in the lake on New Year's Day, the small community are mostly all suspects as so many feel good riddance to him. As DC Ffion Morgan begins the investigation, the hardest part is trying to decide who DIDN'T want to kill him. With new secrets and lies uncovered at every turn, and her own past haunting her, every time she feels like she's closer to the truth another twist leaves her further behind than she was before. As the investigation begins to wrap up, she's not sure if she really wants to know who killed Rhys.

| About |

It's the party to end all parties....but not everyone is here to celebrate.
On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.
But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.
On New Year's Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family—and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.
With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead...but who finally killed him.
In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning.

| Thoughts |

Great mystery, awesome setup for a series and for a first book of a series it really fleshes out all the current characters. Slow start, doesn’t really pick up any pace in the middle. Definitely not a fast paced thriller. It’s an interesting story, very procedural. Liking the twists. Really got good in the middle. Enjoyed all the different perspectives, each seemed to tell their own story to unravel. The end was seriously shocking! Can’t wait for the next book, throughly invested in these characters and what’s next for them.

Love this author! I already knew this would be a great one. It did not disappoint! I was hooked from the very beginning!

The hostage is one of my favorite books. This one did not disappoint either. I absolutely loved it. She has such talent. I won't look at parties the same way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Arc. I had a hard time with this book. For a thriller, I found the plot incredibly slow moving, and hard to follow with the back and forth timeline. I have read other Claire Macintosh books and enjoyed them, and wanted to like this much more than I did.

I couldn’t finish this book. I tried and kept giving it chances but I wasn’t a fan and could not get into it. It was very boring to me.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Fabulous read with a thrilling premise.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh was a classic mystery thriller with a few delightful twists and turns. This fast-paced novel kept me turning pages late into the night. With colorful characters, a stunning setting and old small-town secrets, this story has it all. Kudos to Clare Mackintosh!

First off, thank you so much to the publisher for this ARC!
I loved the tense atmosphere in this book; I read this book in one night which wasn’t my intention when I sat down to read it! This is my second book by this author and while the first book I read was good and I liked it, this book made me a fan of the author and I will be going back to read more of her books now. I don’t want to spoil too much but I really enjoyed how the storylines in this book got woven together and I was very satisfied with the ending!