Out the gate Clare Mackintosh has created a engaging and flawed new main character in DC Ffion Morgan, a local on the Welsh side of Mirror Lake. First of what will no doubt be a successful series, The Last Party pairs DC Morgan with her English counterpart, Leo Brady, when a body is discovered near a posh development called the The Shore after a New Year's Eve party. Mirror Lake is split right down the middle vertically between Wales and England. There are many on the Welsh side (most) that didn't want to see The Shore development happen. The residents of The Shore also have reasons to wish the developer and cabin owner, Rhys Lloyd, dead. And dead he is.
There are many characters on both sides of the lake that are introduced and fleshed out with most having secrets. I love a good secret. With deep insider knowledge of the police system, being a resident of Wales, Ms Mackintosh is in a good position to bring the believability to the story. More than that even with big reveals in this novel, you can feel many more stories with DC Ffion Morgan leading the investigations.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for access to an early copy. All opinions are mine.

During the New Year's Day polar swim, the body of wealthy real estate developer Rhys Lloyd washes up in a small Welsh town. After an awkward one-night stand together, local detective Ffion Morgan must work with English detective Leo Brady to discover how killed Rhys. But the more they discover about Lloyd's life, the more they realize that almost everyone has a reason to want him dead.

I attended a murder mystery event hosted by Clare Mackintosh and when I learned she is a former detective, I knew I needed to read her latest thriller. In my American ignorance, the Welsh names were impossible to pronounce and I wish I had listened to the audiobook version instead of reading it. I loved the setting, but as a whole, the book ended up being an underwhelming boiler plate mystery with glacially slow pacing and a murder victim who turned out to be too evil, the absolute scum of the earth.

I have read many of Claire mcintosh's books and enjoying them all, this one did not disappoint. If you are into mystery / thrillers, this may be the book for you. The book had lots of very interesting characters, I stayed up reading through the night, and could not put the book down! Great storyline and loved the twists and turns! Would highly recommend. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review

This latest murder mystery from Clare Mackintosh, set on a moody, grey lake on the border of Wales & England, draws you in and doesn't let you go until the very last page. Mackintosh works with a myriad of colorful characters and non-chronological timelines, and in less skillful hands, it could have been a confusing mess, but not so here. Never too far-reaching to feel unrealistic, but full of twists & turns that lead to a satisfying conclusion, "The Last Party" is the perfect book to cuddle up with on your couch on a cold, rainy day.

*Thank you to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Landmark for this advanced copy. The book releases everywhere November 8th, 2022.*

Oh my gosh I absolutely loved this book! It had me literally sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time!

"The Last Party" was a great book! The main crime was quite compelling and there were many other uncertainties for the reader to puzzle out. The main characters were fully developed, though some of the more minor characters were not as fully fleshed out. I would have liked to have heard a bit more from/about all the teenagers. The setting was beautifully described and I thought it was a fresh take on an old premise (high end development in a rural area.)
Finally, the final "twist" was a total surprise! I didn't see it coming at all and I always like when that happens.
I would like to read another book with these characters and/or more by the same author.

The Last Party gets 3.5 stars due largely to the fact that it took me getting halfway through the book to feel invested in the characters and the plot. There are so many characters, backgrounds and stories going on at once that I fully engage. The main plot line is the murder of Rhys Lloyd but through the first half of the book I found myself asking if I even cared how or why he died.
As the second half of the book developed I did connect with the characters and their stories became easier to follow. It was at this point that I became very interested in the murder investigation. Mackintosh did include some twists that pulled me into the story more.
Although the story had an extremely slow start for me, I really did enjoy the second half of the book. I was surprised even at the very end at how the story was concluded. I even found myself rooting for different characters by the end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I received an ARC of this fascinating mystery from NetGalley.

In many mysteries, you know or are almost sure of who did it, but wonder if or how the murderer will get caught. In The Last Party, there are so many possible killers, as the victim had made enemies with just about every character in the book.

The Last Party is set in Wales, in a small town on a lake. The town, whose population is working class, is invaded by upper class types who move into newly-constructed lodges built on the lake. A famous singer, well-known but now on the downside of his career, is found dead in the water (literally) after a New Year's Eve party. The case is investigated by two detectives, a man and a woman, with the woman being a long-time resident of the small town. Both of these detectives have difficult personal issues impacting their lives, but they come together to work the case. The story is told mainly from their points of view.

If you are the type that needs to solve the case before the author reveals it, good luck with this one! I just enjoyed the trip the author took me on, which was a bit slow at times, but was filled with many unexpected and sometimes shocking twists and turns.

A very well-conceived plot, expertly-written. Just a little slow in pace and confusing at times. But well worth the read!

I loved the fast pace of this book. As well as the many twists and turns. The structure of the past timeline made me want to keep reading. I did stumble over the Welsh words thrown here and there but they were relatively easy to figure out and just made the story seem more authentic. Yes, it was dark and probably should come with trigger warnings. What a dysfunctional group of characters! I can’t wait to see what Clare Mackintosh comes up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Love her writing style. So gripping right from the beginning to the ending of the story! Mackintosh does it again in this thriller where a wealth i love you night Rhys has a wonderful New Years party, but by the time the new year hits, the wealthy man is dead. So who did it? I love a good locked room mystery!!!!

I’m a fan of Claire McIntosh’s books but even if I wasn’t I’d have still enjoyed this book. I don’t recall reading another book set in Wales & I’ve no clue what some of the Welsh phrases I read mean (or even how to pronounce some of the names) but this was a great one. May have started a bit slow but when I got to a quarter in, I could not put it down. Highly recommend!!

This author has become one of my favorites. I love a thriller but I especially love hers because they always have a really great story. This book is no exception. It begins at a party and eventually involves everyone in a small community. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened.

I received an ARC of, The Last Party, by Clare Mackintosh. Its New Years Eve, Rhys is having a party, only he wont live to see the New Year. Can Ffion catch the killer? I found this book to be too dark for me, rape, murder, secrets, and the swearing put me right off the book.

There are a lot of characters to keep straight in this story. In true Clare Mackintosh style there are twists and turns until the very last page. Although The Last Party wasn’t my favourite of her books, I wasted no time devouring each chapter.
Thank You to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, NetGalley and Clare Mackintosh the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.

Excellent!! I just had a feeling that this novel was going to be outstanding! Absolutely one heck of a thriller. The writing style is phenomenal and it kept me guessing the whole way through.

On the morning after huge New Year’s Eve Celebration thrown by the residents of Llyn Drych (Mirror Lake), the body of Rhys Lloyd is found floating in the lake. Rhys is a former opera singer and developer of the luxury housing community, The Shore. While Rhys was once very successful, he is now struggling with all aspects of his life and has made plenty of enemies, especially in recent years. Rhys’s exclusive lake lodge community is hated by the local village of Cwm Coed but all were welcome at the New Year’s Eve party hosted by the residents of The Shore which means that an even larger pool of people had the opportunity to kill Rhys.

Local detective, Ffion Morgan is assigned to the murder investigation as a representative of Wales. She has had a streak of hard luck recently as well. Ffion’s marriage recently ended and she has found herself living back at home with her Mam and her younger sister, Seren. Ffion considers herself a “lone wolf” and is disappointed to find that she will be working the case with DC Leo Brady of Cheshire Major Crimes who will be representing the English side. Leo is currently fighting for shared custody of his son and has all but given up on improving his life. As Leo and Ffion work side by side to find the murder(s), they slowly grow closer bonding over past hardships. The diverse residents of The Shore and the local villagers keep the investigation jumping from suspect to suspect as it comes to light that almost everyone had motive to kill Rhys.

Get ready for a twisty ride! There were twists even as I thought the story had wrapped up which was very fun. The story is mainly told from the point of view of Ffion and Leo but there are many chapters from the point of view of locals and residents of The Shore. Anyone who may have wanted Rhys dead had a chance to have a chapter from their perspective. I was a little worried about this book when I first started because I am not always a big fan of police procedurals but as the book went along, the story became more and more character based which was great. I really enjoyed getting to know each character, even those that would not be considered main characters. The story was also very atmospheric with Cwm Coed and Llyn Drych almost becoming characters of their own. It almost feels like I took a trip to Wales after reading this book. Clare Mackintosh has been on my always read list for a long time and it was a pleasure to read this book :)

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As always, Mackintosh's ability to write a strong, atmospheric, and character-driven narrative shines through in The Last Party.

The Shores is an exclusive real estate development on the English side of a Welsh lake. The division between the working-class Welsh locals and the elite English residents of The Shores is as cold as the lake that separates them. When the prominent creator of the development is found dead, everyone is a suspect and everyone has something to hide.

I consider this to be a slow burn, there are multiple points of view throughout the story and many retellings of the same event through different character perspectives. This makes for many a suspect, but also a lengthy book as even some minor characters get some exclusive air time.

The suspense is ever present, but the real star of this book is both the strong character development and the dedication to the setting. After reading it I felt like I had spent a week in Whales with my new best friend, Ffion.

This is a solid read but I will give a trigger warning for sexual assault. Some events in the novel are tough to digest. Overall, another great book by Mackintosh.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a free digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review

This was a solid read and good police procedural, just not for me. Long with a lot of characters to keep up with. However the author’s connection to the setting shone through in her writing.

I struggled to get into this book as it was set in Wales and that isn't my preferred setting. I'm glad I hung it there and continued to read. The story was well written with lots of twists and excitement. I really enjoyed reading it. Highly recommend and looking forward to the next book in the series.

I love the part of the synopsis that said “…the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead…but who finally killed him.” That is exactly what we go through in the book – finding the who!

We are introduced to the main characters in a bang-up way! And the hits just keep on coming!

Macintosh spins The Last Party in a whirl of directions and throws in so many surprises that you totally do not see coming! She really keeps us on our toes throughout with redirection and then laces in bits of humor hidden in the recesses of the dry police crime procedures. She even throws in characters you love to hate! Yesss!

Through her fabulous storytelling ability, she crafts a compelling book that shows off her twisted brilliance as she spins us around the theories. Then she caps it off with a bomb blast that leaves you wondering what the heck….

Hang on for this ride!