The best part of this mystery is the setting-- cozy in Wales. The characters are unlikable by design and the murder mystery is complicated.

Clare Mackintosh is one of my all time favorites and this novel was no exception! This author is able to pull you in and tell such riveting, heart pounding stories that make you forget you’re even reading a book. Her characters become so familiar to you that you feel like you know them.

initial thoughts: overall, I really enjoyed the story, setting, and (most of) the characters.

at times though, this book seemed to drag and a few of the characters didn’t add anything to the story.

will I pick up the next book due to the dreamy location of remote Wales and to see what happens with Leo & Fifion? Yes!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

You can usually count on this author to provide a great thriller. This book missed the mark for me, I found it very slow and hard to get into. I liked the main character, Ffion, but found that I disconnected from the soptry and just never quite got on board with it. It was a pretty quick read though.

amazing book, this is the book that just keeps giving more twists than a helter skelter, loved all the extra stories within the crime story, fully recommend

I thought THE LAST PARTY was really well done. A great blend of small town mystery and police procedural. I thought the setting and the connections between all of the characters were intriguing. As each chapter revealed more through different POVs and a past/present timeline, I kept reconsidering who I thought committed the murder, and I was still wrong!
I really enjoyed Ffion and Leo’s characters and their dynamic. I hope we see more of Leo in the next book!!
The only reason this wasn’t a full five stars for me was it felt a little slow at points, but I still will be recommending this and adding a copy to my shelves.
Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for the digital copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Party did not disappoint. I was captivated from the start. Unexpected and thrilling, exactly the elements I need in a good thriller. It was a little slow at times, but I didn't predict the ending, which is also a win.

The was my second Clare Mackintosh book. Such a good thriller! Big fan of this author! I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

I love a good small town murder mystery and this one was a gem. Set in Wales in a small lakeside village, this book had a wonderful sense of place. The author even included many Welsh phrases and some social politics between Wales and England.

Almost every character in the story was a suspect, except for the detectives Leo and Ffion. The chapters were dedicated to each of the people involved and went by the timeline leading up to the day of the murder.

The story did move a bit slow at times, but I find that is often the case when the story revolves around a police investigation. What kept my attention were the little twists along the way, that developed into a whopper of an ending.

One can assume this is the first in a series, so I will definitely be looking out for the next story the author publishes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to offer my honest review and recommend to other readers.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh is a fantastic suspenseful book that I really enjoyed.

This is the first book in the DC Morgan series and I am very excited that we will get to read more of this character.

This is a murdery mystery with multiple points of view.

I read a lot of mysteries and feel like a good sleuth, but I absolutely had no idea who was the perpetrator.

This was such a great book I can't wait for more in this series.

I can always count on this author to entertain me, and this mystery did not disappoint. Great characters and a great plot. Loved it!

The Last Party has a lot of characters that slowly unravel what really happened on that fateful New Years Eve. Told in alternating points of view from the owners of The Shores, locals and the two police investigating the death, there are a lot of people who aren't sad to hear Rhys Lloyd is dead and might even have reasons to want him that way. The first three quarters of the book are a slow build but once things start unraveling, they do so fast and the last quarter of the book really picks up and just when you think you know what happens, another secret is revealed and the twist keep coming right up until the final pages. The Last Party was my second Clare Mackintosh (Hostage was the first) and while I enjoyed it, I would have liked more of the plot to read like the last quarter. This is a book that's absolutely worth picking up, especially if you're a fan of Mckintosh.
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Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Instagram Post was made on January 25, 2023.

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline rolyine was great starting with the NYE party and a murder. The first half was a little slow but it really picked up half way through. Good twist and a great ending.

Thanks to NetGalley & Sourcebooks for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a sucker for a British police procedural, which this is, sort of. It's also a view into North Wales and the way of life there, and the chafe of the Welsh against the colonial attitudes of the English who vacation there.

Leo is a Liverpudlian DC teamed with Ffion, who is Welsh, for a dead body found floating in Llyn Drych (Mirror Lake) during the New Year's Day swim. Oddly enough, Leo and Ffion have recently parted company after having a one-nighter on NYE as the book opens. They move beyond that easily enough and get to work on who might have killed local boy made good, Rhys Lloyd. Rhys' star is now in decline, but for years he was a celebrated Welsh vocalist. Too bad he's absolutely vile and hated by almost everyone who isn't a fan!

Mackintosh deftly weaves the plot through numerous locals' beefs with Lloyd, creating a tapestry of red herrings. We also get a heaping helping of the detectives' personal lives, including Ffion's own personal history with Lloyd as well as Leo's struggles with his ex-wife and her keeping his son away from him. It's all well done, and kept me coming back to this book.

The solution to the whodunnit is rather over-complex and you might need to hang up your need to find the storyline believable, but it works, more or less. There is a little twist at the end that was pretty surprising but not terrible. Still processing that one.

All in all, a very solid effort and I am looking forward to progression of the characters in the next book!

This was a fun mystery with romance and drama intertwined. The characters were all very engaging. The ending will surprise you. I did not see it coming.
I received this galley from NetGalley.

With a gorgeous, chilling setting, current social issues, and characters to root for, Mackintosh throws an unforgettable party. Fans of Mare of Easttown will especially enjoy this book.

This is the first in a series and I couldn’t be more excited. I love a good police procedural and I love Clare Mackintosh so you can bet I was super happy to read this one, and it did not disappoint. This is set in a small village in Wales and it was the perfect atmosphere and setting for this story. Rhys Lloyd is having a party, celebrating his successes and the town shows up to celebrate. All is well until Rhys shows up dead in the freezing lake the next morning. Let’s just say there is no love lost with most everyone, which made this a fascinating read and kept me on my toes guessing who was behind it all. This was a wee bit long but the audio was great and helped to keep it moving. I enjoyed this from start to finish and cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the digital galley to review.

I have never read a book by this author so I didn't know what to expect but I liked it a lot! I really enjoyed trying to piece together the mystery of who was the "bad guy" and who was innocent. There were plenty of characters so plenty of suspects. The creepy isolation, the small lake village, all built up the anticipation perfectly. I wasn't obsessed with the police POV but besides that I really enjoyed this psychological thriller and would read whatever Clare Mackintosh put out next.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh is a mystery/thriller about several families that live in vacation homes along Mirror Lake. They had a New Years Eve party, but one person didn't survive the night. As the story goes on, we learn that basically everyone had motive to kill the victim, but who actually did it? This story had lots of twists and reveals, and I found it to be a fun read. This is the first book in a new series, and I'm interested to see where it goes next. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

"The Last Party" by Clare Mackintosh is a capitative mystery surrounding the death of famous musician and local legend, Rhys Lloyd. There's a huge NYE party at the The Shore properties, but tragedy strikes the following morning when Rhys' body is discovered.

This is slightly different than the other Mackintosh books I've read, but not in a bad way. (I would say her others were more psychological thrillers where this one leans more towards the mystery genre, if that makes sense!) I wasn't sure where the book was going (in a good way!) and was delighted with some of the twists. I also enjoyed the characters and felt drawn to them.

"The Last Party" is the first installment of the DC Morgan series and I look forward to reading more in the future!