What a read! Normally I would take several days to read a book and let it soak in, but The Block Party captured my attention and I could not put it down!

The neighborhood where Alex lives has plenty of drama full of secrets and lies. And of course there is murder. The author takes the reader back to the previous year’s block party through the eyes of Alex and her daughter. The mystery unfolds with a twist you didn’t see coming!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

This book was great. I read through it in one day. It kept me guessing with the different twists and turns. I liked that it was told from different points of views. I enjoy reading books that have suspense, twists and turns to it and this book had them all.

The Block Party by Jamie Day
Mystery/thriller meets domestic suspense
On the exclusive cul -de-sac, Alton Rd, all the neighbors have secrets. But on the night of their annual summer block party, Murder is the main course. However, before the Dead are revealed, we are taken back one year earlier to learn what precipitated the deadly events of the block party. You will be on the edge of your seat as rivals, betrayal, and secrets unravel., with each secret dirtier than the last. I guarantee you’ll look twice at your neighbors after you finish this twisted plot.
4.5 stars on this debut novel that I couldn’t put down.

Well this is surely to be The Block Party to die for...

A neighbor can't help herself stirring-up drama in her cul-de-sac on Alton Road.. Alex has too much wine and time on her hands, and she enjoys the gossip.. I surely needed a drink after the whiplash from the twists and turns as nearly every neighbor has a secret when a scandal erupts blowing the doors off in this neighborhood.

The storyline encompasses a year from one memorial day cookout to the next. .I throughly enjoyed Alex's daughter, Lettie's, perspective on adults behaving badly. For fans of Desperate Housewives and Big Little Lies, this book fill in the need for drama induced read.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy.

If you are a fan of the everyday lives of the suburban housewives, you have reached your destination. Alton Road is your typical American suburb with the complex web of secrets, deceit, lies and also a good dash of girlie nites and neighbourhood romances. The perfect setting for things to get complicated. When shots are fired at the annual block party, you know you are in for a suspense ride. I must admit the pacing of the book was a bit slow for my liking and it took me a long time to finish the book. Not unputdownable but if the Desperate Housewives genre is your cup of tea then this one is for you.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

The Block Party out now!
This was a fun read.

Lots and lots of drama and if you like neighbors behaving badly you need to pick this one up.
My favorite part was the posting on the community board great spin on finding out what was happening at the block party and why you were not invited.

My thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an jonest review.

This is what you call ‘extra’ when it comes to neighborhood drama!

For a story revolving around only five families, there’s a laundry list of troubling behavior: alcoholism, blackmail, attempted suicide, substance abuse, stalking, infidelity, an inappropriate relationship, domestic abuse, rape, revenge, bullying, divorce, lying, stealing, vandalism and semi-regular visits from the police … and this is the BEST street in the neighborhood. Yikes.

This story is written from two POVs: Alex, a busybody divorce mediator with a perpetual glass of wine in her hand, and her supremely conscientious teen daughter, Lettie. These two were too much! The mention of Alex’s wine was so frequent that you could make it its own drinking game, and Lettie’s preachiness about every hot topic issue got tiresome. They both meddled in others’ business and made things worse, and there were no other likable characters, leaving me with no one to root for. Even the redemption arcs didn’t work for me.

You know from the first chapter someone was murdered during the annual block party, with subsequent chapters taking the reader through the events leading up to it. As I said, since no one was likable, I wasn’t invested in who the victim was nor the whodunnit. (And what the heck with the weird Bug Guy. Why?)

The plot was an OTT, overly melodramatic, rapid-fire pile-up of one drama after another. That can be a blast if it’s written with humor or tongue-in-cheek, but the story played it straight and suffered from it, in my opinion. If you’re a fan of soap operas, then this may be more appealing to you.

On a positive note, the problem for me is the story and not the author. I can see her genuine talent, and if she reigns it in a little next time and resists the urge to kitchen sink the plot details, I’ll likely enjoy her next effort more!

So much drama in this neighborhood, and the author does an absolutely fabulous job of bringing the residents' secrets to light. I especially enjoyed the character Lettie; while people all around her are behaving in not-so-good ways, this high school senior seems to have her head on straight UNTIL she gets caught up in the relationship between her cousin and her once-upon-a-time best friend.

The characterization is incredibly well done and the plot has quite a few twists and turns. From the beginning, as secrets start to come out in the open, there isn't any way of beginning to come up with who is going to murder who. As the book progressed, I was positive it was going to take an entirely different spin than it did.

Well played!

Over-the-top domestic neighborhood DRAMA. Like drama for realllll. It ended up falling a little flat for me which was disappointing. It starts with present-day murder and then goes back a YEAR and ALL the events that lead up to present-day. I didn't love that method of storytelling, I got bored. I didn't like Lettie, I felt like she was a wimp. Lol. And Alex was pretty unbearable. Those are the only two POVs and I feel like we could have used more.

This was too YA for me. Giving the daughter a POV brought down the drama of the story because she was very immature. By the end I just didn't care what happened.

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC - I’m very grateful to have had the chance to read The Block Party.

Unfortunately I had to DNF at 8%. The writing style isn’t for me. The dialogue was stilted and Alex and Lettie are written very one-dimensionally. Alex is a stereotypical wine mom and Lettie is a leftist high schooler, which wouldn't have been an issue if some of her lines hadn’t been:
“My dad is crazy smart. He’s a great guy, too, and yes, I love him. But he doesn’t want to talk about things that matter to me: our warming planet, the immigration problem, gun control, gender issues, the list goes on.”
“I think I don’t want to go to UMass. California is calling my name! Most progressive state in the nation, where I’d get to work on the climate crisis from the front lines.”
“Whatever. If I do get a car, it’ll be an eco-friendly van I can live out of. No Meadowbrook-type carbon-spewing McMansions for me.”
“‘You’re not the only misfit in Meadowbrook,’ Jay adds, pointing to himself. […] ‘Okay, I’m a misfit,’ I admit.”

To me, the dialogue and character introduction was heavy-handed and tell-not-show. It felt like I was reading a YA novel instead of a thriller. I couldn’t continue.

I’m disappointed because I wanted to like this one a lot - “The Block Party” got many favorable reviews on Goodreads and the premise was really interesting.

The Block Party by Jamie Day is a neighborhood drama full of mystery. At the annual block party, someone has been murdered but we don't know who. The story is told through events that unfolded in the year prior to the murder. Each character contributes something to the story that has you wondering how it's all going to come together. Read and enjoy!

Lots of repetition and did not love how issues with alcohol were covered. It didn't help that there was not a likable character in the bunch.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story is almost completely set on a cul-de-sac in the Meadowbrook subdivision of an affluent suburb in Massachusetts. Reminiscent of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty not everything is as the well polished facade might lead you to think ... the queen bee Alex has a drinking problem that seems to be getting worse now that an empty nest is on the horizon. Her husband Nic is risking his relationship to their only daughter for the sake of teaching discipline instead of listening while lamenting the lack of closeness. Their neighbors Alex's sister and her husband have severe trust issues in their marriage and Ken, her husband, very obviously favors their star athlete older son while their younger son is just trying to be seen ... his girlfriend Riley lives another house over with her parents who are just waiting till she's off to college to finally get a divorce. Then there is beautiful and widowed neighbor Brooke and an empty house soon to be populated by newcomers ... but are they really so new and who is sneaking into whose house, and why ? What's with the bug man a pest control salesman pestering the neighborhood? Why does the police keep appearing ? My favorite part was the virtual neighborhood message board that kept rehashing the goings on from outside like a Greek choir in a classic tragedy on the outside not elite enough to be part of this special circle but definitely intrigued!
The Memorial Day block parties of three years form the timeline for this book even if it starts at the one in the middle ...

...

Rating: 4.5 ⭐️

Twisty neighborhood drama! Reminds me a bit of Desperate Housewives with all the good and bad going on in this neighborhood. Told from the POV of Alex, a mother, wife, divorce mediator, and wine enthusiast (maybe a little too enthusiastic) and her daughter Lettie who is a bit of a rebel, save the earth, get revenge teenager.
The Block Party is an annual Memorial Day tradition but one year all the drama, lies, and secrets catch up and ends in death. The story starts in the year of the party but then travels back to the year prior to let you in on all the secrets going on in this neighborhood leading up to the main event. Although I figured out main major plot points, some things didn’t come to head until near the very end and I was surprised by a few.
I very much enjoyed this debut book from Jamie Day and look forward to reading more in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this early digital copy in exchange for my thoughts.

Alton Road is neighborhood where the residents seem to have it all, Annual block parties, cookouts, and frequent sharing of juicy gossip. Throughout this story told in alternating timelines & voice, we meet many of the Altonites. Secrets abound and mystery & suspense build quickly as you battle to figure out who can be trusted. What becomes abundantly clear is that this neighborhood is far from idyllic. While loose ends are wrapped by the end, there were a few too many subplots and characters for my liking.
Thanks to St. Martins Press & NetGalley for thé ARC. This is my honest review.

I’ve been trying to read this book for almost two weeks and cannot get interested. There are a ton of characters and I find them all bland and forgetting. DNF at 44%.

Well -written, twisty mystery. Murder at a block party. Large cast of characters that adds complexity to the story. Enjoyable read!

Here is a delicious neighborhood murder story that you will want to visit. It's liked a locked room mystery yet in the neighborhood. How well do you know your neighbors? Set in an upscale suburban neighborhood, when new neighbors move in, sparks fly. While it may seem a tight knit community, who knows what really happens behind each gilded door in the McMansions in this col-de-sac. Everyone has a secret, nothing is as it seems and eyes are everywhere. Told in two voices from the POV of one housewife, Alex and also her angry teenage daughter, life in suburbia is a little too close and cozy. Troubled teens, drugs (?), marital woes, forbidden love, sexual abuse, jealous friends, and a stalker. At the annual block party, something has gone awry as sirens are heard and the buzzing begins on the gossip hotline of those not included in this exclusive soiree. Red herrings abound, clues thrown out there where you later you go "ah-ha!", the journey through the neighborhood will keep you on the end of your seat. Twists and turns lead to a surprise that can't be predicted. I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it straight through. Well done.
Many thanks to #netgalley #theblockparty #jamieday #st.martinspress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Twisty, fun summer read. If you love a good book filled with secrets and lies, then this is the book for you. Murder mystery meets Stepford wives/Real Housewives of picture perfect suburbia.