The premise of this book has me very intrigued but overall I felt like the author was trying to do “too much.” There was too much going on for my liking and it didn’t hold my attention like I was hoping.

It's nearly summer, and the Alton Road cul-de-sac is having their highly anticipated annual Memorial Day block party. Unfortunately, this evening will end in at least one death. But who did it and who is dead? To explain that, we will need to start the story at last year's block party. Over the course of the year, the families on the cul-de-sac unearth secrets, plot revenge, and ultimately learn that they may harbor more than one criminal in their suburban midst.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend if you liked: Locust Lane, Bad Summer People
Content warnings: rape (mentioned, non-explicit), addiction (alcohol & drugs), murder, stalking, suicide

This one was right up my alley! I saw others call this "domestic suspense" and that exactly fits the bill!

We follow multiple perspectives throughout the book, mainly Alex (a divorce mediator who really likes her wine) and her daughter Lettie, in high school and a big proponent for environmental causes. Most of the wide cast is well-rounded, and we get more of their dimensions throughout the year.

Suspense?
As the year unfolds, a lot of controversy comes to light following a slow escalation of crimes that interweaves motives right up to the end. I spent the whole book guessing who might have died! I guessed a couple of the twists, but it was still engaging, and the prose flowed smoothly.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio and St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for providing me access to both an audiobook and ebook. All opinions expressed above are my own.

On the outside Alton Road or "The Altons", as surrounding communities know them, looks like a normal neighborhood full of neighbors who have a wonderful life and they all get along. But if you look a little closer things aren't quite what they seem. Alex is the "leader" of the neighborhood. She seems to be the one who tries to keep everyone together and help them deal with any problems that arise. However, this is beginning to take a toll on her. Her duaghter, Lettie, and husband, Nick, have noticed her drinking has increased a lot. Especially since the NEW neighbors have moved in. Things definitely start goinf side ways and a bit bizarre. The Altons are losing what made them a great neighborhood and everything and everyone is changing and not in positive ways or their unstable sides are finally beginning to show. So who will be in jeopardy of losing it all and who will be saved?

I really wanted to love this one but it just didn't do it for me. There are so many characters with so many storylines that I didn't care about any of them and the teenagers were annoying. I also found the "bug man" subplot really odd.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the copy to review.

The Block Party could be summarized as soapy domestic suspense.

This book was a little too soapy for my taste but I enjoyed it for what it was. Think of this book as a summer thriller with early Desperate Housewives vibes. The cul-de-sac has plenty of combustible relationships.

You get POVs of a mother daughter duo. They are both quite nosy. Even though the characters lacked depth I was still curious about who the victim and the murderer were.

This would make a fun beach read if you are in the mood for a little neighborhood drama, a little whodunit.

If you love domestic thrillers, The Block Party delivers. There is a lot to keep up with, a lot of characters, as well as a lot of mystery and surprises. Jamie Day's writing is taut and suspenseful, and she adds several quite serious topics to the plot in addition to the family and neighborhood drama. The story takes place in a time period of a year, with the time line switching. The book is hard to put down until the reader knows all the details of the scandals, danger, and secrets on Alton Road.

This neighborhood thriller just did not work for me. The alternating stories of Alex (a divorce mediator, formerly divorce lawyer), told in the third person, and her daughter, Lettie, told in first person, over 2 block parties a year apart, was very distracting for me and definitely detracted from the story, in addition to not being a very thrilling read. Interspersed with the different POVs were what were apparently either text messages or social media posts/comments that added nothing at all to the story.

I did enjoy the writing which made for a quick read and if you're interested in more of a domestic drama, then you would most likely enjoy the book more than I did. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Does your neighborhood have a yearly get together? The neighbors of Alton Road have their yearly block party on Memorial Day. Jamie Day’s The Block Party might be the perfect book to read on your vacation, a lazy day at home, or a rainy day. I found myself rapidly turning the pages at the beginning when we hear shots fired at the Alton Road Block Party. We are introduced to many characters, and each has problems of their own. Our guides (narrators) are divorce mediation lawyer, Alex, who speaks as a third person narrator, and her soon-to-be high school senior, Lettie, who speaks in first person. We are also introduced to the neighborhood group chat which I loved and wished there were more entries interspersed in this story. There are lots of characters in this book. I suggest keeping a character chart! Day kept me guessing who was murdered and who did it! Each character seemed to have problems drinking, drugs, ………..I did feel the book could have been shorter as there was a bit too much repetition. I appreciated the epilogue! My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. 3.5 stars raised to 4 stars.

Alex lives on a well to do street full of people with secrets. They have their yearly block party and each time the drama seems to escalate. Will one of these parties end in murder?

This was a fantastic domestic thriller. Told from several different perspectives, I was engaged the whole time as I tried to figure out the secrets of everyone in the neighborhood! Very solid read I will recommend to others!

This was a highly entertaining summer read which starts off with a murder on Memorial Day. The author uses a dual timeline to reveal all the neighborhood secrets and who had a possible motive to kill. The story is told in a dual POV, in which, rich people are behaving badly and everyone appears guilty. The story is filled with secrets, family drama and multiple surprise plot twists.

The premise of The Block Party intrigued me and seemed to be a perfect summer domestic mystery read for the summer. I found the back and forth timeline interspersed with neighborhood/community online commentary a perfect way to move the story forward while also adding some mystery into what really took place.

Where I struggled was the characters and how truly they drove me nuts. I can get behind characters I don’t like but this group were so self centered and selfish that I just couldn’t muster anything up for any of them. They just sucked the life out of everything.

Ultimately this book and I were not a fit but I appreciate the opportunity to have read it. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my DRC.

The block party by Jamie Day is about Alton Road a cul-de-sac where everyone knows everyone’s business and some of them are better at hiding the deep dark secrets than others but when a man is murdered it will all come out there’s way too much deceit and betrayal going on for me to give a detailed account just know it’s not just the parents it’s the teams as well I couldn’t wait to read this book needless to say true to all of Jamie days books I was not disappointed if you love backstabbing gossipy neighborhoods with a little murder thrown and then the Bloc party is definitely a book you would enjoy I totally love it and highly recommend it. I want to thank net galley and Saint Martin’s press for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Thank you, NetGalley, St-Martin’s Press and Jamie Day
Do you know your family, friends and neighbours? What you see is not necessarily reality.
Entertaining family drama is full of mystery and murders.
Quick read which keeps you interested
Recommend
4 stars

TITLE: THE BLOCK PARTY
AUTHOR: Jamie Day
PUB DATE: 07.18.2023 Now Available

Synopsis: This summer, meet your neighbors.
The residents of the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road are entangled in a web of secrets and scandal utterly unknown to the outside world, and even to each other. On the night of the annual Summer block party, there has been a murder. But, who did it and why takes readers back one year earlier, as rivalries and betrayals unfold—discovering that the real danger lies within their own block and nothing—and no one—is ever as it seems.

THOUGHTS:

Summer Party
Secrets Entangled
Scandal Revealed

OMG OMG OMG what a thrilling, twisty, mystery read - I enjoyed this one a lot! Between Alex and Lettie’s point of views, we see the chaos of the block party now, and then open up a flash back story to explain it all. What you find are very interesting characters whose lives slowly is peeled to showcase what’s really within the perfect homes on Alton Road.

Be sure to pick this up and add to your Summer Reading list.

This was marketed as a thriller, but sadly there was nothing thrilling about it for me. The characters were flat and one dimensional and there was so little action that took place that when something actually happened, I expected it to be a bombshell and it was often more of a drip. There was just no depth to this story and I found myself wanting to skim through just so I could get done.
Alex is the organizer of the annual Memorial Day Block Party on the exclusive enclave of Alton Road. The story of told from her POV, as well as the POV of her 17 year old daughter Lettie, and goes between last years party and current day and shows what a difference a year makes. Another issue I had is that it kept bouncing back and forth from third to first person which made it difficult to keep up with and awkward to want to keep reading.
This may be fun for some, but just not for me.
Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

The Block Party was a slightly uneven but still relatively satisfying domestic thriller, set in an affluent suburb with a large cast of neighbors, families and friends. Alternating between the current year’s block party and the previous year’s party, we learn that there was a murder, but we don’t know who. Narration also alternates, between a mother and her daughter - both unreliable. As we jump back to the previous year, we learn more about all these people - their relationships, their secrets, and their affairs. As much as the promise of resolving a murder was appealing, this at times felt like it was dragging along, as well as confusing, with trying to keep so many people and details straight. While the end was what it promised to be, it just felt much too easily and conveniently tied up at the end - an artificial picture of domestic bliss.

Every year the people who live on Alton Street have a block party on Memorial Day weekend. The start of summer. One year the party ends in murder. All the neighbors have secrets which one is deadly.

This book kept me hooked and wondering what was happening. I had to know what the secrets were. Very intriguing.

No block party is complete without a little drama. Or, a lot of drama, as is the case for the residents of Alton Road. The Block Party is a fun, twisty summer read about a cul-de-sac full of secrets, lies, cheating, revenge, and even murder.

The Block Party is an annual tradition on the exclusive suburban cul-de-sac of Alton Road. The book opens with a block party that has gone awry and the gossiping elsewhere neighbors who are thrilled that something went wrong on the highfalutin Alton Road. At least until they learn it was a murder.

Alton Road is a cul-de-sac anchored by the Fox family. Alex and Nick Fox are more-or-less happily married. Their daughter Lettie is rebellious and trying to find her place in the world. She is also grounded after getting suspended from school. Alex is drinking too much and Nick is burying himself in work.

Then there are the Adair’s. Emily is Alex’ sister and confidante. Married to the successful and handsome Ken Adair who has strayed in the past. They have two sons, the super-accomplished son off in college and Dylan whose entire life has been spent in a poor comparison to his star athlete brother. He’s dating Riley who was once Alex’ best friend, but has ghosted her or tormented her since Junior High. Willow’s husband Evan Thompson is a successful photographer. Their daughter Riley is keeping dangerous secrets that are finding their way to the surface. Willow is planning to divorce Evan, trying to find the right time.

The Kumar’s are new to the block. Samir seems a controlling, perhaps abusive husband while Mandy is mysterious and an enigma though she is far too interested in Ken for Alex’s taste. Their drop-out son Jay lives with them and he and Alex form a friendship that leads to epic revelations

The only unmarried person on the block is Brooke Bailey who people enjoy suspecting killed her husband. All they know is he disappeared on a cruise. She has a stalker, but she’s not overly concerned.

Last and least are the Greek chorus of neighbors whose social media interstitial gossip could have been a way to add context or move the story forward, but instead were annoying intruders on an otherwise propulsive narrative.



.The Block Party is an excellent domestic thriller. There is constantly growing tension as more and more secrets are revealed. It would have been better without the social media interruptions. They did not sound authentic, but more like a parody of social media by someone who avoids social media. They were the single sour note in the thriller, but since they kept interrupting they got very annoying.

Alex and her daughter Lettie are at the heart of this book. Not that they are amazing detectives or anything. They are ordinary nosy people who when they see something’s wrong, they try to something about it They talk to people at a deeper level than the usual banalities and can see patterns. Lettie wants to be a tough, avenging angel but has too much compassion and good sense to be good at being bad. Alex wants to be and do good, but her drinking is getting in her way.

I like the book a lot. The pacing is excellent, the plot hangs together. Nobody is too smart, no Poirots or Marples, but just good old neighborly nosiness gets to the heart of the matter. I like that. The characters are satisfying and complex. The only false not comes from the neighbor’s social media, but isn’t social media always the ruiner?

I received an e-galley of The Block Party from the publisher through NetGalley

The Block Party at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
Jamie Day on Facebook

The Block Party was told from two POVs, mother and daughter. This was the first book where I read a mother./ daughter POV and I enjoyed it a lot. It was great to see how the two points of view collided in the end. I feel like If I right a lot about this novel, I will give it all away. I thought it was a great book and kept me entertained. The only thing was it wasn't one of the those novels that I could put down and it too me a little while ti read the book.