This gave me desperate housewives vibes and I was here for it! Loved it up until the end-it just felt SO far fetched, but loved that it kept my attention!

An easy summer read for me. Juicy, neighborhood drama but just okay for me. Too much back and forth with characters and I found myself a bit distracted.

A MURDER in the neighborhood? Yes. This was a fun and twisty domestic thriller, especially as a debut. The only thing I didn't like was that it was a little too long for me.

I couldn't put this one down! Great for fans of community drama/mystery. Another great book from this author, who I would read again. If you like interesting characters and plot twists pick this one up. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

The story is narrated from the points of view of Alex (divorce lawyer turned mediator, in third person, past tense), and her daughter Lettie (high school junior, in first person present tense); it starts at the Memorial Day party of the title, going back to the previous year’s party, and then following a core group of neighbors at an upscale neighborhood’s cul-de-sac, over the course of a year, until we are back at the start.

Contrary to what the blurb may lead one to believe, this is definitely a domestic thriller and not a classic murder mystery.The narrative choices work very well, both for characterization and pacing.

Lettie is a slightly socially awkward, sensible and basically decent seventeen year old, who’s struggling with the transition from adolescence to adulthood; Alex is professionally successful, but struggling with grief, guilt and stress, and in denial about her alcoholism and how it’s affecting her marriage.

Life for the core group of families at the cul-de-sac, all well-to-do and picture perfect on the surface, seems idyllic. Then, a new family moves in, and the delicate veil of pretense starts disintegrating, as all the fault lines in the different relationships crack open.

Lettie’s characterization is generally very well done; her basic kindness comes across, as well as the self-centered and selfish impulses of someone her age, and the struggle between the two aspects of her personality. There are a few inconsistencies showing a bit of a disconnect between author and character (I sincerely doubt that any 17 year old in 2022/2023 would use the word ‘metrosexual’ to describe a young man a few years older than herself, especially if she’s attracted to him), but her character arc is very well done.

For her part, Alex starts out as someone with an unwieldy big-sister complex; she has become that one neighbor everyone relies on for help, an ear, advice, and so on, not realizing how much she’s using that role as validation, and a way to hide from her own problems. At the end of the novel, she has learned a lot about herself and made a conscious decision to stop drinking.

The one member of the family who comes across less clearly is Alex’s husband Nick; because we only see him through her or Lettie’s eyes, it’s harder to get a read on him other than, “he’s a great guy, a very decent human.”

There is a lot of drama over the course of the year, especially for fewer than a dozen people. Cheating, stalking, drugs, secret parentage, an OnlyFans side hustle, and more.

There is weakness on the last act, with some revelations coming entirely out of left field in a very Deus Ex Machina fashion, but over all, the writing voice and the characterization of mother and daughter trump most of my quibbles.

The number of people involved, the period of time elapsed, and the events and relationships covered in the story more than justify the length of the book. I was invested enough on both narrators to give a pass to some discomfort over the way #MeToo and OnlyFans are presented; in both cases it felt manipulative and shallow and, frankly, very privileged.

Still, my overall impression is positive, and I’ll be in the lookout for more by this author in the future.

The Block Party gets an 8.25 out of 10.

I thought this was a pretty easy read, but not overly compelling..... I actually started/finished 5 other books after starting this & before I finished it! The description on the book jacket makes it out to be a much bigger mystery/thriller than it really was! It just felt kind of mundane, even though there was gossip, deceit & murder! There was no bad language, sex or gore. It's a rather 'tame' mystery/thriller, but it definitely isn't a 'cozy'! I have read other reviews, & it seems that a lot of people liked it better than I did!
I received a digital ARC from publisher St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for review purposes & this is my own honest & fair review.

The Block Party by Jamie Day is part whodunit and part domestic thriller. On the night of the annual summer block party, there has been a murder but who did it & why is slowly revealed through flashbacks and this is where rivalries & betrayals unfold!

I'm kicking myself for not immediately reading this book once I had a copy. This domestic tale of less than perfect people and relationships was so engaging that I binged it over the course of two days and got less sleep than I should have in order to read more. In many stories like this, I feel like there are often either too many red herrings or no clues as to how the story will resolve, but I really appreciated the author's use of details that drop just enough clues to lay out how it will end without making it glaringly obvious. Well done! I received a copy of this book for free and this is my honest review.

My mind kept wandering to other things I needed to do while I was attempting to read this book. None of the characters had any redeeming qualities. I was invested in knowing what would happen to them. The drama was over the top.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook.
Hmmm I was really looking forward to this book and wow it was just not what I expected. The two main female characters in this novel is absolutely so annoying I can't listen to it anymore.
The teenager is so annoying. I am so tired of hearing from these characters about global warming, fossil fuels. I tell you what if someone reached over and turned of my car while we were sitting there I was backhand them so fast and then tell them to walk home. That character also talks about how unfair it was for her to get grounded due to a shirt she wore and it broke the school rules and she went in and spray painted the building walls. All because she wanted to be heard and how unfair it was. Blah blah blah. I was over 4 hours in the audio version and nothing has happened. I can't even start on the mother. It is just the same thing over and over and over. Poorly written and nothing happens.

There is always that one area or neighborhood that you see, that always seems to have the most picture perfect residents. There is usually a gate or cul-de-sac involved, and the lawns and homes are impeccable. You might think to yourself, as you drive by that they must be the luckiest people alive, and you would absolutely love to live in their community. The one thing most of us seem to forget is that looks can be deceiving.

This story follows just one of those types of communities. Every year their Memorial Day Block Party is the envy of the surrounding neighborhood communities, but as the years go by more and more things keep happening to shake up the residents of the Alton Road community. As things continue to go awry some of the residents, both young and adult, begin to uncover more and more secrets that will eventually upend their whole neighborhood.

I would definitely recommend this book for someone who enjoys a book that flows, but also has a lot of twists and turns.

Definitely a good summer read, but I couldn't get into it. There were some social/political overtones and the beginning was a bit of a slow start.
There was a good thriller/mystery aspect to the story, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

The Block Party — I’m so disappointed ☹️ From the beginning of the story, we know there’s a murder that occurred at the yearly block party. And then we stick around to find out the events leading up.

I was really hoping I’d enjoy this but I just struggled so much getting through it unfortunately. I wasn’t a fan of the multi POV, and there was just a lot of drama + unlikable characters. Also many chapters felt incredibly repetitive, especially with the wine.

Going back and forth in timeline felt very choppy to me. It was hard to get into the book, and I truly stuck around just to find out the ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

Every Memorial Day weekend the cul-de-sac on Alton road holds a block party celebration organized by Alex. However, this year the guest hear shots fired, followed by sirens, before the fireworks.
Hilariously reported is an online gossip thread from the neighborhood behind Alton road. They inform us that someone has died at the party.
They throw in their two cents with sarcasm and slander.
Then we move back to a year prior which leads up to this event.
Told in dual POV: Alex who likes to drink her wine any time of day and is the nosey busy body of the neighborhood. Her daughter Lettie whom is an environmentalist high school student with a teenage rebellion attitude. (Her birthday is 4/20).
Many characters/neighbors are introduced from the cal-da-sac. However, they are all needed to conclude the murder mystery. Each person and family is needed to lead up to the big event of the shots fired at the latest celebration. Every character holds a secret and every secret has a hold over the character. This book has mystery, secrets, friendship, drinking, jealousy, gossip, infidelity, substance abuse, and twists.
You will be guessing the entire time who shot who and why.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC read in exchange for my review.

This book was underwhelming the first 80%. None of the of the characters where vey lokeable and the beginning of th pe book dragged a bit, but the ending helped to redeam the book somewhat. I found the book to bea a bit dragged out and I wasn’t really drawn to the book until the end. honestly kind of when it picked up pace & suspense. The book itself can be best described as a lackluster thriller based in an upper middle class suburbia which was a bit cliché. The book jumps around a little on the timeline of the previous year leading up to the block party, but the majority of the book is setup at Alton Road annual block party where drama comes to fruition. I did find the neighborhood’ social media page contributing to the neighborhood gossip to be entertaining and relatable since it was pretty typical in our current lives. Not one of the best books, but still a fairly entertaining read overall.

Neighbour domestic dramas are my absolute favourite so it's no surprise that this book was a hit for me. Juicy gossip, dirty secrets, sordid scandal - what more could you want from a popcorn thriller right? The story moved at a steady pace making it an unputdownable page-turner.

If you're a fan of twisty whodunits then you're going to want to add this book to your TBR. It's a perfect summertime read!

I'm really looking forward to this author's next novel ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to the e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

It took me awhile to get pulled into this book. Once I did I thought it was a great story. Without giving too much away it reads like being a part of a a great neighborhood…until secrets start to come out. If this were a television show it would be so popular.

Opted for this book as had seen fair few reviews saying about how good it was.
Bit of a slow start as the reader has a lot of characters and their respective relationships with each other to juggle mentally - which could make one bored, confused and inclined to DNF.

The thing to be aware is that as the reader you are being given information about a character to make you suspect that he/she is going to be the victim and then a couple chapters later the info flips and now you suspect that person is going to be the murderer… In this the author is very skilled for once I got who was who sorted and sifting for clues revealed in the chapters by either Alex the main character, or her daughter Lettie, I grew more and more committed to find out who actually turns out to be the murderer and who was the victim.

Think of Desperate Housewives and Cluedo coming together for a neighborhood party, and you might have an idea how this story pans out.

Full stars for being a surprisingly good read and totally recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of the Block Party for my honest opinion.

Solid 3.5. this is only because too many characters to keep track of. It reminded me a bit of Mill Point Road, for some reason. Solid good read. I didn't find anything surprising, but it was still a fast, easy read. I'm looking forward to more from this author!
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read this advanced copy.

A summer surburban drama where someone gets murdered during a block party?? My kind of book. It was a little slow for me at times but I did enjoy the plot.