Good story! Enjoyed the characters in the book. Looking forward to reading more books by this author. Highly recommend!

This was better than I was expecting and is the perfect summer read. It was fast paced and there were lots of twists and turns with different characters worlds colliding. I did make myself a little post-it note to keep track of who is who, and who is married to who and what not, as there were a lot of people to keep track of. While I did pay attention, I definitely did not pull the final twist together and it was definitely well executed.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed The Block Party by Jamie Day very much. It was told by two different view points which I always enjoy as well as two different time periods (although one was definitely more prominent than the other). The story had many twists and turns and while I maybe should have seen some of them coming, I honestly had no idea it would all tie together and end like it did. From what I can tell this is Jamie Day's first book and after not being able to put this one down I am absolutely looking forward to reading more from this author in the future. Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Block Party is the introductory effort of Jamie Day, a domestic thriller set in an elite neighborhood full of people who have as many secrets as they do dollars.

Alton Road is an exclusive cul-de-sac, where everyone knows (or is related to) everyone else. They're familiar with one another's foibles, but have recently realized that there are a lot of secrets lurking in all of the homes. The new neighbors seem to have an abusive relationship. One family has a child suspended from high school. Someone sells provocative photos of themselves online. Drug habits, bad marriages, troubled children, and other common issues stew in the picture-perfect neighborhood, just simmering away until the pot boils over.

Told through the rotating points of view of the mother and daughter of the Adair family, who run the annual block party, readers get both the teenage and the gossipy, slightly-alcohol-befuddled middle age angles of the neighborhood issues. As all of the families spiral toward some clearly impending doom, you're left to wonder--which family will crash first?

The plot line is the upside. The pitfall to this book is that you end up hoping that EVERYONE crashes. There is no one here to like, no relationship to cheer on, pretty much zero redeeming qualities in any of the characters. And not in a fun way. The Block Party had a lot of potential, especially given that we're at the height of domestic thriller mania, but the author's inexperience shows in the lack of character growth and the super-tidy way that everything was wrapped up. That said, since this is Day's first book, I will certainly be willing to check out the next one with the hopes that her style has matured.

My very first ARC and this did NOT disappoint!! Definitely got Big Little Lies vibes with all the drama and interconnecting stories from the neighbors. Seriously so much juicy drama that I couldn’t help but get hooked and keep reading to find out how it ends. If you like lies, drama and a hint of murder, this is the book for you. I thought the ending was good and all the ends were tied up nicely. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Absolutely loved this book! Once I finished the first two chapters, I was hooked and could not put it down. The growth/development in the characters was really well written and I did not see the ending coming!

This is one messed up cul-de-sac. The story jumps from present to one year ago back to present.

It starts off at present day - Memorial Day block party for Alton Road- where all the neighbors are enjoying the day - some more than others like Alex who has alittle too much wine and makes a fool of herself. Her husband Nick "sends" her home to change and get sobered up. Alex falls asleep on the couch only to be awakened by sirens. It then goes to an online community page with people from a couple blocks over guessing what happened and where you get the first hint of what to come. We then jump to last year's Memorial Block party which goes on to set up the current situation. The secrets that are happening in this neighborhood are huge and just wait till you see how it all pans out. Let me tell you this is a great read to grab a bottle of wine and just chill out reading about the craziness of Alton Road.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC for my honest review.




It'll get you thinking about what secrets your neighbors could be hiding.

Scandal and betrayal… can you trust your neighbors?…SHOULD you trust your neighbors? NO! Interesting thrill that kept my attention throughout.

Do you ever look around your neighborhood and wonder what secrets its hiding? Well, the residents of the neighborhood in The Block Party no longer have to wonder. And the number of secrets are immense. Who do we need to worry about? The controlling husband across the street? The possibly alcoholic mom who everyone expects to do everything. Who knows. Jamie Day has woven a lovely tale of what's really hiding behind all those shiny veneers.

If Desperate Housewives' Wisteria Lane had a doppelganger it would definitely be Alton Road.
Behind every front door of every beautiful curb appeal house are deep dark secrets. And they keep getting darker the more we learn.
Our tale begins at this year's friendly annual Memorial Day block party. But soon there are police sirens everywhere and the Meadowbrook community online chat room blows up with all kinds of speculation about the 'Altonites' and their fancy shmancy party. Someone drops the 'M' word. Murder.
The story immediately jumps to last year's block party and then we're taken through the events and going-ons of the last year leading up to present day.
The more we learn about everyone and their interconnected issues it becomes impossible to guess who knocked off who if that rumor is true. Everyone has dirt on everyone! Everyone has motives. The possibilities list grows longer and longer. I can honestly say I did not see it coming.

This was so much fun! Fun in a wicked dark way - but that makes for some of the best stories! I had a really hard time putting it down. I loved it!


(I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am so so happy that I did!)

It's the annual Alton Road block party and someone is dead. We don't know who, we don't know how and we don't know why. We do get to jump back a year and, through the stories of the many, many characters, figure out how we all got here. The story reminded me of an older country song, "Who's Cheating Who?" in particular the chorus:

Who's cheatin' who? Who's being true?
And who don't even care anymore?
It makes you wonder
Who's doing right with someone tonight?
And whose car is parked next door?

Keeping the relationships straight took a little bit of brain work but once the story clicked for me, it became much easier. I found the book intriguing and it definitely kept me guessing. I loved the humorous insert of the neighborhood Facebook group posts and comments. The story wasn't predictable and I found myself looking forward to figuring out what the end was going to be.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This was a DNF for me at 50%. The premise interested me right away but I have started and stopped and left this book for so long and can’t make myself keep picking it back up. There’s just nothing compelling me to keep reading. There are many characters in The Block Party and they all have a lot going on and secrets that are slowly revealed but there’s just something missing for me personally. The writing doesn’t feel smooth.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

The Block Party is full of fast moving suspense and intrigue. Get ready for a lot of surprises!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This is an addictive, scandalous book with one of my favorite tropes, Desperate Housewives. It's fun and gossipy. One of my favorite parts is the neighborhood message board where everyone guesses what happened. The story is dual POV, the mom and the daughter. It kind of threw me how much information the author shared about saving the planet. There is a lot of information in this book. It started off strong. The reason it's not a 5 ⭐️ for me is it felt a little long winded. I still enjoyed the book!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!

“You’ll die if you miss it…”

Personal review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Everyone loves a book that starts with speculation of a neighborhood murder - especially an upper crest neighborhood. This book was dual alternating points of view between a mother and a daughter, the book starts in the present, but then propels backwards and comes to current time in the end. Loved Lettie’s character, although it took me some time to understand who all the characters are. The story revolves around the annual Memorial Day neighborhood block party, and the current day one throws all the drama out on the table. This book is as fun, but had its lulls at times.

Synopsis: 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.

DNF AT 60%. I feel like I read a completely different book than everyone else did. There were so many unnecessary side plots, which usually I like because it means there are more suspects, but it honestly just felt all over the place. The first chapter is set in the present, when the murder takes place. Unfortunately it really doesn’t set the story up well because I was not interested in reading about the year leading up to the party at all. I also didn’t feel any connection to these characters whatsoever.

Thank you to NetGallery and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Please make sure to read trigger warnings.

Like suspense? Check. Like surprises? Check. Like fireworks? Check. Like soap operas? Check. The Block Party by Jamie Day is set in a community called Meadowbrook in a well-heeled neighborhood, Alton Road. I wish I’d had a notebook handy to keep track of the cast of characters, because there are quite a few, and the names and their relationships to one another got confusing. The time frame threw me off a bit, too, because the story begins with present day, then goes back a year and works forward.

However, the events are told by the Fox family females, the mother Alexandra and 17-year-old daughter Lettie. Interestingly, Alex’s story is told in third person, Lettie’s in first person. As we quickly see, Alex likes wine. Loves wine. LOOOOVES wine. It helps her unwind. Perhaps she would not be a reliable narrator if she were a first-person narrator. We’re introduced to many neighbors at the annual block party, which takes place on Memorial Day. This is our first meeting of Bug Man, the area’s pest control guy. To most, however, he’s the pest who won’t leave them alone. Others are Alex’s sister Emily, her husband Ken, and their son Dylan. Dylan is dating Riley, daughter of Willow Thompson and her (hopefully) soon to be ex-husband Evan. Then there’s Brooke, a sexy widow whose husband died tragically while they were on a cruise. The whispers are that it was not an accident. Finally, there are newcomers, Samir and Mandy Kumar, and their 20-year-old son Jay.

As the story moves on, the narration alternates between Alex and Lettie’s stories. If Facebook postings by folks in surrounding neighborhoods are any indication, Alton Road is not paradise by any stretch of the imagination. Alex works as a mediator, but her drinking is driving a wedge between her and her husband Nick. Lettie seems like a sullen, rebellious teenager, but she’s a vegetarian, is environmentally conscious, and she gets grounded after acting on her principles gets her in trouble at school. She seeks revenge on the friend who ratted on her, and this leads to even more serious problems.

As the next block party approaches, there’s been a stalker, threats made against one neighbor, the Bug Man is still a pest, marriages are still tense – or worse, and there seems to be trouble and discontent in nearly every household. The onset of this book mentions a murder, and as the final chapter near, this has still not happened! The victim could be anyone. The killer could be anyone! There are motives aplenty!

I wasn’t sure at the start how I would like this book, but I assure you, it was hard to put down once I engaged with the story. Wow! I was still thinking about it when I went to bed!

I received a digital copy of The Block Party in exchange for my honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author. My opinions and comments are my own.

4 stars

3.5 Stars
This story felt a lot like one I had read previously. Maybe it’s because of the “Bad guys” or maybe I just read too much.

I found this story to be predictable, all the way down to the Why it all happened. Like I said, maybe I read too much.

I will recommend this book if you like suspense.

I’m in a book slump lately and I thought this was going to be the book to break it. It wasn’t.

I barely made it through this. There were so many characters to choose from, and we got two unlikeable narrators. Lettie was one of the most annoying teens I’ve read about in a long time. The obsession with climate change mixed with the extremely naive way she dealt with Jay just made me crazy. Alex, with the constant second guessing herself was just as bad. By the time we got to the crime, I didn’t care about it.

Another issue, the characters didn’t talk like people. They just said everything in the most stilted and awkward way possible.

Here’s to my next book breaking the slump.

Thanks and sorry NetGalley for the book. All opinions are my own.

I SO enjoyed this book! Unlike most mysteries, this one kept me guessing throughout. and that's because everyone had a valid motive to be the killer.

Told in alternative POVs separated by chapter, the character of each suspect in this upper-class neighborhood was exposed. Each narrator also had his/her suspicions as well, and those changed based on the POV. The story is an ever-shifting mosaic of motives, depending on perspectives. It reminded me a little of Big Little Lies in that the reader doesn't know who ends up getting killed - that's also a mystery - and the tension between motive, murderer and the one who will be murdered makes this a page turner.

This is a great summer read!