The Block Party by Jamie Day
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The residents on exclusive Alton Road always have an amazing annual Block Party. But this year’s party has resulted in a murder.
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What I liked:
-It was fun to know that a murder happens but not know who was murdered. It made going back to one year before (to reveal all the secrets) more intriguing and had me guessing.
-I liked that we had an adult POV and a teen POV. The variety was excellent.
-While I’m tired of the “drunk woman” trope, I liked how that characters plot went in the second half of the book. I feel like the trope was developed well.
-I was very satisfied with the end.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.

Too convoluted, slow pacing, didn't care for characters

The Block Party is a suspense novel about a murder during a Memorial Day block party on Alton Lane. The story follows two narrators, Alex, a mediator, and her daughter, Lettie, a high school senior. The narrative alternates between previous and current block parties, with some chapters taking place in different seasons. The characters are unlikable, and the plot moves slowly. Despite the unlikable characters, the mystery behind the murder and the identity of the victim keeps the reader interested.

Thank you #Netgalley and #stmartinpress for this free reader's copy for an honest review.

I always love the neighborhood gossip and couldn’t wait to get started on this one! Everyone in the neighborhood is hiding something and knows secrets about someone else. The biggest challenge with this novel is keeping everyone straight. There is a large cast of characters and I enjoyed hearing about their backgrounds, but I did feel the book was a little longer than it needed to be. All in all if you like neighborhood drama, you will enjoy this one. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

DNF at 53%

This book sounded really good and I was super excited to read it, unfortunately, I just did not care enough to finish it. I found the mystery boring and nothing about this book made me want to finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

This was a good thriller/mystery book to me. Some plot points I found to be obvious, others surprised me a bit. In similar fashion to a lot of thriller/mystery books these days, the main characters were all unlikeable, which I don't mind too much but it does tend to make me less invested in the story as I don't really care what happens to them! But I do also think it makes a more compelling and, lets face it, realistic story, because real people aren't perfect either.

Overall it was a good, quick read. I likely won't read it again (as is the case with most of this genre for me), but I am glad that I read it.

Everyone on Alton Road has secrets. When a murder occurs at the Memorial Day block party you're taken back to a previous year's block party. There is where you'll find out what started the course of action that led up to the murder. The book has two narratives, Alex, an alcoholic who's having marital problems, and her daughter, Lettie.  Lettie  gives the reader the Young Adult point of view of the things that are going on throughout the course of the book.  You're introduced to different people of the neighborhood, and you learn all the secrets/scandals that they are wanting to hide. You also learn about the things that lead up to the murder. The book does have several shocking and suspensive aspects to it. If you really like family /neighborhood drama with a little murder /mystery in the mix, this will be something that you will enjoy reading.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased opinion.

Neighborhood drama!!! Sign me up. It goes to show that you don't really know your neighbors and sometimes those you live with. This was a great mystery that kept me guessing all the way through the book.

I don't read as many thrillers as I used to, but this book was marketed with comparisons to other authors in the genre that I enjoy (like Melanie Golding, Megan Goldin, Rachel Hawkins) so I decided to give it a try.
I used the Goodreads standard of three stars being marked as "I liked it"- it was okay, but it wasn't the kind of thriller that kept me guessing or would be worth a re-read. The story follows Alex and Lettie, mother and daughter, in a story leading up to a murder that happened in the first chapter. The Block Party is an annual party in a well-to-do neighborhood. Each character has a secret backstory, and the secrets lead up to the murder/resolution. I didn't find any of the characters likeable- I don't think you're supposed to-- but in most books that I end up rating 4 stars +, there is something that I can relate to in a character that makes it memorable. I just didn't find that in this story.

Overall, a fun, short read with a few twists and turns. It took me a while to get through some slower parts of the story, but I didn't guess the ending (always a plus!). Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the e-arc copy of this book. I've fallen behind on my arc reads for the year- this book was published in July 2023 and is available to read on kindle unlimited! I recommend this book for people who are interested in the nosy-neighbor/rich people secrets type mysteries :)

Perfect neighborhood where everyone is perfect until it's not, even with the emails or message board posts sprinkled in. Way too many of this same type of book lately, very similar to What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman, but I thought Adelman's effort was better. The Block Party really has nothing new to add to the genre, but if you like slow burn domestic suspense, it's not a bad book, just way too similar to other books right now.

A fun and easy read! An upper class neighborhood drama that kept me guessing. Perfect beach read or weekend read.

“The Block Party” by Jamie Day is a fun read. Everyone has secrets and this neighborhood is full of them.

The story is told from multiple POVs and in multiple timelines which enhances the mystery.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can’t wait to read whatever comes next from Jamie Day.

Thank you NetGalley, Jamie Day, and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

I was into the Desperate Housewives-vibe but I couldn't get into the characters or know who I was supposed to root for, which I'm sure was the point. It was a little too realistic to be completely enjoyed, but that is my own issue. lol

2.75 ⭐️Ooof I wanted to like this more than I did. Check TW! It’s mostly a bunch of neighborhood drama and I didn’t find it true ly interesting until there was an hour and a half left in the book. None of the reveals felt truly shocking. I felt there were too many POV characters and not enough of the thrill I get when I guess a plot of a mystery. Just not my cup of tea

Awesome Summer read. A neighborhood, lots of drama and some twists and turns that were surprising! I enjoyed it.

I am behind on my reading, so I apologize for the delay in this review.

Thank you St. Martin's for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

I am thrilled I had an opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed the different characters and their sub-stories. There was a cast of unlikeable characters throughout. I started thinking everyone had their own secret, backstabbing agenda.

The book had a fair number of twists to it; there were a few I was surprised about, some I figured out, and more importantly, I enjoyed the distraction of reading about a group of neighbors who are friends and get together for drinks and dinner with an annual block party.

I enjoyed this book and would read another book by Jamie anytime.

After reading this you will think - One just never really knows your neighbor. There are many characters in this and we get to know them quite well, how awful they can be, and all the twists that occur in their lives. I really loved the community chat group and how envious they were about not going to the party. Just when you think you’ve solved the murder, you find out that you were wrong.

3.75 stars! I have been on such a domestic thriller kick and was excited to read this domestic drama next!

🎧I paired the audio with the print book and had such a fun reading experience, and thought the narration was great.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-Murder and drama at a Memorial Day neighborhood party
-twists
-great pacing!

*many thanks to St Martins Press, Macmillan Audio and
Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

The writing style was a bit hard to get used to. The story start off interesting and so did the drama. But I don’t think this book was for me

I was so excited to get this ARC for “The Block Party" from the fabulous Jamie Day. I highly recommend this book - I was such a fan!