A good read with a great twist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I've enjoyed the author's previous novels so was looking forward to reading The Beach Party. It's a dual timeline novel, set in the present day and 1989 when 6 friends travel to Mallorca for a decadent post graduation celebration.
I loved the 1980s setting and the cultural references which really brought the novel to life for me. It is a slow burn novel that took me a while to get into and I felt that the unlikeable characters were drawn a little superficially as it took me a while to differentiate between them. An average thriller.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. Set mainly in 1989 it is the story of 6 friends who have just graduated and are on holiday in Majorca. There is clearly a lot of history between them, which becomes clearer as the story progresses. They are having a great time drinking, smoking and enjoying the sea and sun. Then, one night after a beach party, tragedy strikes , and the group find themselves covering up a serious crime. Now, 30 yeas on, somebody is determined they are going to pay for what they did. This is a real page turner that will keep you guessing to the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

This quite a good story about 6 friends from uni who go to stay in a villa in Majorca. There are 3 boys and 3 girls and at first I found it difficult to differentiate them so it could be said that they are rather thinly drawn.

It is a very easy read and keeps your interest by having all sorts of secrets between the characters mentioned as we go along but the truths are not revealed until further on in the book.

None of the characters are very likeable so I felt a certain detachment and no involvement with them. The book does show the dreadful things reckless, self centred people will do when bad things happen to them. I found their actions to be just about believable and I suppose it does make you think about what you would do in the (unlikely) event that you found yourself in similar circumstances.

I felt that the roundup when they all go back to the villa was fairly believable with some interesting reveals but i did not like the actual end - the existence of the recording seemed just too convenient and I am surprised that anyone would be prosecuted today under the Act mentioned.

This was my first book by Nikki Smith. It is a mystery thriller with a dual timeline based in 1989 and the present day.

A tragedy occurs in 1989 and, in the present day, it seems like someone knows the secret.

I found this to be an engaging book and enjoyed the dynamics of the friend group. Once I got started, I read this one quite quickly.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review and the very best of luck to the author in their future career.

A gripping thriller that brought me back in time and surprised me with all the twists. There's nostalgia of the past, a tense plot and a cast of well developed characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love Mallorca & the title/cover of this book grabbed my attention straightaway.

It’s 1989, six friends head off to Mallorca to celebrate university graduation. Fast forward to present day where the group are receiving anonymous emails regarding that holiday & their secrets.

Well balanced between past & present with enough twists & reveals to keep me happy. These were not superfluous; they were necessary to keep the story flowing & explain some of the characters’ behaviour. Speaking of the characters, I didn’t really like any of them but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book.
A solid read & perfect for a holiday. Just not on Mallorca!

I really enjoyed this book , loved the way it was set in the 80s and kept moving from then to the present day . Really interesting characters and individual stories that became their life in the 35 years after the event . Loved the twist at the end too . All in all this was a great book and a fantastic summer read . I will definitely recommend this book , 5 stars from me .

This is an interesting page turner and a really good beach read.

Love that it was set in the 80s when travelling abroad was not so common for the majority. It really got the tone of the 80s very well.

The introduction to each character wasn't great...wasn't as clear as it should have been. However, once it was established who was who..the characters were very well rounded and felt very real.

I was really eager to see the story unfold. However when what happened was finally revealed (which took alot longer than I would have liked) it was just very far fetched.

I know there has been a very similar case in the news recently, but even so this took it those few steps too far. It became very lord of the flies, out of almost nowhere.

The ending was very satisfying and overall did enjoy the book as a whole, just think the actual incident should have been slightly more realistic as the rest of the story and the characters were, at times, very relatable.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn't read one of this author's books before, but will definitely look for her others after reading this.

The story of six friends is told mainly in flash back, with moments from the present day, interspersed throughout. The friends are looking forward to holidaying at Nina's luxury parents villa in Mallorca, but one night after a party on the beach, something dreadful happens and their lives will never be the same again.

I loved this book, the late 80's setting so cleverly brought to life by mentions of bubblegum pink lipstick, Sony Walkmans and descriptions of the music and perfumes of the time. The oppressive heat and atmosphere was also wonderfully captured and I could almost picture myself there. The characters were so realistic and although not all likeable (Nina I'm looking at you!), all were believable. The tension is expertly created and builds so you just have to keep on reading. I didn't guess the outcome either, always a bonus for me!

If you like anything by T M Logan, Lucy Clarke or Mark Edwards, then you will love this! Read it on a beach or beside a pool somewhere, or at home, but just read it!

Thanks to author Nikki Smith, publishers Penguin UK and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was instantly hooked by the premise of this book - six university friends, a beach party, an accident. I could easily picture the Mallorca setting with the drunken beach party and tumultuous sea at night. It made for the perfect twisted summer read.
I enjoyed how each chapter was told from a different person's perspective as their secrets and past were slowly revealed. I started to gradually understand each character and in some cases, how they related to their modern day selves.
However, I did find the start slow. The build up to the beach party was almost completely set in the past with no current day POV. I think more of a change in POV would've made me more interested and invested in the story. Instead, I was just waiting for the beach party to happen and was little bored.
After the beach party though, I was hooked and desperate to find out what happened, worrying about Zoe.

All in all, a thrilling read that once it got going, kept me thinking of the story even when I wasn't reading it.

The mills of the gods grind slowly

For six university graduates, what is supposed to be a celebratory two weeks of fun-filled paradise at a family-owned Mallorcan clifftop villa, soon turns into a nightmare. The longstanding frienship of the three girls and three young men is shattered by one fateful night‘s consequences in 1989. Forward 33 years to now, even though they have so far succeeded to keep the terrible havoc they caused in many peoples‘ lives secret, none of them has been able to overcome their guilt. Then, out of the blue, each of the former friends gets an existence-threatening e-mail …Brilliant plot full of twists and utterly unputdownable!

This book tells the story of 6 friends who all travel to Mallorca to celebrate university graduation. The story is set in both 1989 and the present day when they are forced to return to the villa to face up to the events that happened on the holiday. A night at a beach party goes horribly wrong and not everyone escapes with their lives.
I enjoyed this book and the karma which occurs in the present day. Would read this author again.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow, this book is brilliant, it kept me gripped from the start right up to the last page. I blame Nikki Smith for not getting enough sleep as I kept thinking just one more chapter, then it had to be another chapter and then another until it was 2am. This is the first book I have read by this author but it won't be the last.

The Beach Party was a book I read without reading any blurb first and went with the cover, I have to say this time it worked out.
It’s 1989 and six friends are jetting off for a holiday in Mallorca before they all go their separate ways after finishing uni. An amazing villa that one of their parents own is their base. Life is filled with swimming, eating and drinking and lots more drinking. They get invited to a beach party and decide to arrive by boat which is kept below the villa. They have a loud drunken night, each one of them experiencing something different. They come together at the end of the night and go back to the villa but a shocking accident happens. Who is to blame and what do each of them remember?
This is a book I enjoyed, it was a little slow in the past chapters but I can overlook that as I feel as though I followed the groups journey back in 1989 with good understanding of the groups dynamics. The storyline was good, packed with secrets, regret and blame. I liked the twists that eventually came and the ending couldn’t have been any better I didn’t think. I haven’t read anything by this author before but will look out in the future for more.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin General UK, Viking for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is a new author for me and I read under the Spanish sun which was appropriate! A well written, dual timeline, multiple POV thriller. The secrets and lies, toxic and manipulative friendships and twists and turns build to an unexpected (for me) climax. It’s a gripping story which kept me enthralled and I wholeheartedly recommend this as fantastic summer read.

My first Nikki Smith as I liked the sound of the storyline. Unfortunately it was just average for me. It took a while to get into the flow on the narrative due to the chopping and changing between characters. The story was a slow burner but did have a few twists and turns towards the end. I'm not put off trying another from this author as it was satisfying overall. And there was a good summer party theme if you like that vibe!

The Beach Party Nikki Smith
5 stars

What a plot!

I read this book on holiday and finished it in 2 days, what a brilliant book for a holiday read although the characters own holiday fast turned into a nightmare!

The story begins in 1989 when a group of friends go for a fun-filled week in the villa of Nina’s parents. Nina is the ringleader of the group and the week is to be one full of drugs, drinks and debauchery. However things go wrong very quickly when after a party they all decide to go out on Nina’s parents’ boat and completely high they crash into another boat killing at least one person.

The book jumps to 30 years later where just when they think the past is finally behind them the wreckage of the boat is found. There are 6 main characters all of whom have their own problems both in the past and currently and the plot jumps backwards and forwards between the various stories. I just could not put this book down, I became totally engrossed in what had happened and what was finally going to happen to all of the characters. A perfect holiday book.


Karen Deborah
Net Galley

There has been a lot of thrillers lately about holidays and toxic friendships but this one really works. A holiday to celebrate friendship and the start of adulthood in Nina's parents luxury villa. A wonderful, nostalgic look at the eighties - all cliches included - scrunchies, walkmans - the list continues. An accident, lies, secrets and very toxic frindships are revealed.

A thrilling page-turner. There is intrigue at every turn.
A group of Uni friends take a holiday together at their rich mate’s villa in Mallorca. It’s a tale of drinking games, parties and hidden secrets, until they get caught up in a terrible accident. At this point the story turns into a race against time and a fight against one person who wants to retain control at any cost..
The thrills carry on right up to the end of the book, when the sorry mess catches up with them again.

Highly recommended. Ideally to be read on the beach or by the pool!