This story takes place on a small private island with a convent that’s been converted in to a top notch hotel. A storm hits stranding a skeleton crew and guests there with no access to come or leave the island. One by one the people start getting murdered and new night manager, ex detective Mallory is in charge and trying to get a handle on things as they keep unraveling. This whodunnit is a fast paced easy read that really reminded me of an Agatha Christie style mystery.

This Book will be a great Book To read For readers who loves this type of genre I DNF this Book. I don’t have any bad things to say about this book I just could not get into the book. I will try again and give feed back on it I believe this book can be a 3 or 4 start book I just need to reread it I will later on I believe this book has potential. I have nothing bad to say about this book or author.

Mallory, the main character is an ex detective and has now, after being medically retired , taken a job as a night manager at a hotel on a Welsh island. The first evening the receptionist is found dead, presumably poisoned.. Then a storm builds up and those left in the hotel are cut off from the mainland for a couple of days. As more deaths occur everyone is suspicious of the rest of the guests and staff and a link to a child convicted of poisoning friends at a birthday party emerges.
A fair bit of suspense and action in this book. The plot is well thought out with a couple of twists along the way . Fairly short, the book grabbed my interest and was a real page turner. Characterisations interesting and scene descriptions give a good impression of the place.
A good read, thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

The Birthday Girl is your standard locked room mystery.

Three women come together on a Welsh island to celebrate a birthday. Mona is an artist, Beth a mother and wife, and Charlotte is with her husband and troublesome step daughter.

The island is deadly and soon one of the hotel guests turns up dead. One of the three women poisoned three friends at an 11 year old birthday. Which one of them has struck again.

There was nothing groundbreaking in the book but it held my attention and I got through the book quickly.

DNF at 12%. Sadly, the opening chapters didn't entice me enough to continue reading.

Please note that I wouldn't usually rate a book that I haven't finished but net galley is forcing a star rating.

This was so good, I was hooked from the beginning! I love when everyone is suspicious and no one can be trusted and that is exactly what I got from this book

This was everything you need for a thriller and crime story. It is not as black and white as you first think and like most typical thrillers, is full of twists. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is an excellent mystery, a closed circle of person and one of them could kill them. There's a sense of danger, the setting and the weather seem to be the perfect background.
A solid and tightly knitted plot that flows and a cast of fleshed out characters.
I was on the edge till the end and the twists always surprised me.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

"The Birthday Girl" by Sarah Ward is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps readers on edge from beginning to end. The story follows the celebration of a milestone birthday for the enigmatic Marianne who, over the course of the novel, becomes increasingly entangled in a web of secrets and lies that threaten to unravel her life and those around her.

Ward's writing is sharp and evocative, creating a vivid and eerie atmosphere that sets the stage for the twists and turns that lie ahead. The characters are well-drawn, with complex motivations and hidden agendas that add depth and intrigue to the plot.

What sets "The Birthday Girl" apart from other thrillers is Ward's deft handling of the central mystery. The story unfolds in unexpected ways, leading readers down one path before suddenly veering in another direction. The result is a satisfying and surprising conclusion that will leave you reeling. The characters were a little hard for me to root for since some of them were morally grey in their intentions and actions.

Overall, "The Birthday Girl" is a must-read for fans of psychological suspense. It's a smart, well-crafted thriller that keeps the tension high and the pages turning until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Canelo for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I didn’t love this, but there were pieces I found super intriguing. Definitely a detail-heavy thriller with a great setting. A good who dun it!

My first book by this author but it won’t be my last! I love closed mysteries and this one was great! Well written, like able characters and I didn’t figure it out right away!

Thank you Netgalley and Canelo for this arc, having read 2 of the authors previous book i was hoping this would be as good and was not disappointed

A Small island with a nasty poisoner and Mallory looking to uncover what is happening and why

Great storyline with a closed door (isolated island) mystery, during a terrible storm with a murderer on the loose. Need I say more?
Some enjoyable twists and turns, with a few red herrings thrown in to keep the reader off the trail. I found myself changing my identification of the killer multiple times.
Outstanding descriptions of the weather, peoples anxiety, fear and suspicion. Ward’s writing really amped up the atmosphere.
I did not guess who the murderer was until it was revealed. I’m normally able to correctly determine the killer long before the big reveal, so this was a pleasant surprise.
Only weakness in the story I felt, was that in the circumstances I would expect some of the guests would have noticed the events and begun to discuss it amongst themselves.
I really enjoyed this read and look forward to the next Mallory Dawson book! Thanks to Canelo publishing and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this novel.

I was drawn in by the title of this book, as well as the cover. The synopsis sounded like something I would love. One of my favorite mystery tropes is a secluded group people who are picked off one by one à la And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie). I suppose The Birthday Girl had some Agatha Christie vibes, but as a whole, I found it a bit tedious, and the dialog repetitive.

It started out promising, and atmospheric; I was honestly hooked from the start, and read the first 1/3 with vigor, but then the story started to feel bogged down. There were *so. many.* conversations that we, the reader, had to hear hear multiple times. The doctor getting butt hurt over his disability, Elsa's nun story, and the never ending conversations regarding the food supply and if Tom, the chef, was being cautious enough were discussed ad nauseum. The whole middle of the book was just Mallory keeping tabs on people and asking people if they were okay. It was honestly like watching an entire day of people milling about and complaining. There were many similar female characters, and not enough set any of them apart, so they kind of melded together. Them being similar is plot point, so I won't hold it against the book, but it felt bland.

I was excited to see this listed as book #1 in a new series following retired police officer Mallory, but I didn't love Mallory. I found her resilient and hard-working, she's sharp and has good instincts, but I just didn't find her super likeable. I spent a lot of the book feeling sorry for chef Tom and the way she micromanaged him. Her ex-husband made a few appearances, and while I don't know their full back-story, I don't care enough to find out. He seemed pretty miserable. I generally like my series characters to be more endearing and if not, then at least enjoyable to read. I would still read the next in the series, and hope to learn more about Mallory, maybe she'll grow on me.

Thank you to Canelo and Netgalley for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun and pretty standard locked room mystery. I liked the boutique hotel on an isolated island location. It had great atmosphere. The large cast of characters was also fun and unique.

Of course there is a storm. Of course people started dropping dead one by one. And of course you gotta read to find out who the killer is because you’ll have so much FOMO if you don’t!

This one didn’t knock my socks off, but it was readable and interesting and one I know many thriller/mystery fans will enjoy, especially those who love Agatha Christie novels.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Birthday Girl by Sarah Ward, published by Canelo
This was a great thriller/mystery novel. It's a first of this author's books for me, but not the last. This was one of those novels that I didn't want to put down. I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next
The story is about Mallory, a medically retired police, who has decided to apply for a night manager job on Eldey Island. She gets the job and certainly gets put to work shortly after starting, as a storm threatens the island.
The author does a great job setting the plot, introducing characters, I liked the intro, how the island is described and some history given as Mallory makes her way across by ferry.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and hope there is a sequel, sounds like this will be a series from reading the author's note.

Sometimes you start reading a book and instantly love the writing style, the setting and are intrigued by the characters, and this for me was one of those books. It had me hooked.

The story is of an ex cop Mallory Dawson, who takes a job as a night manager at a hotel on a remote island off the coast of Wales. The island gets cut off due to a storm with a serial killer amongst the guests.

This is a great psychological thriller, with plenty of twists and turns and great characters. I can't wait to read more in this series.

Thank You NetGalley and Canelo for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I loved the Birthday Girl! The main character, Mallory, was very likable and intelligent. The pacing of the book was also excellent and it never dragged but flowed very nicely. There were lots of twists and turns along the way and I enjoyed the ending.

I thought this had a definite Agatha Christie vibe throughout. I liked the setting of the book having been to Tenby many times, and having visited Caldey island where the monks live, it was easy to picture an island off Tenby where nuns lived not too much of a stretch. I liked the main character, and found the book to be an easy read., it was an okay read, and I wouldn't put anyone off reading it.

In the start of a new series, Sarah Ward takes readers to a luxury hotel on a rugged, isolated Welsh island, where an ex-detective, still recovering from the knife wound that ended her police career, has taken a job as a night manager, keeping guests safe. Bad timing: one of the newly-arriving guests is a cold-blooded serial killer, When one of the guests dies after apparently recognizing another of them, Mallory Dawson figures out that she was the only surviving victim of the "birthday girl," who years earlier poisoned all of the girls who came to her party. But which one is it? There are several plausible suspects, but the number dwindles as, one after another, poisoning continues.

There are definite Agatha Christie vibes here, as well as an overall gothic feel, with the rugged island, once a cloister for nuns, cut off by a bad storm. The plot is nicely tangled and the tension ratcheted up along with the characters' anxiety. Yes, it's all pretty implausible, but it makes for an entertaining thriller that's also a palimsest of crime fiction classics, written by someone who knows her genre.