Thank you to William Morrow and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Old friends with dark secrets that begin to emerge. Darby Kane did not fail at this book with alternating perspectives and twist after twist this read grips you in from the very first page to the last.

You won't be disappointed.

Thank you @thrillerbookloverspromotions @hkdimon @williammorrowbooks for the #gifted copy of this book!

If you’re looking for a locked room thriller, stranded on an island with only one way in and out amongst a brewing storm look no further! 🌧️🏝️This is the perfect whodunnit as we slide into the change in seasons and things cool down for us! The atmospheric vibe of this book is perfect for fall and winter!

So what happens?

Emily Hunt ends up dead on campus, found floating in the river. A odd man somewhat of a loner is blamed with barely a link to tie him to the murder. Case closed.

👯A group of friends joins together on a private island for an engagement party twenty years after that death and soon after they find a dead man in the trunk of a car with a note stating it’s time to tell the truth! What entails is a twisted story between friends with many unlikeable characters!

This book was very fast paced with an eerie setting and like I mentioned above with an intriguing mystery to unravel. The last part of the book was action packed that left me pointing the finger at many different characters! 😱I always love different POV and short chapters because it draws me in and keeps me wanting to read “just one more” before I put the book down! I have read several by this author and have found all of them very entertaining and enjoyable! I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!

An engagement party on a secluded island goes so very wrong in this isolation thriller. It is told from the perspectives of a group of long-time friends connected by a murder at their college graduation years earlier. They thought they'd buried their secrets, but in this creepy tale, the past comes back to haunt them. Once you get a sense of who each character is, with their complicated personalities and baggage, you can't help but be pulled into the mystery. Filled with twists and turns, this is a definite page-turner and my favorite book by Darby Kane. I highly recommend this book for thriller fans.

Gothic, atmospheric vibes in this "locked room" mystery. Murder, mystery and revenge are just some of what you will get in this book. Twist after twist, super fast paced! Could not put this down, read in one day! Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this e-arc. 4 Stars

Holy cow! From the unlikeable characters to the near constant flow of hair-raising suspense, The Engagement Party was nothing like I expected yet also filled with everything that I craved. A surprising combination of a non-graphic I Know What You Did Last Summer-esque thriller and a perfectly poised locked room mystery, I was pulled in deep right from the start. Needless to say, the fast-paced plot and whiplash-inducing twists kept my fingers flying through the pages, which didn’t stop until the very last word. I mean, there was even a *chef’s kiss* twist thrown in at the end—all of which was proof positive of a maestro behind the scenes.

I do have to say, though, that this one was very different from Kane’s prior books. Not that it was any less brilliant or jaw-dropping, but there was a definite slasher vibe that mixed deftly with the top-notch game of cat-and-mouse. But with the atmospheric setting and unsettling mystery of who was behind the terrible events, I found myself utterly addicted to this unputdownable success. Even the mildly over-the-top feel of this storyline fit the bill to a tee and I couldn’t, for the life of me, get enough of the characters or plot.

Speaking of those characters, with multiple POVs who narrated in a round-robin type way, what could have been confusing was anything but. Instead, the storyline was written in a manner that actually felt much more like a single POV storyline, but allowed for a near omniscient perspective. And for this plot to be a hit, that was a definite must. After all, this longtime friend group had survived on nothing but secrets and lies for twelve years, so their individual perspectives merely helped to drive that fact home.

All said and done, Kane managed to blow me away yet again. This time, however, she impressed me by demonstrating her startling skill at crafting a brand new style to her storytelling that was both perfect for spooky season but also cut out for every other day of the year. Both spine-chilling and action-packed, all I know is that this would make one dynamite movie. So take it from me, if you’re looking to extend your Halloween reads for another month or so, The Engagement Party is right up your alley. Because, when you get right down to it, this adrenaline-fueled ride alongside some despicable characters is sure to grab ahold of you and never let go. Rating of 4.5 stars.

Messy mysteries are some of my faveeees and I'm happy that Darby Kane delivered one. Trust in these characters is fickle, but deliciously so. 6 couples on a remote island, each with their own secrets... And then one by one, the truth starts coming out. I absolutely LOVED it. While I did immediately peg the primary culprit, some of the subplots I missed entirely. This is definitely a winter thriller, perfect for when you're snowed in.

Will this be the best thriller you ever read? No. But did I absolutely enjoy the heck out of it? Yesssss. Darby Kane retains her guilty pleasure thriller author throne for sure!

*Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Kindle Copy for Review from Net Galley, Killer Crime Club and William Morrow.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

A weekend reunion getaway that turns unforgettable. Stranded on a deserted island old friends will have a time that they will never forget in more ways than one.

What really happen in different point of views as we are drawn into the events by different characters in the story. A sweeping thriller that will keep you on the edge till the end.

Old friends with dark secrets get invited to a secluded islanded only to realize they’ve been lured there by someone who’s willing to kill to force them to reveal these secrets, sign me up every time!! I absolutely loved this book.
While it started out with “And Then There Were None”, Agatha Christie vibes it did take a Lord of the Flies kinda turn for me towards the end.
With a creepy island setting and characters who have, to quote the book, “horrified layers of rot underneath”, The Engagement Party was a perfect who’s gonna make it off the island book. Thank you @thrillerbookpromotions @blondethrillerbooklover @hkdimon @netgalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars | Old college friends are invited to a remote island to celebrate the engagement of one of their own. Things turn sideways when bodies pile up with crypt notes about their past. Who is lying? Who can they trust?

I enjoyed the twists in this, but mostly the very last one. I didn’t see that one coming! The book was fast paced, which is so important for a thriller. The characters were either liked or despised, and Darby did a good job making you dislike specific ones.

The writing was engaging. The character development was pretty solid. Nothing extremely shocking, but overall a good read!

Multiple POVs✔️
Short chapters✔️
Twists✔️
Intense✔️

Secluded island, stormy weather, mysterious deaths, seeking revenge, “And Then There Were None” vibes are all apart of The Engagement Party by Darby Kane!
An old group of college friends connected years later by a deadly secret.

I definitely thought I predicted the ending and boy was I way off! Definitely worth the read!
I loved the multiple point of views, the chapters are very short which I love in thriller books, and this one kept me guessing until the very last page!

Oh how I wanted to like this book going in after liking her other books. But sadly, this one didn’t do it for me. The trope is overdone and in this instance the characters were just ugh. If you like teen slasher movies you may like this, but the problem with this is that these characters are adults. In teen slasher movies you expect the teenagers to make dumb decisions, but these adults made the same kinda choices and it left me rolling my eyes.
A group of college friends gets invited to a secluded island for the weekend to celebrate the engagement of one of them and as soon as they get on the island, dead bodies start appearing. It all seems to be connected to something that happened with another of their friends after graduation 12 years ago. They’ve all been lying to each other all this time and now someone is on the island with them that thinks it’s time to tell the truth whether they like it or not.
It was told from several POV and once the story was finally told as to what happened 12 years ago it was kind of a let down. I just had expected more I guess.
Although this was a miss for me, I liked the authors other work, so I’ll be looking forward to see what she writes next.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Full review to come. Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Darby Kane did it! She reminded me why I loved her freshman novel so much. A locked-room thriller on an island setting.

I grew up hearing the story of a pretty college girl going missing. We all know one. This book explores what happens to the friends who knew her.

Many twists and turns will keep you guessing. A little dark and gory at times. I didn’t feel a strong emotional pull toward any of the characters and it felt outlandish at times, which is why this one is only 4 stars, however for the most part this novel was well-crafted. Highly recommend!

What a weird read – reading a book that’s set to be released after a month, not several months later! Either way, that’s a good thing as there is less waiting time if you feel like you need to read it also and need to read it ASAP!
Where do I start with this one? Kind of a locked room (ok, not a room really, more like an island) suspense, thrill, and mystery. And, with unreliable narrators and unrelatable characters, you just can’t help but looooove to hate as you read.
What it made me think of the most: is how secrets bind and keep people together, even the ones you would prefer not to have anything in common with ever again. It also made me want to make a mental list of people I’d never ever under no circumstances would like to happen to be on the same island at the same time.
If you are looking for a read with relatable and likable characters, where you can root for someone – no, then this is not for you. If you want a fast-paced, thrilling, suspenseful, and stress-inducing read that will make your head spin, and a creepily atmospheric book, then this is definitely for you.

Now, I keep wondering why I haven’t read The Pretty Little Wife yet. I guess that is going to my TBR list now that I have read this one and have had a good glimpse into what Darby Kane writes.

A group of friends from college get together on an island, in a storm for an engagement party. Something happened 12 years ago during college graduation weekend and now it appears someone is out for revenge. The story is told from the POV of Alex, one of the friends who is married to Cassie; Ruthie, Will's fiancé who was also the one that picked the location; and Sierra, Mitch's girlfriend. Sierra is the one that quickly suspects things aren't quite what they seem, and she is the only one who is somewhat likeable of this bunch.

I don't mind locked room mysteries, but there was something that just didn't click for me with this one. It was an entertaining read, but I felt like most of the characters were unhinged and a bit unbelievable. Some aspects were too over the top for me and slightly silly, but it was still a good mystery/thriller.

It's Time To Tell The Truth....

And the truth is.......you can figure it all out within the first 1/4 of the book.

The Engagement Party by Darby Kane isn't a BAD thriller, necessarily. It's just....not a great one. It's a locked room mystery, on an island, with a hint of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" which we all KNOW was 2nd tier to SCREAM and Final Destination.

It's a bunch of terrible people on an island who hate each other all dealing with the aftermath of the death of a college classmate.

That's the story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Engagement Party
By: Darby Kane
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maine, murder and mayhem I am in.

Friends from college are invited to an engagement party. Will is getting married to Ruthie after a short engagement. This is a pattern for Will so people are shocked.

Cassandra and Alex are going to the party, because they are trying to protect a secret from a tragic event from college. They all had a friend Emily who was murdered in college. Someone was accused, but they all know the person was accused was not guilty. A secret binds this group of friends. What do they think they know?

All the friends but one, Jake show up to the secluded island to celebrate. A storm, murder, secrets and accusations are everywhere. They each begin to turn on each other. I read on this rainy day and could not put this book down! Another fabulous novel by Kane.

Thank you Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and Darby Kane for this advanced copy, which is available December 5, 2023. You can’t go wrong with any of Kane’s books.
#theengagementparty, #darbykane, #williammorrow, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #netgalley, #stamperlady50, #thrillerbookloverpromtions

Emily and Brendan were found dead 12 years ago after college graduation. Present day Mitch and his friend Sierra are going to an island to celebrate a college friend’s engagement. Secrets and lies from the past are revealed and mayhem occurs.
This was a thrilling read that had me quickly flipping through the pages. It had many interesting characters. Thanks NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC that will be released December 5, 2023!

Over a decade ago, Emily went missing and was found murdered after a night of celebrating college graduation. The truth of what happened has never surfaced, but as with all murders - someone knows something and someone is determined to get to the bottom of what happened that night. An invite to celebrate Will's engagement goes out, and not only is this odd but things only get more odd as they all show up to the island where the weekend festivities are to happen. Is it really the celebration of Will's quick engagement or is there an ulterior motive that was set in motion when those invites hit the mail? Told from the perspective of writings Emily had left behind and the investigation and then the current chaos as a storm is brewing to blow in, it's high tide and there is no way off the island, a body is found in a running vehicle and a police officer shows up to warn them of the impending storm. While all these pieces are stirring together, the truth of what happened to Emily might just finally surface but how far will they all go to protect their secrets of what happened that night and who was originally suspect. Thank you to @Thrillerbookloverspromotions for the tour invite and to the author and NetGalley for the free ebook. This review is of my own opinion and accord!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Engagement Party by Darby Kane!

Wowzer! This is one locked room thriller you don't want to miss. It has a cast of some pretty horrible people which make it so entertaining. This is one fast paced, binge worthy read.

Emily was killed the day of graduation. Friends have held what happened that night a secret because if the truth came out lives would be destroyed.

Now, the college friends are going to reunite on a private island to celebrate Will and Ruthie's engagement. Only problem is one of them is a killer. I liked the multiple points of view and how you feel the panic radiate off the page at you as things start to unfold. You aren't exactly sure who is telling the truth and who is lying.

The ending-What??? I so love it when you get to the end and can be shocked with a twist that leaves you wanting to read more by this author.

Do yourself a favor and add to TBR list now. You will be glad you did.