I really enjoyed Darby Kane's other books, but this one had me toggling stars through most of it. I'm still not sure if it's because there are simply too many books out there like this, or the characters were just that unlikable, because she still delivers with great, page-turning writing.

The who-to-believe or not believe elements and the action are definitely there though, so in the end, I give it a pick!

Thank you to Darby Kane, William Morrow, NetGalley for this eARC!

The Engagement Party, by Darby Kane, is an action-packed, suspenseful, locked “room” thriller set on a remote island in Maine, during a storm that isolates all on it from outside contact. When six people, five former college friends, gather together for an unlikely engagement party, that no one is quite looking forward to, things immediately begin to go very wrong.

Twelve years ago, Emily Hunt went missing on the night she graduated from college. When her body turns up days later, it is ruled a murder and all eyes turn to her close group of friends. When they all seem to have reliable alibis, the police, eager to find the suspect, fixate on quiet, subdued, nerdy gamer Brendan, who sent a vaguely threatening text to Emily shortly before her death. Even though there was no viable evidence linking him to the crime, and he steadfastly proclaimed his innocence, his suicide not long after the event seemed to prove his guilt. Each person in the friend group goes on to live highly successful lives, but each also lives with the guilt of tightly held secrets. And once they are on the island, their long-held secrets seem to want revenge, as the story slowly unravels and turns into chaos and murder.

This story is tension-packed and though a bit too long and drawn out for the plot that took place, it was riveting and hard to put down. It’s a bit over-the-top, but that’s also what makes it entertaining. The Engagement Party is a quick-reading, engaging, sinister thriller that will captivate you to the very last page.

What are you waiting for? Read this book! When a group of college friends meet for the weekend to celebrate an engagement they are wary years ago. One of their friends Elaine died a mysterious death. They haven’t seen each other since. The celebration is on a remote island. After a storm hits the island and ,their power is knocked out the bodies start showing up. This book gave me Agatha Christie vibes!

Darby, what a tangled web you have wove. This book was so much fun, but these characters were all so unlikeable. So many secrets to hide, and so much to lose, what will they do to keep them?

This is such a great whodunit story. Add in the element of a locked door killer on the loose (on a remote island). A group of college friends get together to celebrate the engagement of Will, a troubled man who keeps on getting engaged (yet never married). This time, his fiancé is not who she seems to be. This group of friends are never quite honest with each other, which just leads to so many twists & turns in this story. I was enthralled and completely shocked at the end of the story. I loved this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The initial mystery from the past hooked me, I really wanted to know who killed her, but the book was so plodding and the premise was so unbelievable that it was a slog to get through to the big reveal.

I had high hopes for this novel, but it just never got off the ground for me.

A group of college friends meets up to celebrate an engagement on a private island in Maine. The only way in and out of the island is through a causeway that isn’t available to cross at night.

Soon after arriving, the group discovers a dead body in the trunk of a car and they realize that a killer is on the loose. Is the killer one of them or is someone else lurking in the shadows? To make matters worse, a storm is coming and several people in the group are hiding some dangerous secrets.

Sounds a bit like Agatha Christie, right? If only. I just was not invested in the characters. Having said that. the market for psychological thrillers in public libraries is still vast. Would recommend for libraries.

So happy to get a chance for an early read of this one. The author is great at having things not be what they seem and not knowing which characters are reliable.

This one has a lot of foreshadowing or hinting of what may come. Does it pan out? I had to keep reading to find out.

It was an easy read and I kept wanting to know more and figure out what was going on, what exactly happened in their past and who was reliable. They all had a secret or two and even the reader didn’t know them early on.

And of course there is an isolated setting and a storm. Is someone in their group cashing the mayhem or is there an unknown person at their isolated location?

Emily Hunt was found dead after her college graduation and a few days later a loner committed suicide. One text binding the two events together makes the police feel the case is closed. But they got it wrong and someone is determined to get it right.

Years later a group of college friends meet on a private island to celebrate an engagement. When an ominous note is found with a dead body tensions start to rise. They realize this party is not all it seems to be and they’ll need to find the killer before they end up being next.

Remote island thriller, compared to And Then There Were None, with Darby Kane as the author? I couldn’t grab this book up fast enough!

You could feel the tension radiating off the pages and the way the story alternated between 3 POVs was just addicting. I also loved the addition of book note chapters that gave insight into Emily all those years ago. There was just a great balance between all 4 type of chapters that kept us guessing without slowing down the pace of the story.

I did not want to put this book down, it kept me on the edge of my seat. Whenever my little one went down for a nap, this book immediately found its way into my hands. I had to get down to the bottom of this mystery. Which the twists were amazing, everything was so well put together.

This book was so twisty turny, it kept me on my toes the whole time. I never knew what to expect. This was such a great read and I enjoyed every page. This was the perfect book for a buddy read!!

Ahhh yes, Darby Kane does it again! Such an amazing thriller, suspense, dramatic read! I loved all of the characters and the way the author brought this storyline to life on the pages. Excellent novel and must read for those who love suspense and thriller novel!

This book was just toooooooooo much. I know the premise is the typical Agatha Christie locked door mystery, but this one is on steroids. The bad stuff just kept happening to the point that I barely cared anymore--the only thing the book lacked was a catagory 5 hurricane. At first it was who do you trust, all the characters have secrets, even up to the last chapter of the book, but instead of slowly being revealed, they were dumped at the end of the book. I also felt that the end with Zara, the daughter of two of the characters was very unsatisfying. I do suppose that maybe people who are really dedicated suspense/ thriller fans will find this book to their liking. It just be me tired and wishing it would end.

I really enjoyed this latest read by Darby Kane! This was a gripping, suspenseful read that helped me get out of a slump! My only issue is the ending wasn't detailed enough.

I was so excited for this book! I loved Pretty Little Wife. This was a super quick read, and one that kept me on my toes the entire time, but I just felt like there were too many characters and a lot going on that did not allow me to really keep up or be completely bought in.

A really enjoyable read. Darby Kane always delivers! Engaging characters, even the unlikeable ones lol. Fun and twisty plot with a solid ending. I always look forward to her books!

The story was solid but I might have liked this book more there wasn't so many pov's. I never connected with any of the characters. They were all pretty unlikable.

3.75 stars

A group of college friends gather on a private island to celebrate one of their engagements. They quickly learn not all of them/if any will survive. It was an interesting premise. Even though the characters are hate-able in their own ways, the story held my attention. I would have liked a little more action and a little more spooky/scariness. This author is quickly becoming a go to, go in blind for me. I love a wicked and twisted mind :)

“𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐃𝐢𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬.”

A locked-room thriller set on an island with a group of friends who all have secrets? Darby Kane’s latest has all the makings of things I love in a thriller.

I flew through this fast-paced novel, due to its changing point of view, short chapters and cliffhanger reveals. Kane wastes no time diving into the action of the story, with the crew barely on the island and at the house, when a dead body appears. I thought it was an interesting storytelling choice that out of all the friend group, Kane focuses on Alex’s perspective, alongside ‘outsiders,’ Sienna and Ruthie, as they try to figure out what the death of their friend Emily ten years ago and the present killings have to do with each other. In between the action are “book notes” that tell about Emily and the past the crew tries hard to forget, which I loved. The characters lean towards unlikeable, all guilty of past transgressions as individuals and as a group, which makes this revenge plot all the more delicious. I love a good storm, whether it be wind and rain or snow, during a mystery; between the power outages and the raging storm, there was a lot of tension and atmosphere. I couldn’t put this down, and as always, Kane delivered with a tight cat-and-mouse game, with an ending twist. It reads like a modern take on And The There Were None or limited series Harper’s Island.

The Engagement Party is a story of denial, revenge, processing trauma, guilt, responsibility, victims and villians. It had me on the edge of my seat, and would make for such an intriguing mini series. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC!

“The Engagement Party” by Darby Kane follows a group of college friends. Connected by the tragic death of one of their friends the weekend of college graduation, the group has purposely drifted apart. Yet, when one of the friends gets engaged, he invites the group to a remote island to celebrate the engagement and to meet his future bride. But when the group discovers a dead man in the trunk of a car, they realize this meet-up may take a sinister twist. Who is behind everything? And why?

This book had all the makings of my favorite thrillers: an isolated location, a shared questionable history, someone who knows more than they’re letting on… The character list featured diverse personalities that were distinct enough to keep them separated mentally. The true highlight was Sierra, honestly she seemed like the only person who really understood what was going on.

Despite wanting to love this book, it somehow fell flat. The surprise twists often felt like overkill and it made me less engaged than I wanted to be. I think this story had good bones, but maybe wasn’t as unique as I was hoping. In the end, I gave it 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A group of friends from college are invited to an engagement party. What could go wrong? Ruthie and Will are getting hitched after a very short engagement. This is not Wills first engagement by any means. Two friends Cassandra and Alex go to the party to silence a secret from long ago. There was a friend in college named Emily who was murdered. There was a accusation of who did it but everyone knew that wasnt the real murdered her. So who was it? All the friends come to the party to the island except for one friend Jake. As the weekend unfolds so do the juicy details of these friendships and what happened all those years ago. I felt the book has been done before and didnt catch me early like i like these stories to do. It was slow in some parts as well.