Twelve years ago their friend, Emily, was found dead floating in a river. After a text message links Emily to a quiet loner who appears to commit suicide after the murder, the police close the case thinking the murderer is dead.

Now, all Emily's former friends have been invited to an island to celebrate an engagement. But, it quickly becomes apparent that truth about what happened to Emily has yet to be revealed and this group has a lot of secrets...and will kill to keep them hidden!!

A locked room, whodunit, mystery, The Engagement Party was a good idea for a novel but the remote island concept is really hard to pull off, in my opinion, and this one just didn't cut it. The characters were so unbelievable in their actions and the story just didn't come together well.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
While I enjoyed this book, it was all a little confusing in the beginning: too many characters and story happening. The book overall reminded me of some others I have read. The story was good but didn't seem original to me. The characters were all very unlikable, like all of them. There wasn't a single one I cared for.
The ending seemed to drag out a little and again so much happening all at once. I really liked the surprise twist at the end and it leaves room for a spin off story, another book.
Overall I liked it but it wasn't my favorite based on everything I wrote.

As a deference to how genius I consider Kane to be as a writer, I will absolutely be recommending this book to others, however, I will be honest in saying it is thus far my least favorite of all of her books.

The engagement party felt rather rushed, and didn’t quite have the hook and ah ha moments of Kane books of the past. Still, I was never bored while reading, and I did like the book.

In this creepy locked door mystery, a group of friends reunite to celebrate an engagement. Each person is hiding things and keeping secrets, but they’ll be forced to come to light over the course of the weekend. The mystery began with an untimely death (and possible murder) of their friend Emily on graduation weekend, but there are other connections to the past that keep coming up. Notes of warning appear, someone is creeping around the property, and the tide has risen so no one can leave the island. Will the truth come out?

This book gives vibes from I Know What You Did Last Summer, Agatha Christie, and Daisy Darker. The setting of an island at high tide is perfect, and the storm makes it atmospherically creepy. There are twists and red herrings throughout, making the final reveal very difficult to guess. The characters are all unlikable and one in particular is over the top in her villain portrayal. Despite that, I enjoyed this thriller and would recommend it to those who enjoy an atmospheric locked door mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC! Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I wanted to give Darby Kane another try after not loving her previous novel, but this novel was not at all memorable and I found myself slugging my way through the book.

💍 BOOK / REVIEW 💍

I ended 2023 with an absolutely INCREDIBLE #thriller!! It's a goal of mine to work through my backlist, and #theengagementparty by @hkdimon was begging to be read!

I went into this completely blind and so glad I did. I am not usually a fan of #lockedroom mysteries, and while this one could have been predictable, it was anything but!!!!! The multiple POVs worked very well in this novel, and while we do not get flashback chapters, I felt like the author did an incredible job of building the suspense and plot in a unique manner.

The ending was also not the "true" ending, which made the final chapter in this book so much better! You will be guessing until the final page!

Loved loved loved this book - so pumped to read others by this author 👏. Thank you, @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley, for my #gifted copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Ohhh this book had a lot of twist I didn’t know. Cassie, Alex, Mitch and will were part of a terrible tragedy in college they don’t talk about with their friend Emily. Emily lost her life, now it’s 12 years later and they were all invited to Wills engagement party to Ruth, Mitch doesn’t want to go but his now current best friend tried to get him to go so he agrees. When they get there a long lost friend ends up dead and Ruth isn’t all it seems! Will they make it off the island alive and or out of jail!

Thank you for the ARC copy.

This book was very much I Know What you Did Last Summer. Friends, mystery, murder and island. I liked the set up, but felt the book was a little flat. Okay, not great.

Darby Kane's "The Engagement Party" throws you headfirst into a whirlwind of mystery and suspense, whisking you away to a secluded island for a seemingly idyllic celebration that quickly takes a sinister turn. While the initial chapters may unfold at a slower pace, setting the scene and introducing the intricate web of relationships between the guests, the wait is amply rewarded as the tension ratchets up and the island becomes a pressure cooker of secrets and paranoia.

Gathering Clouds on Paradise Cove: The story hinges on a group of old college friends reuniting for the engagement party of one of their own on the stunningly beautiful, yet isolated, Isle of Whisper. As Kane masterfully paints the picture of their past connections and present resentments, you begin to feel the cracks in their seemingly solid foundation. Old wounds, unspoken truths, and simmering jealousies simmer beneath the surface, threatening to boil over when a series of unsettling events casts a long shadow over the festivities.

Twisting Tides of Suspicion: Just when you think you've settled into the rhythm of the story, Kane throws in a chilling curveball. A missing guest, a suspicious fire, and a cryptic note plunge the island into chaos, turning friends into suspects and every conversation into a potential clue. The author excels at building suspense, layering hints and red herrings with a deft hand, keeping you guessing until the very last page.

Characters that Captivate: Each guest harboring their own secrets and shrouded in ambiguity, the characters are the beating heart of "The Engagement Party." Kane imbues them with depth and complexity, allowing you to empathize with their vulnerabilities even as you question their motives. The protagonist, Sarah, caught in the web of suspicion surrounding her fiancé, emerges as a strong and resourceful figure, determined to uncover the truth even as danger closes in.

A Gripping Journey: While the slower start might initially throw you off, it ultimately lays the groundwork for a truly immersive experience. As the narrative picks up steam, you'll find yourself unable to put the book down, your pulse quickening with each revelation and unexpected twist. Kane keeps you on the edge of your seat, constantly questioning what you know and who you can trust, until the thrilling climax that leaves you breathless.

Overall: "The Engagement Party" is a masterclass in suspenseful storytelling, drawing you into a world of secrets, betrayals, and chilling revelations. While the early pacing might slow some readers down, Kane's deft character development, ingenious plot twists, and beautifully rendered setting ultimately deliver a page-turning experience that will stay with you long after the final page. So, pack your bags and your detective hat – a trip to Isle of Whisper awaits, with thrilling mysteries and chilling truths guaranteed to leave you captivated.

Darby Kane is an auto-buy author for me. My book club even read her last book earlier this year, THE LAST INVITATION!

This, unfortunately, is my least favorite Darby Kane book to date. I liked how it started, but didn’t like where it went. The craziness that happened on the island was too much for me to suspend disbelief, and I start checking out when things start getting too unrealistic. Locked room mystery/thrillers are hit or miss for me, especially ones with island settings because I feel like they’re so over-done.

However, I really like Darby’s writing, and I enjoyed the short chapters + multiple POVs.

Looking forward to the next Darby Kane book!

Murder, Mystery, college group of friends, vacation on a remote island in ME, Raging Storm? What could go wrong? Everything!!

This book is about a group of inseparable college friends who experienced an extra tragedy when one of their besties, Emily, ends up dead on graduation. Fast forward 12 years and someone is getting married. To celebrate they book a vacation home on a private island off of Maine. Everything appears to be great, until a dead body of one of their other friends is found. It appears as though everyone in the group is not who the seem to be. All the stories and tragedy they thought was buried resurfaces.

This was a good read even though some of it seemed a little far fetched. The majority of the characters were not very likable and incredibly selfish. There was only one character that I could come close to sympathizing with. I really liked the addition of the chapters reading Emily’s dairy, it helped to have her added perspective. I loved the locked room mystery style to this book, reminds me of Agatha Christie. The writing is done well and the storyline is great. It caught my interest from the beginning and had twists that I didn’t even consider. Another fun, quick thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and Darby Kane for the opportunity to read this book. My opinions are honest and my own!

This was a solid popcorn thriller. I enjoyed several of the twists at the end and the reveals throughout of what exactly was going on. I definitely liked Sierra and her relationship with Mitch, and I think I would have enjoyed more of their relationship (or even if the entire POV was from Sierra as an outsider from the friend group).


SPOILERS: Some of the characters decisions didn't make sense to me, and I wish we got more build up of character relationships. It was obvious from the start that Ruthie was involved in some way, but I wish we got a better explanation of why Will was interested in her enough to propose so quickly. It didn't really make sense to me and just felt convenient for the plot.

The Engagement Party by Darby Kane is an atmospheric thriller about an engagement party on a secluded island that goes horribly wrong.

Full of twists and turns and despicable characters, this novel will have your guessing until the very end. It was a great read to help finish out 2023

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC

I loved PRETTY LITTLE WIFE so when I saw a new Darby Kane, I was eager to read it. I love locked room mysteries, but this one fell flat for me. First, this book included my least favorite trope of all time. It's 2023 people- get therapy, not revenge. Secondly, the characters all sucked except #teamsierra. And lastly, the twist was a giant eyeroll. Was anyone invested enough in that character to care? Ugh! 2.5.

Still forever grateful for my ARC from William Morrow & NetGalley.

A tight knit group of college friends get invited to a weekend on an island to celebrate the engagement of one of the group. Sounds like fun even though this is Will’s 3rd engagement until they a storm and dead bodies surface - all pieces to the murder of one of their friend group long ago on graduation weekend. So many secrets and twists and turns in a who-dunnit that keeps you on the edge of your seat topped off with a whopping surprise at the end - my favorite kind of book!

Thank you for the ARC to William Morrow Paperbacks! #netgalley. #TheEngagementParty. #loveathriller

Group of friends gathering together years after college where something terrible happened. Who is involved? What happened exactly? They can't escape the vacation house with a killer on the loose. Average title but mystery lovers will read.

DNF at 35.6%. I really wanted to know what happened to Emily, but everything was too repetitive. To get a third of the way through with no movement forward was a struggle.

2023 was the year I fell down a Darby Kane rabbit hole. I burned through the first three standalone suspense novels and then patiently waited for The Engagement Party - a December release. Touted as a mix of And Then There Were None and I Know What You Did Last Summer, I buckled myself in and got ready for a ride. Unfortunately it was a ride I found bumpy and a little lacking.

Emily Hunt was murdered the weekend of her college graduation at an affluent New England liberal arts college. At the center of the mystery are her closest college friends, tragic Mitch, power couple Alex and Cassie, and emotionally bankrupt Will. Emily's murder haunts all of them, naturally they know more than they're letting on, and they'll do anything to keep the past well and truly buried.

Then Will, poor dumb bunny Will, gets engaged. For like the fourth time, but who's counting? His fiancée Ruthie wants to get the friends together to celebrate their engagement and picks a remote house on an island in Maine. As a storm is blowing in. Convenient. Also joining this house of horrors is Sierra, Mitch's business partner - who also happens to be in love with him. They're not on the island long before random weirdness starts happening and the first body is discovered in the garage.

I'll be honest, it was the comp to And Then There Were None that made me pick up this book, and when that comp is dangled before me I just expect certain things. I expect to hate pretty much everybody (check) and I expect nearly everybody to die (yeah, not so much). I mean, half the fun of this type of story is that the characters you hate are the bodies that start dropping. And while I quite literally hated everybody in this story, not nearly enough of them ended up dead in the end. Sorry, not sorry. In fact, the first two dead bodies are tertiary characters we never meet alive on the page. This is a problem because Kane does such a good job of making me hate everybody that to have most of them not die is just, well, a bummer.

I realize how this sounds, but if you're a suspense/thriller fan this is IYKYK kind of thing.

Sierra is the innocent bystander character that we, as the reader, are supposed to rally around. The one who gets sucked into the madness only because she's an idiot who's in love with Mitch. And ultimately that's what annoys me about her. Everybody in this story, literally everybody, wants to protect "poor, tragic Mitch." Look, I get it - his childhood was jacked up. But he's such an unlikeable, almost passive aggressive in his sarcasm, character that I just wanted him to die. And no, I won't tell you if he does or not.

Besides the fact that the body count isn't nearly high enough, the suspense thread is a blunt instrument. With a plot of this nature I want Machiavelli. Sorry, just do. I want twists, turns, who can you trust? This is more like a cudgel upside the head.

All that being said, there is a very nice twist at the end that I did not see coming and it was really good. Unfortunately by then I just felt a little worn down by it all. Too many of these horrible people left alive, not enough deviousness on the part of our villain. It's not terrible, but it's not really what I wanted. And well, it's all about me.

Final Grade = C+

It is dark and sinister full of twists and turns and seemingly locked rooms... well garages, and sheds, and... well you get the picture.

It's the kind of book that makes me want to grab a furry blanket, a cup of tea, and a baseball bat for the things that go bump in the night.

If you're looking for something that will have you guessing about absolutely everything until the end this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Reading Between the Wines book review #140/115(met goal in Sept!) for 2023:
Rating: 3 ½ 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: The Engagement Party
Author: Darby Kane
Available Now!!

Sipping thoughts: An Engagement Party should be an event for celebration, love and family and friends. Unfortunately, that is not the case for this cast of “friends”. Instead, they are met with a dead man, lies, secrets, and a killer. Throughout this book, you are pretty aware of one source of evil but the mystery is behind who really wants them dead. The very last reveal was a mouth dropping gasp for me and it really made the entire book worthwhile.

Cheers and thank you to @WilliamMorrow and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @TheEngagementParty.

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