Raphael is joined by fiancée Lauren, for a garden engagement party, alongside their nearest and dearest. Someone there is hiding secrets and soon the party turns to a day that is best forgotten.

I don’t want to say too much on this one as I think the less you know beforehand the better. Having read a few by this author now, I have grown to really enjoy his writing style and storytelling. As always there are lots of exciting characters who you love to hate.

I enjoyed that the story was told in different time periods, leading up to and during the main event and slowly learning all twists and hidden secrets. Some parts are quite shocking and I like that the author is not afraid to explore disturbing characters and dark themes. This is an intriguing read and one that is not easily forgettable. I look forward to seeing what else the author comes up with. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

The Garden Party - B P Walter ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 I recommend this if you love a dark, complex, revenge filled thriller

Wow!! Dark, deceptive, and definitely bingeable in a day!! This book has multiple layers and plot lines to unpack, the way they interweave together is amazing! The Montcreiff family all have their own personal baggage and secrets, I loved the split timeline and multiple povs to explore this and understand the events leading up to the party!

The story mainly follows Harris' pov, a teenager who loses his parents. He has to move in with the Moncliffes - Patrick, Isabelle and Raphael, none of who are particularly thrilled about this. The day of the garden party is Raphael and his fiancée Lucy's engagement party. But for someone, it’s an opportunity to unveil the secrets and lies that have bound the Montcliffe family together over the years. What should have been the happiest day of their lives, might just end as a day they’d rather forget…

Does cover some sensitive topics so check before reading!

Genre: psychological thriller
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher: Harper Collins
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Tropes & Themes: split timeline, dark, deceptive, revenge, family trauma,

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review!

I loved how this book was structured, in parts with the main character outlining how each family member had done him wrong. It kept me engaged, and I read it in one sitting.

There are typically unlikable characters in thrillers, and book is where it actually works for the story instead of against it. I would say this is more of a story of revenge as opposed to a thriller, but there are still plenty of twists, turns, and secrets revealed.

Usually, I read these types of books with little to no emotional attachment to the characters, but the way this one was written really made me feel for Harris, although he also has his flaws and demons.

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for an advanced copy.

This was a fun whodunnit that kept you on the edge of your seat all the way through. The characters were unlikeable but it worked perfectly for this story and credit goes to the author for making us love to hate them. Although there isn't a lot of suspense, the gossip and secrets will keep you drawn in, desperate to reach the big reveal.

In BP Walter’s latest, The Garden Party, an engagement party goes from celebration to devastation as a family’s darkest secrets unravel in this bleak story.

This is described as a cross between Saltburn and an Agatha Christie mystery, which is half accurate. There are definite similarities to Saltburn (self-involved characters, an outsider wanting desperately to be on the inside, and annoying overall), but this feels less like a mystery and more like a straightforward revenge novel.

The character seeking revenge is Harris, the adopted son of the wealthy Moncrieff family, and the reasons why he is out for blood are revealed slowly throughout the story. In fairness, he has good reasons, including his stepmother pimping him out when he was a teenager. However, Harris is also unlikable, making it hard to feel invested in the outcome.

The unlikability of the main character is the crux of why this book is a challenging read. Some readers (like this one) need someone either worth rooting for from the start or redeemable. These characters are just too awful. Rhys is a decent character, but he is underdeveloped (as is his unexplored prostitution love story) and forgettable.

In fairness, fans of the author (and revenge stories) will likely enjoy this, as it fits that mold well. It is a fast-paced read and takes some interesting turns, but it is like a strong espresso, and those who need a little cream and sugar in their coffee will not enjoy the bitter taste it leaves.

This book was equal parts tragic, shocking and dark. B P Walter is genuinely a pro at weaving in dark elements with so much subtlety that it didn't really sink in how dark this book was until I had finished it and was thinking about it afterwards.

The pacing was really good and I love how the book was structured by crime. I found it such an interesting way to lay out the plot and for me it just made me think that much harder about who is guilty in this book and who isn't. But that's also something that is explored so effortlessly in this book. No one is actually innocent or guilty. The characters are so dynamic that you're kind of rooting for no one which I feel like adds way more intrigue and suspense to the ending. I really liked Patrick at the beginning, I made a note that he was warm and kind. After finishing this book, I looked back at the note and thought how on earth did I describe him as anything other than cold and callous? That's the genius of this book.

There were so many interesting themes in this book which I feel like separates it from a fast paced classic thriller which focuses on action and the plot moving. There's themes of masculinity, justice and sexuality and family and I just ate it up, to be honest. I didn't see any of the twists coming and when the plot twist dropped, my eyebrows raised. The relationships between characters were also priceless, Rhys and Harris' dynamic was probably my favourite and it felt like they both were on opposite moral ends which was so interesting to read and so cleverly done by using the characters as the moral standpoints!

The ending was very satisfying and worth the wait. My only critiques were it would've been cool to get a family tree diagram in the beginning of the book as initially there were a lot of names and it took a while to remember who was who. I also don't know why it started at 3.5 years before instead of 3, that just felt a bit random to me.

The characters were pretty unpleasant which is very deliberate on the authors parts, i loved to hate them!
I was invested to find out who had done what and to who - the plot kept me going
great escapist reading

This feels like an airport novel to me — I was sufficiently entertained in the couple of hours that it took me to read it, but ultimately it’s not gonna stick with me. This isn’t really a murder mystery; more of a whydunnit than a whodunnit, and unfortunately the “whys” were just not that compelling. It’s certainly a dark book but in a pretty expected way — not many surprising twists here. This is all sounding like I hated the book but I didn’t! I appreciate some good mindless entertainment.

This was just a mess. I felt like it was dark just for the sake of being "dark" and not because it added anything to the book. It felt manufactured to be shocking and the writing was not good enough to pull it off.

Gossip, secrets, scandal and revenge! My favourite things in a book. I loved this. I was completely invested and sucked into the garden party. It wasnt so much suspenseful but more just my sheer nosiness made me want to find out who had done what to whom! The characters are all pretty vile humans and they're written perfectly! I had so much rage for more than one of them and I always think its a good sign when made up people in made up situations actually create an emotional response and boy, did they create some emotions lol. Really enjoyable escape from the rain!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
How can one family have so many secrets??? Well this family takes the cake on secrets. Secrets that Harris is going to share with everyone.
This was an interesting book. When I started it I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it or not but I got hooked. I had some ideas of what was going to happen at the end but I certainly didn’t expect the very end at all.
This one keeps you reading because you can’t wait to see what is revealed next with this family. So complex.
I do have to say I disliked every character in the book but I think the author intended it to be that way. We aren’t meant to like any of them.
I like this author and this book was a good on!

I have to say I really loved the book; it is up there with this author’s best, and I read it in one sitting as it moved along at a very quick pace.
Told from many POV’s the Garden Party focuses mainly on Harris, a young teenager whose life is turned upside down when his parents are killed in a car accident. He is taken in by the Montcrieff family, parents Patrick and Isabelle and their son Rafaele. On his arrival at their home, it is only Patrick that seems to care anything at all for him, welcoming him into their home, his wife Isabelle and son Rafaele do not seem at all happy that this situation has come to be.

The book centers around a garden party being held for Rafaelle Montcrieff and his fiancée Lucy (who would have to be the most irritating character), she has fallen pregnant and instead of a prominent wedding they are having this party before the pregnancy is evident as they do not want people to know anything about this. This alone should tell you something about this family.

Be warned you will not like any of these characters but in their defense, this is what carries story. Their outright disregard for other people’s feelings and cold lack of compassion is immense. But maybe that is because they are all carrying secrets, and big ones. The plot is strong, and you will be taken in by the occurring events. They say that revenge is a dish served cold, but things will definitely heat up as the story progresses and Harris continues through with his own plan to make others suffer for the way he feels he has been wronged.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own.

A good read with interesting characters although I didn't enjoy it as much as The Dinner Party

It was well written from the beginning until the end, for me personally it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat but I thoroughly enjoyed it

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins OMC for this ARC.

I was so excited to get an advanced reader’s copy from one of my favorite authors! If you haven’t already sampled his work, I’d recommend starting with the dinner guest or the locked attic, whilst you wait for this one to come out on the 4th July.

Have you ever been to a party where there’s that one friend who just has to gossip but somehow has the juiciest stories? And even though you feel like you should tell them to stop gossiping, you find yourself instead saying “and then what happened”?

That is what it felt like reading this book!

Even though Harris was a flawed dark character in his own right, I was on tenterhooks, waiting to find out just what the three Moncrieff family members had done to make him so set on revenge. In Harris’ words; “One man’s cruel is another man’s justice”.

Does he take his revenge too far? Does the end justify the means? Do two wrongs make a right? This is one of those books that would be great for a book club, because it raises so many questions once you’ve finished it!

I normally put my 4/5 star psychological thrillers into two groups – those with twisty ends that I didn’t see coming and leaves me mouth hanging open, and those that are quick fast paced comfort reads that you devour (but it actually devours you because you lose so much sleep staying up reading it!).

Both types I absolutely adore! This one did have a little twist at the end, but I’d put it firmly in the second category – I’ve always enjoyed taking BP Walter’s books on holidays – they’re great to read after a long day, when you need to wind down, and don’t want to read anything too heavy. It’s like being wrapped in your favorite blanket; the endings are satisfying, the characters are complex but not confusing, and when you finally close the book, you have that wholesome feeling of being able to say simply “I really enjoyed that.”.

4.5 rounded up


“You don’t choose your family. They are Gods gift to you, as you are to them”.

Raphael Moncrieff’s family host a celebratory garden party for his engagement to Lauren. It’s a garden party like no other. Harris accepts the invitation and attends with Rhys but he has plans, definite plans. Have you got your invitation? Accept with alacrity as trust me, you won’t want to miss this.

BP Walter has done it again! Reeled me in, hook, line and sinker to this party fest. This is a terrific domestic drama/psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the very last words. It feels doom laden from the start of the party where conflicted Raphael seems like a man condemned. Maybe he is but entitled much? The Montcrieff family are something else. Patrick, Raphael’s father, seems pleasant, emphasis on the seems. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Iron Lady? Meet steely Isabelle, Patrick’s wife and as hard as, the original Despicable Me, mixing my metaphors, I know but what a household.

What of the complex Harris? The whys of Harris and his actions emerges from the back-and-forth in time manner in which the story is told so that emerges organically and it’s very intriguing. My feelings about Harris vary from feeling sorry for him as an outsider, to admiring his obvious intelligence, to understanding his anger but he has a cruel streak. It’s in the genes you know.

The novel has multiple clever layers to it and parts are delicious in their dark awfulness. There’s everything in the vibes between characters from awkwardness to tension you could cut with a knife. Cliffhanger Chapter endings heighten this as we learn all the poisonous family secrets and trust me, their biggies. The novel builds and escalates to the garden party where initially feathers are ruffled, the readers anticipation is keen as revenge is enacted. How the mighty are fallen. The ending is a doozy and one I so don’t see you coming. Kudos.

Overall, a powerfully understated and terrific read. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Harper Collins, One More Chapter for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

TBH I auto-request and inhale any new B.P. Walter book, so, I’m not unbiased- but this one was juicy….and DARK. Definitely request an invitation to this party!

Another gripping read from this author. Love all the books they have written and this one doesn't disappoint! Would highly recommend.

This is another fantastic read from BP Walter. I was slightly disappointed with Notes on A Murder but Walter is back in form with this one. I couldn’t put it down. It was dark and twisty and once again I was left speechless! Just as you think you know where the book is headed there’s another turn and you are back to square one.

This is book is in 3 parts as more and more secrets emerge to explain the why the engagement party of Raphael Moncrieff ends in disaster.

The story centres around Harris who is taken in by the Moncrieff family after his parents are tragically killed in a car accident. The book is in 3 parts where more and more secrets emerge to explain the why the engagement party of Raphael Moncrieff ends in disaster.

As with all BP Walter books the themes are quite dark and centre around the ridiculously rich. I love an insight into the lives of the wealthy and how dark their lies are and to what extent they will go to, to keep secrets buried.

I did feel that this book ended rather abruptly and I would have liked a longer more detailed epilogue, but I think that’s a sign of a great book and no doubt these characters (as with previous characters) will crop up again in future books!

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for this digital ARC.

An enjoyable easy to read thriller centred around Harris and the Moncrieffs, his adoptive family. The family members all have secrets regarding Harris which are revealed throughout the book. Some of these reveals are pretty obvious but work well none the less.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I just couldn't put this one down, read it in a matter of a few evenings!
Good twists, great writing style, compelling upper class setting. Every character despicable in their own way. Very very entertaining.