Get ready to plunge into one of the most talked-about upcoming thrillers in the Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse gang! This author's storytelling gripped me from the very first page.

After reading my first book by A.R. Torre, she secured a spot as one of my favorite writers!

Meet Perla, a master at concealing her narcissistic tendencies. To most, Perla, Grant, and their daughter Sophie seem like the perfect family, but beneath the surface, Perla's unsettling thoughts lurk. If Grant and Sophie knew, they would run and never look back!

This story told through multiple points of view, journal entries, and intriguing commentary, will keep you on the edge of your seat. Short chapters make it a real page-turner that you won't be able to put down. "The Last Party" is filled with manipulation and calculating intrigue. Perla is a character you won't forget anytime soon. She is complex and fascinating, and she has a charisma that is hard to resist if you overlook her deviant personality.

I loved every manipulative and deviously mesmerizing page of "The Last Party."

Sincere thanks to A.R. Torre, Thomas Mercer and Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse for providing this ARC through Netgalley. All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.


#TheLastParty #ARTorre #ThomasMercer #AmazonPub #NetGalley

Seriously sayin'.........

There are just some people who reside on the dark side of the street. Even if they beckon you to come in, make tracks in the opposite direction. Intention is everything. Crafty, creative, and with cold-blooded intentions darker than pitch and more dangerous than venom on a stick.

Know this going in: The Last Party will absolutely not be for everyone. The subject matter is heavy and just the thought of it makes one tremble. A.R.Torre sees to it. But the delivery and all the jagged dangling threads weaving through this one will showcase the talent of A.R. Torre that jabs and makes you squirm.

Perla Wurtz can sit across from you on any day of the week and appear normal and pulled together. Her wardrobe is impeccable and she lives in a 9,000 square foot designer home with her adoring husband, Grant, and their elven year old daughter, Sophie. They seem to have it all. But behind those baby blues is a calculating and vindictive mind. Perla believes that the world owes her. In fact, she can manipulate any and every situation in life to benefit herself. And, oh, Perla has a plan for just that.

And it all circles around Sophie's twelfth birthday party. Perla has something special in mind. She's lined up the players in this little devious skit. She's arranged everything to the nth degree. And as we turn pages, we shudder to think how all of this will pan out. Torre turns us into speed readers in order to get to the final pages. One eye shut and the other eye open.

The Last Party is filled with the most bizarre characters. The storyline is like a bangin' gong on the Creep-O-Meter. I convinced myself to slide this one across the table with 3 Stars. But I couldn't just dismiss the ins and the outs of the mind blowing roll out of the plot with every detail checked and colored in. A.R. Torre must know some of those people personally who reside on the dark side of the street. She's slipped them in here and we're living in apprehension ever since.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to the talented A.R. Torre for the opportunity.

This. Book. Made. Me. Scream.
And it happened more than once.
And yes, this was a good thing. In fact, it was the best thing. It was the best kind of screaming that has ever been there.
I can totally see this book getting either rave 5-star reviews or hate-filled 1-star reviews. I can’t see it getting a single 3-star review. Ever. It’s either your cup of tea, or more like your huge truckload of tea leaves, or it’s too wild, too intense, too gory, too crazy for you.
For me? It was my truckload of oolong tea leaves, not just a measly cup of tea. I’m not sure how I keep going back to simple cups of tea now that I have seen what a truckload of the most fragrant and the best quality high mountain oolong feels like.

I will not be retelling the book blurb. Do your own homework and read it yourself. Let me just tell you that if you live for unhinged book crazies, if you are like me who is bored by tame and normal, this book is for you. The detailed thought process of an FMC who also happens to be an absolutely unhinged psychopath, this book will take you places.
Although I was not really expecting any plot twists – because the story is not one of the twists, really, it’s more like watching the inevitable happen in a very straightforward manner – there still were a few. They were hinted at now then, throughout the book, but when those were revealed… they did feel great. Despite it not being surprising in any way, despite the ending being fairly clear from the very first chapters of the book already, it was still one of THE most awesome unhinged books I have EVER read.
I had heard about the author several times before. I think it was @amandamckinneyauthor who mentioned the author to me for the first time. And now I know that I have another name to add to my growing list of authors I love and want to read more of.
We, the team over at @thrillerbookloversthepulse have been talking about this book non-stop. I know many have read it already and have posted their reviews. And, trust me when I say this is a fairly unique situation: EVERYONE on the team loves the book.

p.s. also, the book probably needs a trigger warning galore – I’m not a trigger warning person, but I know others are, so, please do check for those if you know that you need trigger warnings; hopefully, those will be added to the final version.

It is an easy five star thriller for me! The chapters are short, the suspense is high, and the main character is NUTS!

I love thrillers with multiple points of view because you get more inner dialogue with each character. What’s their underlying motive? Who is telling the truth and who is lying? Not only does this book have that but we also get two different story-lines. Not completely but there is an incident that occurred years ago that determines the present chain of events. It is completely unhinged and there are multiple twists that dropped my jaw.

Add this one to your list if you’re looking for:

- A possible sociopath
- Rich people behaving badly
- Confession time
- Family trauma
- A birthday party gone wrong
- Secret obsessions

ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ
5 ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ ᴛᴜᴇꜱᴅᴀʏꜱ ꜰᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ + ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ

A special ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ♥️ to @alessandratorre4 & @thrillerbookloversthepulse or the early #Gifted e-copy of this amazing book!

Written by: A.R. Torre
Publication date: August 20, 2024
Format: Ebook (349 pgs.)

ˀqotd: Would you visit a family member if they were incarcerated for murder?

Two 2️⃣ word review: Freaking Great!

Emoji review: 🔪 🗓️ 🐰👨‍🍼🥳🩸🤫😳🤯

The Last Party is easily my favourite read of 2024 thus far!

A.R. Torre is a new-to-me author and is now an insta-purchase for me. I’ve added some of her backlist to my tbr and I can’t wait to read more from her.

When I say I devoured this book, I mean I couldn’t stop reading, and finished it in one night.

The writing was chef’s kiss 💋! This is one of those books that pulls you in right from the first sentence.

It is told in multiple PoVs, and done really well:
- Perla (FMC)
- Grant (Perla’s husband)
- Sophie (Perla & Grant’s 11 yr old daughter).
- Leeland (man incarcerated for murder)

In addition, there are snippets of character interviews from the community throughout.

Perla was unlikeable. I found myself regularly shaking my head at this character. 🙂‍↔️ She has a loveable husband and daughter, but she treats them more like possessions than people.

It would be hard for me to give a worthwhile review without spoilers, or just regurgitating what I’ve read. What I can say, however, is this was a twisty tale set in an affluent neighbourhood. It is full of secrets, murder, and even digs up a “decades old crime”.

This book has multiple layers to it, and they all come together perfectly in the end.

The story is plot heavy, with only some character development, but if it had been done any other way, I think it would have detracted from the story.

I can’t really say a whole lot without giving away any spoilers.

Read this if you enjoy:

-Suspense/Thrillers
-Multiple PoVs done well & seamless
-Great writing ✍🏼 that keeps you guessing
-Character Arc (You go Grant!)
-Complex family dynamics
-Books with sociopaths
-Just take it from me and add this to your tbr!

This story was a slow burn thriller. It was told from multiple POVs (which sometimes got confusing). Years ago, three young girls were attacked at a sleepover. Two of those girls died. In the present day, Perla is obsessed with this case.

Perla was wild! She was unhinged in ways you couldn't even imagine. She has a very docile husband named Grant and a precocious daughter named Sophie. There are signs throughout the story that things are off, but it takes a while for the author to unveil them.

The first 80% of the book moved slowly, but the final 20% was so good! The plot twists and drama were just what I needed. This wasn't my favorite book by the author, but she's still on my auto-buy list!

Wow! What the heck did I just read?! This book took me a while to write a review because of the emotional roller coaster ride it brings you on. When I say twists, man they just keep coming. I do not think I have hated a character more than Perla in quite a while but yet I could not stop reading this book. I love AR Torre and have read a few of her books, they always keep me on the edge of my seat.

Perla lives in a fancy home with her husband and almost 12 year old daughter. She appears to be a loving wife and mother but looks are not what it seems. We get to see the inner workings of Perla’s mind come out in tiny tidbits but boy is she evil and manipulative. Perla is obsessed with the “Folcrum Murders” that happened 20 years ago. Meanwhile Dr. Valden is visiting Lee Folcrum in prison to get help with his dissertation. Lee trades stories for an Arby’s sandwich.

This book is told from multiple POV’s including, Perla’s, her daughters journal, the media, Lee Folcrum and more. I was able to guess the biggest twist, but there were so many others ones. It is honestly a crazy book and I recommend it, but know going in, it’s dark! Some parts were difficult to read. This is my favorite kind of book, fast paced with short chapters!

🎉🔪𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘
𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
🗓️𝖠𝗎𝗀𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝟤𝟢, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟦(𝖲𝖠𝖵𝖤 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖣𝖠𝖳𝖤 🚨)
𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟜.𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤!★★★★✬(𝓇ℴ𝓊𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃ℊ 𝓊𝓅)

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...”A loving mother. A notorious murderer. Both have secrets to hide”….Go in blind, please!!

😋𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...I absolutely LOVE A.R. Torre! This is only my third book by her, but they have all been such favs! 💯 This one is dark. It is disturbing. It is twisty. It is MF insane…in the best of ways, of course. Some of the twists will be a smidge obvious, but others are not at all. The ending is highly satisfying 🙌& if you haven’t read this author yet..this would be a great one to start with! I highly recommend 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑳𝒊𝒆 & 𝑨 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒇𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓! Those were 5 star reads for me!👌This cover is so fierce too, am I right! 🔥 @alessandratorre4 you are the bomb💣✌️

Torre knows how to keep me guessing in her psychological suspense novels, especially in The Last Party. The high-grade angst never lets up, and attempting to work out ‘whodunit’ was challenging. I should have known better because this is the queen of masterful trickery. She successfully took me on a helter-skelter ride with its wildest twists and turns in one of the most mind-blowingly ingenious plots.

Get this! If there were one MC I utterly loved to hate, it had to be Perla Wultz. She wants for nothing and has taken precious time to become highly respected in her tight social circle. But, by now, I’d cottoned on to her manipulative ways which she’s good at. Motherly love and affection towards her husband she does flawlessly. But who’s she fooling and is the homelife she’d built so perfect? Her family certainly seemed to want to please her. Yet I still gave her pause despite her dark thoughts, and having an unhealthy obsession with whom you may ask makes for a gripping read.

I liked how Torre included beginning-of-shortish-chapter epigraphs, and how she’d woven the story together from multiple points of view. One, of course, is Perla’s, the other being an interested party who questions a convict assumed of committing a despicable crime years back. While being interviewed, the subtle cues of sarcasm and hints that are dropped are nothing less than word-clever. And then Sophie, Perla’s daughter, writes down unnerving thoughts in a diary I would never have expected from a pre-teen. However, the character I really took to was her father. Although he has an ace up his sleeve, neither he nor I could have known about the shocker to come.

Torre certainly leaves everything up to your imagination in her latest offering. Lovers of darkish, fast-paced thrillers, pick up this book. You won’t regret it! Bravo, Torre!

ARC gratefully received from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an honest review.

When I get nervous, I anxiously get up and walk over to the refrigerator and look inside. I know what’s there. I just need a bite of something to keep going. It’s after hours and I’m in the middle of a book by A.R. Torre and I can’t stop reading. I have a bite of ice cream, and then a few chips and then a half-eaten cookie. My mind is moving fast from the sugar and so are the pages. I stay up late reading just one more short chapter.

Perla, the wife, seems just too good to be true. She has inherited lots of money so she has access to the best clothes, wonderful spa treatments and donations for charities. She reads people well and she is smart with each calculated step she takes. She is married to the handsome Grant with 11-year-old daughter, Sophie, who is well behaved. I don’t know any girl of that age that has a perfect personality like Sophie. We get it: something has to happen and it does. You may guess what it is but I bet you’ll keep reading to satisfy your desire to see how it all ends up.

I can’t get enough of Torre’s books. Each one is written well with lots of twists. Her stories are entertaining for those that love a good thriller especially when it’s time to head to the beach. This book can be read in a day or two. She keeps it moving with characters that are a little bit off – enough for us to realize this is just fiction.

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of August 20, 2024.

OMG!! PSA! 🚨 GET THIS BOOK!!! Okay guys…. @alessandratorre4 is already an auto buy author for me. I swear… this is her BEST yet!! 😍 Hands down 5 mind blowing stars.

Perla is cold.. calculating… and crazy! My favorite kind of character!! Don’t believe me? Well just you wait 😳…

You see Perla has the perfect husband… Grant is a model citizen and an amazing husband. Sophie is a sweet but sassy almost 12 year old. Our girl Perla… well she puts on a good act. 😀…but lucky us… we are privy to her thoughts…😬😳🤯…Let me tell you… that is pretty scary.😂

Flash back in time… to the Folcrum party. The what?? You know… the party where there was a bloody massacre…😳…at a 12 year old’s birthday 🥳 party. Thank god the murderer is in jail. 👏 Except… somebody wants a repeat… of the Folcrum party. 😳 OH Noooo…

This was edgy… dark.. twisted and PERFECTION!! 😳🤯🤯Guys… I have five books on my top 10 for the year… and this is one!!! Absolutely loved it!!! I promise this is DEFINITELY a MUST read!

A. R Torre is one of my favorite thriller authors, and if you’ve read any of her work, hopefully it’s not hard to see why.

I’m still not okay after finishing this one. It was WILDLY disturbing, but I absolutely could not put it down! Perla Wultz is one of the most despicable, vile, and manipulative characters that I have ever encountered. It’s hard to say too much about this one without feeling like you’re going to give something away so I’ll leave you with this…

If you enjoy fast paced, unhinged thrillers with short chapters, multiple POV, and twisty plots, The Last Party is for you.

This book was bananas, in all the best ways. Perla is possibly the most despicable character I've ever read about. While I could mostly see the writing on the wall throughout the book, it was still evilly delightful to follow Perla's antics and plans for creating The Last Party.
Not sure how to describe this one without giving it away, trigger warning for violence against children.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

Perla Wultz Lives in an affluent gated community with her husband and daughter. From the outside they seem like the perfect family but Perla has a secret obsession with a killer. Leewood Folcrum is serving a life sentence for confessing to murder of two young girls during a birthday party twenty-three years ago. Despite the age of the crime, nobody seems to want to forget. When a doctoral student comes to interview Leewood about his crime he discovers that everything is not what it appears to be. The past and present begin to tangle in a twisted web of lies and deceit putting a deadly plan into motion.

The Last Party is a twisty whodunnit that will leave your head spinning. I don’t think I have read a book by this author yet that I didn’t enjoy. This dark tale of murder and deceit was no exception. A cast of truly despicable characters will have you pointing fingers at everyone as a potential suspect. This is an unputdownable must read for 2024.

The story unfolds through the alternating perspectives of Perla, the journal entries of 11 year old Sophie, and the interviews between Dr. Valden and Leewood Folcrum, with emails and commentary from neighbors peppered in. The pace is fast and short chapters allow you to say “just one more” as you race to find out if Perla will succeed. As much as I enjoy Alessandra Torre’s dark romance novels, I love her twisty thrillers even more, ones that challenge my gray cells to solve big puzzles and guess upcoming twists before the ground moves beneath my feet and I get fooled again! I devoured this book too quickly. I guessed the big revelation a little earlier, but it never stopped me from enjoying the full throttle! Witness comments at the beginning of each chapter and unreliable narrators push you in different directions, playing smart games with you until the end.

The book captured my attn at the beginning. So many times I was telling myself this can't seriously be happening and next thing you know another tidbit of information to throw your brain into another direction. Then poof .. did I just read that! NO WAY!

Author did a fantastic job building the characters in the book. Also did a good job keeping the pace going so it did not feel slow.

Well done and looking forward to more from them.

Thank you NetGalley and author for the early copy of the book.

There are so many 5 star reviews on this book and I can see why.

Perla Wultz has a loving husband, an amazing daughter and a mysterious obsession with Leewood Folcrum, the man serving time for the brutal murder of his daughter and her friends 23 years ago at her 12th birthday party. Through many twists and turns, you learn more about Perla and this obsession, as well as the plans she has for the future with her family.

Ultimately, this book wasn't for me. I did not find it as gripping and unputdownable as other books. At times, I was almost bored while reading it I found the twists were quite predictable and not surprising. I only wanted to finish the book to see if my predictions were right (spoiler: they were) and not because I was drawn into the story.

All that being said, while this book wasn't for me, that doesn't take away from the well written story and the fact that so many other people loved it! This is definitely an unpopular opinion, so take it with a grain of salt and read some of the other amazing reviews!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and the author for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Title- The last party by @alessandratorre4
Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my first time reading a book by @alessandratorre4 and I must say, she did not disappoint. The main character in the story is incredibly evil and dark, with twisted motivations that are fascinating to uncover. I particularly enjoyed the different perspectives presented throughout the book, as they flowed seamlessly and added depth to the narrative. The twists and turns are expertly woven throughout the story, not just saved for a dramatic finale. I found myself eager to continue reading, eager to discover what would happen next. I can’t wait to explore more of this author’s work.

I already know this one is going to be a hot one as EVERYBODY can’t stop talking about it over here at @thrillerbookloversthepulse 🔥

Synopsis-

Perla Wultz lives with her husband, Grant, and their precious daughter, Sophie, in a gated Pasadena community. Affluent, sociable, and accomplished, Perla plays the part of loving wife and mother to perfection. It seems an ideal life, if not for a decades-old crime that has become Perla’s dark and consuming secret obsession.

Twenty-three years ago, Leewood Folcrum confessed to murdering two young girls during a birthday party. Though he’s been condemned to a life sentence, his crime is not forgotten. Not by Perla, nor by an inquisitive doctoral student interviewing Folcrum for his dissertation. He’s getting the killer to open up—about his motives, his confession, and the truth of what really happened on that horrible night.

As the past and the present entwine, the deceptions behind the infamous murder begin to surface. But who’s deceiving who now? And why? And as an ingeniously twisted plan is set in motion, who will be the next to die?

Run and add this one to your tbr asap as it doesn’t come out on kindle unlimited and for purchase until August 20 2024✨

What a unique story! I read a lot of thrillers and it is hard to find something unique. I really hated the main character from the start, and was hoping she wasn't THAT evil - I couldn't put this one down because I was hoping that either (1) she wasn't that bad and there would be some "twist" or that (2) she would have something deservingly-awful happen to her. I felt like I could see the "twist" with Grant coming - or at least could figure out that he was probably Lee's visitor. I didn't predict that Grant was the sibling of one of the murdered girls. Overall this was a great, twisty thriller. I've read many books by this author, and this is my favorite by far! The only feedback I have is that by the last third, I felt like the book was getting a little long/dragged out. I just wanted Sophie's party to start already, and I felt like it took forever to get to that point. Perhaps some chapters/editing that could cut it back just a bit.

Perla Wultz is married to Grant and has an 11 year old daughter, Sophie. They live in a gated community.
Not too far away is a prison where Leewood Folcrum resides. He was convicted of murdering two young girls at his daughter Jenny’s 12th birthday party. He was found holding his bloody daughter in his arms
Tim Valden is a doctoral student who visits Leewood to question him for a dissertation he’s doing.
The story was a dark psychological thriller told from multiple points of view. It takes the reader into the mind of a psychopath. The reader will see a narcissistic with delusions of grandeur, being number one and center of attention. Parts of the book were boring, predictable and not many shockers