Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of The Last Party by A.R. Torre in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Party is about Perla, her husband Grant and their daughter Sophie. They live in a big beautiful house in gated community. They wear designer clothes, drive expensive cars, life is good for them. So why is Perla obsessed with a crime that happened 23 years ago?

23 years ago there was a horrible crime where two young girls were attacked and killed at a birthday party. Leewood Folcrum confessed to the crime and is currently serving a life sentence.

I read this book in one day! I did guess almost all of the twists as there were hints along the way but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book! It is hard to explain any more of the plot without giving away spoilers. It was a page turner with short quick chapters as secret upon secret is revealed. I read The Good Lie by A.R. Torre last year and I loved it as well. I have had almost all of A.R. Torres books on my TBR for a while now so I was excited to get approved to read this one through Netgalley.

4 stars!

Title: The Last Party by A.R. Torre
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: August 8, 2024

⭐ 4.5/5

Leewood Folcrum maintains his innocence two decades after the murder of two young girls at his house during his daughter's 12th birthday party.
Perla, a bored and spoiled housewife, is obsessed with Leewood and is planning to recreate The Folcrum Party in order to shed doubt on Leewood's guilt.

I enjoyed this one! We get to read in multiple POV and each chapter begins with statements gathered for evidence of the crime. I was absolutely not anticipating the twist, I love how all the pieces fell into place. The Last Party is a must read psychological thriller!

Thank you so much @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the review copy!

Thank you for an ARC of The Last Party.

I loved the author's The Girl in 6E trilogy and she's been on my radar ever since.

I've been reading her books since and enjoy her writing style and tone.

The Last Party is my least favorite of Ms. Torre's books but contains the author's trademarks; good writing, a diabolical female antagonist, and dark family secrets.

I get the feeling Perla Wultz is meant to be a reincarnation of Deanna Madden; sadly, she's not.

She's a stone cold psychopath and it was disturbing to read her innermost thoughts and her dastardly plan to remake her image and be famous.

I didn't like Perla (I did like Deanna), or anyone else, not even her husband or daughter, though they were typical supporting characters.

At least her husband wasn't a scumbag like Perla's dad.

I usually have emotional attachment to one or two characters in Ms. Torre's books but this time, the narrative left me feeling oddly cold, not fully invested in the story and how Perla would get her comeuppance.

The narrative felt like something I've read before, but I look forward to the author's next book.

“The Last Party” by A.R. Torre is a psychological thriller set in a suburban neighborhood. It has multiple POV and is a quick read. The plot and twists are obvious from the beginning, so there’s no surprise at all. I was a bit disappointed by it.

A Twsisted Web…
Ah, what a twisted web we weave. Living a glamorous and affluent lifestyle in a Pasadena gated community is Perla Wultz - what secrets does Perla keep? What connection does an infamous killer have with her, with her family - or is there any? As past and present collide, threads combine and unravel, walls and worlds may well come tumbling down. A deftly penned suspense with a carefully crafted vein of underlying menace that never lets up, a keenly observed cast of characters and an intriguing, pacy plotline populated with often unexpected twists.

I struggle to find any fault in this book!!

This story is about a wealthy couple and their daughter, living in an affluent community with all the luxuries it affords. The main narrator, Perla, is an easy to hate character that harbors secrets from her past. Each chapter intro gives insight from the perspectives of those around the family, related to the ending, as if they’re being interviewed. The story has parallel storylines that unravel as you become more immersed in the story, both past and present tense.

A.R. Torre never disappoints!! This novel sucked me in from page one and had me guessing straight through to the end. With each discovery, I wondered how I missed the clues that revealed the truth- but it was so well written that it was easy to get lost in the storyline.

A.R Torre did it again! if you love an unreliable narrator, multiple POV, short chapters, & plot TWISTS: then this book will definitely be for you! Messy characters, drama, and an easy to read writing style. I devour every book I read by this author!

I loved the cross between the perfect life of the gated community and the darkness that was lurking, this definitely added to the suspense and tension of secrets and lies hiding in the community.

Another excellent read from A.R. Torre. With short chapters and a sharp tone, you won’t be able to put this book down. From the first chapter, I was hooked and I loved the way this story was pieced together. I found myself throughout the book pausing to put the pieces together myself. Wonderfully done and I highly recommend it. This is one of those books that I find myself wanting to pick up again and read from the beginning now that I know the ending.

Towards the end, again I paused reading to put together the entire story and I was anticipating the high stakes, high tension ending.

Furthermore, as I sit and considered the plot and how everything turned out, I am amazed at how Torre wrote such an intricate story that was still easy to follow as a reader thrown into this world.

I recommend it for new and returning fans of the thriller genre. It is certainly formatted unlike any other thriller book I have read.

Available on Kindle and in Paperback, August 20, 2024.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the e-ARC

OMG. Ridiculously great. Favorite Torre book yet! So much fun. It was stupid luck that I did guess the culprit & true identity of the most nefarious person but it was such an outside grasp! This book was wonderful, so entertaining. I don’t understand folks that read & review thrillers/ domestic suspense books & complain that they “couldn’t connect” or “didn’t like” the protagonist or any character in a book. I wouldn’t want to! I look for escapism entertainment at its best & “The Last Party” is exemplary & 5 complete stars!!

Book Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

I read an ARC of this book given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

As I was reading this, I couldn’t help but draw conclusions to the show <I>Desperate Housewives</I>. Probably because it’s my current watch but also because there are a lot similarities in a way.

American suburbia, picturesque and completely devoid of any malice. Brighton’s Estates was Wisteria Lane if every house in Wisteria Lane was filled with psychopathic Bree Van De Kamps.

Because that’s really the best way I can describe Perla Wultz.

Bree Van De Kamp if she was a heartless, psychopathic, crazy person with homicidal tendencies.

I realize now that sounds more akin to Stepford Wives more than anything.

This book was trippy as hell. From the very first chapter, you already get a feel of who Perla Wultz is a person. A narcissistic, megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur and a desire to be number 1. After all, what kind of person lies about being a doctor and in the midst of saving a person’s life, thinks about her chipped nail polish rather than the person’s whose life is in her hands. I mean, that is a special brand of fucked up.

I’ve only ever read one other A.R. Torre book and that book was filled with such deeply unhappy people, it made me unhappy too. (But in a good way).I have to say, I vastly prefer this one. This book was engaging in its plot and gripping in her writing. It was honestly difficult to put down and if it hadn’t been for the many errands I had to run, I am sure I would have finished this within a single day. Though, if you’re a regular thriller/mystery book reader, you would probably see the twists of this book from a mile away. You still can’t help but finish it until the end. It’s that good.

Does this book have its faults? Absolutely. But I would still recommend it. This book is the perfect beach read. Quick, fast-paced and the kind of thriller that would hold your hand and help you in understanding the twists and turns without making you feel dumb for not guessing the twists in the first place.

Wow, I have to say this is one of the most captivating books I have read in quite a while, you are in for one heck of a ride.

Twenty-three years ago, Leewood Fulcrum was convicted of the murders of two young girls at a birthday party and is sentenced to life, a most despicable crime that shocked all who heard about it.
Fast forward to the present and Perla Wultz and her husband Grant along with their daughter Sophie live in a mansion bought with proceeds that Perla has inherited, they lead a charmed life. Perla seems to have it all, the handsome husband, a life of luxury and a beautiful daughter, but all is not what it seems. Soon events happen that will take your breath away.

I really think that this book is best if you go in blind, the less you know the better so I am not going to go any further into the plot, only to say that once you start the book, I doubt you will be putting it down. Lies, deception and outrightly intelligent story telling will have you on the edge of your seat. A.R. Torre has presented us with a wonderful cast of characters, intricately crafted and developed that lead us on a journey that is so well thought out I really was blindsided as to how much I became involved in the lives of these people.

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

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC copy of The Last Party.

Whewww, this was a doozy (in a great way). For a thriller, it actually had very few big, shocking, unbelievable twists but I think it really worked for this book. The story was so disturbing and well written that I felt physically uncomfortable while reading it but I couldn't stop!

I've read all but one of AR Torre's books and thought this was the best, and the darkest, by far. 5 stars!

"The Last Party" by A. R. Torre is an electrifying thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Perla Wultz's seemingly perfect life is shattered by a decades-old crime that she can't escape, and as the past collides with the present, the truth unravels in shocking ways.

Torre masterfully weaves together multiple narratives, keeping readers guessing until the very end. The characters are complex and compelling, and I found myself fully invested in their fates. The plot twists were unexpected and expertly executed, leaving me eager to devour each page.

I was fortunate to receive an Advance Reader's Copy from NetGalley, and I couldn't be more grateful. "The Last Party" is a five-star read that deserves all the praise it receives. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a gripping psychological thriller that will leave you breathless until the final page.

Okay so I went into this blind because I saw the cover and blacked out. This story was even better. I couldn't put it down while the plot kept getting crazier. It's very dark and you really have no idea where it's going to go.
I was totally engrossed in each character even without knowing how they interconnect. Certain characters at times made me want to scream, because they literally had everything. But sometimes even everything isn't enough.
I did not see that plot twist coming but it made so much sense. I should have pieced it together! I blame those little excerpts before every chapter, they definitely threw me off theories I had.
I'm already telling everyone about it.
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC!

What a wicked and twisted ride! In my opinion this is A.R. Torre’s best work since The Ghostwriter. I love the slow build thrillers where you devour the story, trying to put all the puzzle pieces together to see how they fit before the macabre grand finale. The chapters were told from different characters’ perspectives, with blurbs at the start of each chapter quoting people discussing their opinions or little story tidbits on various characters. It really did feel like a big puzzle, dropping all of these little hints about characters and events and it came together in a very satisfying way.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read an early copy!

The Last Party by A.R. Torre was hard to follow for the first 25% of the book, and then it suddenly all made sense on who was who. I’m not sure if the author intended for readers to figure out that early how all the characters related to one another. I didn’t feel the suspense until the very end, when everything happened rapidly the night of the party. I do feel like there was too much sympathy for the man in prison - he may have been wrongly convicted of murders but he still was a predator and not a good guy. Overall, I would recommend this book to others.

Another winner from A.R. Torre! Read it in a day; short chapters had me craving “just one more!” It had a fast start, then a slow build, and the rest was a roller coaster ride of twists and turns. I enjoyed the unique way the story unfolded, and I like how several of this author’s books contain time in a therapist’s office. A.R. Torre has become one of my fave psych thriller authors, can’t wait for the next one already!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Grant and Perla were both struck by childhood tragedy. On December 6th over twenty years ago three twelve year old girls were murdered. Grant’s sister was one of the victims. Jenny whose father Leewood Folcrum was found holding Jenny’s bloody body was convicted multiple life sentences.
…
Grant and Perla are a happily married couple, with an eleven year old daughter. Sophie is soon to turn twelve. Perla plans to recreate the party where three twelve year old girls were murdered. Why you ask? Perla believes Leewood is innocent and to prove his innocence she plans to draw out the real killer or pin it on someone else to free him.
…
As Sophie gets older Perla grows jealous of the way Grant fawns over her. Perla doesn’t do well with female competition. She views her daughter as competition for Grant’s attention. With the twenty-three year anniversary approaching a true crime podcast show Murder Unplugged is revisiting the details giving Perla ideas.
…
Leewood Folcrum received fan mail letters from the family of the girls that were killed as well as women wanting to marry him. Leewood doesn’t get visitors, but after twenty years Dr. Timothy Valden is conducting research about Leewood. Timothy visits him every week bringing fast food lunches hoping to bribe him with a confession.
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A.R. Torre writes an impressive story that has readers conjuring up all kinds of thoughts regarding Perla’s plan. A.R. Torre has tantalized readers with an array of material regarding Leewood. The writing keeps me intrigued with a nice steady pace. A.R. Torre is a superb storyteller. I’m able to watch these scenes play out inside my head all with the riveting words of a well seasoned writer.
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I enjoyed the execution of this story using the interview sessions with Leewood in prison, the doctor therapy sessions with Perla, the true crime podcast, and the letters to Leewood. All of these combined made for a sensational read. I enjoyed every moment from start to finish.
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This was a fascinating journey inside the mind of Perla. Perla was an interesting character. Eventhough I figured out who she was early on it didn’t take away from the excitement of the book. Grant was another spectacular character that I found exhilarating to read. I caught on quickly to what he was up to as well but again it had no bearing on how the outcome of the story concluded. Nobody could’ve predicted that ending.

The Last Party was absolutely insane. It was both twisty and maddening. I could not put it down. I had to know where it was going and how it all ended. There were so many messy and unlikeable characters, I never knew who I could trust. This book made me sit there with my jaw dropped staring into space more than once. I loved it so much!