Locked room mysteries are one of my favorite thriller tropes, and I can never get enough! This one, featuring ten people locked in a remote castle in the English countryside for a secret party before graduation, has strong echoes of And Then There Were None. The castle’s owners plan to turn the place into apartment complexes, sparking protests from the townies who leave threatening messages on forums, with some locals even saying they’d like to see the place burn down (at least, that’s what Bessie overheard).

As tensions with the locals grow, Bessie is invited to the party hosted by twins Allegra and Fergus, whose wealthy family owns the castle. Bessie and Kash are excited to spend the weekend at this eccentric location, keeping it a secret from their families but also having second thoughts about the castle's infrastructure issues. Once the rain starts and a storm knocks trees down, Bessie realizes the heating problems and lack of a proper bath are the least of their worries. Though the entire school was invited, only ten people show up, and Jai, who was exploring outside, gets injured when a tree falls on him. Despite the worsening weather, the group tries to keep spirits high by drinking and dancing. But in the morning, when one of them is found dead and their phones are missing, they realize there's someone inside the castle with harmful intentions. But who? Could it be one of them? Hugo and his friends, not part of the original inner circle, arrived at the last second before the storm. Could they be involved?

Bessie then discovers secret news articles in one of the rooms about the accident that changed her life. Could the dangerous person be linked to that same incident? Who really wants to hurt them?

I enjoyed the locked room mystery, the building tension, and the fast-paced plot, but the final third of the book was completely disappointing. The motive behind the murders was nonsensical, and the explanations were truly bizarre. Even the last-minute twist wasn’t as entertaining or shocking as I had hoped; everything felt far-fetched, even silly.

I’m still rounding up from 2.5 stars to 3 for the promising start, the haunted castle with secret passages, and the locked room mystery setup, but the ending and the one-dimensional characters really let me down. I’ve enjoyed the author’s previous works and wish this book had provided a more satisfying conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for sharing this locked room mystery’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Propulsive doesn't begin to describe this book! It's all plot (my favorite). There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but it wasn't too hard and, to be a little insensitive...they start dying off before too long, so the number of people you need to know decreases. I wouldn't say Preston transcended the thriller genre, but it was a solid installment.

DNF @ 52%

My mortal enemy! *gives evil eye* When it comes to books about someone having a party in a crumbling mansion, an old Victorian home, or somewhere where there was a murder, we don’t get along. We’re not pj&j nor are we besties holding hands while skipping under a rainbow. We are sneering at one another from across the room. Throwing daggers at each other with our eyes.

Then why? you ask. Because this author usually surprises me in the best of ways. And second of all… mind your business. I was hoping for Preston to change my mind, to make me love spooky party books but it just didn’t happen.

It started off slow and didn’t pick up at all. I’ve read quite a bit before I decided that I’ve had enough. I was waiting for that turning point where I couldn’t put this down but it seems as if all I wanted to do was the opposite. Once you get to that point, you know that it’s over.

The Party was not my favorite book by Preston. It was too slow for my tastes and the characters were dull with zero redeeming qualities. We’ll just act as if this doesn’t exist and I’ll read her next book.

3.5 stars

Another classic Natasha Preston book. Good characters gripping plot. Easy, fast paced and fun to read.

When Bessie's privileged friend Allegra plans the party of the year at her family's CASTLE, you know things are about to get wild. Bessie's friend group has been a little strained since an accident last year, so she is looking forward to this party. No one even bats an eye when they have to cross a MOAT to get to the castle, or even when the townspeople are not happy about the development of the castle. Unfortunately, most of the guests never make it to the party due to wild storm that strands them in the castle. By the next morning, someone is dead, and there are a lot of questions about if it was an accident or not...

I agree with other reviews that the characters are super stuck up and unlikeable. Allegra and Ferg fighting over who gets the literal castle is both hilarious and sad.

That being said, I did really enjoy this story. While the characters were unlikeable, I did find it easy to get sucked into their world and their drama. I did kind of guess one aspect to the ending, and I didn't love another aspect. But the vibe of a creepy castle in a storm gave me literal goosebumps more than once.

Easily becoming a Preston auto read fan!

Natasha Preston consistently writes novels that keep you guessing and engaged. This book was an easy read. Typically I do not guess what is going to happen at the end, but this book I had pegged from the beginning. I will recommend students purchase this book. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

This book follows Bessie and her friends as they head to an abandoned castle for a weekend long party… but the fun stops when the group is trapped in the castle by a vicious storm and begin to die one by one.

I’ve been a fan of Natasha Preston’s books in the past- They aren’t necessarily going to be rife with character, development and depth, but they’re usually a really good time! Unfortunately, this one fell pretty flat for me. The book falls into some repetitive cycles, the red herrings feel a bit forced, and I was able to pretty easily predict the twists. There are some fun moments, and I absolutely recommend that readers check out some of Preston’s writing if they enjoy a fast paced YA thriller- Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.

I loved the premise of this, and the setting was great. Although I was completely intrigued and felt like I needed to keep reading, I didn’t really connect with any characters like I wanted to. Overall, it was a good, fast paced thriller!

A quick fast paced thriller. The story starts out with a group of teenagers gathering at an abandoned castle for a party. Soon someone starts killing the guests. The rest of the teenagers then have to find out who the killer is. I didn’t necessarily love any of the characters but was engrossed throughout the entire book. Overall would definitely recommend if you want a quick read!

I really wish NetGalley would let you give a 3.5 because that’s really what I want to give. This book is a variation on the Agatha Christie classic And Then There Were None. A group of friends go to an abandoned castle to have a big secret party but then people start dying and the murderer maybe among them. I loved the premise but the red herring (the grassroots group) was not convincing enough and in general the whole book was just too long. My students always love this author because she writes great shorter length books, I hope we can go back to that in the next one

I was not a huge fan of this book.
1)It took awhile to get into it. It was both boring and confusing at the beginning. Confusing because none of the teens had their own personalities or characteristics to distinguish them from one another.
2) It started to get good...and then they all started acting like complete and utter morons who were actively trying to be unalive.
3)That ending...WTEH?

Preston writes a messed up book but I can admit I’m thoroughly hooked until the very end. This one had a little more blood and gore than I prefer, but that didn’t take away from the thrill of the story!

I use to love reading Preston's book, but the last few have been so boring.

The subject matter really interesting and even the cover gave me bad vibes, which is all great.

IHowever, as I started to rrad, the writing felt off for me. Too many details and conversations and too many characters. I am ussually good at following lcharacters that are varied, but this writing just made me wish it was a way better book.

This author is very popular at our library though, so we will purchase it.

This book is so slow and talks in circles. The story is not very well developed and the characters had no depth. Even for YA, this book was a dud.

This one keeps you guessing. What could possibly go wrong. A group of kids, just wanting to have a little fun after finals. A remote castle with no adults. Impending weather and little to no electricity. The party is going to be the best ever, until it is not. Who can you trust? Who will survive the weekend.

Initially I was hooked because of the premise and the castle setting but it dragged on and on. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

This is the second YA retelling of And Then There Were None I’ve read an ARC of this year. Of the 2, I didn’t like this one as well.

I loved the setting and liked the overall story, but I struggled not to be frustrated by the characters’ decisions. It was so obvious if they split up, someone would die. They needed to stay together, which they even discussed. All of them together at all times would have kept them alive, and yet every chance they got, they just had to separate for one reason or another. Over and over again. Obviously the author needed this to happen for the plot, but it felt like too convenient a way to pull it off.

I also had a hard time believing the motive for most of the deaths in the end. I guess if you’re willing to murder, your motives can be ridiculously unhinged, but the motive for Bess was the only one I truly bought.

This was my first Natasha Preston read, and I’ll definitely read more. I just didn’t love this as much as I’d hoped. Alexa Donne does it better in The Bitter End.

When I, despite bouts of self-doubt and recrimination related to why I was reading it in the first place, finished the last line of this book, I looked to the sky and threw my hands to the multitudes, willing the book review forces that be to help me funnel my consuming fury into something which could potentially help future readers avoid the patronizing shit-storm I just endured.

It didn't work. I'm too peeved at anyone who believes their readership to be this fucking stupid to form phrases that accurately convey my abject disdain.

Natasha Preston does it again!! Loved this read with all the anxiety of what happened and how – they was just right there moment! Totally worth the read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC #TheParty #NatashaPreston #NetGalley

I loved this thriller! Preston has a way that takes twists and turns and, despite being a bit easy to figthrough. out, make them difficult to discern the entire way through.