There's a Sweet 16 party at the house on the hill, the one everyone has claimed to be haunted and afraid of, but can't wait to go inside. It's a house full of secrets and doubts that come to a head in a tragic way.

I confess that I initially found the jumps between so many characters and the ominous crumbs Cox kept dropping a little annoying. I found it frustrating to get little pieces that were left hanging for several chapters. However, it eventually hit me that it's a slow build and reveal that clicks the second the big twist happens. It's once you get to the end that it makes sense why the story was told the way it was. I eventually understood the why of it, even if I didn't enjoy it, which is a shame because the story is solid and there's so much to unpack in it that I would have otherwise raved about it.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the twisty read!

Party of Liars is a domestic thriller that puts readers in the middle of a locked room mystery set during a Sweet Sixteen birthday party at a lavish house in Texas. We know from the start that there has been a death but who died? Through time frames before, during and after the party and multiple POVs, readers get a peek into the minds, motivations and emotional baggage of a few characters.

The multiple POV aspect was handled well - from the Irish nanny, new wife/new mom Dani, and her husband Ethan, to Ethan's ex-wife Kim, birthday girl Sophie and her BFF Mikayla ..., Cox gives her readers several potential culprits as she shares their backstories leading up to the death.

I had a few ideas of whose body it was and how it all happened, and I guessed a few twists correctly (but not the final one!). While not as creepy as I had expected with its tease of a haunting, I was impressed with this quiet suspense read that kept me guessing and successfully layered in complex family dynamics and social issues for an enjoyably unsettling and twisty read.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Minotaur Books for the complimentary digital advanced copy of this book that was given in exchange for my honest review.

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, hosted by her father Ethan & his new wife Dani. It is an exclusive black-tie affair, with Sophie's friends, and Ethan's friends and associates. This is the first time people are going to get to see inside this huge cliffside mansion, and they are excited. The mansion is built like a dollhouse - the entire back of the house, facing out over the cliff is glass. Dani hates it. Ethan swears no one is able to see in, because they are too far away, but she still feels on display, since the bedroom, nursery, kitchen and living room all have the glass wall. It doesn't help that there is a rumor that someone died in the house that was originally on the property, and that woman, called "the mother" haunts the house. Nor does the fact that Dani keeps finding things missing, or moved around, when she knows she didn't do it, and the other day she found a note calling her "crazy" and saying she didn't deserve everything she had. Dani had a breakdown right after their baby Charlotte was born, and since then, everyone keeps tip-toeing around the word "crazy". But Dani is feeling better now, or at least she is trying to, and she is determined to help make Sophie's party a success. The party seems to go off without a hitch, then as all parties do there were a few little incidents but nothing major. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

This book was SO good. It is told in the alternating viewpoints of Dani, Kim (Ethan's ex-wife), Mikayla (Sophie's best friend), Orlaith (the nanny), as well as some that are just the day of the party or after the party. You find out from almost the beginning that detectives show up at the party, and there is a scene at the hospital, but you don't know who is in the hospital, and you don't know who died. They save all that until almost the very end. There is so much drama. Dani is looking suspiciously at every guest, especially after another incident happens to her during the party. Ethan & his partner at their psychiatry practice stand at the bar and leer at all of the teenage girls when they are dancing suggestively together, and then later when they are running around the pool in tiny bikinis. I mean,,,,, ewwwww! One of the teenage boys sneaks in some alcohol and pills for the others to pass around, which is a recipe for disaster. Kim drinks too much, as always, and embarrasses herself and Sophie with her behavior. There are so many ways the party could go wrong, so many dynamics in play. This book was juicy and addictive. I highly recommend it!

If you’re into locked room mysteries with a modern edge, Party of Liars is the kind of twisty, tension filled story you won’t want to put down. Set during a Sweet 16 birthday party at a house with a dark and haunting past, the story unfolds through multiple POVs from the women attending, keeping things fresh and full of suspicion. The eerie setting adds a chilling, supernatural vibe that heightens the suspense, and just when you think you’ve cracked it—another reveal hits. Secrets, lies, and drama for days… this one was an addictive, atmospheric ride.

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox
Narrated by Dan Bittner; Kate Handford; Pearl Hewitt; Saskia Maarleveld; Suzy Jackson

This debut novel by Kelsey Cox has me hankering for her next book, whenever it is written. Having been born in Texas, lived here most of my life, and having ridden my horses, biked, run and hiked over most of the state, it was fun to read about this party talking place in Bulverde, TX. I felt at home except for the rich people part. I've never been invited to a party at a mansion but once we meet all the characters, I think being a loner might be a better choice than having these people for friends. Not everyone is bad but the rumor mill and real events can be enough to topple the highest on the totem pole of life and add booze (there is lots and lots of booze) to the mix, and people are telling tales that should not be told (and doing things that should not be done).

It's the sixteenth birthday of Sophie Matthews, daughter of the man who owns and has renovated the (maybe) haunted mansion on the cliff. Sophie's parents have been divorced and her mother, Kim, is bitter about the young new wife and baby and that they are living in the mansion she'd helped renovate. Dani is Sophie's new step mom and they get along really well but something happened a few months ago and Sophie hadn't been invited back to her dad's mansion until her birthday party. Hopefully Dani is feeling better or whatever, at least she has a nanny, a woman who is so much more than anyone suspected.

Along with all the adults invited to the party are the teens, Sophie's popular friends, plus her best friend, Mikayla, a girl who has spent her time being on the outside looking in, although Sophie has her back when she needs someone to back her. Still, it's a lonely life for Mikayla since Sophie can't include her in all her popular girl activities.

Under the surface, bad things have been happening for a very long time. The place has terrifying rumors about a dead mother and baby, there are horrible sounds around and in the mansion, Dani is seeing things, and she is getting threats. What a great place and time to have a drunken party! I was so surprised with how intriguing the books is and this was with reading the first 25% and being hooked and then listening to the last 75% and being even more hooked. The multi narrator cast is awesome and made up of narrators I've always enjoyed. I'm so glad I got to read/hear this one with Jayme so that we could try to add to the gossip mill. Be sure to check out her review.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio (audiobook), St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books (ebook), and NetGalley for this ARC

This is the book for short chapters, mulitple view points, and who did what? I am still not sure after those twists! This was a scary vibe book-- I found myself reading it at night and thinking, you need a different book! But what a book it was!

Big thanks to Minotaur Books for the widget to read an early copy of Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox!
I was drawn into this one because of the Minotaur Sampler and was excited to jump into this story.

I loved this book! And I think you'll love it if you like:
-Multi-POV
-Multi-timeline (sort of, there are SHORT chapters from 'after' the party but most of the story is in the day of the party as it unfolds)
-lots of characters with secrets in their pasts (that may or may not have an impact on the mystery)
-sort of 'rich people behaving badly' vibes with the OTT party that this dad throws for his daughter's Sweet Sixteen

I loved the way this story was told. It is multi-POV but they are easy to keep straight. We have Dani, the current wife; Kim, the ex-wife; Orlaith, the (older) nanny; and Mikayla, the (young) best friend. Each of their POV was so different that it wasn't a struggle to keep the many chapters and characters straight in my mind.

The setting of the party is a character in its own right. The house has a history and a reputation making it a large part of the story.

The way the story unfolds is quick, yet with enough background for the characters and their relationships with others to give substance to the mystery. It opened with a 'bang' with the first chapter so the build up to the reveal is filled with tension!

LOVED!!

This was way different than I thought it would be when I first picked it up. I was expecting a Popcorn thriller. Instead I got a creepy story that went much deeper than anticipated. Haunted houses, postpartum depression/psychosis, betrayal, lies lies and more lies. Once I started I couldn’t stop.

This is one to grab this summer! I have a feeling it’s going to make a celeb book club pick, if not it definitely should!

Thank you Netgalley for the early copy

“There is no word for a mother who has lost her only child, such as widow or orphan. But there are plenty of ghost stories of women haunted by children. The Irish speak of the Banshee, who died in childbirth- the Japanese warn of Ubume who if you meet her on dark road will hand you her swaddled infant who is really just a bundle of stone, or Mexico’s La Llorona, a mother who drowned her own children and now lures yours to the water’s edge. “

And, on the top of a hill in Bulverde, Texas sits a cliffside mansion with a legend of its own. Built from love for a woman, whose life ended in tragedy, 100 years ago after she loses her baby to illness and tumbles off of the balcony to her own death-her grief overwhelming. It sat in disrepair, rumored to be haunted by “THE MOTHER” who can sometimes be heard moaning on windy nights or be seen weaving through the trees in a white dress in search of her infant daughter.

But now it’s been remodeled into a “Barbie Dollhouse” the whole back open with floor to ceiling glass windows, and Ethan Matthews and his wife, Dani will be hosting a TEXAS SIZED black tie sweet 16 party, for his daughter Sophie who he co-parents with his ex wife Kim. And, the locals CANNOT WAIT to see what it looks like inside, as Ethan has invited more of his own friends than Sophie’s taking this opportunity to network and show off.

But, they will see much more than magazine worthy renovations that night.

Just as the candles on the exquisite three tired birthday cake are about to be blown out-the guests will witness another tumble from the balcony-another death-

WHO won’t survive the party?

This was an IMPRESSIVE DEBUT!

The story moves along at a FAST PACE, with short chapters from BEFORE THE DEATH and AFTER THE DEATH on the DAY and NIGHT OF THE PARTY-narrated from the alternating perspectives of 4 women.

DANI: Sophie’s stepmother, and new mom to baby Charlotte. She is feeling the pressure of wanting the evening to be perfect, for more reasons than one.

ÓRLAITH: Charlotte’s superstitious Irish nanny who senses that the home could be a “thin place” -a place where spirits can seep through from one World to the next.

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend with secret wishes of her own and

KIM: The bitter ex wife who helped renovate the home, but now watches as another woman oversees the pouring of the chilled Veuve Clicquot at the most lavish event of the season. 🍾🥂

The misdirection was well done and I suspected all but one of the women of “foul play”!

Had I known sooner that this CONTEMPORARY story would also have a GOTHIC VIBE (Ex wife Kim even mentioned, Rebecca’s Manderley) I would have read it sooner, but I initially passed this book by because I thought it would have too much of a YA feel to it. Sure, Mikayla’s chapters do, but they are a small percentage of the overall story so it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. Instead, it’s a more of a soapy neighborhood story mostly told from the Adults perspective.

I was DYING to know how things would all play out.

You can make this your first SUMMER PARTY or save it for SPOOKY SEASON….

The Audible has a FULL CAST of NARRATORS and runs 10 hours 57 minutes at regular speed.
I was able to listen at 2x, and paired my written copy with the Audiobook for an immersive experience.

Expected Publication Date: July 1, 2025

Thank You to Minotaur Books/ St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. And, for Macmillan Audio for the AUDIOBOOK copy. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

Party of Liars was a fun and quick murder mystery. During a sweet sixteen party, someone is found dead. But with a whole cast of suspicious people, finding out who the culprit is might be harder than it seems. The timeline changes from during the party, before the party, and the near past. There are multiple POVs and every chapter ends on a cliff hanger. By the time I figured out who the victim was, I was even more determined to figure out who the killer was. I did figure out who the culprit was somewhat early but I was surprised to figure out the why. 3 mysterious stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Must read debut novel!! Reading this book I had a hard time believing this was a debut novel, the characters had depth, the many characters POV were well written and not at all confusing. I really enjoyed every twist and turn this book took me on. There were times I was sure how this was going to play out but I was indeed wrong. There were some small plot holes, things that were left unanswered but overall this book was a fantastic read. I generously gave it 4 stars because I honestly couldn't put it down even with the few minor questions I was left with. This was an impressive debut!

Wow! I was totally unsure which direction this story was heading in: murder mystery, haunted house, tragic misadventure, or a combination of them all.

I think I had about 5 different theories that kept evolving but as the truth became unravelled I wasn’t correct at all!

Make sure you have this thrilling new book added to your TBR lists!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for a copy!

Ok - this was a hit! It’s been awhile since I’ve had a good twist and this one got me multiple times right up to the very last page.

I loved the way the story was written from multiple POVs and utilized short, quick chapters. I enjoyed how the book was an eerie ghost story but at the same time…was not. And, I was highly entertained by the varied cast of characters, ages ranging from a babe up to elderly, and their unique careers, how the entire story took place in one full day (plus flashbacks), and the setting in the Texas Hill Country that was icing on the cake.

I love to read the Author’s acknowledgments; let me encourage you to not pass up Cox’s. They were so sweet, heartfelt, and bursting with a palpable excitement and pride in her accomplishment in writing this book. Do her the honor of giving it a read!

A final note: there is a bit of language but not as much as many books these days; the F word being one of them. I can personally always do without crude language.

I’m happy to have read this engaging piece of work and am thankful to NetGalley and Minotaur books for the opportunity!

***I have a content warning in my GR review but it is a spoiler; the spoiler warning is noted***

🎉PARTY OF LIARS by Kelsey Cox🎉

4.5 ⭐️

I loved this double mystery/suspense thriller!

Sophie is about to blow out the candles at her lavish Sweet Sixteen birthday party when a body falls from the balcony of her father’s Texas mansion. What follows is a dual timeline, multiple POV wild ride.

You don’t know who fell to their death, much less what happened or why, until very late in the book. This double mystery was a great way to make the story something more than a typical thriller. Suspects abound for both victim and perpetrator (or was it an accident? I’ll never tell!). No one is who they seem, and the possibly haunted mansion atop a high hill adds to both the mystery and the suspense.

The only reasons I didn’t rate five ⭐️: the pace dragged just a little for my preference and some of the misdirection was heavy-handed. I absolutely loved how everything came together, though, as well as the complexity of each character’s perspective.

An impressive debut — I’ll look forward to reading more from this author!

Party of Liars
A Novel
by Kelsey Cox

I really enjoyed Party of Liars! It’s a twisty, fast-paced thriller set during a glamorous Sweet Sixteen party in a spooky Texas mansion. The story is told through multiple points of view, and I loved how each character had secrets to hide. The mix of flashbacks and time jumps kept things interesting and helped build suspense. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t wait to find out who died—and why.
Some parts were a bit slow in the middle, and not all the background details felt necessary, but the ending made up for it. The final twists surprised me, and I liked how the story wrapped up, even though I wanted a little more closure for a few characters. The haunted house vibe and family drama added a lot to the atmosphere. Overall, a solid debut and a great pick for fans of mystery, drama, and dark secrets!
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own

ARC REVIEW (7/1/25): party of liars by kelsey cox 🥂 a lavish, texas-sized sweet sixteen turns deadly- serving up a fresh take on a classic locked-room whodunnit.

🫧 I either was dreaming of or woke up thinking about this mystery because it was the first thing on my mind after binging the first 60% the night before. the layered secrets with each chapter ending on a cliffhanger made this impossible to put down!

I didn’t have any problem keeping the multi pov’s separate, but I didn’t find any of the characters to be likable. I wish the supernatural element was either not included or better fleshed out. there was one fatphobic comment that didn’t sit well with me, however, this was still an entertaining whodunit that mindlessly passed the time 🎂

🍾 let the festivities begin! thank you st. martin’s press & macmillan audio for the early copies! the audio was a full cast that fit the personas of each character really well 🪩 3.5 stars!

I love nothing more than Texas Hill Country so when I saw that was the setting for this book I was immediately intrigued. This reminded me a lot of Lisa Jewell and Liv Constantine’s writing style which I really enjoy. This is a mystery thriller that is dying to be adapted into an HBO mini series! I love multi POV and found this to be a strong debut from the author. Look forward to reading more in the future, Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This thriller was just average for me. No one was believable or likable. I usually like multiple narrators, but found myself getting frustrated with it here. It felt like the author tried too hard to have each chapter end with a tease. The ending had aspects that I did not care for. There was a lot of "rich people behaving badly" but not in a way that worked for me.

This is a sharp, twisty thriller that keeps readers guessing until the very end. With layered secrets, compelling characters, and a gripping pace, it's a binge-worthy page-turner perfect for fans of domestic suspense and scandalous drama.
The book centers around Sophie Matthews’ lavish sweet sixteen party at her father, Ethan and stepmother Dani’s mansion on the hill in Bulverde, Texas. The house is thought to be haunted and those rumors gain credence when, during the party, a body falls from the balcony. Who is the victim?
And who is the killer? Besides Sophie, Ethan and Dani suspicion may fall on Orlaith, nanny to Sophie’s infant half-sister Charlotte, Mikayla, Sophie’s life long best friend who wonders if she and Sophie are growing apart and Kim, Sophie’s mother who may still be carrying grudges.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this digital e-arc.*

Take a rich family with a new baby, add in a sweet sixteen birthday party, sprinkle in too much alcohol and some inappropriate actions, and you've got the fun mix of Party of Liars.

Sophie is turning 16, but her party is full of bad vibes. Stepmom Dani is receiving strange notes and feeling paranoid; mom Kim is drinking far too much; bestie Mikayla has some secrets; and dad Ethan has made the party all about him, inviting mostly his own friends.

Cox has written a fantastic debut thriller! We know pretty early on that someone dies at this party, but not who it is or what leads to the death. With so many POVs and so many moving pieces, I definitely did not guess who met their end or how it would happen along the way. The fast pacing and twisty moments kept me glued to the story, and I finished this one in a day.

The audio is narrated by a full cast, and it is so well done! The narrator's voices fit their characters incredibly well, and I felt fully immersed in the story while reading.