This was a DNF for me. I was interested in the beginning but it kind of fell off for me. I also read lots of thriller and slow burns so it could have been that I wasn’t in the space for another.

Sophie Matthews is preparing for her extravagant Sweet Sixteen, which seems to be more about her father, Ethan's desire to show off his massive, renovated Texas Hill Country cliffside castle to his friends and neighbors. Ethan is divorced from Kim, Sophie's mom. Kim is uncomfortable being back in her former home, but she is devoted to her daughter. Dani, at twenty-seven, is wife number two, and the couple has a new baby. Although Dani appears to have it all, she is struggling and relies heavily on their Irish nanny, Órlaith. Mikayla is Sophie's lifelong best friend, but there are secrets she will never share with her. At the start, we learn that before the party ends, someone falls from the balcony onto the dance floor. The story is told in the "before" and "after" with lots of questions arising. Who fell? Was it an accident or something more sinister? With the rumors of the house being haunted and nearly everyone at the party hiding something, this is quite a tense thriller that will keep you guessing.

Party of Liars is author Kelsey Cox's impressive debut. With a large cast of characters, Cox tells this tale from multiple points of view, offering insight and depth into the main characters while maintaining uncertainty about their true nature and their potential for doing something unthinkable. The story unfolds with surprising twists. I thoroughly enjoyed this page-turner from the start to its satisfying conclusion.

4.25 stars.

This was a great thriller with just the right amount of suspense and twists to keep you guessing until the end. There are SO MANY characters with struggles, and all of them have something to hide. The pace kept me hooked, and the multiple POV were easy to keep track of. Put this one in your cart for publication day! Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC and opportunity to provide an honest review.

Take MTVs My Super Sweet Sixteen vibes mixed with dark murderous vibes and you have Party of Liars.

I did NOT see the ending coming and for that this book will stick with me for a while. Nobody is likeable but that set the scene for me and made this book really well done!

WOW!! Did not see that coming!!! This was a thrilling page turner. I really enjoyed this book. I think it’s going to be a summer hit! I will say none if the characters are particular like-able. Self-absorbed adults, teenagers and a nanny who is odd. It’s an all day sweet 16 that’s just doesn’t make sense - but that’s what books are for. I give this a solid 4 stars 🌟. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the early copy.

This book kept my attention the entire time. I thought I knew the twist, but I was definitely NOT expecting it in the end. Thanks so much for the gifted copy of this one!

Sophie's sweet sixteen birthday party turns tragic when someone ends up dead. Who died and what exactly happened at the party? As we get the perspective of several different people - Dani, the new wife; Kim, the ex-wife; Orlaith, the nanny; and Mikayla, the best friend - the back story from everyone eventually leads to someone dying. These are all very unlikeable characters.

Everyone is keeping secrets that they want to keep hidden. And when they all get together for a party, the tension builds. I didn't expect what happened at the ending, but I was there for the sheer entertainment in this one.

The marketing copy called this a “classic locked-room whodunnit.” I find that baffling. It was pure suspense, a psychological thriller. Why not call it what it is, instead of making us think it’s Agatha Christie or something?

The book itself was well written. Each chapter had interesting tidbits, no spinning it’s wheels, killing time. There are 4 POVs and I actually liked all of them. But I found the promise of a death hanging over my head distracting and read the entire book as prologue. It didn’t help that each section was labeled as “before.” I kept waiting for "after"! Aside from vague, short glimpses where the identity of the dead body isn’t revealed, it doesn’t come until the book is 93% over and is part epilogue, part tying up loose ends.

The plotting does seem consistent with other psychological thrillers, which usually don’t bother me this much. However, the marketing and the first chapter/interstitials promised something different. (There's a nameless, faceless detective brought in! Which then goes...nowhere.) I do recommend it, just with the warning that you should have different expectations for what genre of book it is.

4.25/5, rounded down

Thank you Minotaur Books for the advanced reading copy!

PARTY OF LIARS was a fun suspense novel set before, during and after tragedy strikes at a young girl's sweet 16 birthday bash, and it delivered! For some reason, I went into this expecting it to be kind of mid, but I TORE through it, listening every chance I got!

This book had so many of the things that I love -- lots of POV's, flashbacks, foreshadowing and time jumps -- which added so much dimension, suspense and surprise to the novel. This was a great listen on audio, too, because every character had a different narrator and all of them portrayed their characters exactly how I would have imagined.

With any book that has time jumps, it's important for information to be revealed at the right moments, so as not to reveal too much too soon, and Kelsey Cox nailed that. The plotting was very well done and gave me just enough information to keep me guessing and throw me off the scent when I thought I had it all figured out.

There were some great red herrings, twists and turns in this book, too. While I found a few things to be predictable, I was really shocked at other reveals. Overall I was entertained by this book start to finish and feel really satisfied by the way things turned out!

Party of Liars
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Kelsey Cox
Publishing date: July 1, 2025

Thank you to netgalley for this arc. I am so grateful I got to read this book before the publishing date! Sophie Matthew’s sweet sixteen party turns into a dark night sprinkles with some secrets, lies, and even death. Every party guest is not guaranteed to leave the sweet 16 alive! This was a twisty tale full of superstitions, family secrets and impulsive acts. Party of Liars is action packed and was hard for me to put down. Quite a page turner and an easy read! If you’re looking for a suspenseful family drama, look no further than Party of Liars!

Thank you to Minotaur Books for an advanced reader copy of Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. This novel is an atmospheric thriller set at a stunning, but possibly haunted, hilltop mansion outside of San Antonio. I really enjoyed all of the glamorous details of the house, especially entire walls of glass, a library, and a butler’s pantry.

The novel, with an overarching theme of motherhood, features a large cast of mostly unlikable, unreliable characters. Ethan and his young wife, Dani, parents to an infant daughter, are hosting an over the top Sweet 16 party for Ethan’s daughter, Sophie, at their hilltop mansion. Sophie’s mother, Kim, who is struggling with alcohol addiction, Sophie’s troubled best friend, Mikayla, and Orlaith, the mysterious new nanny are all hiding secrets and seem suspect.

The author does a good job of creating a lot of tension throughout the novel. It’s not clear who dies at the (overly excessive) party until the very end, when the pace really picks up. The novel follows a rather predictable formula but the writing kept me engaged, and there were a few surprising twists. Overall if you enjoy a twisty thriller and a strong sense of atmosphere, check this one out. 3/5⭐️ (Anticipated Pub date: 7/1/2025)

A glass-shattering twisty debut thriller from Kelsey Cox!

Multiple POV; but easy to follow and has all the creepy elements I love— a murder right from the jump; a group of party guests full of lies, secrets, and hidden agendas; and some hints of the paranormal, including a haunted house, ghosts, and unexplained things happening.

👀 ᴡʜᴏ ᴏʀ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪs "ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ"

It’s addictive. The timeline jumps back and forth from before and during/after the party, so the reader gets a full grasp of the partygoers and all the events leading up to it. There’s a lot of jealousy and sinister small-town secrets at play that had me speculating just who might crack first—and everyone seems to have motives of their own.

I quickly devoured this psychological thriller, and would definitely recommend it if you enjoy similar vibes.
What an ending! I cannot wait to see what the author delivers to us next. 4.25 ⭐️ overall!

"Tonight, they were guests in 𝘩𝘦𝘳 house.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 was their host."

𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮:
🩸haunted house
🩸locked room thrillers
🩸twist endings
🩸family drama

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the debut novel by Kelsey Cox. The audiobook was fantastic because of the perfect narration by the full cast of Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, and Suzy Jackson. All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4.5 stars rounded up!

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. 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.

Bravo for a wonderful debut novel and fabulous audiobook production! I was instantly intrigued by this story, told in different POV from Sophie’s mother, stepmother, her best friend, and the nanny for Sophie’s new stepsister, as well as in an 11-hour timeline of before, during, and after the party. These women are all keeping secrets from each other and themselves, and none is a reliable narrator. It’s a locked-room mystery that left me questioning so many and I never saw the ending coming. There’s even a touch of superstition and folklore, as the house has the reputation of being haunted. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

OMG, I think Kelsey Cox might be a new favorite author of mine. This debut was so insane (in a good way).

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝:
⚡️ ALL of the character development (despite taking place over the course of an evening, the level of detail and thought we got to know the characters at was just 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼)
⚡️ the slow burn (seriously so worth it)
⚡️ everyone’s unlikeability BUT also me hoping each person got their happy ending
⚡️ its unpredictability (literally had no idea who our victim was until IT happened)
⚡️ the writing (it reminded me of Lucy Foley’s thrillers at times)
⚡️ THE SETTING!

The only thing I wasn’t really vibing with was the Dani’s patient/psychiatrist relationship but other than that, this was a thriller that checked off all my boxes. I initially rated it 4.5 stars (because of said relationship) but I’m STILL thinking about it and giving it 5-stars. READ THIS ONE 🤌🏼

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this advanced copy!

Oh man…this was so good!
This is a 4.5 star for me, but since we can't choose 1/2s I am rounding up.
I was excited and surprised to receive this from SMP. I remember wanting to read this as soon as it came out, so receiving it as an ARC did not disappoint.
This was my first by Kelsey Cox and won't be my last. The twists and turns I didn't see coming had me gasping aloud. I loved that this was all from multiple FMCs voices and their outlook on what was going on at the sweet 16 birthday party this book centers around. The short suspenseful chapters had the book flowing into the next and kept you on the edge of your seat. I hung onto every word waiting for the next surprise to roll out.
Party of Liars is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller mixed with some YA drama that adds the cherry atop of the sweet 16 cake!

Party of Liars
by Kelsey Cox
St. Martin’s Press - Minotaur Books
7/1/25

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox centers around the sweet sixteen birthday party for Sophie where her father, mother, and step mom are in attendance. The timeline alternates between the party, before and after the party. You can tell in the after timeline that someone has died, but everything doesn’t come together regarding whom until the very end. Lots of pieces to this book that don’t all come together until the end, which is one of the things I’ll for most in a thriller. This one didn’t disappoint. I will definitely read future books from Kelsey Cox!

This book was my first by this author, and I really enjoyed it. It takes place at a sweet 16 birthday party in Texas with multiple characters and everyone has a secret.

Unfortunately this book did not really work for me. Oftentimes, I struggle with books that have an unreliable narrator, especially when it’s due to alcohol intake and that was the case with this book. I felt that the pacing was slow for a thriller.

DNF at 30% this one was just so slow and had way too many characters. I wanted to love it but I totally did not

Rating: 4.75
Mode of Reading: NetGalley Digital ARC, courtesy of Kelsey Cox and her publishing team at Minotaur Books (St. Martin's Press), in exchange for my honest review
It's an ARC... When does it Release? This book hits shelves on July 1—and you need to pick up a copy. Seriously, go pre-order it - I'm adding a copy to my shelves in Hardcover!
How did I pick this up: Katie Layton, a marketing intern with St. Martin's Press, reached out with an invitation to read this story. I couldn't say no as it looked right up my alley!

Short Yet Sweet Review: This book exceeded all expectations and was the perfect read for me. A locked-room mystery told through multiple POVs, it keeps you on your toes the entire time as you try to figure out what really happened on the night of Sophie’s Sweet 16. We know someone falls from the balcony, but the biggest questions are who... and why. The whole story unfolds over one night of unraveling chaos inside Dani and Ethan’s newly renovated mansion. Between Orlaith (the nanny), Mikayla (the birthday girl’s best friend), and Kim (Ethan’s ex-wife and Sophie’s mom), and Dani (the step-mom and new mother to Charlotte) there are so many potential suspects and victims that you won’t believe what happens until you read it for yourself.

Kelsey Cox crafted this so beautifully. She didn’t just introduce us to a cast of characters, but she made us care about them. I only wish we got Sophie’s POV to see what she thinks of her family but honestly, it'd just be a bonus. Cox gave real emotional depth to everyone, along with the complicated dynamics at play during the party. You’ll root for the sixteen-year-old who might be on the outs with her best friend, the ex-wife grieving her past life while battling addiction, the nanny fiercely protective of Dani’s new baby, and Dani herself—struggling through new motherhood and haunted by “the mother” in their home. (Just a heads-up: it’s not a paranormal story, so don’t let that turn you away.)
Content warnings: addiction, postpartum depression/anxiety, *Spoiler warning for more so ask if you need them!*

Honestly, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I truly hope Kelsey Cox writes more—I’ll be first in line to buy whatever she puts out.

P.S. This might earn a full 5 stars after a re-read. I rarely re-read books, but I just might with this one... Can I figure out the mystery sooner next time? Were there clues I missed?