Welcome to Sophie’s Sweet 16, in an over the top party filled with friends, her mom, her dad, dad‘s new wife, the nanny, and Sophie‘s best friend!
By the end of the evening, someone will be dead!

This book is told from different points of view, and I was totally in from page one!
I read it in one sitting, and I totally recommend this book!

I was excited to read Party of Liars, which takes place in the beautiful hill country in Texas. This book started out promising with multiple POVs, unreliable narrators and a murder whodunnit. Unfortunately, the story started to slow down and drag for me. I was not thrilled until the very end with a surprise twist that most people can probably guess. If you enjoy popcorn thrillers and a great setting, you might enjoy this one.

Listening to the audio for Party of Liars is the best way to go in. The audio had a multi-cast narration to include Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Suzy Jackson and the awesome Saskia Maarleveld. I listened at 1.75x.

What could possibly happen at a teenage girl’s mega birthday party in a massive mansion overlooking the town? Well, drama, fighting, drugs, drinking, swimming, and a death. Be careful who’s invited.

I listened to the audiobook, here is my feedback for listening:
I really enjoyed this audiobook! I wanted to listen to it faster (like if I was reading, I could read it faster). I thought I knew there would be a bigger twist and the author kept me guessing until the very end. It’s fun to read/listen to a story and not know who the true villain is. This story also plays with the idea that women lose their minds, especially when they are postpartum. People could definitely take advantage of that! The story makes you realize, if you are confident enough, people will believe anything you tell them.

There are so many strings you can pull on this tapestry--ghost story, unreliable narrators, crime novel, adolescence...but the good news is that it's woven together beautifully.

4.50 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Party of Liars! This is my unbiased opinion.

This was super fun! I knew someone was going to die of course, but I kept changing my mind on who I thought it would be! I loved how short the chapters were because it kept me engaged the entire time. The supernatural aspect of this book also kept me on edge because I had no idea how it would fit in with the whole story, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I'm intrigued to read more by this author and definitely recommend this!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

In celebration of Sophie's sweet 16, her dad and stepmom are throwing her an over the top party which includes an open bar for the adults and very little supervisions for the teenage attendees. The place of the party is the mansion in which Dani (stepmom), Ethan (dad), nanny, and their new baby live. In fact the home was originally built in the early 1900's and all in the town believes its haunted by "the Mother" who killed herself there when her baby died of Spanish Influenza. Ethan's first wife, Kim, (Sophie's mom) is an alcoholic in attendance along Sophie's bestie Mackayla.

The story is told by various characters, none of whom are reliable. The reader knows up front that someone dies at the party, and it's the guessing as to who dies and who the killer is that keeps the reader evaluating everyone. All characters have secrets, and all are lying about something.

There are a lot of plot twists, sub plots, and the pacing is fast. None of the characters are especially likable but it works. The whole book takes place over the course of the party with plenty of flashbacks. Memory plays an important role in the story, and nothing is as it seems.

I enjoyed seeing it all come together and did not guess who dies and who the killer is until the very end. A very entertaining read!!!

I think my rating of this book is purely based on vibes, because the vibes truly were FUN.

Party of Liars introduces us to a very eclectic group of party guests, from the Irish nanny, to one of the friends of the birthday girl, and they all have their pros and cons, but whats interesting about this book, and can potentially bring down ratings for some people, I think, is the book doesn't QUITE know what kind of book it wants to be.

Is it a story about new motherhood and how that changes you? Yes. Is it a story about childhood friendships and the things young people do to each other? Yes. Is it a murder mystery? Kind of? But this book is also a ghost story and a redemption story, all rolled into one. I'm not saying each of these pieces, or tropes I guess, don't work, but it does make the reader feel a little like you don't know what to expect from one chapter to the next.

The "inciting" incident happens quickly, then we rewind by hours in order to work back up to the moment. We get a lot of backstory, some true, some completely unreliable. But its fun getting through it. I've seen this touted as a take on a locked-room mystery and that certainly is not the case, at least in my opinion. But thats fine. Unless, of course, you're looking for a locked-room mystery. This wont satisfy you.

Wrapped up in all of this is a very interesting take on motherhood and sense of self, possibly another thing this book is trying to do/be/say but i found it to be fairly profound, if coming out of nowhere. Still, a fun read.

Main Characters:
-- Dani – 27 years old, married to Ethan, new mom to Charlotte, stepmom to Sophie, suffering from self-doubt as a mom and probably a bit of postpartum depression, social media influencer who makes elaborate cakes and desserts and posts them online
-- Ethan – extremely wealthy psychiatrist, purchased and remodeled their mansion on a hill when he was still married to Kim, designed it to look almost like a life-size dollhouse with full-length windows facing the front of the house, Sophie’s dad who will go out of his way to give Sophie everything she wants without consulting his ex-wife
-- Kim – Ethan’s ex-wife and Sophie’s mom, resents that Dani gets to live in the house she helped redesign and remodel, has a serious drinking problem
-- Órlaith – Irish nanny in her sixties, hired to help with Charlotte while Dani “recovers,” superstitiously believes there’s an evil aura around the house
-- Sophie – Ethan and Kim’s daughter, invited all of her friends (including her ex-boyfriend) to her party, loves Charlotte and Dani but hasn’t been to the house with them since an “incident” several weeks before the party
-- Mikayla – Sophie’s best friend, works hard on her family’s ranch and comes from a family without the kind of money Sophie grew up with, typically spends the night at Kim and Sophie’s around Sophie’s birthday, also has not been to Ethan and Kim’s since the “incident”
-- Curtis and Gemma – Ethan and Dani’s go-to couple, Curtis works with Ethan and has been meeting with Dani to work through her issues, Gemma used to be best friends with Kim
-- MaryBeth – one of Dani’s Instagram followers from the very start of her influencing career, comments on every one of Dani’s social media posts
-- The House – hadn’t been lived in for a century before Ethan and Kim bought it, the townspeople say the house has always belonged to The Mother. “Perched atop the highest cliff in Comal County, Texas, the Queen Anne style Victorian was built in the nineteenth century by Wilhelm Vogel.” After Wilhem’s wife Ada fell to her death, the townspeople began to tell stories about the house being haunted

In this debut novel by Kelsey Cox, we meet a wide array of characters at Sophie Matthews’ sixteenth birthday party, each with their own idiosyncrasies and flaws. Ethan pulled out all the stops for his daughter, inviting her friends, his friends, and acquaintances. In fact, it seems like the entire town is in attendance to see the unveiling of the house. During the party, someone falls to their death. We don’t find out until the end who it is, and so many people are suspects!

This book is such a wild ride. The story unfolds from a variety of perspectives—Dani, Kim, Mikayla, and Órlaith. Dani is suffering from a lack of confidence as a new mom and her lack of sleep colors her perspective. Kim is a raging alcoholic who resents Dani for being the one who gets to enjoy the house. Mikayla alludes to the idea that she may not be the nice girl everyone thinks she is. And Órlaith gives off "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" vibes.

The timeline alternates between “Before” the party, as Dani is getting ready, and “After,” which basically gets us to the evening of the party. The author includes back story mainly in Kim and Mikayla’s chapters regarding the history of the house and Mikayla and Sophie’s friendship. But the primary focus is the party itself. The house overflows with people, Ethan plays the ultimate host, Dani is completely overwhelmed, and the teenagers sneak alcohol every chance they get. What could possibly go wrong?!

To add to the tension, unbeknownst to anyone, Dani has been receiving threatening notes and suspects that the person who sent them is AT the party. Her suspicion grows as the party progresses, and we really have no idea who is leaving her the messages. I had my own list of possibilities, but the way this story unfolds…. Let’s just say, don’t trust your instincts.

I feel like the timeline got just a bit confusing, and I kept flipping back to check the headings of Before and After. A chapter would be a section talking about the day of the party but then it would be Kim or Mikayla thinking back to sometimes years before. That information could have been included in Before. Ultimately, though, I enjoyed the pace of the story, and the unreliability of the narrators just added to the mystery and suspense. I was sooooo suspicious of so many people, and I was still surprised at the end. I will not be giving any spoilers for this one because you should also have the pleasure of suspecting everyone.

Someone is dead. I’m not telling you which someone. Is it circumstance, intentional, or is the house really haunted and evil? 🤷🏼‍♀️ (I already told you, I’m not giving anything away.) There is something I will tell you though: Will I be reading Kelsey Cox again? Most definitely! 👍🏼

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: July 1, 2025
“Party of Liars” is the debut novel by author Kelsey Cox. Full of drama, suspense and hardcore twists and turns, it’s a gripping story about manipulation and gaslighting, with a locked-room mystery vibe.
Sophie Matthews’ Sweet Sixteen party is going to be one that everyone remembers- but not for the reasons Sophie hopes for because, by the end of the night, someone will be dead. Sophie’s friends all attend, of course, including her best friend, Mikayla, who has been hiding a dark secret from Sophie that will change their relationship completely. Ethan, Sophie’s Dad, is hosting the party along with his new, younger wife, Dani and their infant daughter, Charlotte. Sophie’s mom, and Ethan’s ex-wife, Kim, is in attendance as well as Orlaith, Charlotte’s Irish nanny. Then of course, there’s the urban legend about “The Mother”, the ghostly apparition that stalks the house. It seems everyone has been invited to the party of the year- but not everyone will make it out alive.
“Liars” is dual-timeline, both the days leading up to the party and the hours afterward, which starts the suspenseful decadence right off the bat, pulling readers in from page one. It is also told from various viewpoints, in rotating chapters, from pretty much every main character in attendance, which seems like it would be complicated but Cox’s exceptional writing style and smooth flowing plot make “Liars” a digestible page-turner.
There are enough characters to choose from, when it comes to who could be the responsible party, but the ending definitely exceeded my expectations. Not only was it completely surprising and unexpected, but I also found myself cheering, as the outcome served to satisfy on every level. I questioned some of the mind-control components of this novel, and the degree to which one particular character was able to get away with such intense manipulation, but without this plot point, the entire novel would have been lesser than, so I overlooked this.
“Liars” deals with some complex themes, such as gaslighting and emotional abuse, as well as misogyny and control, but these serve to add an emotional component to the plot that connected readers to the characters on a deeper level. The non-stop twists and turns literally had my jaw dropping and there were more than one that totally took my by complete surprise (in the best way).
“Party of Liars” is a sharp and sensational debut, and I hope to see more from Cox in the future.

This book was a fast paced psychological thriller that I read all in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down! The story is told from multiple points of view and has so many side stories and new details in each chapter that hook you in, get you invested into the mystery, and leave you guessing. Just when you think you have things figured out, a new detail and twist is thrown in, leaving you to re-think everything. I definitely enjoyed this book and recommend it for anyone who wants a quick, easy, “who done it” read that will keep you on your toes. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I support women’s wrongs!!

This is what “The Guest List” wishes it could be.

This was the definition of a fast paced read. I could not put this book down! I was hooked from page one and I was not disappointed the entire time. Even though it had a lot of points of view, they were all distinguished in my mind.

This is a juicy and thrilling novel. It had short chapters which I loved. It made it feel even more fast paced.

It left me guessing at every turn! There were so many moments where you thought one thing was happening and then the next thing you know it’s actually something completely different. It made this a very exciting read.

You get invested in these women, even if you don’t know them for a very long time. They could be unlikeable people at times, but you still wanted to root for them at the same time.

There are points where I thought Sophie was a terrible friend, but then she does something only a true friend would do. Mikayla was my favorite at first because I felt for her and Mason. She wasn’t a great person either though! I felt for Dani the whole time! I can’t imagine what it would be like for everyone to call you crazy. Kim frustrated me especially when she hated on Dani even though it wasn’t her fault, but she hated on Ethan just as much, and honestly, she had every right to be upset at him! Even though I got frustrated with her, I never disliked her. Órlaith was creepy at times as well, but I also felt for her! She was so overlooked but you could tell she was a sweet woman, even if she was a little odd. I liked her chapters the least, but it wasn’t like they were bad.

Even though I felt bad for Dani, I’m glad it talked about the struggles of motherhood and what it does to your body. Most of the time it’s made out to be a wonderful experience, but that isn’t the case for everyone.

I could say a lot more, but a lot of it is spoilers. There are some things I really did not like, and I think what that is, is obvious once you read it, but that did not take away from my reading experience.

I could have finished it in a day if I had the time, that’s how good it was.

I enjoyed this book until the very last word. I had such a fun time reading! I highly recommend, especially if you want a quick read that will keep you on your toes.

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this. There were so many well-placed, subtle misdirects. I really couldn’t tell whose perspectives to believe. But I like the way it all comes together at the end and everyone’s place in the story and the ending.

I will def be recommending this and checking out future books by the author.

I'm not the reader who tries to figure out the ending as I read but I was pretty sure I knew what was going on. Well... I was wrong! Party of Liars is the perfect title. The was definitely about a party of liars! I enjoyed reading about this group of people that all had a motive for doing something wrong. Could it be the teenagers? Could it be the ex-wife? Could it be the best friend? Read it and find out!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Party of Liars surprised me. What initially felt like a straightforward whodunit quickly revealed itself to be something more nuanced and psychological. Rather than identifying the killer, readers are left trying to figure out who the victim is for most of the book—an unconventional structure that may frustrate some readers, but ultimately pays off in a major way.

The writing is immersive, with alternating POVs that allow each character to shine—or unravel. The standout arcs include Kim’s deeply human battle with addiction, and Dani’s descent into paranoia, likely linked to postpartum struggles.

While the pacing can feel slow, it’s deliberate. Every moment matters, and once the final reveal hits, it all clicks into place. The Texas setting adds realism and charm, and the themes are explored with a level of emotional depth not always found in domestic thrillers.

This is a book that demands patience—but rewards it. I would recommend it to fans of character-driven psychological suspense, especially those who enjoy layered reveals and morally gray casts.

This book had so many twists and turns I never could have guessed what was going to happen next. The perfect book for me! I loved all the characters Dani young yet strong and such a great person. Orlaith was a little weird, so that made me like her. Kim was a great character and Makayla she was one I could root for. The scenes were drawn so well I was right there in every room right along with the characters

This was a great read and I highly recommend it.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martins Press - Minotaur Books for this advanced reader copy and this is my honest opinion.

The party referred to in the title is a Sweet Sixteen party for Sophie Matthews. The party is being held at her dad and stepmother’s mansion. Sophie’s dad is Ethan Matthews and his new wife is Dani and they have a new baby. Dani is struggling with postpartum depression and has been bothered by strange things happening in the house - objects being moved, perfume in the air, notes being left, etc. Ethan is a psychiatrist and his partner is treating Dani for her depression and anxiety. Both men are writing the strange happenings off as being Dani’s imagination. An Irish nanny, Orlaith, has been hired to help Dani care for the baby. Oh - and let’s not forget that the house has a very creepy history and many people feel it is still haunted. The lavish party lasts all day and apparently no expense was spared for this extravagant event that everyone was invited to. So we meet a whole cast of characters; the main ones, besides those already mentioned, are Kim - Ethan’s first wife and Sophie’s mother, and Mikayla - Sophie’s best friend. The chapters switches between different points of view and some go back in time to fill us in on more backstory of our characters. I thought the book kept up a good pace and I was intrigued how it would end. All in all, I enjoyed the book and thought the writing was well done. I give the book 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 1, 2025.

🎉 Party of Liars is a hauntingly gripping read that had me completely hooked from start to finish! Set during Sophie’s 16th birthday bash at her father’s sprawling, hilltop mansion, the excitement quickly turns eerie as guests gather to see the renovated home—infamous for ghost stories about “The Mother,” a chilling presence said to haunt its halls 👻🏰.

What I loved most about this book is its use of multiple POVs—each one from a female character. This structure worked so well considering the central themes: motherhood, sisterhood, betrayal, control, and the quiet fury that can build in women who’ve been overlooked or manipulated for too long. These women are fierce, flawed, and fully realized. 💥💁‍♀️👩‍👧

Some characters you’ll root for, others you’ll side-eye 👀—and a few will leave you completely conflicted. But by the end, after seeing into each of their hearts and minds, you’ll walk away with a deep understanding of why they made the choices they did. The emotional and psychological layers in this story are chef’s kiss 👏✨

And then there’s the suspense… 🩸 Someone ends up dead before the night is over. But who? And why? With every character hiding something, everyone has a motive. Brent masterfully builds tension, keeping you second-guessing until the very end.

Though the timeline centers around just one night, it never drags. If anything, the pacing is razor-sharp—unfolding secrets with perfect timing and keeping those pages flying. 📖⚡

If you love dark, twisty thrillers with layered women, emotional intensity, and a dash of ghostly intrigue… add this one to your TBR ASAP.

What a fun, twisty, amazing thriller from debut author Kelsey Cox!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this, and it exceeded my expectations! So many red herrings, a couple of twists, a crazy party with awful adults and entitled teens.

Wowwwww the gaslighting from Ethan was extreme. You see it throughout the book, but you don’t even know the half of it until the end. Every new thing was insane, and there was one twist involving him I genuinely didn’t see coming.

I flew through this book, I just had to know what happened. I was invested the entire time. I alternated reading versus listening, and the full cast did a wonderful job with the audiobook narration.

🍾 Debut author
🍾 Multiple POV
🍾 “Locked room” murder mystery
🍾 Texas sweet 16
🍾 Full cast narration

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, and Suzy Jackson did an excellent job with the narration! I appreciated the multi-narrator approach to this multi-POV novel because it made it really easy to keep track of whose POV we were in.

This was a book where no one could be trusted and I could make a case for each character being the villain throughout the book. I loved how the end played out, and I thought it was paced really well. If you’re a thriller fan, check this one out!

It was so engaging on audio, and I didn't guess how it would play out! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.