Sophie Matthews’ extravagant Sweet Sixteen takes a tragic turn when, just after she blows out her birthday candles, a body falls from the balcony and crashing the celebration in the most horrifying way possible.

The party is hosted at her father Ethan’s newly renovated mansion, perched high on a hill in Texas Hill Country. With its glass wall and lavish interior, the home has long sparked rumors: some say it’s haunted, others just say it’s cursed. But tonight, for the first time, guests get a full view inside.

Among those attending are Sophie’s close-knit but complicated group of friends, Sophie’s mother whom is Ethan’s unstable, emotionally volatile ex-wife Kim, and Dani. Dani is Ethan’s new wife and Sophie’s stepmother, still adjusting to motherhood and battling her own dark thoughts. Then there’s the mysterious nanny, Órlaith, whose obsession with the house’s ghost stories blurs the line between superstition and danger.

Told through alternating points of view and shifting timelines (“Before” and “After” the fatal fall), Party of Liars slowly untangles the twisted web of secrets, betrayals, and resentments each character carries. Everyone has something to hide. And in a house where nothing is quite as it seems, the truth is as fragile, and dangerous, as glass.

Kelsey Cox delivers a slow-burning psychological thriller that explores the lies people tell to protect themselves and the ones they love. With its mix of family drama, teen dynamics, and eerie atmosphere, this novel is as emotionally charged as it is suspenseful.

I enjoyed this book. It continuously built suspense and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time trying to figure out who died and who did it. The book sometimes dragged a little and there were too many plot lines for me but I liked the way that it tied together in the end.

Sophie Matthews’ sixteenth birthday party is an exclusive bash in the heart of Texas Hill Country, and Sophie’s dad has spared no expense. Among the attendees are Dani, her dad's young second wife as well as his ex-wife, Kim, who is Sophie's mother. Dani and Ethan have a young baby and a superstitious Irish nanny to help out with her. Enough said. Avoid reading too much about the book if you intend to read it.

Talk about rich people behaving badly! Too much alcohol, long-held resentments and jealousies, so much gossip and back-stabbing, it's hard to know where to look next. The story is told from the points of view of a number of characters before the party, during the party and after the party. There are hints of the supernatural but, for those readers (like me) who are not fans of this device, nothing overt. It took a while for the story to pick up and draw me in but there's lots of drama and secrets. I really enjoyed reading this book and rate it at 4.5 stars, rounded down. I understand this is the author's debut novel and it's a very impressive debut.

TW: There are some triggers including alcoholism, post-partum depression, mental health issues and others.

Thank you to Minotaur Books, via Netgalley, for inviting me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: July 1, 2025

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sweet sixteen gone wrong 🍾🎂☠️

I was hesitant about this at first with the main plot centered around a sweet sixteen, thinking it might feel more Young Adult, but this book has DRAMA and all the suspense. I enjoyed the multiple POV- The nanny was so mysterious, the mom was a total reck, the best friend so innocent (or is she). I would say this is a little bit of a slow burn but the story plot and character development had me hooked the whole time. Some of the twists were a little predictable but the big twist at the end had me shocked! This is a fun & quick read to add to your TBR

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

It’s Sophie’s 16th birthday and her dad and young stepmom are hosting at their hilltop mansion. A mansion that is allegedly haunted. This isn’t a haunting book, but it is a book about people with secrets. Fueled by alcohol, both the teens and adults get progressively drunker and more deceptive throughout the evening, culminating in the death of one partygoer.

Personally, I thought this book was a little slow, but there were done small twists peppered throughout the book. I liked the ending 80 pages, which is why I bumped up by 1/2 a star.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a copy of this novel.

Party of Liars is a razor-sharp, slow-burning thriller set against the glittering backdrop of a Texas mansion with secrets buried deeper than the wine cellar. Kelsey Cox delivers a gripping whodunit filled with shifting perspectives, buried grudges, and a chilling sense of unease that builds with every chapter.

The story kicks off with an extravagant sweet sixteen that quickly turns deadly, and from there, the twists don’t stop coming. Each character, especially Dani, Órlaith, Mikayla, and Kim, is layered with motives and misdirection, making it genuinely hard to know who to trust. Cox is particularly skilled at weaving domestic drama with psychological suspense full of the weight of lies and betrayal.

Highly recommend!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books in exchange for my honest review.

A glitzy fast-paced spin on the classic locked-room mystery. A Sweet Sixteen in a possibly haunted Texas mansion? YES, please! I loved how secrets unraveled and the motives surfaced. I also really enjoyed the multiple POV twisty writing style and oh! So much drama! This is perfect for fans of juicy whodunnits with a dark, glamorous edge.

Thank you to Minotaur Books via netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review was posted (Instagram, Goodreads, bookishlytara blog, Storygraph) on July 5, 2025. An additional post (with a reposted review) was posted on Instagram on the publication day as well as an Amazon Canada review. (links below

Layered with palpable foreboding and eye-popping secrets, Party of Liars delivered a locked-room whodunnit that was impossible to see coming. From the short, cliffhanger chapters to the just-maybe-supernatural subplot, I couldn’t put the book down and ended up finishing it in well under twenty-four hours. You see, the constant sense of something big coming up just around the bend had me reading one more chapter over and over. It wasn’t until the climax and its series of thoroughly chilling reveals, though, that I was won over completely. After all, the earth-shattering twists took a good book and made it into a truly unforgettable read.

The second biggest win in this suspense/thriller was easily the transformation of each and every character as the plot rolled along. You see, I started off either disliking, not trusting, or outright judging most of them in the beginning. The more I learned, though, the more that I grew to love each of them in turn. With believable motivations within a backdrop of manipulative lies, they felt fully fleshed out—even if they also came with just enough fictional flair to make them all sing. And while I would coin this book a slow burn, the buildup of their various missteps and traumas along with the constant sense of unease meant a book that I just couldn’t put down.

All said and done, thanks to a complex, onion-like plot and the potential for the bad guy to be just about anyone in the cast, I couldn’t have figured this one out no matter how hard I tried. What really got me in the end, though, was the depth of the characters and the psychological insights gleaned by the author. Exploring motherhood, friendship, and the question of listening to one’s instincts, not only was the plot full of plenty of chills and thrills, but it delivered a story that made me think as I read along. So if you’re looking for a book filled with complex group dynamics and memorable characters, you’re going to want to grab this debut ASAP. Rating of 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Kelsey Cox, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for my complimentary physical and digital copies. All opinions are my own.

What a great title. No one and nothing is as it seems. The story starts off with a scream and keeps you engaged try8ng to determine what happened. The nanny Orlaith was my fav. Great twist at the end.

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox is a jaw-dropping, binge-worthy thriller that had me hooked from page one. The story is packed with juicy secrets and dark truths that slowly unravel in the most satisfying way. Each character is layered and complex, making you question everyone’s motives right up until the final, mind-blowing twist.

Kelsey Cox does a phenomenal job weaving suspense with emotion—there were moments I was gasping, and others I was completely heartbroken. Just when you think you have it figured out, the story takes another unexpected turn.

If you love thrillers with strong female leads, messy secrets, and a plot that keeps you guessing, Party of Liars is an absolute must-read.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur books for this book. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.


This book has rich people drama and tells the tale of a series of events that lead to someone’s death and the manipulations of one man to three different woman and the chain of events that caused his downfall. In this book we are following Dani, Kim, Orlaith, and Mikayla. Dani is a new mother who seems to be suffering from postpartum depression and believes that she is seeing a ghost of a woman named The Mother who fell off a balcony after her infant daughter died. But after reading parts of the past and present leading to the Sweet Sixteen birthday party of Kim’s daughter with Ethan, Nicole. We find out what ultimately led to Ethan’s death and the manipulation that Ethan used on both Kim and Dani and Orlaith’s daughter who was engaged to Ethan and later killed in a car accident. Dani realizes that Ethan had been manipulating her and that her brain made her forget until the night of Nicole’s party. There are twists and turns throughout this book that I thought was beautifully done.

Multiple POV thriller that takes place at a sweet sixteen . All through the book I kept thinking “ don’t let it be what i think it is …” ( this is all i can say without spoilers) and it was what I thought it was so honestly the book lost a half a star because of it !

My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Although I didn't recognize the author, I chose this book because the description sounds harrowing. A haunted mansion with a body falling from the balcony - has to be a good mystery. This is a debut novel.

Description:
Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. 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.

It’s a killer guest list . . .

DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl

ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume

KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .

Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive.

My Thoughts:
I liked the multiple points of view as it added perspective. The over-the-top sweet sixteen party was lavish. There were quite a few suspects to sift through here. The nanny was strange and kind of gave me the creeps. The mansion's history was a little daunting, but with the beautiful renovations the party was a great way to show it off. When the unexpected death happens everyone is shocked, of course. But was it an accident? What really happened? This was the mystery. This is a good thriller and I think those who like the genre will enjoy this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Thank you net galley for this ARC!…

But I had to DNF this book at 36%. Nothing is happening and I am so bored!

The book is told from multiple POV and honestly I don’t care about any of them, because again, nothing is happening.

The nanny gives me the creeps. The mom is an annoying drunk. The best friend is in love with or hates Sophie?? Didn’t make it long enough to figure that one out. And last, the new wife - idk how I felt about her, honestly she seems irrelevant to the story.

Maybe I didn’t make it long enough to start to enjoy it, but I can’t make myself keep reading books I’m just not enjoying.

The pacing of this felt off to me. I expect a thriller to have that pounding, propulsive feeling, but this moved slowly despite the short chapters. I didn’t really care about any of the characters either.

Don’t let the sweet 16 storyline fool you in to thinking this is a YA book- it is filled with adult drama, including addiction, divorce, postpartum depression, jealousy, friendship, and even a little bit of the supernatural.

In the first chapter, a person falls to their death at a sweet 16 party. The whole book is spent trying to figure out who died and who, if anyone, caused their death. The story is told in four POVs over 90+ chapters. I like this format for mystery-type reads as I always find myself saying “just one more chapter.”

Overall, the book was fast-paced and had a lot of twists, many of which I did not see coming. As the title indicates, everyone in the book is a liar and you never know who to trust.

While this is not a literary masterpiece, I would recommend if you want a quick, easy “whodunnit”.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review early.

When Ethan Matthews was married to Kim, they decided to buy a dilapidated old castle that was built on a hill in Texas. Many years before, the lady of the house and her baby daughter became ill. When the mother awoke, she learned that her baby had died and the woman was so distraught that she threw herself off the balcony. The massive home was then closed up. Some even say it’s haunted. So, they worked hard at refurbishing the place and today it is a masterpiece.

Now, Ethan and Kim are divorced and their daughter, Sophie is turning 16. Ethan is now married to Dani and they have a baby daughter named Charlotte. Dani is an expert pastry maker with dreams of opening her own shop one day. Since having the baby she has had some times of feeling uncomfortable in the house. Ethan insists that they get a nanny to help with Charlotte.

Ethan has decided to throw a huge Sweet Sixteen party for Sophie at their huge home. He and Kim have gone all out to put together a huge, over-the-top party with lots of Ethan’s friends invited. Dani has worked hard to make a beautiful birthday cake for Sophie. She loves the girl so much. Kim is attending as well and can’t help but be jealous of Dani. So many of their old friends have stuck with Ethan after the divorce.

We see the big birthday party happen and lots of secrets are revealed. The alcohol flows and people let their hair down. It also exposes some truths that have been hidden and results in the death of one of the attendees. This book was mesmerizing and one that I will remember for a long time to come. Do not miss it. Wow!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3.5 ⭐️ | This party was certainly full of liars, and everyone had secrets. Even the unlikeliest of suspects had something to hide. I enjoyed seeing this story unfold, and especially enjoyed being misled as I slowly began to find out some of the characters that I was rooting for were not so innocent, and others that I thought were up to no good weren’t so bad after all. That alone sets the tone for an overall good thriller. The story showed the drama & complexities of blended families, which I’m sure a lot of readers can relate to. It does have a lot of POVs (I think a total of 6) so definitely take notes on who everyone is if you’re one to get confused with multiple points of view.

When Ethan throws his daughter Sophie a lavish 16th birthday party, the guest list is very interesting. There’s Kim the bitter ex-wife, Orlaith the nanny that has her own secrets, Mikayla Sophie‘s best friend & sort of an outcast with the teenage crowd, Dani the new wife that is suffering from postpartum & questioning her own sanity. When one of the guests untimely death dampers the party, everyone’s a suspect.

Overall a solid & enjoyable read that thriller fans will enjoy. Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a "new to me" author that I discovered was also a debut novel. I went into this completely blind so that I had no idea what even the genre for this book was.

This is a thriller that takes us into the life of two families. One - the new family that has a new "young" wife with a brand new baby and the second - the discarded wife and her teenage daughter.

To be more clear - there is the husband, mid-forties psychiatrist Ethan Matthews with his brand new second wife - 27 year old Dani. Dani is a new mother with a baby who is - according to Ethan - having some post partum mental issues that he is desperately trying to help her with.

Then there is Dani, who is living in a house that is supposedly "haunted" who has been having some things occur that she is afraid to tell anyone about because it just might make her seem "crazy".

There is the "Ex" wife Kim. She has a multitude of issues. Starting with some massive anger issues and what is very apparent - a huge drinking problem.

We then meet the 16 year old best friend of Ethan and Kim's daughter Sophie - Mikalya. It becomes pretty clear pretty fast that there just might be something "off" about this young girl.

Then, to top things off, there is the odd nanny. Orlaith seems to have appeared out of the blue and seems to really love the baby....but is she who she says she is?

To top everything else, this book is set in the small Texas town of Bulverde, Texas. I just happen to live in the same county (Comal County) but right next door in New Braunfels, Texas. It is almost unheard of to read something that is set in my neck of the woods, so I especially loved reading all of the little details.

This book does a great job of building and building the tension and getting the reader to the point where you are going back and forth trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

I will say this - I thought I had everything figured out, and for the most part I did. But...there were a couple of twists that were just casually thrown in there at the end. Those actually just BLEW my mind. It was even more interesting the way they seemed to be just casually thrown in at the end. Crazy.....

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. This book will be out for publication on July 1, 2025.

Party of liars is one of the anticipated mystery and thrillers of July and I was happy to receive the arc. I was intrigued by the premise-a sweet sixteen at a lavish and haunted mansion turns deadly when a body falls out of the third story window. The narrative moves between multiple pov of the suspects/guests-including the birthday girl, her best friend, the stepmother, the nanny, among others. While I wanted to love this as it had all of the elements I would enjoy-a locked room premise-the touch of the gothic supernatural-multiple pov- I admit I couldn’t get into it. I do feel like this was a me problem, but I felt detached from the narrative. Other reviews raved about this one, so I am in the minority and do feel like it will be worth checking out for many others!

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.