I was engaged from the first chapter. Entertaining, kept me on the edge of my seat & guessing the entire time. It begins with a death at Sophie’s sweet sixteen party. The party guests include Sophie’s friends, her parents, and parents’ friends. It’s a stylish and lavish event— drinks are flowing, gossip is in full force, and no one can really be trusted.

Great debut and looking forward to more from this author! Thanks to the publisher for this great read!

Party of Liars is a dark suspense novel. The story twists and turns to keep you scratching your head as to what is actually happening. The characters are not very likable from the beginning of the story on. Ethan is the rich boy that seems to have a sense of entitlement and flaunt his wealth. Ethan and Kim’s daughter Sophie’s 16th birthday is where all the drama comes to ahead. Dani is the new trophy wife but things don’t seem right with her. Orlaith is very secretive as the nana and Kim is the bitter ex wife. The story is told in alternating points of view building in suspense until the shocking truth is finally revealed in spectacular fashion. My voluntary and unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

I couldn't put this down!! The short chapters, rotating POV between multiple characters (none of which are the birthday girl) and you can't help but wonder which one is the culprit, and which one is the victim. Is it the overly chatty nanny, who seemed to have her eyes on nannying for the Matthews family from the start? Or the best friend of the bday girl who happens to be crushing on the same guy she is? Or the bday girl's mom, the ex-wife, who is an alcoholic and seemingly unstable? Or is it the step-mom, who just had a baby but has been having visions and hallucinations in the home? I loved how fast I flew through it, how I really couldn't sense who was at fault, and of course the twists at the end. Definitely recommend this thriller for your summer tbr!

Kelsey's debut novel Party of Liars is an instant hit! What I figured would be a fun popcorn thriller turned out to be so much more, and I couldn't stop listening.

Gothic vibes, haunted houses, betrayal and lies, yes please!
It's faced paced, with short chapters that are Before and After the death, on the day of the party.

Told in multiple POV from 4 women with flashbacks, foreshadowing and time jumps which all added a level of surprise.

There were so many red herring distracting away from the real villain and I'm almost sure you will be as fooled as I was!

I especially loved the urban legend, and the touch of paranormal. It just added so much to the overall story.

This was such an impressive debut!

📚: Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox
⭐️: 2/5

Unpopular opinion alert: this book did not do it for me.

Without spoilers, this ended up being incredibly predictable with breadcrumbs of twists dropped miles away. (No red herrings found here.) The plot comes together in a predictable way, but for the majority of the read feels disjointed, like ships passing in the night with little connective tissue other than the obvious. (Again, predictability.)

Add in one annoying unanswered plot hole at the end, and I find myself disappointed in this highly anticipated summer read.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Party of Liars is out now.

Everything is bigger in Texas, including drama at a lavish Sweet Sixteen birthday party for Sophie Matthews! Just when you think the elaborate three-layer birthday cake should be the star of the show, a body tumbles from a balcony above and crash lands on the dance floor.

This juicy, suspenseful story is told from four points of view:
• Dani – Sophie’s stepmother and new mother to baby Charlotte, struggling with postpartum anxiety. She’s married to Ethan, who used to be married to:
• Kim – a bitter Betty of an ex-wife, fueled by grudges and alcohol
• Orlaith – the superstitious and suspicious Irish nanny
• Mikayla – Sophie’s bestie who is definitely hiding a big secret

The pace is propulsive, with the POVs alternating between very short chapters. The reader doesn’t know who the dead body is and how they came to be plummeting to their death, but there are plenty of red herrings along the way that kept me guessing the whole time. I wanted all the answers, and when they came, I was shocked by the big reveals!

~ set in Bulverde, Texas
~ a sweet 16 gone awry
~ a scream and a thud 😳

My exact notes from the first few pages of Party of Liars. This perfect poolside read had me hooked from the beginning!

There's a lot to entertain here, from catty high school friendships and a bitter ex-wife to a creepy nanny and an unsettling online fan. Not to mention the newly renovated, STUNNING home that comes complete with a wine cellar in a literal cave and its very own "Mother."

Each chapter just gave me so many questions, and EVERYBODY was a suspect! 😅

Read this if you like:
• Locked-room mysteries
• Creepy nannies and a haunting home
• Over-the-top parties in Hill Country, Texas
• Stories that touch on very serious topics
• Book club reads that entertain and provide much discussion

Many thanks to @minotaur_books for the complimentary copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own and provided voluntarily

A decadent Sweet Sixteen set against the eerie backdrop of a Texas mansion turns into a chilling night to remember in this deliciously twisted locked-room mystery. It's a Killer Guest List is as much about buried secrets and family tensions as it is about the glittering chaos of privilege gone awry. With a cast of sharply drawn women each nursing wounds, watching their backs, or planning their next move this tale crackles with suspicion and suspense from the first page to the shocking drop from the balcony. Atmospheric, tightly plotted, and gleefully sinister, this one kept me guessing and gasping until the very end.

Thank you NetGally for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book got me out of the reading slump I have been in for two months. It kept me interested, it kept me wanting to know what was going to happen, and it especially kept me questioning who was the bad guy in the story. It was fun and easy to read.

Party of Liars tells the story of a sweet sixteen party turned deadly from different POV mainly Dani, Kim, Mikayla, and Orlaith. Someone died at this party and only towards the end of the book do we find out who did it, however before finding out who died the book navigates us readers through the party and the hours prior to the murder. If I had to summarise this book I would say the core of this book is to show a mother's love and how far a mother would go to protect her child.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book it got me out of a reading slump and I found it such an easy read, I love short chapters, and a fun whodunit.

I give this book 4.5 stars, rounded up as there are no half stars here.

This is Kelsey Cox debut novel and I will definitely be on the look out for her next books, as I truly enjoyed this one.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun one! Super bingy, didn’t know what was going to happen and did enjoy the twists. This would be a fun summer read.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for my advanced e copy in exchange for my honest review.

Publish date: July 1, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley, Kelsey Cox, and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for dropping this eARC widget in my inbox! Party of Liars is out now!

I feel like I'm sensing a theme here in 2025 where there are books that are marketed as X and then you read it and it's nothing like what it's marketed as. Party of Liars is no exception to that. I went into this book with no expectations and honestly tried to shut my brain off for once so I could enjoy the thriller and let things unravel as they come, vs. trying to figure out what was going on and what happened before everything happened. Unfortunately, while I did figure out the ending to SOME extent, it still doesn't change the fact that marketing this as a "pulse-pounding" thriller is doing the book a disservice.

Is it a domestic drama? 100% yes, in my opinion.

Is it a thriller filled with twists and turns? No.

Sophie Matthews is turning 16. Her parents, her psychiatrist father, Ethan, and her influencer stepmother, Dani, decide to throw her the party of the century at their cliffside mansion they call home complete with a DJ, a mocktail bar, and a giant birthday cake made by Dani herself. The guest list? Well, it's mostly Ethan and Dani's friends along with some of Sophie's friends, including her best friend, Mikayla. Also showing up uninvited is Ethan's ex-wife and Sophie's biological mother, Kim. When someone falls to their death from one of the balconies at the party, the question becomes, who did it?

The story is told in 4 POVs: Dani's, Mikayla's, Kim's, and Órlaith, Dani's elderly nanny to her and Ethan's infant daughter, Charlotte. What I thought would be an interesting premise to see a thriller told in four wildly different perspectives ended up becoming its own downfall. Going into this a bit more, there are 98 chapters in this book. Ninety-eight chapters in 320 pages. Some of these chapters were barely half a page long. With that being said, the constantly switching chapters made it difficult at times to feel connected to the story. There's more to it than just that, but the constant paragraph breaks and switches between the characters' monologues of the events happening at the party and flashbacks to things that happened leading up to the party made it even more difficult to connect to the story and feel invested in the plot.

Coupled with this is the fact that I thought that the majority of the plot was just filler. Most of the story felt more like a domestic drama/suspense rather than a thriller that would keep people on the edge of their seats. Most of the story is about the events leading up to the scene of the crime, the characters' backstories, or somewhat mundane events happening during the party, but there was not much to gain from the plot that would contribute to anyone figuring out anyone's motives behind anything, really. Normally, that would result in a big plot twist that people won't see coming, but I had my suspicions about certain people leading up to it, and then when the "plot twist" actually happened, I was so over everything that I just wanted the book to be over.

I know this is from a debut author so I try to give them a lot more grace, but I also felt like the author threw a bunch of things in here that she WANTED to include for the sake of including it, but would never go back to said thing or explain anything about it. I was left somewhat confused as to why it's even there if it wasn't explained as to how this or that happened in the first place.

Overall, while I was super excited to read this, it fell flat. Unnecessary filler and fluff lines, along with constantly switching POVs that didn't fully feel fleshed out, made it an extremely difficult read for me. I know this is a debut author, so there's a chance I'll give future works a shot in the future, but this book didn't work for me. I think going into this book with the idea that this is NOT a thriller would've made it a more enjoyable read for me.

I love reading tales from my home state of Texas. They really draw me in and make me feel as if I am truly there because I can picture the settings and locations. Party of Liars had the perfect backdrop of the Texas Hill Country to suck you right into the thriller of solving a murder at a teen birthday party. You get the typical rich façade of characters with their chaotic relationships and quirks as the story is told through multiple POVs. Kelsey Cox will keep you guessing as more twists and turns come at every corner. Don't wait to put this on your TBR list and get it to the top!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

hank you to NetGalley for this E-ARC.

This book was wild. It starts by telling you what happens and then goes back and forth in time. Everyone is a liar in this book! It’s all very suspicious and confusing. I feel bad for Sophie! Everyone is untrustworthy. Everyone is a little insane.

Sophie’s 16th birthday party is a huge bash. Her very wealthy father Ethan is throwing it at their enormous house. Dani, Ethan’s very much younger second wife will be there, after she’s had a few struggling months as a new mom. Kim, Ethan’s first wife, will also be there. Sophie’s recent ex boyfriend Mason is also invited. Pretty much the entire town has RSVPd to this party. And everyone is a liar.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
This was a total page turner! I thought it was going in one direction and then BAM, it went a different way. “Party of Liars” by Kelsey Cox will keep you up late reading. The short chapters will keep you going back for more. I didn’t particularly love any of the characters but one came through as my fave at the end!
I look forward to more books by her! Many thanks to the author, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#PartyofLiars #KelseyCox #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #SummerReads #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetInTexas

It’s the day of Sophie Matthews’ sixteenth birthday and her wealthy psychiatrist father Ethan is determined to throw her an extravagant Sweet Sixteen party. His spectacular house, a glass-backed mansion on a hill in Bulverde, Texas, is replete with luxuries like an infinity pool and wine cellar, making it the perfect place to host Sophie and her friends. And why not make it a party for the adults, too, as Ethan invites his many well-heeled friends to attend.

Sophie’s stepmom Dani, is frazzled. Ever since the recent birth of her baby, Charlotte, she’s been feeling increasingly disorganized and distressed. Things keep moving from the places she swears she left them, and she’s been hearing and seeing strange things. Ethan is worried that she’s suffering from postpartum psychosis, and has her in psychiatric sessions with his business partner and best friend Curtis.

But Dani isn’t the only one convinced that something is wrong with their house. Her superstitious Irish nanny Orlaith calls the house a thin place, where ghosts can pass into and strongly affect the real world. Even Ethan’s ex-wife Kim, who originally renovated the once derelict house with him, has strong feelings about the place and its history:

QUOTE
It didn’t take long after we moved in before I heard the story from some of the locals, about the first mistress of the grand house on the cliff. She had lost her baby to one of those terrible diseases–scarlet fever or diphtheria–and, driven crazy by grief and guilt, she threw herself from the second-story balcony. According to local legend, she can still be heard wailing, wandering the woods on windy days and stormy nights.

The Mother, they call her.

[I] didn’t believe in ghosts. But I had felt emotions that were too big for my body, that clawed at the insides of my rib cage, swelled up my throat and into my mouth. Who knows if people can live past death. But maybe pain can.
END QUOTE

Dani is determined, however, to fight through her anguish to make a perfect party – and in particular, an extraordinary cake – for her stepdaughter. She and Sophie have always gotten along, and before she married Ethan, she’d built a thriving Instagram following for her ornate baked goods. She’s going to make sure that this party goes off flawlessly, even if it kills her.

By the end of the night, someone actually will be dead, as buried secrets rise to the fore like specters from a graveyard. Was it murder? Or, as more than one person at the party fears, the result of a phantom presence determined to ruin the happiness of others as her own was once destroyed?

This multiple point of view thriller expertly sets up its scenario before peeling back the many layers and hidden agendas of each of its characters. Everyone’s a suspect, even as the question of who actually died keeps readers guessing for over half the book.

What I really appreciated about this novel, however, was the way it dealt with feminine conflict. The women in this book are more than just the roles they seem to inhabit, whether that be overwhelmed new mom, alcoholic ex-wife, jealous best friend or hovering nanny. This conversation between Dani and Kim, for example, showcases their dynamic in the wake of Ethan’s announcement of a surprise vacation he wants to take Dani on. The ex wife tells the new wife:

QUOTE
[“]Look, learn from my mistake. Speak up now. Otherwise you’ll end up consumed with resentment. If you don’t want to go on this trip, just tell him.” She leans back, takes another drink. “You’re a brand-new mom. He’ll understand.”

Surprise, baby, Ethan had said. That kiss to the top of my head. Had he really thought what I needed right now was a surprise? Maybe he did keep it a secret because he knew I would have said no. Does Ethan always get his way?

Why am I even playing into this? The one being manipulative here isn’t my husband. It’s Kim.
END QUOTE

As the day and the night of the party play out, the secrets of the glass house come to light, proving fatal for at least one person there. Solving the mystery may provide exactly the kind of closure and healing the survivors need, in this smart, compassionate and deeply empathetic look at an over-the-top birthday party gone terribly awry.

This book was so good! It kinda gave Big Little Lies vibes, beginning with an "accident" of sorts at a party and then working backwards to see what led up to said accident.

The characters were interesting and this took us through multiple POVs ( I thoroughly enjoyed the nanny.) There was LOTS of drama; the adults and kids both had their own things going on. Dad trying to give his daughter the sweet 16 of her dreams. Mom having to return to the house she and said dad remodeled only now it and her husband belong to someone else. Daughter being a bit of a brat and the best friend who's just happy to be there?

The last twist I somewhat had predicted but that didn't take away from the story at all. I very much enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise immediately caught my interest: a sweet 16 birthday party that goes completely wrong. You learn early on that someone dies the night of the party, and the narrative jumps back and forth in time from multiple perspectives as you discover more and piece everything together. Every character has secrets, and you're never quite sure if you can trust any of them, which I really enjoyed. The twist was unexpected, and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced thriller.

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox had such an intriguing synopsis so I just knew I was going to love it!

I mean, just look at it:

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.

You're intrigued too, right?

And it all adds up to fantastic characters, a haunted setting, and strange occurrences that unravel into one fun and twisted ride!

Cox crafted a large but manageable cast that was easily defined, with each character feeling all too relatable! This coveted setting created the kind of spooky atmosphere I love within summer thrillers! Unreliable narrators soon became spiraling characters and only added to the chaotic party vibes!

Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, and Suzy Jackson narrated an audiobook that has quickly became a favourite! Their voices were distinct, allowing for these characters to really be the "perfectly" created individuals Cox intended!

Straight up, I'm a huge fan of domestic thrillers, and this is the perfect example of why!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

I devoured this last month, and what a ride! Set in a sprawling, creepy (possibly haunted 👻) mansion deep in the Texas Hill Country, this story hooked me from page one. Years ago, the house gained a dark reputation after a grieving mother jumped from a top-story window. Fast forward to the present: the same house is hosting a glitzy Sweet 16 when — you guessed it — a body falls from the balcony. Cue the locked-room murder mystery vibes, shifting POVs, secrets, and so many twists!

If you love a whodunnit where everyone seems guilty and the house itself feels like a character, this one’s for you!