Perhaps I'm getting jaded after reading too many similar novels, but, this was just an OK read for me.

It's the story of a group of friends, out for a Bachelorette party and then, the next day, one of them is found murdered. There are a lot of characters in this book, so, be on your toes. I liked the premise of this book more than the reality and would say it's an easy holiday read, but, no more than that.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC sent to me in exchange for this honest review.

I loved The Last Night Out! At about the 60% point this afternoon, I intended to put it down to get some errands out of the way, and I just couldn't do it. Spent the next couple of hours devouring every word to the last.

Catherine O'Connell's novel takes place in 1988 when five lifelong girlfriends are together for a bridal shower. Maggie (the bride-to-be), Angie, and Suzanne aren't ready for the fun to end when the shower is over, so they head over to Rush Street in Chicago for some heavy drinking and dancing. Suzanne and Angie leave Maggie on the dance floor when Angie has been way overserved. The next morning Maggie wakes with a bad hangover and her dance partner of the previous night in her bed! She's awakened by Suzanne with the news that Angie has been found in a park, murdered. All the remaining four girlfriends' lives are upended in the following two weeks, and the reader is immersed in trying to discover the murderer.

O'Connell does a fantastic job developing all of her characters. Each of the five friends' histories, character strengths and faults, and motivations truly come to life. Best of all for a thriller, I was completely baffled by who had murdered Angie and why until late in the book when the truth becomes clear. I also loved how the novel ended. Not only was the murder solved, but we get a complete synopsis of what happened to each of the friends in the following 25 years. All except one lingering question . . .

I highly recommend The Last Night Out. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book, it had a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

I live a pretty vanilla life; a husband, two cute kids, in bed by 9pm...that type of thing (which I love). For my bachelorette party I went wine tasting in a limo with some girlfriends and called it a wrap. Maybe that’s why I sometimes gravitate to juicy reads that offer drama and scandal? I gotta get it somewhere to shake things up once in awhile! Well, I definitely found it in abundance with the book Last Night Out. This was a crazy ride! So much sh*t goes down when a few friends wake up post bachelorette party to find that an some very horrifying events took place. This is sort of like the dark version of The Hangover. The story takes place in the late 80’s and being a 90’s baby, I found this to be a fun and interesting point. I was glued to the pages in suspense and had to know how it would all end! Read this with a glass of your favorite wine or cocktail in hand and be ready for some thrills.

What a night indeed, the bacheloret party or also known as a Hen Party this side of the Atlantic, the bride to be gets drunk and ends up sleeping with someone who was at the club half of them finished up at for the end of the night. Also forgot to mention one of the group got murdered, so the six long term friends from school days become five.
The year this all took place was 1988 the girls now ladies in their 30's all started with a meal at Carol Ann's who is Maggie's (the bride to be) best friend or BFF in the new terminology of today. Each of the friends had something to hide (well be a bit boring if they didn't), from Carol Ann who seems to have it all together to Kelly who is just getting it all together, and it's Kelly who discovers it Angie's body they have found in Lincoln Park whilst out for her morning run. Guess Kelly's life he been laid out there for all of the six to see, the other five are not so open and have secrets that they want to keep often is the case in real life i guess.
This is one of those books that gets you hooked earlier on or rather it did me and i hope you will be as well. It has lots of twists and turns and even with the various plots of the main characters it is easy to keep up with and doesn't get confusing as some lesser writers have been known to do. This still let's you escape into another place so had all the ingredients you want but you will see that when you read it. The ending is a surprise but there are surprises throughout the book and all add to a great thriller that I'm glad I read and it lingers with you in all the right ways looking forward to a sequel please Catherine.

What happens when you attend your bachelorette party and wake up with a man in your bed? oops! And what if one of your friends was found murdered the next day? The man is your alibi but that’s not going to look good to your fiancee!

This is the premise for The Last Night Out by Catherine O’Connell.

After drinking too much at her bachelorette party, Maggie Trueheart wakes to find a stranger in her bed. To make matters worse, a phone call brings the devastating news that her friend Angie was murdered some time after they parted ways the night before.

Kelly Delaney, who left the party early, is the first of Maggie’s friends to face questions from Chicago homicide detective Ron O’Reilly. After taking a closer look at the other women who attended the party, O’Reilly concludes that at least some of them are lying.

As the clock ticks down to the wedding day and more shocking secrets are revealed, the murderer zeros in on another one of the girls. Can the killer be stopped before there is another victim?

This is a great page-turner that will keep you reading all night. It was a quick read with multiple people who could be the murderer. I love a book that keeps you guessing!

THE LAST NIGHT OUT is a fantastic, seedy, darkly humorous thriller set in Chicago in the 1980's. I was hooked right from the start of this story where a group of close friends go out partying in advance of one of them getting married in two weeks. Each one of the friends have problems going on in their life from either before, or because of that night, and one ends up murdered.

Catherine O'Connell has a way with words that kept me deeply engrossed in this novel. The characters are well developed...I found myself caring for each of them and what happened to them throughout the book. The story is filled with drugs, sex, and violence, and some nice twists that really made it hard for me to put down. I cannot wait to read more from O'Connell. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley, Catherine O'Connell, and Severn House Publishers for an ARC.

Duplicate review. Sorry - Please refer to my review on May 28, 2018. Excellent read! Many Thanks! Jan

A well written story of six friends on a hen night and at the end one ends up murdered. Story unfolds at Maggie's hen party with her 5 friends and the secrets each of the friends have, hampering the police in their investigation. Full of twists and turns, you're are kept guessing until the end. After a slow start, the story is gripping and unputdownable. Recommended and cannot wait to read other novels by Catherine O'Connell..

Underwhelmed with a sense of déjavu. There are some twists and turns and there’s some decent storytelling here, but this book felt like other thrillers I’ve read. It’s not original enough to truly thrill and the ending felt more like some attempt to make up for the monotonous read this book really was. I didn’t hate it, but I’m not going to gush over it either.

"When I think of how my life turned out in the aftermath, there is always a twinge of guilt."

Six friends. Three secrets. One murder.
Maggie is destined to marry the perfect man in two weeks. Desperate for a last wild night on the town before the big day, she gathers six friends for a night to remember. Only things go wrong, horribly wrong.

Angie’s body is found in the park the following morning and the night to remember quickly becomes a nightmare they wish they could forget. Under police scrutiny, how far will Maggie and her friends go to keep their secrets—far enough to protect a killer?

This really is a dark, twisty thriller! It makes you think and the ending is so good, I didn't see it coming. I can't wait to read more novels from this author!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC #Blackthorn
Pub Date: 02 May 2019

The Last Night Out had everything I needed in a thriller and it left me feeling surprised at the end. This is pretty much exactly what I look for in thrillers these days and the author hit the mark. The only thing I can say about the book that bothered me is it's not 100% original. I feel like I had read a book with a similar plot recently.

This is a great dark twisty tale of a thriller. I loved it and couldn't wait to find out which way it was going to go. A really enjoyable read from an author I've not read before.

Wow, The Last Night Out by Catherine O'Connell had so many twists and turns that my head is still spinning. Each time I thought I had the killer or plot figured out, the author would throw the reader down another winding path. Each character was well-developed with storylines that had you shaking your head at the absurdity of their decisions but also thinking "would I have done the same thing in their position?"

The ending and epilogue were brilliantly done, making you think you know what happened, but then not knowing. It was a great ending because it wasn't a nice, neat bow that wrapped everything up. This book had such good writing and believable narrative arcs for each of the leading players.

I was sad to see this book end as some of the characters were quite enjoyable to read about and get to know.

Thank you #NetGalley for an advanced copy of #TheLastNightOut!

Overall this was a pretty good book. Maggie is getting ready to get married when one night, her bachelorette party night, changes everything! One of her best friends ends up dead and no one knows why or who the killer could possibly be. The author gives you a few different possible suspects, with almost everyone hiding some type of secret! This goes to show you never truly know someone! My only negative comment would be the pace of the first half of the book. I thoroughly enjoy the books where each chapter ends with me dying to read more... this book did not fall into that category. The twists/suspense didn’t really start until about 60% into the book so it was just a little slow for me, however I’d still recommend it! The ending was quite surprising and extremely realistic, which I feel like is rare in most books (spoiler but kind of not a spoiler, this doesn’t end with everyone getting a happy ending).

Maggie is enjoying the build up to her wedding with her closest friends from childhood. Until it all goes wrong. Angie, one of Maggies friends is found murdered.
The story slowly unfolds showing that all the friends have secrets in their lives. Did one of these secrets lead to Angie’s murder?
The story is told from the POV of the friends and the police investigating. Maggie counts down to her wedding.
I enjoyed the build up to the big reveal. Some of the surprises were easy to guess but others were a total curveball. I particularly enjoyed how the story ended.
Thanks to Blackthorn and NetGalley for an ARC #Blackthorn #NetGalley

It was supposed to be a farewell to freedom, a goodbye to her days as a single woman. But Maggie’s last hurrah before her wedding goes badly awry, ending in the death of one of her friends. Maggie and her remaining friends have vowed to keep the secret of what happened that night – under pain of death. But how long will they be able to live with the guilt and fear of what really happened? Maggie and her friends are definitely Millennials and they are most concerned about what impacts themselves. A wry, if dark, story about being part of the me first generation

The Last Night Out by author Catherine O’Connell is a dark thriller/mystery with a domestic feel to it. I was so excited to be approved for this novel and it did not disappoint! I can’t recommend this book enough, coming May 2019!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of The Last Night Out in exchange for an honest review.