2.5/5 stars - This mystery was incredibly boring to me for 43% of the ebook version, then actual things began to happen. Apparently, I felt the same way about the one other book by Clare Mackintosh that I read, so I should have looked at that more closely! The mystery was ultimately decent, if not a bit predictable given the chaos and hidden hatefulness below rich people's fake lives. I also never really like Ffion, so to see she's the detective for the series is not thrilling to me. I really liked Leo, though, so hopefully he sticks around. All in all, I wish there was less time spent at the first half giving every bit of detail about everyone's lives. I prefer the mystery and interesting bits to be a bit more front and center.

Clare Mackintosh kicks off a new murder-thriller series featuring DC Ffion Morgan. She's called in to investigate a murder at a lake resort in her hometown. The resort straddles the Welsh/English border so DC Leo Brady gets called in from England as well. Ffion and Leo have met briefly, yet memorably before. The family dynamics of the murder victim and the first investors into the Shore, the new lakeside development shimmer with tension and intrigue that goes back almost 20 years.

Well written characters, fast-moving plot, can't wait to read #2!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I usually enjoy Mackintosh’s novels, but this one was just okay. I think there were too many characters and storylines to keep track of, which was kind of distracting. I also didn’t buy the twist at the end where the three people who had a hand in the death were revealed. None of that really seemed realistic. Overall, I don’t know that I will pick up the next book in this series, but I look forward to Mackintosh’s next standalone novel.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

Wild Ffion Morgan was no one’s idea of the kind of girl who’d grow up to be a police officer, but here she is at thirty, Cwm Coed’s own Detective Constable, with a fairly wide remit from the North Wales Police. Like nearly everyone else in her small Welsh town, she opposed the building of The Shore, the glamorous resort built on the English side of their Llyn Drych, a lake of cold waters and breathtaking views. While the owner of The Shore, Rhys Lloyd, is a local lad made good after rising to singing stardom several decades prior, the resort is widely and not incorrectly seen as a pleasure place for English people, built at the expense of the locals.

In an effort to assuage some of the tensions between The Shore residents and said locals, Rhys and his business partner decide to hold a New Year’s Eve party, inviting select town dignitaries. Things go sideways fast but the party, while chaotic, doesn’t quite spiral out of control. It’s only at the locals’ annual New Year’s swim the next morning that the true aftermath of the party is found: Rhys’ corpse floating in the lake, the clear victim of foul play.

Ffion wants nothing to do with this case, especially considering her awkward relationship with her English counterpart, Detective Constable Leo Brady of the Cheshire Constabulary. She tries to get her boss to give up jurisdiction to the English entirely, before realizing that she has a greater connection to the case than she’d initially thought, a connection that will see her stretching the limits of professionality and more in order to protect the ones she loves. When her boss finally gives her the okay to hand over the case to Leo, she has to think fast in order to stay assigned:

QUOTE
If she isn’t working on the case, she’ll have no way of knowing what’s been uncovered. How close they are to the truth. She walks away from Leo.

“The thing is, boss, I think I should stick with it.”

“Ffion, you begged me to take you off!”

“There are a lot of local inquiries to do on our side of the border. A number of witnesses who prefer to be dealt with in Welsh.” She knows just how to play this one. “And I think it’s good experience for me. You know, working in a team. It’s an area for, um, personal development.”
END QUOTE

Personal development in a professional setting is an area with loads of space for Ffion to improve on, as Ffion and her boss both know. And if Ffion is being honest, she’s warming up to working with Leo, who is not at all the person she thought he’d be. While he’s a talented detective, he’s a bit of a doormat otherwise, causing Ffion’s protective instincts to kick in on his behalf as well.

First and foremost of his problems, that she’s privy to anyway, is the appalling way his boss treats him. She doesn’t have to be a detective constable to figure out why:

QUOTE
“Is he like that to everyone?” Ffion says.

“Yes.” Leo’s response is automatic, then he thinks for a moment. “Actually, no. Just me.”

“Racist, then.”

“No, he’s never said anything racist. He wouldn’t dare.”

Ffion yawns. “Exactly. He targets you for no apparent reason, and the only difference between you and the rest of the office is…” She looks around the room, where every officer has one thing in common. They’re white.
END QUOTE

Ffion and Leo’s friendship deepens as they wade further into the tangled mass of motives, means and opportunities for killing Rhys Lloyd. Turns out that virtually no one liked the man, and for very good reason. But who among the revelers on the lake that night had hated him enough to kill?

I cannot resist any book featuring drily humorous British police detectives, and this was absolutely in the top tier of those for me, ranking up there with Stuart MacBride’s Logan McRae and Roberta Steel novels. Clare Mackintosh does not underestimate the intelligence of her readers, constructing a novel filled with clever, elegant twist after twist before a devastating ending that I’m still not sure I enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong: it was <i>great</i>, but did make me feel quite uncomfortable. I’m glad there’ll be a sequel to this terrific novel, though very much hope it will focus on Leo, who was my favorite character here, as much as on Ffion.

Oh goodness…a murder mystery filled with characters and nearly everyone had a great reason to be the killer. Set in a small Welsh town, its inhabitants hold lots of secrets, grudges, and possessiveness of their way of life. The author does a great job establishing character relationships and suspenseful scenes. This one kept me guessing until the very end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks/Landmark for the ARC to read and review.

Well crafted characters and a mystery that truly takes until the end of the book to figure out. No one is who they seem to be, and the the secrets are believable yet so sensational. Smart mystery that was enjoyable to read. I hope the detectives become a series.

With so many good reviews and this being a BOTM pick I really wanted to love it. I'm sad to say I'm very glad I didn't pick this as my BOTM choice. I was not a fan of the writing style and the story just very slow and not interesting. I could not get into it at all and it ended up being a DNF for me.

This is going to be the first book of a new series and I am sure many people will love it!

Thank you to NetGallery and Sourcebooks for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little nervous going into this because I don't love police procedurals, but this was a police procedural mixed with enough thriller elements and a fantastic cast of characters that made this a big win for me! After the End is still my favorite Clare Mackintosh, but this is a very very close second!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. this is my honest opinion.

I have read a number of Ms. Mackintosh's books and I didn't think it was one of her best. I seem to be in the minority. All through the reading, I kept thinking of Agatha Christie which didn't help. It was the story itself that I found hard to believe. The two detectives on the case, Ffion Morgan, who grew up in the village where this story takes place, was a rebellious girl, but as an adult becomes a police officer, and Leo Brady, who has to develop a spine as he is teased mercilessly by his superior, were wonderfully developed and had a very believable relationship of antagonism as they try to figure out how to work with each other. The trick in this duo's relationship is that the murder took place on the border of Wales and England and Ffion works for the Welsh police and Leo for the English.

So there is a murder of a person that everyone has a reason to hate. The book walks us through all the reasons. Mackintosh uses two things that I'm not fond of. A lot of points of view which has become very popular these days but not with me. She also slowly takes us backward in time which I also don't like. It seems like a lazy way to tell a person's story, history, and reason for disliking the murdered person.

I suspect this is the first in a series so if you are a Clare Mackintosh fan, I suggest you read this and get ready for the next one.

I’m sorry to say I couldn’t get into this book because of the dialogue and the authors style of writing.

Celebrity Rhys Lloyd is preparing to throw the biggest New Year’s Party at The Shore, an exclusive address and second home, for many of the residents. However, before the end of the night Rhys will be found. Everyone who is anyone was at the party, and everyone seems to have a reason to kill Rhys. Local D.C. Morgan has put on the case, with her sidekick Leo. If anyone can solve this case it’ll be this unlikely pairing.

Although I’ve read several of Clare’s books and have become a fan, I was prepared for how challenging this book would be to put down. So many twists and turns! The writing was fresh and the plot was unpredictable with twists that were truly unexpected—no easy task. Definitely worth the read! I

This was such a fun one to get approved for on @netgalley – love a good, pleasant surprise. Happy publication day!

Its New Year’s Eve and Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. Problem is that by midnight, Rhys is dead, and everyone is a suspect. So many people wanted him dead, but who killed him? This is what Ffion Morgan, detective constable, is determined to find out, while keeping her motives out of the limelight.

Usually, BOTM picks don’t let me down, but this one wasn’t my favorite. Overall, I didn’t love the story, but I didn’t hate the story, it was a solid middle of the road thriller for me. I didn’t really connect with the characters in a meaningful way, and I really didn’t care that Rhys was dead. He wasn’t a good person, so his death really didn’t matter to me. Sometimes I think the world is a better place without certain people in it – and Rhys was one of those people.

I am so thankful for @netgalley and the publishers, @bookmarked, for giving me an e-arc in exchange for this honest review. This one is out today so check it out!

Happy New Year!🍾🥂

A popular entertainer, Rhys Lloyd vanishes from a new-years’ eve party, only to be found washed up on the shore by morning. Who would possibly want this famous showman dead? But now, as the investigation digs deeper, the larger question becomes... who wouldn’t!?

Detective Constable Leo Brady of the Cheshire major crime unit is in charge of the investigation. He’s joined by local Detective Constable Ffion Morgan, of the North Wales CID. The two are teamed-up together to uncover a killer. This isn’t exactly their first time meeting. There’s something of a brief, but heated history between the two!. #awkward! Putting their personal ‘relationship’ aside to find a killer could prove to be a delicate dance!

This book started strong but midway it felt as things somewhat stalled. Making it feel rather long.🤷‍♀️

I believe this may be the start to a new series and I’ll be watching for the next. Truly, I will be anxiously awaiting anything this author releases next!

3.5⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark.

The Last Party dragged on. I wanted it to not drag on. I knew there was something waiting for me. It took until the last quarter for it to get there. When it did, it went fast. I wish the pacing had been more even.

I was so excited to read “The Last Party”. It has all the hallmarks of the thrillers I typically like-a murder whodunnit coupled with an interesting set of suspected characters. Plus, I’ve really enjoyed some of Mackintosh’s previous works. That being said, I didn’t love this one as much as I thought I would. Perhaps there were too many characters for me to feel connected to. This was one just seemed to go on longer than necessary and there were like 2 characters too many that added a little bit of confusion for me. I liked this one, but did not love it. Accordingly, this 3 stars for me. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

Wealthy star Rhys Lloyd is murdered on New Year’s Eve. Although the small town is shocked by this news, there is no shortage of suspects who wanted him dead.

DCI Ffion Morgan arrives at the pathologist’s office to find that her investigating partner is none other than the man she’d had a one night stand with the previous evening. No matter how awkward, they must work together to solve this murder. In this small town, everyone knows everyone, and everyone has a secret that they don’t want out. But who would actually kill for their secrets?

I am a fan of Clare Mackintosh’s novels, and this one is another winner. The twists and dives into the characters’ personal lives kept me guessing.

This is how you start a series! I found this book to be gripping and I found myself making time to read this entire book in one day.

It's a party to end all parties, but not everyone is here to celebrate.

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd, an opera singer, had a house full of celebrating guests at his vacation home in Mirror Lake. Most of the guest were there to party and have a good time, but not all had partying in mind. Rhys' body was found the next day!

DCI Ffion Morgan is called in to investigate and learns that she is teamed up with Leo Brady, a man she had a one-night stand with on NYE. This makes things both equally messy and interesting. Watching them move past this was part of the charm of this book. Both Ffion and Leo are likeable characters with their own secrets and pasts. They won me over and sold me on the book.

This was a solid police procedural with many suspects - basically everyone that the duo needs to sift through. The book goes back and forth in time as the story is told. Rhys was not the most likeable man, hence, there being many people who had reason to kill him.

I enjoyed the characters and can't wait to read more about them and their investigations in future books. I am not the biggest fans of slow starts or slow burns; I struggle with them, but I didn't mind the slow beginning.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book has so many of my favourite thriller tropes:
🏘 Small town where everyone knows everyone
👀 Lead detectives who have secrets of their own
🌧 Cold and rainy atmosphere

Hometown hero Rhys Lloyd is back in Wales and hosting a NYE party to celebrate his new, upscale vacation homes. He’s even invited the locals! Before the party is over, he’ll be dead and there’s no shortage of suspects.

This book is a certified page turner. The town is full of characters and I love the chemistry between Ffion Morgan and Leo Brady. I’m so excited that this will be a series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @bookmarked for this ARC for review.

This is a fabulous whodunnit with so many surprising twists and a ton of warmth and heart at its center. Highly recommend!

Clare MacIntosh does it again! The Last Party reminds me of a modern day Agatha Christie novel- strong sense of place, large cast of suspects, an interesting detective you cannot help but to root for. It is set in a small town on the Welsh/English border, where locals are not too happy about a new development of vacation homes. One of the developers is Rhys, a former local boy who has achieved international success as a singer. Rhys is found dead, and the story takes off from there. I really appreciated the setting and Welsh language and culture. Ffion is the local detective on the case and is a super compelling character I want to know better. So happy that this is a first in a new series with her! The Last Party is a perfect mix of police procedural, psychological thriller, and examination of a small town and its history. It is fast-paced and though it is long at 430 pages, it went by quickly. Highly recommend! Thank you to Sourcebooks and Net Galley for this advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.