Review taken from Instagram.

Had the privilege of reading one of my favorite crime author’s new procedurals early. Been waiting to share how much I enjoyed it. Clare Mackintosh is a 👸🏻when it comes to writing crime thrillers!

“At midnight, one of them is dead. By morning, all of them are suspects.”

Here’s what I loved most about THE LAST PARTY (out today in the U.S.):

✔️Atmospheric - Icy, North Wales setting
✔️Beautiful, crisp writing
✔️Closed cast mystery (a tight community with many secrets)
✔️Complicated female detective and her partner (fun banter between them)
✔️Red herrings galore
✔️Twists and turns and hairpin curves

This gave me Bad Sisters meets Broadchurch vibes, so naturally, I loved it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I discovered Clare Mackintosh when, years ago, I read I LET YOU GO. If you want one of the most mind-blowing Act II twists, I highly recommend getting your hands on that one. Happy reading! 📚

I LOVE a murder mystery where the victim is someone who was hated by everyone . . . so many suspects with so many reasons for wanting him dead!

Mackintosh spins a terrific web with this twisty tale of murder in a small Welsh village where the haves have been lording it over the have-nots. There's plenty of humor, and a swell cast of characters, including not one, but two, likeable detectives. In all, a pretty good whodunnit.

I can't wait for the next in the series.

Clare Mackintosh shows us her love of Wales with her latest, The Last Party. We are introduced to two new detectives who are investigating a murder among the wealthy at a resort built just for them. Everyone seems guilty or has secrets that they don't want to get out. Richly detailed! I look forward to this being a new series!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC!

So many layers to unpack with this one. It’s New Year’s Day and Ffion Morgan is looking at a dead body and a lot of suspects.

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd is entertaining the neighbors and townsfolk on Mirror Lake. His vacation houses seem to be popular with the rich and not so much with the town folk. With everyone drinking champagne, who would guess that Rhys would end up floating dead in the lake?

There are so many secrets in this one. It is a small town but that means her neighbors are also suspects.

I am not sure any of these folks know what the truth is. And it turns out the question should be who did not kill him

This author is so good at red herrings and twisting us up in a really good tale!

NetGalley/November 8th, 2022 by Sourcebooks Landmark

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. Mackintosh never leaves me disappointed. I will continue to read anything she writes. The plot is a bit familiar with the party, guests and a murder,but Mackintosh sneaks in enough twists to make this one memorable.

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors. But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake. This is a psychological thriller that shifts from the past to the present. We hear from all the different suspects. Lots of secrets are being kept. The plot was such that kept me reading all the way to the very surprised ending. If you like atmospheric psychological thrillers then you would love this book. I would like to thank Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for a copy for an honest review.

On New Year’s Eve, famous singer Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests, but by midnight, the host will be found dead. In a small town where everyone knows each other (and a majority wanted Rhys dead), Ffion Morgan finds herself co-leading the investigation to find out just who murdered him.

THE LAST PARTY by Clare Mackintosh is my second read by this author (my first being HOSTAGE), and this one was vastly different.

I’ll start by saying that there are a lot of Welsh words and sayings thrown around in this story, which added some confusion and slowed down my comprehension a bit (especially when words were said, but then not explained?), but THAT ASIDE, this book played host to a large array of characters that Clare fleshed out beautifully. Everyone seemed to have a motive and their own hidden secrets that kept me constantly second-guessing who I thought the killer could be.

The setting was also so well-described that I felt like I landed on The Shore myself!

If you love a story with a large cast of characters, and alternating timelines, pick this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: November 08, 2022

Excellent fast paced novel about the death of a man with many enemies. Rhys Lloyd is a terrible person. From shady business deals, sexual assault, harassment, and betrayal of his family, he has few true friends. When he builds an exclusive luxury housing development with an equally shady partner, the community he lives in is divided. The people who have moved into the development all seem to have a reasonably friendly relationship on the surface with Lloyd, but the rest of the community who were mostly against the development have even more reason to hate Lloyd. When Lloyd ends up dead after a blow out party at the development that included people from the entire community, the police have no idea who could have done it since he was so unpopular. This book is impossible to put down, another fantastic novel by this author.

This is a great book because it's 2 cultures There is a lot of twist and turns put together in this book. They had Welsh Words and English words as well. The name person who Who is RHSL IOD He was born in this village Became a singer. His father left him Land you're gonna develop that called the shore On On the Is lake for wealthy people from London. And this book was very interesting because it would go back-and-forth in time and you really got to know what was really happening and how people reacted to this man. Everybody had a chapter 2 and tie in with this book. When his body was found there are so many different people never knew it was gonna happen. The detective FIFO NMONE And her partner Lee Brandon. She had a history with this singer and nobody was really happy he was back in town. His mother protected him a lot. He owned money to a lot of people. There's a lot of twist and turns on this book and it was interesting with the titles in the last P ART Y. There is so many interesting parts of this Book FIFO O And a history with this person because she had a sister or Sean The find out this really means in the book. I like the characters because they all have interesting stories behind me Everybody has problems and this party just seems to aggravate people who want The rich people remain with the town Peopt n The Boat builder had a problem drinking even When he was not supposed to drink You drank that night here's completely drunk. Everybody have problems And how everybody seemed to get along and this was interesting in the book But some people do not.

Clare Mackintosh returns with her latest novel, THE LAST PARTY —a blending of psychological thriller, small-town mystery, and cop procedural in an alluring atmospheric setting centered around a posh New Year's Eve party, which will keep you guessing to the end.

Rhys Lloyd hosts a New Year’s Eve party. He is a singer, a celebrity, and a developer of vacation homes along Mirror Lake, which straddles North Wales and England in his hometown.

He grew up in the village of Cwm Coed on the Welsh side, where he became disliked for building a luxury vacation development on the British side that the villagers believed would spoil the area and price them out.

And by New Year’s Day, he is found dead on the freezing Mirror Lake.

There are two detectives on the case. Det. Constable Ffion Morgan of the North Wales Police and Det. Constable Leo Brady of the Cheshire Constabulary.

Needless to say, there was an awkward moment between them due to the New Year's Eve party. Ffion knows more of the village's secrets than Leo, who is more of an outsider.

There are many suspects and red herrings. Almost every character in the book has a motive to murder Rhys Lloyd.

We learn about the murder investigation and the time before his death from many suspects with motives at the party. Lots of SECRETS!

From multiple POVs: Ffion, Leo, Rhys, and Mia; Yasmin, Ceri, Clemmie, Blythe, Seren, Dee, Caleb, Steffan, Felicia, Bobby, and Glynis— both past and present.

As always, Mactonish keeps you in suspense and has lots of surprises. This would make for a great book club pick with a Reading Group Guide, discussion questions, and an interview with the author included.

The author was a police officer for many years, and it always shows in her expert writing, investigating, and twisty plots. I enjoyed Ffion's character, her secrets, and the well-done cop procedurals.

I am looking forward to the next DC Ffion Morgan #2!

A special thank you to #Sourcebooks and #NetGalley for an eARC for an honest review. #CoverCrush

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www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Dat: Nov 8, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars
Nov 2022 Must-Read Books

This is a total mind spinning, complex, incredibly deeply layered and wonderfully written small town murder mystery. I love all of Mackintoshs books. My top two would still be I let you go and I see you but this was a pretty wonderful read. The writing was very good. It was long and keeping tabs on lots of characters was a little tiring but doable but I was still able to get lost and wrapped up In this murder mystery.

This book was a good mystery book. I enjoyed reading it and am satisfied with the ending. I really liked the intertwining storylines of past and present. I also really liked how every person in the story had a reason/motive for being the killer. By the end, I had a feeling I knew who it was and I was pleasantly surprised when I was right! It doesn’t happen often hahaha!

I wouldn’t classify it as a “great must-read mystery book” though, and there are several reasons for this. One, there were way too many perspectives in this book. I think that every single character had a chapter from their perspective and between the past and present, it had me struggling to wrap my head around what was going on. Two, there were some pieces of the story that went on just a little too long in some areas. Three, there was a lot going on. Between the character's conversations, all of the infidelity, and other things, there was just too much happening to make me feel like I was fully invested in the story. I did need to know if I was right and that’s kind of what was keeping me hooked in. The plot was a little too messy to be keeping my attention fully.

Overall, it was a good book with some twists that I didn’t expect, but it took its time to get there. The story just was building and building and the last few chapters had me verbally saying, “well that wrapped up way too nicely.” But, there was a nice twist at the VERY end that had me cheering because I was right all along (not in EVERY aspect I should say, but I was still right…)

⚠️TW: death, murder, drug use, sexual assault, rape, pregnancy, cancer, infidelity

On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors. But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake. On New Year's Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family—and Ffion has her own secrets to protect. With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead...but who finally killed him.
First let me start out by saying I am a big fan of this author's books. This one, however, was not one of my favorites. Rhys was such a despicable human being, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, so it was impossible for me to get invested in the story. Quite frankly, I was glad he was dead, and I could care less who did it. Also, this was my first introduction to anything Welsh, and I had no idea how to pronounce the names of the people and places mentioned in the book. Overall, this gets 3 stars, because it did have a good mystery that kept me guessing right up to the end.

Books like The Last Party are the reason I have trusts issues and really struggle with DNFing. Initially I had some reservations about this one, but I am so glad I stuck with it because once I got into a groove I absolutely loved it.

This won’t be for everyone, but it was exactly what I was in the mood for. It’s a lengthy procedural crime novel with a lot of characters and a non-linear timeline.

I found the setting perfectly atmospheric and I loved getting lost in the small lakeside town in North Wales. It was almost a cozy read and I didn’t want it to end. It’s not necessarily a fast-paced book, but there were so many revelations and twists that had my jaw dropping and my mind spinning.

When reading crime novels, I need to be invested in the characters and I was highly entertained (and/or repulsed) by every single one in this book. I also really enjoyed Ffion and Leo’s unlikely partnership. I’m thrilled that this is a start to a new series because I cannot wait to read more.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to be an early reader.

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house party to celebrate the new year and by the end of it he’s dead and floating in the frozen waters of the lake. What exactly went down. The tiny community is shocked and everyone’s a suspect. But this murder is just the beginning and secrets the small towns hold will start to come unbound.

Small town murder mystery’s are my jam. And though this one was slow paced at times I actually quite enjoyed it. A psychological thriller that has an atmosphere, the build up of plot and characters is interesting. But when you get to the real reason he’s murdered, I felt meh by then.

This layered story was a fun read!

“It’s a party to end all parties…but not eveyone is here to celebrate”

The story centers on Rhys’ murder at the New Year’s Eve Party. Almost everyone in the small town of Wales are suspects which our main characters, DC Ffion Morgan and Leo are investigating. The setting in this book is so atmospheric, it was probably my favorite part of the entire novel. Our MC’s have their own secrets inserted in the plot. I found that bit of the story more intriguing that others. There was a whole list of characters which could get a little hard to follow. The mystery overall is not that difficult to guess but I was completely immersed on the second half.
This is a great start to a mystery series and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Clare Mackintosh for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Last Party coming out November 8, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd throws the party of the year. He has a house full of guests. He owns several homes on Mirror Lake and runs a successful business in Cwm Coed, Wales. His generosity extends to the people in the nearby village, inviting them into his home to drink champagne and celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Unbeknownst to him, it will be his last party. By midnight, Rhys is floating in the freezing lake.
On New Year's Day, Ffion Morgan has Rhys’ murder to solve. The village is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family. She also has her own secrets to keep.
Who wanted Rhys dead? And who finally killed him?

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I enjoyed the short chapters and writing style. I loved it was set in Wales. I visited Wales for a day and would’ve liked to explore more. I enjoyed there was Welsh used in the story. Overall, I liked the story, but it ended up being a little predictable for me. The twists weren’t very surprising. I would’ve liked a little more detective work. It seemed like a lot was about Ffion’s backstory. It was interesting, but it seemed like she kind of lucked into solving the case. It also wasn’t really about the last party. I definitely would check out other books by this author.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys small town police stories.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Starts off quickly with a dead body. There are so many characters and suspects you really have to pay attention. The scenery sounds beautiful and makes me want to visit. Even when you think the twists are done, the author throws in another one. The author is in the process of writing another book with the detectives which should be good.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a digital ARC of the newest book by a favorite, Clare Mackintosh. 5 stars!

Rhys Lloyd hosts a big party on New Year's Eve to celebrate the beginning success of new investment properties on Mirror Lake. The properties are on the border of England and Wales, and are a huge bone of contention with the Welsh townspeople, so Rhys extends an invitation to some of them as well. But by midnight, Rhys is dead. And pretty much everyone had a reason to kill him.

Clare Mackintosh is such a skillful writer - if you haven't read I Let You Go, you must! Still one of my very top favorites. And this one is another winner and it kept me turning the pages as quickly as I could. We are introduced to Detectives Leo Brady and Ffion Morgan, from different departments brought together to investigate this murder. There are a lot of characters, pretty much all suspects, and we hear from many of them, including past timeframes, and everyone has secrets. More good news - this is the first in a series featuring Ffion Morgan - can't wait to read more!

DC Ffion Morgan and DC Leo Brady who work for different police forces are paired up to investigate the murder Rhys Lloyd at his own New Year's Eve party. Cwm Coed is a small village in Wales and Ffion has some kind of tie to almost everyone in the investigation and seems to be keeping secrets, even from Leo.

This book starts out slowly, but once the story got going, I didn't want to put it down. As the investigation continues, it becomes harder to find anyone who didn't have a motive to kill Rhys than it is to find someone who did. Mixed in with the chapters told from Ffion and Leo's points-of-view are chapters told from many of the people who attended Rhys's party showing in detail just how much of a motive they had to kill him. These chapters also helped me get to know and keep track of the large cast of characters in this book. There are many twists and turns in this book and I was very surprised when all the facts came out.

One of the things I really loved about the book is the way Ffion and Leo bring out the best in each other. There is going to be a follow-up book featuring Ffion and I hope Leo plays a role in it, too. I am definitely interested in reading it when it comes out.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Sourcebooks Landmark. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.