Although at times a bit complicated, zigzagging between Welsh and English references - The Last Party was terrific and I would definitely recommend it. Replete with a rather stodgy young English detective and a feisty Welsh Ffion Morgan, also a detective, the demise and solving of the Rhys Morgan mystery had all the elements needed. It had great scenery, interesting characters and an ending that was never really obvious.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Clare Mackintosh for the advanced copy of The Last Party in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved every Clare Mackintosh book I've ever read, she's definitely solidified herself as an auto buy author for me. I unfortunately have to say this is my least favorite book of hers to date.

One thing I actually thought was pretty cool was the inclusion of Welsh language throughout the book, I just wish there was a pronunciation guide to help with the dialogue and names sprinkled in. (In no way is this a criticism of the inclusion of the language, just something I personally would've found helpful).

The pacing in this book is far slower than her other novels, and I felt it could've been quite a bit shorter. Additionally, while I love alternating timelines and POV chapters, the timelines in this one almost alternated too much to keep track of what happened and when. I did enjoy the glimpse into the minds of each of the big characters, however.

Nevertheless, I will always pick up a new Mackintosh book when it hits shelves, and while I didn't *love* this one, it still had a couple twists in the end that I did enjoy.

This was a decent, solid thriller but I often lost interest or found myself distracted. I believe the names and some words that were different didn't sit easily with me.

It's New Year's Day, and almost everyone in the Welsh town of Cwm Coed is out for the traditional lake plunge. There was a massive New Year's Eve party the night before at the exclusive lake community called The Shore, and some people are hungover while others are still drunk. But the annual event is abruptly cancelled with a body is found floating offshore. Since the border of England and Wales runs right down the middle of the lake, a detective from each side is assigned to the case. It soon develops that everyone in the community has something to hide or someone to protect, as well as a reason for wanting the victim dead.

Very good mystery that kept me guessing. There is a good twist in the middle that I didn't see coming. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys contemporary mystery fiction.

A cast full of dislikable characters in a fascinating police procedural when even the investigating detective constable can't be trusted. On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd, a local bad boy who grew up to be a successful singer, hosts a party for the wealthy residents of the lakeside lodges at The Shores as well as the neighbors from Cwm Coed, the Welsh village. When the villagers take their New Year's Day swim, Rhys' body turns up. Welsh Detective Constable Ffion Morgan teams up with English DC Leo Brady. They both have troubled personal lives, but it's Ffion's secrets that could destroy their investigation.

An excellent launch of the new DC Morgan series as the police try to uncover all the secrets surrounding Lloyd's death.

Another great novel by Clare Mackintosh!

There were a lot of characters! It took a while to build the background needed but then once we were going, I could not put the book down! I loved how all the of secrets unfolded and we got to hear all the gossip and rumors.

Ffion and Leo have great chemistry and depth of character that we got to see come out as they were trying to solve the murder.

Highly recommend this book!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This author is mixing it up after many years of writing straightforward thrillers - man cop/lady cop team up after a “meet cute” from hell, the local color, the stifling bureaucracy, but she makes it fresh and it works! Excited to see that she has the next one in the series in the works for 2023! Easy five stars.

When a local celebrity is found floating in the lake on New Year's Day, the small community are mostly all suspects as so many feel good riddance to him. As DC Ffion Morgan begins the investigation, the hardest part is trying to decide who DIDN'T want to kill him. With new secrets and lies uncovered at every turn, and her own past haunting her, every time she feels like she's closer to the truth another twist leaves her further behind than she was before. As the investigation begins to wrap up, she's not sure if she really wants to know who killed Rhys.

| About |

It's the party to end all parties....but not everyone is here to celebrate.
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.
In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning.

| Thoughts |

Great mystery, awesome setup for a series and for a first book of a series it really fleshes out all the current characters. Slow start, doesn’t really pick up any pace in the middle. Definitely not a fast paced thriller. It’s an interesting story, very procedural. Liking the twists. Really got good in the middle. Enjoyed all the different perspectives, each seemed to tell their own story to unravel. The end was seriously shocking! Can’t wait for the next book, throughly invested in these characters and what’s next for them.

Love this author! I already knew this would be a great one. It did not disappoint! I was hooked from the very beginning!

The hostage is one of my favorite books. This one did not disappoint either. I absolutely loved it. She has such talent. I won't look at parties the same way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Arc. I had a hard time with this book. For a thriller, I found the plot incredibly slow moving, and hard to follow with the back and forth timeline. I have read other Claire Macintosh books and enjoyed them, and wanted to like this much more than I did.

I couldn’t finish this book. I tried and kept giving it chances but I wasn’t a fan and could not get into it. It was very boring to me.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Fabulous read with a thrilling premise.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh was a classic mystery thriller with a few delightful twists and turns. This fast-paced novel kept me turning pages late into the night. With colorful characters, a stunning setting and old small-town secrets, this story has it all. Kudos to Clare Mackintosh!

First off, thank you so much to the publisher for this ARC!
I loved the tense atmosphere in this book; I read this book in one night which wasn’t my intention when I sat down to read it! This is my second book by this author and while the first book I read was good and I liked it, this book made me a fan of the author and I will be going back to read more of her books now. I don’t want to spoil too much but I really enjoyed how the storylines in this book got woven together and I was very satisfied with the ending!

Big fan of Claire Mackintosh and always enjoy her books. This was no exception. I did have trouble with the Welsh dialogue at times, and feel like I have some lack of closure at the end, but as always kne what seemed like the end, really had some more twists and turns.

This was my first book by this author. I had some trouble finding it interesting, but once I do we’re off and running! 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 neighbours. But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake. The backdrop to the story is the rift between the local Welsh community and the wealthy English incomers. We learn there are a lot of dark secrets on both sides and a picture builds up of the victim with a good mystery surrounding the identity of the killer. There are some shocking revelations about the killer. I liked the partnership of Leo and Ffion who are fantastic characters and very well portrayed.. Overall, this is a good multilayered mystery in a great setting and I really appreciate the Welsh feel of it. I hope we read more of Ffion and Leo as they’re too good for just the one appearance.

#netgalley

This is the first book I've read by Clare Mackintosh and I absolutely loved it.
Filled with twists and turns, The Last Party will keep you guessing until the very end.
A mystery that starts off with bang, a dead body on New Years Eve, we follow .Ffion Morgan as she wades her way through the many potential suspects who all have a good reason for wanting the victim dead.
Filled with beautiful writing, intriguing characters, and a well plotted story I couldn't put it down.
Please find attached my spoiler free youtube reivew.

Twisted Twizzlers! 😳😯🤯🤯

Well holy puff balls! Mother otter! As always, Mackintosh delivers a chilling, dark thriller with finesse! Incredibly tense, shocking & raw for a crazy thriller that will leave you gasping & shuddering. She knows how to pull you in and throw ample suspicion onto a plot, leaving you completely unsure so when she delivers the whodunnit, it concludes with such surprise and earthquake-like ending. The pace is set perfectly and everyone involved becomes suspect. The revelations of each characters secrets are juicy, dark and at times, even heartbreaking. Make sure you have a comfortable blanket to read with this intense mystery because you'll need it to get through! Once again, an absolute knock out by a fab author I've adored since she her debut! You'll devour this as fast I did - all at once with no shame of putting life on hold!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: A new development of vacation homes have just been developed on the lake in Welsh. Rhys Lloyd is the inventor behind it. On New Years Eve he & his family have decided to hold a party of all party's for both the inhabitants of The Shore and people from the village to mingle. But a party of fun and enjoyment goes very awry when he ends up dead by midnight in the lake. Ffion Morgan is a police officer for the village and the secrets, lies and burdens of the town and the people are enough to make anyone a suspect. Including herself.

Thank you to NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for this ARC.
Release Date: November 8, 2022

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4 / 5 Autumn Leaves! 🍂