I found this book just ok, there are a lot of 'groups away on holiday' type thrillers around at the moment and, for me, this wasn't one of the best.

The story is about Ralph, his girlfriend Gemma, ex wife Sarah with her new fiancé Jack and Patrick and Janice, Ralph and Sarah's children. Ralph invites them all to the Amalfi coast for his 45th birthday. With tensions between the group already running high, it isn't long before someone disappears and is later found dead.

Unfortunately I couldn't warm to many of the characters here, with the possible exception of Sarah, which made it difficult to really care about any of them. Whilst the Italian scenery and villa was well described, I found some of the writing difficult to follow, as the narrative point of view would regularly change mid sentence, which I found very confusing.

I didn't find the ending particularly shocking either, it wasn't hard to guess. This isn't a bad book, and if you haven't read other books like this, you'll probably enjoy it.

Thanks to the publishers Avon Books UK and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It took me so long to get into this book, I found myself feeing forced to read it, I couldn’t really connect and enjoy it so I ended up not finishing it. It felt disjointed with far too much going on. This one’s not for me

To celebrate Ralph’s 45th birthday, he takes his family and their significant others on holiday. His family includes his ex-wife, her lover and Ralph’s own girlfriend. Quite an eclectic mix! I think it would be obvious to most folks that things are bound to get unpleasant at some point. Lots of turmoil ensues ending with a murder trial.

This psychological thriller was a really good read, I couldn’t put it down. It’s full of twists and turns throughout that keep you on the edge of your seat. The characters were interesting, the plot was great which makes it a page turner from the start, and the style of writing was perfect. I have a few books in my to be read pile by this author and can’t wait to get stuck in if they are as good as this. I’ll be keeping my eye out for more in the future.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading this genre.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

The Party Guest is a book I really enjoyed, I liked how the chapters were small but were from the different characters enabling you to get a greater insight into their thoughts.
What could be nicer than a holiday to celebrate a birthday on the Amalfi Coast? Ralph is turning 45 and has brought his trophy girlfriend Gemma with him but she seems to be turning him off than on but this may be due to him having invited his ex wife, Sarah, to the villa and she has brought Jack her partner and as Ralph is still desperately in love with her this hasn’t gone down well at all. Their children from their marriage are there as well and have their own problems.
I really enjoyed this thriller, even though you were getting deep insight into their thoughts you were still led away from the murderer or at least I was, I did have the right person but then got swayed away. Each member of the party has their own internal problems and they seem to get worse when things start to happen.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t put this book down once I had started it. The short chapters were the characters tell their story was really enjoyable and made me love this book. Each character I had an opinion on and to be honest I didn’t really care for any of them. I enjoyed that about this book as too often you bond with characters and start to care to deeply which can then ruin the story. I felt I knew from early on who the murderer was but there were moments I doubted myself. I loved the ending and felt justice had been done. Overall I can’t praise this highly enough and if you like psychological thrillers you will certainly enjoy this .book.

Financially successful Ralph is throwing himself a 45th birthday party on the Amalfi coast, the place where he honeymooned with Sarah decades ago.

Sarah is in attendance, along with her new fiancé Jack, although Ralph does not yet know of their plans to wed. Also accompanying them are Ralph’s young lover, Gemma, and Patrick and Janice, Ralph and Sarah’s children. (Also Patrick’s difficult girlfriend, just to make things more festive). With such a happy group, what could go wrong?

First off, Ralph makes no secret of the fact he still loves Sarah, and if he can’t have her, he’ll make sure he makes everyone as uncomfortable as possible while he drowns his sorrows in vast amounts of liquor.

When first Jack and then Sarah go missing, it becomes obvious that Ralph’s birthday is one none of them will ever forget. The utterly fabulous setting makes a good backdrop for this suspense novel. Ralph is too much of an asshole to elicit much sympathy—Sarah is really the only likable character. It’s not difficult to guess who the culprit is. The most unique aspect of the novel is the mostly successful use of the rare second person POV, even with multiple narrators. #ThePartyGuest #NetGalley

Some birthday party! A must read novel- really got involved in the storyline. Ralph invites the whole family to Italy to celebrate his up coming birthday, but like most family gatherings, when 5hey all get together nothing goes to plan. Full of fast paced, twists and turns- therefore hard to put down.

Nope nope nope nope nope. I don't know why but this book was a no from me. Maybe the same trope we all know. But could not finish. Sad, bc I love all the other books. Thanks for the arc in exchange for an honest review

I usually like multiple POVs but I did not enjoy this one. The multiple POVs unfortunately were written in such a way that they completely removed any twists. There was no suspense or thrill whatsoever in this book.

The POVs were also second person, which I really love, but in a lot of chapters, they abruptly shifted to third person POV.

Ralph Kensington has planned a 45th birthday party along the Amalfi Coast at Villa Panorama in Italy. He’s taking his girlfriend, Gemma, and his daughter, Janice, and son, Patrick and his girlfriend, Anna. Also invited is his ex-wife, Sarah, and her fiancé, Jack.

Sarah left Ralph and the children when they were only 9 and 12. Ralph has never stopped loving Sarah and would love to have her back.

Gemma wants to marry Ralph as he is wealthy man and can offer her an easy life. In addition, she says she is ready to start a family.

Patrick and Anne have squabbles as she wants to buy a number of things in Italy and he thinks she is being extravagant.

Janice has never forgiven her mother for leaving them so their relationship is strained.

When two party guests end up dead, many are left wondering what could have happened.

The story goes back and forth from one person to another which is an interesting way to learn more about all of them. There are lies, revelations, and murder. Who is the telling the truth? A good story that I’m sure readers will enjoy. The descriptions of Italian jails and prisons are enough to make one never commit a crime there for sure.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Party Guest was quite a difficult book to get into with the chapters being written from so many different POV's. I found the characters to be quite unlikeable and overall it was just an OK read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC.

This was a difficult book to read. I usually enjoy books that have chapters told from various characters pov but I believe that in this case it went just a little too far with some unnecessary narrators and on other occasions it read as if errors were made (in particular a chapter of Jack's describing a rape?!?). This lead to confusion and doubt in what I was reading.
I didn't feel like there was any big twist, suspense or thrill whatsoever.
Sadly I can only give 2.5 star rounded to 3.
#NetGalley #ThePartyGuest

This is the second book I have read of Amanda Robson and after reading My Darling, I got excited when I got the ARC from the publisher.

Ralph is celebrating this forty fifth birth and he invited his ex- wife Sarah whom he still have feelings towards to. But Sarah is already moving on and is in love with a man named Jack. Both Jack and Sarah attend Ralph's birthday party. Ralph's children, Patrick and Janice also attend the party along with Ralph's girlfriend Gemma and Patrick's girlfriend Anna. But there seemed to be tensions between the people at the party and soon one of the guests end up dead.

The chapters were told through the character's perspectives--Ralph, Sarah, Jack, Janice, Patrick, Gemma and Anna and they were all short so it was a bit quick to read. It was also fast paced and unputdownable. There were however too much sex telling in this book but then it was a page turner and I think the author has done a good job drawing the reader into the story. The ending was however unexpected and I actually did not see that twist coming. Overall, if you like a thriller based in Italy with a summer vacation setting then this book is one for you--worth four stars in my opinion!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC. The review is based on my opinion only.

In this tale by one of my fave authors, Ralph is celebrating his 45th birthday and he hires a villa on the Amalfi coast and invites his on/off girlfriend Gemma, his daughter Janice, his son Patrick, along with Patrick's girlfriend Anna, and his ex-wife Sarah. Ralph is still in love with Sarah who insists on bringing her partner Jack, so it may not surprise you when things go awry.

A compelling, easy read facilitated by the concise chapters, I really enjoyed Amanda Robson's The Party Guest. With an assemblage of unlikeable characters, the author deftly directs fingers of suspicion toward all of them. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Avon Books UK via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Party Guest is a thriller set on the Amalfi Coast and follows a family's holiday-turned-nightmare, as one of the guests is found dead shortly after arrival. This book was simply not for me. I thought it was quite predictable (I guessed who was responsible from very early on), the characters are extremely unlikable, and the end drags on. There are also quite a few side plots that just seem unnecessary. I do believe that there will be readers who thoroughly enjoy this book; I'm just not one of them.

I wasn't gripped by this book and some of the characters were not very likable, some may find it good but it just wasn't for me, sorry.

What a great read. Ralph is celebrating his birthday with guests in a beautiful villa in Amalfi! An idealistic setting indeed.
There are so many intriguing parts to the story and the characters form the basis of this intrigue.. each character is well described and each of their idiosyncrasies really add to the mystery of who committed the murders. The writing was so well timed that I kept changing my mind as to who was guilty as they all had good reasons and desire. An unexpected ending made this a highly recommended book

I found very little to enjoy or even like about this book, none of the characters where people I cared about, the plot was farcical and lacked any form of suspense. The only thing of any interest was the Italian food and drink

I have read many a locked room on an island whodunnit books in the last two years and this one didn’t really stand out to me. The characters were just unlikeable and no one had redeeming qualities. It was just ok.