A real thriller of a thriller. I loved the way a podcast was part of the story and I couldn’t stop listening to it. I binged on it which is always the sign of a great book.

I enjoyed this latest thriller from Amy Sheppard, which kept me guessing throughout.

Katie and Sophie are looking at a cold case, where a teenager they knew called Lacey was killed in the past. They do a podcast about it, which I thought was quite clever. They explore lots of clues, interview people, and try to find out who the murderer was. It was interesting, and I was certainly shocked when it was revealed "whodunnit!" I did not see that coming.

The narrator of the book did a good job, and I enjoyed listening to her.

Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Oh my. What tangled webs we weave, when first we practice to deceive... I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this, from start to finish, and became quite engrossed in the lives of the people of this small, pretty little town. I love small town mysteries, and the Small Town Podcast - what a great idea! I'd listen to that.

I especially enjoyed the character build-up of Sophie, and truly never saw the end coming. There are two twists, the first one I thought quite a shocker (and to be honest, I also thought that was the killer, but wait, dear reader... there's more!) The second twist was just as unexpected, and a little sad. Sad because to be honest, Lacey Crew was a dirty little so-and-so and got what was coming to her. As far as I'm concerned, a bully is a bully, and Lacey was one of the first order. I'm not saying that killing someone is right (it's really not), but from I could tell, Lacey made everyone's life a misery, and the person/people behind the killing (yes, very VERY much so more than one) was compelled to do it. (And frankly, was not the one who should have gone down for it).

However, having said that, don't let it put you off. The very end had an upturned lilt, like the beginning of a smile, and sometimes a happy ending is a good thing. A special mention must go to the narrator, Amalia Vitale, who was bril.

A well-deserved 3 and a half rounded up to 4 stars! Thank you NetGalley, Boukouture and Amy Sheppard for my ARC.

Kate and her friend Sophie are doing a crime podcast on an unsolved murder from when Kate was in high school 5 years ago. I love a good cold case mystery! An interesting twist to investigate a crime from not only Kate’s past, but she was actually there.

It was an overall interested story that was very easy to fall along to. Kate wasn’t my favorite. Her character was painted to pretty much life in Sophie’s shadow. And she DID. She definitely had struggles with her love life, but I just wish she had more to her. I did not see the ending coming, and honestly I was a little thrown off about the reveal of the “whodunit”. Great author potential and looking forward to future reads!

I enjoyed the narrators voice, but I did have to increase the speed.

This was a solid debut novel. I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review -- the audiobook was a great listen. The narrator, sped up, was phenomenal.

Katie and Sophie are two true crime podcasters going through an unsolved murder - a young woman murdered in Katie's home town - and someone Katie knew. In fact, Katie was at that party.

Amy Sheppard threw some great red herrings. I had a few guesses throughout of who the murderer was and was surprised.

This book is the perfect book for any true crime/true crime podcast junkie!

This was a relaxing listen for me. It wasn’t edge of your seat thrilling, but it definitely had you wanting more! The narrator’s voice was calming and easy to listen to.

I really did not guess who killed Lacey. The whole time I was guessing incorrectly. It was nice to have a twist at the end! I also enjoyed the characters, and hearing their backstories and their role in what happened to Lacey.

I definitely recommend this book, especially the audio version.

This book was sensational, it draws you in from page one and doesn't let you go til the breathtaking end. There are so many twists in this book, that keep you guessing constantly. I love how modern the story feels with the podcast element woven through it. The slow start to the book allowed for great character development and make you feel invested in the outcome.
This is a great debut thriller I cant wait to read more.
#netgalley #thebeachparty

Narrator 5 stars
Great voice

Story 3 stars
This was an interesting story that did initially take me a little bit to get into.
I didn't pick the killer so that was refreshing.

I feel like many people would like this book; the writing was quite good and I really enjoyed the narrator. However, I'm sorry to say that I didn't finish it. It just didn't keep my interest, and I was so disengaged that after I was a couple of hours into it, I realized I wasn't keeping the characters straight or following the plot, so I started again from the beginning to give it a fair chance. However, I found the same thing happening again. I was blaming myself for letting my mind wander, but this is not generally a problem for me with audiobooks, so for some reason this one just wasn't holding my interest. Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the audio e-ARC.

This book had a lot of potential, but it didn't really deliver what it promised. None of the characters were fully fleshed out or particularly sympathetic. It was super predictable from the outset. The motive and solution were the same overused, banal plot point in so many stories. There are better thrillers out there. Skip this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

The Beach Party was a bit slow for me.
Thankfully the narrator, Amalia Vitale voice was very engaging and kept me listening till the end.
I didn’t connect with the characters till I was about 40% in. I only connected a bit with Katie around halfway through. The mystery is slow but the revelations were fast towards the end and the plot twist at the end- I didn’t see it coming!!

Special thanks to Bookouture Audio and Netgalley for ALC.

The Beach Party by Amy Sheppard is a solid debut thriller where everyone is a suspect. I liked that the main character Katie and her best friend, Sophie, are hosts of a cold case podcast and that the setting is in Katie's hometown of Cornwall. I thought both of those elements helped add to the mystery throughout the story. I also love an unreliable narrator and Katie is no exception. Her point of view throughout the telling of the story kept me guessing until the very end.

I did mark this one down a bit for slowing in the middle, causing me to lose interest, but it did pick up steam again towards the end for a strong finish. I listened to the audiobook version and thought the audio narration was excellent.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio for the advanced audio copy of this book.

3.5 stars

This was a fairly interesting summer thriller. The basic premise was solid, and I enjoyed the podcast element to the story. I liked but didn’t love the main character, and there were a couple good twists and turns to the story. I’m glad I was able to review a copy of it!

I really wanted to like this book but I didn't find it all that thrilling. Sophie and Katie have this true crime podcast and when Sophie decides on their next one to do she picks the murder of Lacey, a friend of Katie's.

They get there and start to investigate what happened and things start to fall into place. Although there were a few times I thought for sure I knew who had killed Lacey but I was wrong, every time. When we find out who she was having the affair with, then we know who the killer is.

For me Katie was soooooo boring. At times when she was going on and on about the past I found myself drifting off thinking about things I needed to get done. I had to pull myself back to the book so I wouldn't get too lost.

I do appreciate that we find out who the killer was and that everything was wrapped up in the end. There were no loose strings or open endings.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this book.

Sophie and Katie run a true crime podcast. Their latest series has them heading back to Cornwall, Katie's hometown. They are investigating the cold case from 5 years ago of Lacey Crew, a teenage girl who was murdered one night after a beach party. Katie happens to be one of the guests who attended the party. Tom, Sophie's boyfriend, is also part of the podcast and was there the night of the party as well.
I had a hard time getting into this book. I could not stand Katie's character.. She was was so blah and boring. And she seems to have slept with everyone in her friend circle.. I didn't have any respect for her and that was very annoying. I guessed partially where this was going right away. But then there was an extra little twist that I didn't see coming.. Just an average thriller for me. I can see definite potential for this author in the future and recommend you read and decide for yourself. 2.5 stars rounded up.
Many thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Really loved this book! Typically I can nail down the mystery half way through but this one kept me stumped until the very end!

Ohhhhhh .... I liked this book a lot! I love true crime podcasts, so this was right up my street.
Going back to her home town to record a podcast for an unsolved murder Katie has to face more than she expected. This was a gripping, twisty read that keeps yours attention until the end. And a totally unexpected end it is too!
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gee, I just could not get into this book.

The premise was really good, crime podcast investigating local crime. Was hoping to really sink in and love it, but just couldn't get into the story and ended up DNFing :(

Story revolves around Katie and her friend covering an unsolved murder in Katie’s home town for their podcast. Whilst the storyline is good, there were some issues. The information dump in the very first chapter was not necessary- it would have been better to read all the backstory scattered throughout the book instead of the very beginning.

Unnecessary description at times such as a character explaining in minute detail I.e taking a bottle of wine, putting in her bag, zipping up bag, putting bag on and the sound effects. It felt too descriptive.

I found it hard to like the main character, she appeared to have little backbone and once she started to stand up for herself it was rather anti climatic. It was difficult to understand the love interests and why there would be an attraction between them.

Audiobook comment: at the beginning of Chapter 58 the intro and first couple words are repeated.

Wow! What an ending!! A great plot twist that I absolutely did not see coming!

In this novel, Lacey was murdered at a beach party in Cornwall, the murder was not solved. Fast forward a few years and Katie, a girl on the periphery of Lacey's friendship group, finds herself in full investigative mode as she produces a podcast on unsolved murders.

In past and present timelines, we find out about events preceding the murder in addition to Katie's experiences as she returns to her home town.

This is a decent thriller to listen to in its audiobook version. I liked the narrator, she was very easy to listen to. The story took a while to get going for me, but once it did I was hooked! I'll look out for more books from this author on the basis of this book.

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.