Lucy Ross is back in Queen's Point where she spent a summer as a child with her grandmother. She's back to pack up the house and visit a place filled with memories of her youth. She ends up in over her head when a body is found near the beach and it can all be traced back to that summer she spent there.

This book was a well paced thriller. It kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. However, the ending and reveal felt a little too confusing. It felt like too many pieces trying to fit together. If you're a big fan of the journey and not just the destination, this is a great book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC of The Summer Party.

Lucy returns to her grandmother’s home to the whirlwind of the town due to a recent discovery.
I enjoyed digging into the mysteries and secrets of the characters in the book, and it really had that small town Australia feel of not trusting everyone and everyone knowing just enough to stop you from knowing the whole story. Everyone was definitely keeping tabs and secrets up on each other.

Told in two timelines, we see two sides of Lucy Ross. First she's the 16yr with a girl crush on the Whitlam siblings. In her eyes they are perfect and she'll try her hardest to be just like them. Then we jump 19 years to see an adult Lucy. She has come to settle her Grandmother's estate and pack up her belongings when she again meets the Whitlam siblings. But this time, it's not a summer party, it's a body found buried on the beach that Lucy may know something about. The story line is intriguing, the characters just a little shallow, but most rich kids are shallow and grow up to be shallow adults. Will Lucy speak up and forever mark the line between herself and her teenage idols? It's a story all too often chosen and Rebecca Heath does a credible job showing us Lucy's dilemna.

The premise of this book was promising, but was executed horribly. I couldn't for the life of me care enough about the characters or what was happening to them at all. It seemed really outlandish at times and just not very enjoyable.

When Lucy was a teenager, she spent one summer with her grandmother in a small Australian town. When the three rich Whitlam siblings invite her into their circle, she couldn't believe it. They all had the perfect lives; nice clothes, fancy house, anything they could dream of. Mae, the oldest, was regal and set to go off to college in the fall. Anabelle is a fashionista and Lucy's best friend. The only boy, Harry, is a charismatic artist who women flock to and Lucy melts every time he's near. They have one last party to end the summer, and Lucy is set to meet Harry in private for what she hopes is their first kiss. Plans go astray though, and she ends up partially overhearing an argument and what could have been a splash of water. It's now nineteen years later, and Lucy is back in Queen's Point, finding herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Does she hold the key to who the killer is?
All of the characters are relatively likeable, except for the one who ended up murdered. Lucy is again caught up in the Whitlam's lives, finding herself more on the outside now. Harry is a manipulative player who uses his looks to his advantage at every turn. Mae has become her mother, with her hands in everything in town, pretty much pulling everyone's strings. Anabelle is a married mother and seems to want to rekindle her friendship with Lucy. Officer Jake Parker is the quintessential good, small town cop. But they all have their secrets and everyone has a motive for killing. Can anyone figure it out before someone else ends up dead?
All in all, a fast, intriguing read told from multiple viewpoints and two different timelines. As the story unfolds, you think you know who had motive and opportunity, but things just keep getting twisted together. A gripping whodunit with a you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it ending. I definitely recommend this one for mystery and thriller fans!

Yikes, this book was just not it for me. The premise is great but the execution is poor.

One of the big problems for me was the extremely unlikeable characters. I could not connect with anyone. The character development was poor, which fed into this. Coupled with this, the pacing was SO slow. This made for a really painful and boring read. I found myself skimming at times willing for it to be over. Surprised I did not give up, but I pushed through! For no good reason, I might add.

This book was super ridiculous and over the top at times. It had me rolling me eyes.

Shout out to Hades the dog!

(3.5 stars, rounded up to 4)

In this atmospheric psychological thriller, Rebecca Heath explores the haunting secrets of the Whitlam family through alternating timelines set in 2000 and 2019. Sixteen-year-old Lucy Ross witnesses a disturbing event at a party in the Whitlam mansion, setting off a chain of events that resurface twenty years later when a body is discovered on the shore. As Lucy grapples with whether to expose the truth or protect her loved ones, readers are taken on an emotional roller-coaster ride through the enigmatic Whitlam family's past and present.

Heath crafts a captivating journey filled with unpredictable twists and compelling characters, keeping readers engaged despite the narrative's back-and-forth structure. As Lucy delves deeper into the Whitlam family's secrets, the allure of their glamorous lifestyle clashes with the harsh reality of their hidden truths. With sublime writing and a gripping plot, "The Summer Party" delivers an immersive reading experience that leaves readers yearning for more, even as they reach the story's satisfying conclusion.

Despite not really liking any of the characters, I did like reading this.

The characters I did like were either already dead, or an animal! Ha ha

It was interesting to flit between the past and the present, and see that not a lot had changed in their personalities despite trying to better themselves, and that having money didn't make them a better person.

I would definitely read another by this author.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This was a fun, look over your shoulder read! Love the cover, the unreliable narrator and the pacing!

This one just didn't work for me. The plot moved slow, the characters were not likable and the mystery felt very lackluster.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this digital copy!

While atmospheric and well-paced, I found most of the characters to be so unlikeable as to become frustrating. This is a good mystery that toes the feeling of a Lucy Foley in terms of setting building and complicated characters, but missed a bit of the charm for me.

Still enjoyed it and is a great middle of the road thriller.

Thank you very much for the ARC and sorry I didn't read this sooner. This book was so totally unexpected.

If you read this , you will wish you weren't invited to the party!
The book is a totally mindbending thriller that will keep you guessing. It is fast paced, with a good plot and characters.
Definitely recommend !

What a ride! This was such a fast and thrilling read. This book sure will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through.

This was just alright to me. I liked it, but wasn’t blown away. The atmosphere was great and it was an easy beach read, but I wanted more.

The Summer Party was just an average read for me, the prose got me in due to Hades the dog he gets into some situations but luckily comes out of this unscathed.
Then the characters well they were very unlikable not one character I wanted to root for, then comes Lucy Rosses relationship with the Whitlam’s escapees during this was totally OTT which is not my cup of tea ☕️ I like believable characters that I can sink my teeth into.

Although I found this book quite slow to start off, I’m glad I stuck with it. It’s told from two points, the past and the present. The characters very really well planned and had a lot of depth to them.
There was a few plot twists I didn't see coming. I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of The Summer Party by Rebecca Heath.

Lucy goes home to sort out her grandmother’s effects and gets involved again with the family in the “big” house. It all sounded very promising and eminently readable but when a book starts off as slowly as this one then I find it impossible to get invested later (much later!) when things get a bit more lively. That’s when I start skimming but the momentum is lost. I did like the Australian setting and descriptions but felt nothing for the characters apart from the dog - I liked him a lot!

Thank you so much @HeadofZeus for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 05 January 2023)

SYNOPSIS | As a teenager, Lucy spent one summer with her grandmother where she met & became enamored with her wealthy next door neighbours (the Whitlam family). Two decades later she returns to clear out her deceased grandmothers cottage and hopefully reconnect with the family whilst she is visiting.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Hades the dog
- that there was flashbacks to 16 year old Lucy

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I don't feel like I really knew any of the characters or understood their motivations
- Lucy's obsession with the Whitlam family had me rolling my eyes on a number of occasions especially because she only interacted with them for one summer as a teenager. I could practically hear her begging "why aren't you friends with me?".
- Lucy in general came across as incredibly immature, shallow & self-absorbed (& I'm not entirely convinced she is supposed to be an unlikeable character)
- very slow paced especially in the first half
- I despise a long drawn-out villainous monologue