Enjoyed this domestic drama by Rebecca Heath. Lots of secrets, lies and deceit. So many twists and turns. Lots of great characters as well.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

An engrossing, fast paced thriller that I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did!

Lucy spent the summer of 2000 with her grandmother while her mom worked. There she met her grandmother's employers and quickly started a friendship with Annabelle, Mae and Harry, their kids. 20 years later, she returns to clean up her grandmother's cottage after her passing. She is quickly thrown back into the path of her former friends who seem to have something to hide. Where is their mother? A body was just discovered on the beach. Who is it? What is with all the mysterious disturbances at night in the cottage? Is someone watching Lucy?

I really enjoyed the characters and the multi level mystery. Much thanks to NetGalley and Aria and Aries for the ARC!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this novel. Lucy goes back to close up her nan's cottage at the same time a body is found, which stirs up memories of when she was there approximately 20 years earlier visiting her grandmother and fell in with the rich crowd and witnessed something she shouldn't have. It all starts coming back to her as more is revealed about the past and the current investigation. Enjoyed the slow-burn suspense.

This is a good book. The characters are likable. It was slow in some areas but picked up quickly in others. I did figure out who the killer was super quick, but I do that a lot, so it's no reflection on the author. There were a couple of characters that I just couldn't like, no matter how hard I tried.

However, this was a good read, and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

I didn't finish The Summer Party and I'm super sad about it! I normally love Australian thrillers - there's something about the setting that really calls to me, and my love for Jane Harper stretches vastly - but I couldn't get into this book at all.

From the beginning I found the main character to be annoying. I didn't have much patience for her, because I couldn't stand her personality from the start. She was miserable about absolutely everything, and she didn't particularly like her dog. That was kind of a deal breaker!

It's a shame because I think this premise showed a lot of promise. I love reading about Rich People Drama, and less well off characters infiltrating the ranks. This was a dud, though.

The blurb intrigued me so I picked this one up. It's a fast pacing thriller in my opinion and my taste.

The writing was good and it gets your full focus to it but the build up was lacking and felt flat.

Book Title: A Summer Party
Author: Rebecca Heath
Publisher: Aries Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: January 6, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars

Story alternates between 2000 and Present Day
January 2000~before the Summer Party : (Yes in Australia you have a summer party in January!)
Lucy Ross is fifteen and is vacationing at her grandmother’s in Queens Point, Australia.
She is introduced to the wealthy Whitlam family and immediately is impressed with the glamour of their lives. She becomes friends with Annabelle, Harry and Mae but especially wants to get to know Harry better!

Present Day: Lucy goes back to Queens Point as her grandmother has passed away and she needs to clean out the house that she has inherited from her. Not long after she arrives the body of Mrs. Whitlam is discovered on the beach. The body appears to have been there for many years and this is suspicious that it was just found now!
Back when she vacationed, she was totally wrapped up in their lives of the Whitlam family and wonders if these extremely close people will do anything to protect their family, including covering up a murder?

Congratulations author, Rebecca Heath!
This debut novel has twists and turns that I love!
Sometimes I read fast as I am somewhat near the end of a story. In this case I had to slow down as the twists kept me on my toes ~ who is who, what is what and who did what??
Plus great cover!

Want to thank NetGalley and Aria & Aries –Head of Zeus ~ Aries Books this early uncorrected proof.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 6, 2023

Many thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus/Aria & Aries for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
This started out 4 stars but ended up 3. It was a fast-paced read almost to the end when it got bogged down. Everything about the mystery was tied up, but a little ridiculous, even if you figured it out. A good writer, and a good debut novel, I was just expecting more at the end. I liked it, but not sure I'd recommend it. There wasn't anything special about it that kept me thinking after I finished it, and that's what makes me recommend a book. Also, one of the reasons I requested it was that it takes place in Australia, but except for one mention of a kangaroo and the fact that the summer party takes place in January, you'd never know it was Australia. The setting was very descriptive and I could absolutely picture it, but it could have taken place anywhere, which was a bit of a disappointment.

Australian author Rebecca Heath’s debut novel is a well written psychological thriller with many twists and turns. Though I found the lead character weak and unlikable, even way too gullible for a successful business woman, I grew to understand and appreciate the character. There are no clear good guys or bad guys here throughout, until the climax of course. One theme about rich vs. poor could have easily fallen into arch-cliche instead of a plot driver but somehow does not. I would have liked the Dante character to be much more prominent, vengeance is a strong motivator of psychological thrills and I while I thought the thread of the ring important, the end disposition of the ring was disappointing.

I enjoyed this book! The suspense built and the alternating timelines kept me turning pages late into the night. I found Lucy to be relatable and I was invested in finding out what would happen to her. I think thriller fans will enjoy this book, especially fans of Sandie Jones and Lisa Jewel.

I’ve read so many disappointing novels about families with dirty secrets lately, that I wonder why I bother. Well, The Summer Party reminded me of why, because every once in a while, I find a remarkable, suspenseful and engrossing read that shines. The novel is tightly plotted so that, even if it’s told in two timelines, it keeps the same amount of interest in both. Lucy returns to her grandma’s home after her passing to empty and sell the house, while she remembers the last summer that she spent there. When she was a teenager, Lucy fell under the spell of the Whitlam family, the richest and chicest in all of Queen’s Point. Now that she’s a middle-aged, successful self-made woman, she finds herself going back to her fascination with the Whitlams. Lucy carries a lot of baggage that will only get heavier when the remains of the Whitlam matriarch are recovered. More importantly, she was murdered during a long-ago party which changed Lucy’s life. There are many suspects, red-herrings, and suspicious characters. I liked how the twists changed as the author added details and background to the facts. I didn’t empathize much with Lucy or her choices. The fact that she sees her late husband’s dog as a burden didn’t endear her much to me. Her taste in men is also questionable and her obsession with the Whitlams made me yell at her more than once, but I was still rooting for her. The last part was truly suspenseful, and I liked the ending. This is an enjoyable book.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Aria & Aries, Head of Zeus!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
While I had a hard time really liking any of the characters in this book (especially by the end) I did enjoy the book itself.
The characters were well developed but everytime I started to think I liked one of them they did something stupid. Jake in particular.
However the book itself was well written and had plenty of surprises. I was surprised at the end as well. While it was resolved you still didn’t quite get that typical happy and all tied up ending. I had expected something slightly different (especially with Jake).

The Summer Party was a story about a woman named Lucy who returned to her Grandmother’s summer home. She reconnects with the Whitlams, who are a posh family she knew as kids. Murder, mystery, and secrets begin to happen, and Lucy has to try to put the pieces together to discover the truth of what has been happening. Overall, the story kept me thoroughly engaged, and I was eager to find out what was going on in the town. I rated it 3/5 stars.

I wasn’t expecting to actually like the book the way I do now before getting into it. Perfectly paced and excellent writing along with the dual timeline really knocked it off! With majority of the thrillers, slow pacing has been one of my biggest issues cuz the events are usually extended to the point it gets exhausting to read further and I eventually feel detached from the actual plotline. This, however, didn't disappoint at all!!! Since almost 25% I was immensely hooked (&it seriously kept me up at night) and special appreciation to the author for having such way with words that the buildup kept getting better and better. The whole thing was completely in sync and every successive chapter in this amazing connection with the last. The amount of clue hints were massive and triggering in a way that left me second guessing everything I was assuming (how wonderful of me) plus bringing up the past at every alternate point was a very smart choice. Cuz by the time I settled with one suspect it shifted my focus to the next character which made it extremely hard to choose( and i gave up eventually :/ )

After being done with more than half of the book, things began to clear up a notch and I could see the whole picture more carefully. The plot twist I anticipated never came cuz I pretty much guessed the entire truth, but, there were segments of the story that shocked me and I would have never seen them coming. As much as I loved the climax, I do believe the ending could have had more space and basically what was the aftermath for the rest of the characters cuz it was a little rushed. In addition to this, there were times where I got the feeling that I was still reading about a teenager Lucy which was actually a thirty-five year old adult 😭(no actually it was just one damn time and you know it) I’m sorry but that was so stupid and I was smacking my head, shouting at her to stop. (but obviously, who listens? It's not like I'm god but whateva)

I’m soo happy though knowing this is the debut novel of the author and it reminded me time by time my love for thrillers which I've been missing out on for a long time.

Thankyou so very much Netgalley and AriaAries for sending along the advance reader copy my way!! I'm looking forward to more such amazing content!

📖 Book Review: The Summer Party by Rebecca Heath

I really enjoyed this book! I love a good thriller, and that’s exactly what this is: a GOOD thriller. I stayed in all night to tear through the last half of this book. This is a really solid debut and I would definitely read more from this author!

The piece opens with our unreliable narrator recounting a drunken memory from a party she attended at the age of sixteen. The story then jumps almost twenty years into the future when human remains are found. Time jumps and perspective shifts are used really effectively to carry the story, and never felt confusing.

The story revolves around a family so rich they essentially ARE the small beachfront town, and delves into how people behave when in proximity to power and money. The characters are a little extra, but that honestly fits perfectly with this ostentatiously wealthy family. Seeing the stark contrast between the moneyed and the working class characters really drives that point home.

Even the parts of this story that feel standard-issue are never formulaic and always come across as well-delivered and interesting. Featuring some of my favorite tropes: Love triangle! The summer that changed everything! Big city woman meets small town cop! Big event at the end of the book where all the main players will conveniently be gathered! And many more, but again, all done very tastefully.

In the rush of just having finished this, I’m giving it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5. That may fall to a 4 over time but we’ll see. I really do think it might hold up.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book both slow-moving and unnecessarily complex, with many characters and situations to keep track of. It would have been worth it, if the twists and revelations had built to a satisfying conclusion, but for me it all just fell flat. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book provided by NetGalley. This mystery set in Australia uses dual timelines to tell the tale of who the dead woman is -and who killed her.

I thought the dual timelines were exceptionally well-done; each chapter listed the "when" and the "who" each chapter was about. There was no ambiguity. The setting and the characters were fascinating. I must admit I was riveted by the story. I just couldn't put it down. I was completely surprised by ending. However It totally made sense. Such satisfaction.

I found this dragged on for and I couldn’t wait to get to the end. It did pick up with some drama towards the end but for there was too much a slow burn with it not going anywhere. Setting sounded breathtaking and there was few one liners I liked. Wasn’t for me but good effort.

Many reviews for this book described this as a page turner, but instead it felt more like a slow burn. I struggled to invest in this story and felt the characters lacked any redeeming qualities - especially Lucy. Much of the dialogue went in circles rather than get to the point. Chunks of story were left out as reveals, but then didn’t even feel satisfying - Lucy’s job reveal for one. Looks like many others enjoyed it, but this one just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.