The Summer Party is an enjoyable read with morally gray characters and a 19-year-old murder. Lucy spent the summer of 2000 with her grandmother near the sea, making friends with the extremely wealthy locals. Nineteen years later, she returns to the town to clean out her grandmother's cottage. Within minutes of arrival, she is already running into old friends and diving into the local gossip - particularly the gossip that surrounds a discovered body. While I found the mystery to be quite predictable, what I thoroughly enjoyed in The Summer Party were the characters. Rebecca Heath does a tremendous job of writing relatable, non-perfect characters. She also has a way of writing that allows the reader to feel what the characters are feeling. Despite really not liking a few of the characters, I still could empathize with them and at least sort of understand the decisions they made. Overall, I feel The Summer Party is a well-written book with interesting characters; the only flaw is the predictable reveal.

The Summer Party is basically about a woman who uncovered a murder which happened nineteen years ago. When I saw the blurb, I know that I’d spend an entire weekend to finish this one, although sadly life happens. But anyway, I was hooked by the blurb.

I like how the truth uncovered and the setting but I don’t like the cheating trope and the pace (supposed to be a fast-paced but it was dragging until like 40% towards the end). Over all, this book meets my expectation; my first thought after I finished this was “Well, that was new”.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the e-ARC.

Does anything good ever happen when you are sent to spend a summer with you grandparents as a teenager? Want the answer? Just read The Summer Party!!!

*3.5 Stars*

ARC kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

Very interesting read and characters, although I did find the family to be strange. Especially Brooke. I was not surprised with the way some people turned out. Interesting ending to this one.

From the publisher- "A glamorous, atmospheric psychological thriller about a glamorous family dynasty living on the coast of Western Australia. 2023's most addictive beach read.

The most perfect families hide the most devastating secrets.

When Lucy Ross is forced to come back to her childhood summer home in Queens Point, Australia, it's supposed to only be a short stay. Just the time to pack her beloved grandmother's belongings and move on. But when a body washes up on the beach, the timing of her return seems too coincidental, and she soon finds herself pulled into a murder investigation.

At the centre of it all are the Whitlam siblings – gorgeous, wealthy, glamorous. In this beautiful coastal town Mae, Harry and Anabelle are as good as royalty. So when nineteen years before they had let shy sixteen-year-old Lucy into their inner circle, she was prepared to do anything for it to stay that way, even turn a blind eye to their secrets...

But now that things have turned out deadly, what would be stronger: the Whitlam's allure or the search for the truth?"

I came into this novel excited to read Rebecca Heath's debut thriller. I had pictured a Liane Moriarty type of setting, and that was right on track with Heath's descriptive style. However, I was not able to really get into this book and I actually ended up giving up and starting something else. I tried to revisit the novel as soon as I read another one but I still struggled to enjoy reading this one. The characters were not entirely believable, not very likable, and the mystery had not "kicked in" by the time I eventually gave up for good. I may try to read it again and If I do complete the book, I'll update this review, but as of today I have not been able to get through it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a bit of a slow starter for me but once I got into it all was good with good characters.

For me, personally, it wasn't an edge of seater but there were a few twists towards the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria and Aries for this ARC copy.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

A party in a mansion on the Australian coast?
A shoe containing human bones?
Gripping writing and some twists and turns to make you dizzy?
This is one party you are never going to forget!

Happy debut! I love finding new author’s and was so excited to read this book! Thank you to NetGalley, and the publisher, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The Summer Party,” is about a girl named Lucy who staying with her Nan, a housekeeper for a very wealthy wealthy that Lucy has become infatuated with. I say girl, because Lucy is 16, and while kissing a boy, she hears a strange sound that we later realize is part of a murder.

Cut to, Lucy as an adult. She’s widowed, been put on leave by her job, and come to clean out her Nan’s cottage after she has died. Before Lucy leaves to return home, a body washes up on the shore near her Nan’s cottage. This body is tied to the wealthy family Lucy has always loved.

While I didn’t love the character of Lucy, I was obsessed with figuring out what happened. This was a page turner for me, even though I wished Lucy would stop getting so distracted by men! Haha There is a lot of backstory in this book, but it picks up as it goes, and has a satisfying ending.

Congrats on a great debut!

This novel takes place in a small town in Western Australia. Lucy spent a summer at her Nan's cottage when she was a teenager. She was seduced by the wealthy family who lived up on the hill that her Nan worked for. She spent the summer with them and was intoxicated with their wealth, good looks and privilege. At the family's summer party, something happens and Lucy only has hazy memories of the events. Years later Lucy is a widow and has come to clean out her Nan's cottage due to her Nan's passing. She's overall done well for herself, but the lure of the Whitlam family is still there. Human remains have turned up and the family appears to be hiding secrets. A very good debut for Rebecca Heath.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy.

This is such a intriguing story! The talk of the past keeps you on your toes and keeps you turning the page !

3.5 stars.

Starts off pretty slow and picks up about halfway through. Slows back down towards the end, and isn’t what I would consider a major thriller.
I like the idea of the book, but feel like the execution could have been a bit better. With that being said, the ending is still a shocker.

I love a mystery like this so I would still recommend giving it a read when it comes out in January.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for a review!

Psychological thriller set in a coastal town in Western Australia. 16 year old Lucy spent a summer in the town at her grandmother's house who was a housekeeper at the neighboring rich family. 19 years later she returns to her grandmother's house who has died to pack up her belongings and sell the house. But her return not only brings back memories of her stay 19 years ago but a body is found too and she and the rich family are all involved in the murder investigation. The books switches between that summer 19 years ago and current time. The connections between all the characters slowly become apparent to the reader until the book reaches its dramatic climax.
A good page-turner.

Lucy Ross returns to her grandmother Judy’s cottage in a seaside town to deal with clearing it after Judy’s death. Her return to the cottage brings back memories of the summer she spent there nineteen years earlier, when she became entwined with the Whitlam family who owned the big house on the cliff and were very influential in the area. Lucy’s return also coincides with the discovery of a body part found on the beach, and the efforts by the local police to find out who it belongs to.

A good read, though the plot took a time to get going. The last third of the book is much better that the rest, and is where all the action happens. There is a lot of suggestion of Lucy’s big falling out and her indiscretions where she works, but that turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. The denouement was executed well, and I enjoyed the little twists that were not always obvious.

A well written, well developed debut novel that I enjoyed. Sad to say I did not like Lucy! Appreciate that she was the main character, but some of her actions, well! But that is what a good story does, gets us involved!

3.5* upped to 4*

Thank you NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book for review.

When I started reading The Summer Party I found it a little slow, and wasn't sure it was going to be a book 'for me'. However I'm really glad I persevered, as the murder mystery that unfolds made for a gripping and exciting novel.

The book is set in present day and the early 2000's, and follows Lucy as she returns to a sleepy Australian town to clean her deceased grandmothers home. When a body washes up on the beach, Lucy is forced to revisit events and relationships from the past, and there are twists and turns aplenty as secrets begin to unravel.

Overall this was a gripping story, despite the slow start. I did still find that it dragged at times which is why I've rewarded it 4/5 stars.

I really hoped to like this book; although being a debut novel, I didn’t have any preconceived ideas about what it would be like. Set pretty locally to me, in South Australia (on the Yorke Peninsula), The Summer Party follows Lucy Ross in the fictional holiday town Queen’s Point.

For someone who only spent one summer in the town, Lucy seems excessively enmeshed when she returns to pack up her deceased Nan’s cottage. But, unfortunately, that’s the first of a few issues I had with this book.

The main storyline is (supposed to be?) a murder mystery, with the matriarch of the Whitlam family being found buried on the local beach. But it feels like a lot more time is spent on Lucy fawning over the irresistibly good-looking local men – the bad boy and the good cop! – and a stretched-out mystery of “what did Lucy do at her job that means she could lose it all?” (honestly, it sounded like it must have been so shocking, I thought, did she murder someone in a board meeting?)

I’m not sure how old Lucy is supposed to be, but in both the present & past chapters, she comes across as incredibly immature, shallow, and self-absorbed, and I didn’t really care about her. And I usually love unlikeable characters, so I’m not sure what happened. I suspect she isn’t meant to be an unlikeable character.

I loved the premise and would have appreciated more focus on the actual mystery rather than Lucy’s weird obsession with a family she met one summer years ago. Hopefully, this author’s next novel will be a bit more balanced in terms of character and plot and will have just as promising of a premise.

First off, wow. Quick thank you to NetGalley, Head of Zeus, and most importantly, Rebecca Heath for writing The Summer Party, and for my ARC of The Summer Party.

The Summer Party by Rebecca Heath is murder mystery that will leave you on the edge of your seat until the last page. Lucy Antonello, I mean Lucy Ross, goes back to Queen's Point months following her grandmother, Judy's passing to clean out the rest of her belongings and decide what to do with the home. Before, Lucy spent the summer of 2000 in Queen's Point where she met Judy's employer's family, the Whitlam's. Lucy fell in love with each of the Whitlam children that year; Mae, Harry, and Annabelle, each in their own ways. After spending the summer learning about the family, Lucy witnesses something at their summer bash, that she struggles remember what truly happened. Now, almost twenty years later, Lucy is back, and conveniently, so are the Whitlam children- adults now. Lucy is here to pack up the remnants of her grandmother's things, but as the winter continues, old memories begin to unpack. Mystery lurks Queen's Point and everyone's searching to find an answer.

Rebecca Heath is absolutely brilliant. Seriously, this book is incredible. Not only did I get goosebumps from all the suspense and realizations in this book, but I somehow even got butterflies even though I knew I should be disappointed in our main character's romantic choices. I went through a whirlwind of emotions while reading this book and I seriously do not understand how Heath did it.

Let me tell you, I feel like the last ten books have been ones that have different POVs and time jumps from past to present that at this point I definitely should be sick of them. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the book, and I think Heath is an excellent writer, truly.

It pains me to admit however that I felt like I was rushing through the book just to finally get to the ending and even though I would read quickly I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I also felt as though the reveal had too much all together. I still believe that Heath tactically wrote everything into place, but to me it just felt though there was more than necessary.

I am more than happy to give this book 4/5 stars. I don't think that it deserves any less than that. If you enjoy a lot of backstory and a lot of writing, then I earnestly believe that this book would be a five star book for you. Personally, I really love super fast paced and exciting books which is why I'm not giving The Summer Party 5/5 stars. But trust me when I say that I enjoyed this book a lot. My only regret is not getting to read it when it was actually summer, lol!

if you’re looking for a quick mystery/thriller that you can read in a day - this is it! though it was a bit predictable at times, this book had everything I could want in a “who done it” story. the small town setting and cast of characters with multiple motives had me on the edge of my seat, along with a jaw-dropping ending with twists that I didn’t see coming!

written in multiple POVs across dual timelines, the story follows the events leading up to the summer party as well as the present day. having the perspectives of multiple characters added to the story and built up each of their motives which I enjoyed rather than being “told” the possible motives by one narrator. the writing was also incredibly descriptive - I could clearly picture the characters and coastal setting in my mind which made for an even more atmospheric read.

though I enjoyed the story from beginning to end, I did find that it didn’t quite pick up until about halfway through and it took me longer to read the first half than it did the second. however, it still had the element of suspense throughout and once the story/motives were set I couldn’t put it down!

Very enjoyable thriller- feels like it could’ve been a little tighter but that’s a debut author for you generally enjoyable, some fun twists and interesting characters – I’ll be eager to see what this writer does next!

Summer Party was an on and off read for me. On; the story propelled me to read to the end. Off; I found the characters unlikable and unrelatable. The protagonist, Lucy's decisions and behavior pushed believability. Lucy visits the house of her deceased grandmother In a coastal town in Western Australia. Lucy had spent a summer visiting there as a teen. Lucy connects with the siblings, (Mae, Anabelle and Harry) of a very wealthy family during her time packing up her grandmother's things. She attempts to uncover their possible criminal history that resulted in a murder, while juggling relationships with a police detective and with Harry. The plot was convoluted and difficult to follow to the point that Lucy needed a character to explain the ending. So did I. Three stars. Thanks Netgalley for the digital copy.