THE SUMMER PARTY By Rebecca Heath --This "coming in January 2023" debut psychological thriller is sure to be a beach read for Aussies and a winter vacation read for US book lovers. At first I thought it was slow going (lots of descriptors on the setting in Australia as well as some words I am not familiar with- what's a ute?) but then the pace picked up and I was drawn into the mystery. Lucy Ross, disgraced and on leave from her job uses this time to return to her grandmother's house where she spent one summer in 2000 when she was 16. Her grandmother has passed away and Lucy needs to clean house. At the same time of her return, a body is discovered which brings back memories for Lucy of that angst, confusing, summer where she spent much of her time following the wealthy Whitlam siblings around, envying them their lives, their money and their privilege. The novel presents perspectives of the various characters from 2000 and present day which might get a bit confusing for some, but I was actually glad to see that the story was not told through one lens (personal reader preference) What does this dead body have to do with the family and just what did Lucy see at the summer party all those years ago? Could this family that she thought she knew so well be murderers?
The story has lots of twists and turns and Heath does a good job of slowly unraveling the real characters beyond what 16 year old Lucy thought and what her now 35 year old self realizes.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. FB friends: this will be published in the US in January 2023 so put it on your "to be read" list 🙂

Too slow

The plot was good. An Australian teen spent the summer with her grandmother. She became friends with the wealthy family next door. Twenty years later she is back at the house, cleaning it out after her grandmother’s passing. Shortly before she arrived, part of a body was found. Could it be the mentally abusive wealthy mother? The story alternates between the present and 20 years ago.

I started out liking this, but somewhere before I was half way through I got bored and started skipping/skimming. There was one part where a character said “my bad”. Common phrase now, but was it 20 years ago?

Mmmm I wasn’t sure about this. I feel the story was a bit too convoluted and not very believable. The characters were all a bit over the top and the basic premise that the main character Lucy was totally overawed by them all even 20 years later was a bit far fetched. But perhaps others will disagree! Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in advance.

There was a summer party at Queen’s Point back in 2000, given by the fabulous Whitlam family who lived in a turreted mansion with secret passageways above the Australian coast. Sixteen year old Lucy was there in the garden that night and heard something falling off the cliff. And much, much later a shoe, still filled with remains of a foot, washed up on the same beach below.

Thirty five year old Lucy has returned to Queen’s Point to clear out her late grandmother’s cottage, coincidentally as a news article about the shoe appeared. She’s recently widowed, but she is no longer the housekeeper’s granddaughter or just the poor friend of the Whitlams. Lucy meets up with some of the party-goers of 19 years ago — the Whitlam siblings (Annabelle, Mae and Harry), plus the town police sergeant, the once short and pudgy Jake.

More of the owner of the foot reappears, too, and although that person hasn’t been back at Queen’s Point since the summer party, they were presumed to be alive all this time. The condition of the remains suggests they never left the party.

Told in two timelines, the weeks running up to the summer party (with multiple POVs) and present day for Lucy, this is a solid thriller about family secrets and teenaged memories that morph into different present day realities. The book is well-structured as the mystery of two decades ago gets revealed. 4 stars!

Thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Some very rare grey eyes, but no green ones.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But bad things did happen in a garden.

This chilling psychological thriller has everything you need to keep you reading long into the night . .glamour, mystery, murder and suspense. .even a flirtation at romance plus an adorable dog with the unlikely name of Hades! Told in a mixture of present and past ,it draws the reader in with every carefully chosen word and keeps you guessing til the last page. Brilliant writing!

Thrillers are my favorite for a reason.

This is a new to me author, but it won't be the last I read from them


This is a gripping thriller, told in a dual timeline. Loved loved loved it

This was a compelling murder mystery suspense. Thanks to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for an advance copy. I read this one very quickly as I was invested in the characters and solving a 19-year old murder, which had remained hidden for all of those 19 years.

Set in a small beach town in Australia with characters from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. As the story unfolds, it had me pondering the lure of wealth and privilege for those without it. The characters are well developed and the protagonist, Lucy, who returns to clean out her grandmother’s cottage home in 2019 after her job implodes and she needs time away was someone I could root for.

The wealthy Whitlam family are friends (or not) with Lucy. They “own” the small town of Queen’s Point and Lucy has revolved around the outskirts of the family since she visited in the summer 19 years ago. The story is told through chapters from the past and present. The narrative of the present is all from Lucy’s POV, but the chapters in the past have various narrators, giving some insight into their thoughts in 2000. The main protagonist in 2000 is “Mother” Whitlam, whose horribleness, particularly aimed at her three young adult children, propels the story.

There are some surprising revelations at the end and one in particular I did not see coming. “The Summer Party” is the quintessential beach read, and should be on your shelf waiting for sand, sun, and a cocktail.

I enjoyed this read throughly! Was exactly what it said a thriller and mystery! I didn’t know the actual culprit till the end! Enjoyed the past and present of the story telling too.

Thiw was a good thriller and it kept my interest and liked the writing. I didnt like the main character tho. But i over looked that and enjoyed the climate of the story

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Aria & Aries.

I was so intrigued with this book at first. I loved the alternating chapters between the present and the past, as well as how the past chapters sometimes switched characters. It was such a fascinating way to tell a story!

After 2 decades of being away following a summer party in 2000, Lucy is back to clean out her grandmother's place. She tries to forget the past, but she begins to rekindle old friendships. Memories resurface, as well as a foot in a shoe.

The story is kind of slow going. What I enjoyed the most was Lucy rekindling old relationships - the good and bad of that. I didn't think the suspense of the mystery was all that surprising, and I also didn't really care for that part of the story because it seemed to drag on. At one point, I laughed when a chapter was titled 2 days before the party from X and the next chapter of the past was 2 days before the party from Y. Overall, it is well written and the mystery isn't too over top or unbelievable.

(2.5 stars)

The Summer Party is a thriller told in dual timelines. The story spans over roughly two decades and there's numerous POVs (but only for little chapter here or there). We mostly follow our lead gal, Lucy. Lucy has returned to her grandmother's cottage (where she spent the summer of 2000) to take care of her estate after her grandmother's passing. We flip between the year 2000 and the present day of 2019 and as in typical thriller fashion, more and more gets revealed from the past as we read more of the story. Lucy's grandmother worked for a very wealthy and well-to-do family that Lucy became obsessed with when she spent the summer there. When she returns, the family has also returned and there's a big mystery afoot. (pun intended) I'll stop there before I get into too much detail/spoiler territory.

I found the story to be slow. The first half was pretty uneventful with just enough stuff peppered in to keep me going but it was kind of a struggle, not gonna lie. The second half when stuff really starts popping off was way more interesting. There was a lot going on too - like every character had some kind of reveal or multiple reveals, almost every character gets a flashback chapter or two and it was just a lot of moving parts. The ending was a little lack luster for me. There was the big reveal and then it was like three more reveals happened and in the end I'm not even sure what the actual ending was because people were trying to twist it to fit their personal story. It was a decent thriller but that's only because I tend to stay away from thrillers. I'm not quite sure if people who are more seasoned in thrillers than I am would enjoy it or not.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a good, twisty read. It centers on Lucy, who heads back to her hometown after her grandmother passes away to clean out her house. She hasn't been there in 20-ish years after a bunch of events than went down when she was a teenager. Old relationships and secrets come to light when a body is found and Lucy finds herself back in the orbit of the rich family that enamored her back when she was younger. The timeline switches back and forth from the summer when she was younger and current times.

The book moved at a fast clip and I found Lucy to be a realistic character who made some bad decisions but was also overall likable. There were many different characters in the book that had things to hide and I was truly surprised at some of the twists. I had an inkling of what was coming at the end, but it was really well done and I thought the author did a great job ratcheting up the suspense and then tying everything together.

All in all, this was a fun read and I enjoyed it- I would recommend to those who like mysteries. I'll be looknig for more books by this author. Thanks to Netgaley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was so good for end-of-the-summer vibes. It was a light read that I flew through! I'd recommend this one for a buddy read,

I enjoyed this psychological thriller. It held my interest and kept me reading through the night. I liked having multiple viewpoints throughout the story. A good read!

This was a great mystery, told in both the present day and through flashbacks. The characters were well developed and kept me interested throughout. Highly recommend!

#TheSummerParty ,#NetGalley
Summer, 2000. In the tranquil town of Queen's Point in southern Australia, the Whitlam family marks the end of every season with a lavish party in their clifftop mansion. Here, clutching her first glass of real champagne, the summer breeze intoxicating on her skin, sixteen-year-old Lucy Ross is kissed for the very first time. And then, in the shadows of the rose garden, she sees something she shouldn't. Winter, 2019. After two decades of silence, Lucy is back in Queen's Point. She hasn't planned on staying long. But when human remains wash up on the freezing beach, the police close the town. Unable to leave, Lucy is forced to rekindle old friendships – and examine old truths – she has long ago tried to forget. As long-buried secrets start to surface, Lucy must decide. Will she confront the past and tell the truth? Or will she still do anything to protect the people she loves?
It was a really good plotted novel but the ending didn't work for me.

A classic story of returning home and unraveling the mysteries and secrets of the past. A pretty good thriller that I quite enjoyed. The writing was strong and kept me reading.

I would give this book 3.5 stars. I liked it over all. The mystery and balance of present and past as well as the different takes from different characters.I did really enjoy the final climax as well as the wrap up at the end! I feel all the storylines closed basically. Minus Dante.

I didn’t love: through most of the book especially the beginning, the repeat of “may contain human remains”.
It was hard to get into at first but overall I’m glad I read it.

Lucy returns to the quiet costal town of Queen's Point. She spent one summer there with her grandmother. A summer she would never forget. She had her first kiss that summer, in the rose garden if the wealthy Whitman family's estate.
But she witnessed something she shouldn't have. Now as she returns to clear our her grandmother's cottage, she is forced to rekindle old friendships and face the truth about what happened so long ago.
3.5 out of 5

First time reading this author and it won’t be this last! Sub a good book and it kept me on the edge of my seat! I look forward to more books by them!