Told from the point of view of Lucy in present time and multiple characters some 20 years ago, this book was a slow starter for me. I'm sure it was nearly 100% due to the switch between multiple POVs AND multiple timelines. Once I finally got the hang of all the characters and their relationships, the second half of the book was much more enjoyable and kept me reading and guessing until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Enigmatic, Well Crafted..
Deep, dark secrets lie at the heart of this enigmatic and well crafted Australian set suspense. Two decades of one rather glamorous family living on Australia’s southern coast. This family appears perfect but nothing is quite as it seems. Told in an effectively done, dual format narrative with a well crafted and wholly credible cast of characters and some deliciously well drawn backdrops.

3.8
Overall, this works, and is fairly compelling by a bit past halfway through. My issue is that the MC goes through a fair amount of effort to hide some murder evidence adjacent information to protect the dead person she suspects may have committed the crime. Which, like, okay, I guess, but at this point she also suspects she may be a suspect herself, so...why not give up the ghost (as it were)? It was difficult to determine her motivation for most of her actions, actually, and that seems loose to me.

The Summer Party by Rebecca Heath
I found this book to be more of a mystery than a thriller. And I’m not mad about that at all. I loved the suspense, and found it to be very engaging. I finished it in 2 days, was hard to put down. There were a few twist, that I didn’t see coming. If you’re reading and find it a tad sluggish, just hang in there! Most action happens in the last third of the book and it’s well worth it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a sixteen-year-old spending, the summer holidays with her Nan Lucy is drawn to the Whitlam family. To her eyes, they are the perfect family,wealthy, beautiful and exciting. They draw her into their circle and she goes to their summer party.
19 years later she returns to the area after the death of her grandmother. No longer the naive teenager she begins to realise that not all was as it seemed and human remains have been found.
I enjoyed this novel. I don't usually like books that go back and forwards in time but this was carefully done, teasing out the past.

There is a fine thread of tension through this book. It is not overdone, but enough to keep drawing a reader into the story. The characters have dimension and believability. While there is very little to identify it as an Australian novel, (so it can cross into markets in other countries readily, ie USA), it has a comfortable familiarity of language for an Aussie. I received this book as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley and am leaving this review voluntarily

The cover of this book gripped me and after reading it I have to say I was not disappointed as I found it a great read. A summer party held in a house on the cliffs by a wealthy family who have a lot of secrets they want to keep hidden and a sixteen year old girl who sees something she shouldn’t have, fast forward and the fun begins ..

What a ride! I was blown away by this novel. So many twists and turns. I loved the alternating chapters between past and present, all leading to one fateful night. This was a superb whodunnit that really keeps you guessing. I would definitely recommend!

Slow burn thriller with a few twists and turns on the way. Not everyone's cup of tea as a bit confusing in parts. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

I flew through this one at breakneck speed! Set in Australia, the novel follows Lucy when she returns to her Nan's cottage after her death to pack her things. This spurs many memories of when she lived there and was "taken in" by the wealthy family with siblings Anabelle, Harry, and Mae. Alternating in time, the novel reveals Lucy's enchantment with all three as she is invited to parties and believes she is friends with all of them. But there are long-buried secrets that emerge as Lucy digs deeper and discovers that all is not as it appears. Many red herrings abound and the truth isn't revealed until you are gasping for breath! Not one I'll easily forget and I look forward to more from Heath!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

The Summer Party follows a family with secrets in Australia during the summertime. So you will be getting all of the beachy summertime feels with this new novel. I will say that I loved the atmosphere and the story was a little predictable, but I loved the Aussie take on a thriller with family dynamics.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me early access to this e-arc!

Soo this cover caught my eye while looking through books to read, and then I found out it was about a psychological thriller, I was all, SIGN ME UP PLEASE!!!

Boy, talk about a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  The book would flip between days before the party and present time.  So you got soo much anticipation while waiting for that dang party to happen and find out what the Hell happened at this freaking party!! lol I need my answers!!!  lol  You know I have grown so fond of reading these thriller type books, I am sooo bad though that I want to skip to the end of the book and find my answers, but I would never do that!!! haha

5 "this book was soo dang good" Stars!!! Make sure you add to your TBR ASAP for sure!!!!

This book grabbed me right from the beginning. We are immediately thrown into the story and I really liked that. I felt captivated the whole way through. I loved the Austrailia setting and found that really kept me reading.

Thank you for the ARC.
I found this entire book so gorgeous and relatable. A teen girl goes to spend a summer with her grandmother and is seduced by the rich and glamorous neighbors. She heads home a few days later, as planned, and uses them as inspiration as she works to succeed in her life.
I found a lot of her teen antics cringe and relatable. She wanted so badly to be a part of their group and be loved like they were.
20 years or so later she is back to clean out her grans cabin and get her affairs in order. On her way back she hears they found a shoe with a foot in it. And once she gets to the cabin she starts having visitors from people she knew that summer.
To me, I would have found that overwhelming and a bit much, but she still likes these people and wants them to like her. Mae saying "you're practically family!" would have had me running but not our girl Lucy. She laps it up.

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 adult debut for Rebecca Heath.

Pub date: January 5, 2023

I thought this book started a little slow,as it took me a while to get into it, but then it got to a point where I had to keep reading to find out what happened. There were plenty of twists and even when it felt obvious who did it, you then got taken in a completely different direction. I didn't predict the end. Once I got into it (which in all honesty might only have been slow due to back to school chaos when starting it) I enjoyed reading it

Lacy goes back to Australia after her grandmother’s death. A body is discovered on the beach and the bones are around 20 years old. She first came to Australia 20 years ago and met the Whitlam family. Suspicions arise around Lacy and the Whitlams. This is a great debut thriller by Rebecca Heath. It’s got lots of twists and turns and I hope to read more of her releases in the future.
Thanks NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the opportunity to read this book!

This book was ok. There were a few twists at the end, but it dragged on sooo much before that. The plot and characters were interesting enough. Literally could have read just the last third of the book and been fine. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Well written and compelling with a dual timeline with the book set in the current time and then flashbacks to almost two decades previous. The characters are well developed and the storylineis gripping and kept me engaged all the way through. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. While it stars off promising, the slow drag and back and forth of POV *AND* time frames was distracting. At times I wasn’t sure if it was turning into a romance or I was missing key elements. I’m sure many will enjoy it, as it has lots of elements people seem to enjoy. I’m at the point where I DNF after I feel forced or obligated to finish, however.