DNF at 20%
Unfortunately, this book was just not catching my attention the way it should and I was already mixing up the characters early on. I'm sure if you like the neighborhood wives and moms type thrillers, this will be right up your alley, but I think it is just not a story I'm as interested in as I originally thought I would be.

A fun neighborhood suspense story that felt a bit "Big Little Lies."

Alton Court is a tony cul-de-sac known for expensive houses and a blowout summer party. This year, someone is murdered. Who is it? Who did it?

I enjoyed the family ties and the intergenerational aspects of this one, which I think worked well.

Suspenseful summer fun!

It's always a good time when a bunch of wealthy neighbors, each with their own drama and secrets, get together for an alcohol-fueled block party. The narration switches back and forth between characters in this one, and many of the characters are unreliable and/or hiding something. The story was fast-paced, keeping readers guessing as to what happened at the block party that would cause police and crime scene units to arrive. The book starts with the party in question and then goes back in time to where all the tension began. Well-crafted and satisfying.

The layout of The Block Party is different, and I didn’t think I was going to like it, but by the end, I changed my mind. It starts off with an annual block party for the residents of a cul-de-sac, and someone is murdered, but the victim is a mystery until the end of the book. After the murder, it goes back a year to the previous block party and covers the lives of the screwed-up residents for the entire year.

It’s funny how an initial impression of characters can be so wrong! Part of the story is told by Lettie, and the rest of it is mostly about her mother, Alex. At the present block party, the reader sees a glimpse of the characters, but without the perspective of the previous year, they’re not quite what they seem.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say that there are so many surprises and secrets! Every one of the neighbors has their own secret, and they will all come to light within the year between block parties. It’s one of those books that you can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next!

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. This book received great reviews so I was anxious to read it. However, it was just okay for me until the end. It didn't feel like a psychological thriller until the very end with secrets revealed. The main character, Alex, was really annoying to me through the whole book. She complained to her husband about all the neighbors coming to her with their problems when she was actually the nosy one going to them. We also constantly heard about her drinking wine too. The ending allowed me to give this a higher rating. Otherwise, it was just a typical neighborhood with gossip.

All of the juicy details and scandal of Desperate Housewives mixed with blackmail, murder, and deceit. Alton Rd. will never be the same!

This was an amazing domestic thriller that had everything that made me want more!! Definitely pick up a copy!

#jamiedaybooks #theblockparty #thrillerreaders #domesticthrillerbooks #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile

This was such a fun, rollercoaster of a thriller! You’ve got the whole party: liars, cheaters, nosy neighbors, ex-friends, stalkers, and creeps!

The lineup of characters made the book move so well; there was never a dull moment. And the reveals at the end just wrapped everyone together so smoothly! I love a book that’s easy to follow, even with multiple POVs.

Definitely a great thriller to read for summer!

So this book felt so familiar to me like I had read it before or seen something like it in a TV show or movie. I couldn't shake the feeling through out the whole book. I still can't place where this feeling was coming from even now that I am done with the book. It was a good read though, kept me guessing through the whole thing, not sure how it was going it end. I definitely did not guess how it did end though Jamie really got me there. The chapters where shot and made it feel like the book flew by.

At first I thought this book was a bit too long for my liking. The last 25% made it all worth it. I did end up listening to this on 2.25x and I rarely go over 1.75x.

As someone with bad book amnesia I was impressed by the books ability to stay with me after I finished it. While there were a lot of characters to follow, around 50% into the book I was able identify the husbands, wives and kids easily. No spoilers but the twists were good without being unbelievable. I saw some coming, others I did not. Overall, it was a great summer read! The way Day described a block party and that day to night transition brought me way back to when we had block parties and how crazy things got at night. I’d definitely recommend picking this up!

The premise of this book has me very intrigued but overall I felt like the author was trying to do “too much.” There was too much going on for my liking and it didn’t hold my attention like I was hoping.

It's nearly summer, and the Alton Road cul-de-sac is having their highly anticipated annual Memorial Day block party. Unfortunately, this evening will end in at least one death. But who did it and who is dead? To explain that, we will need to start the story at last year's block party. Over the course of the year, the families on the cul-de-sac unearth secrets, plot revenge, and ultimately learn that they may harbor more than one criminal in their suburban midst.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend if you liked: Locust Lane, Bad Summer People
Content warnings: rape (mentioned, non-explicit), addiction (alcohol & drugs), murder, stalking, suicide

This one was right up my alley! I saw others call this "domestic suspense" and that exactly fits the bill!

We follow multiple perspectives throughout the book, mainly Alex (a divorce mediator who really likes her wine) and her daughter Lettie, in high school and a big proponent for environmental causes. Most of the wide cast is well-rounded, and we get more of their dimensions throughout the year.

Suspense?
As the year unfolds, a lot of controversy comes to light following a slow escalation of crimes that interweaves motives right up to the end. I spent the whole book guessing who might have died! I guessed a couple of the twists, but it was still engaging, and the prose flowed smoothly.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio and St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for providing me access to both an audiobook and ebook. All opinions expressed above are my own.

On the outside Alton Road or "The Altons", as surrounding communities know them, looks like a normal neighborhood full of neighbors who have a wonderful life and they all get along. But if you look a little closer things aren't quite what they seem. Alex is the "leader" of the neighborhood. She seems to be the one who tries to keep everyone together and help them deal with any problems that arise. However, this is beginning to take a toll on her. Her duaghter, Lettie, and husband, Nick, have noticed her drinking has increased a lot. Especially since the NEW neighbors have moved in. Things definitely start goinf side ways and a bit bizarre. The Altons are losing what made them a great neighborhood and everything and everyone is changing and not in positive ways or their unstable sides are finally beginning to show. So who will be in jeopardy of losing it all and who will be saved?

I really wanted to love this one but it just didn't do it for me. There are so many characters with so many storylines that I didn't care about any of them and the teenagers were annoying. I also found the "bug man" subplot really odd.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the copy to review.

The Block Party could be summarized as soapy domestic suspense.

This book was a little too soapy for my taste but I enjoyed it for what it was. Think of this book as a summer thriller with early Desperate Housewives vibes. The cul-de-sac has plenty of combustible relationships.

You get POVs of a mother daughter duo. They are both quite nosy. Even though the characters lacked depth I was still curious about who the victim and the murderer were.

This would make a fun beach read if you are in the mood for a little neighborhood drama, a little whodunit.

If you love domestic thrillers, The Block Party delivers. There is a lot to keep up with, a lot of characters, as well as a lot of mystery and surprises. Jamie Day's writing is taut and suspenseful, and she adds several quite serious topics to the plot in addition to the family and neighborhood drama. The story takes place in a time period of a year, with the time line switching. The book is hard to put down until the reader knows all the details of the scandals, danger, and secrets on Alton Road.

This neighborhood thriller just did not work for me. The alternating stories of Alex (a divorce mediator, formerly divorce lawyer), told in the third person, and her daughter, Lettie, told in first person, over 2 block parties a year apart, was very distracting for me and definitely detracted from the story, in addition to not being a very thrilling read. Interspersed with the different POVs were what were apparently either text messages or social media posts/comments that added nothing at all to the story.

I did enjoy the writing which made for a quick read and if you're interested in more of a domestic drama, then you would most likely enjoy the book more than I did. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Does your neighborhood have a yearly get together? The neighbors of Alton Road have their yearly block party on Memorial Day. Jamie Day’s The Block Party might be the perfect book to read on your vacation, a lazy day at home, or a rainy day. I found myself rapidly turning the pages at the beginning when we hear shots fired at the Alton Road Block Party. We are introduced to many characters, and each has problems of their own. Our guides (narrators) are divorce mediation lawyer, Alex, who speaks as a third person narrator, and her soon-to-be high school senior, Lettie, who speaks in first person. We are also introduced to the neighborhood group chat which I loved and wished there were more entries interspersed in this story. There are lots of characters in this book. I suggest keeping a character chart! Day kept me guessing who was murdered and who did it! Each character seemed to have problems drinking, drugs, ………..I did feel the book could have been shorter as there was a bit too much repetition. I appreciated the epilogue! My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. 3.5 stars raised to 4 stars.

Alex lives on a well to do street full of people with secrets. They have their yearly block party and each time the drama seems to escalate. Will one of these parties end in murder?

This was a fantastic domestic thriller. Told from several different perspectives, I was engaged the whole time as I tried to figure out the secrets of everyone in the neighborhood! Very solid read I will recommend to others!

This was a highly entertaining summer read which starts off with a murder on Memorial Day. The author uses a dual timeline to reveal all the neighborhood secrets and who had a possible motive to kill. The story is told in a dual POV, in which, rich people are behaving badly and everyone appears guilty. The story is filled with secrets, family drama and multiple surprise plot twists.

The premise of The Block Party intrigued me and seemed to be a perfect summer domestic mystery read for the summer. I found the back and forth timeline interspersed with neighborhood/community online commentary a perfect way to move the story forward while also adding some mystery into what really took place.

Where I struggled was the characters and how truly they drove me nuts. I can get behind characters I don’t like but this group were so self centered and selfish that I just couldn’t muster anything up for any of them. They just sucked the life out of everything.

Ultimately this book and I were not a fit but I appreciate the opportunity to have read it. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my DRC.