Told in alternating viewpoints by Alex and her daughter, Lettie, this story highlights the drama in an elite neighborhood. The party begins in present day with a murder and then switches back to the block party the previous year leading up to the event. Lots of drama and hidden facts slowly emerges in this lively story. Too slow for me.

I really was looking forward to a thriller or mystery about a small town wealthy suburban neighborhood filled with secrets and lies that unravel at a block party. Unfortunately, the block party doesn't begin until toward the end of the book. There were so many characters that I honestly had to take out my phone and take notes to keep everyone straight. Everyone had a backstory and a relationship and/or children, and I kept losing track of which person was married to which person or which child belonged to which family.

I felt that the book really dragged, and I wanted more of suspense or mystery. It never really came. I enjoyed the two perspectives, but I wish that they were both in first person. I wanted more excitement from the block party, but it was just lacking.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book.

This was such a fun read!!! I feel like anyone living in a neighborhood could relate. I love how the story enfolded and it had be guessing until the end!

An annual block party and neighborhood full of secrets. This was a medium fast paced suspense novel told through multiple perspectives. I guessed several of the twists early on, so I was only lukewarm on the book. It's low-stakes and not to stressful.

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC of "The Block Party" in exchange for an honest review.
As much as I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I couldn't help wondering......did author Jamie Day want us to take this stuff seriously? Or does "The Block Party" function as a sly, dry humor spoof of those plunges into uppercrust suburban dysfunction like "Big Little Lies" and "Little Fires Everywhere"?
I only mention this because the host of troubles in the sumptuous Alton Place cul-de-sac makes those other books look like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. And the neighbors of Alton Place, to the everlasting entertainment of their community chatboard members, make the characters of TV soap operas look like the Teletubbies in comparison.
And that's what makes this book such a fun read........you'd have to plow through 800 episodes of "Days Of Our Lives" to revel in the Mt. Everest of tribulations that author Day compactly piles into one single swiftly paced novel. On this one cluster of houses, those "sands in the hourglass" come pouring out at the speed of light.
In cataloguing the sheer amount of heartaches, anxieties and deep dark secrets on display, I'm almost tempted to put them alphabetical order......
Just name your poison and it's all there waiting for you on Alton Place. Crumbling marriages, infidelity galore, spousal abuse, drug abuse, booze abuse, (enough wine guzzled to fill several Olympic pools) ,rumored mariticide, racy photo apps, psychotic stalking, rape, emotional wounding of adolescent kids, and some serious anger mis-management issues. That's as much as I can remember at the moment, but I'm sure I'm leaving out more than a few additional miseries and maladjustments.
And YA readers may also want to dive into all the turmoil, since one of the gang's teen daughters co-narrates, thereby providing a bonus list of teen angst tropes......parental torment, peer pressure, forbidden sex, aching crushes, college applications, bullying, drugs, cyber-revenge....and horror of horrors... summertime grounding!
As anyone can tell from these descriptions, sooner or later, this ongoing melodrama kept a constant boil will not bode well for more than a few of the neighbors and come to a rip roarin', twist-revealing finale. In that regard, "The Block Party" doesn't disappoint.
Whether you swallow this for real or chuckle along with it as a guilty pleasure, I fully admit I had a great time with "The Block Party"......but never, ever as a neighbor, just casually visiting.....like slowing down on the highway to rubberneck a fender bender.

3.5 stars rounded down - This was definitely an interesting and unique domestic suspense book! I feel like the title is a little misleading because this centers around so much more than the yearly block party. I loved the drama, secrets, and unexpected twists but I found myself bored once in a while.

This is a must summer read! Everyone loves summer block parties until they go horribly wrong! Find out why in this new fabulous book!

This review will be posted on July 18, 2023 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

A murder takes place at a neighborhood block party in the opening pages. Then, the novel rewinds to the block party held the year before. As the year unfolds over the pages, we learn more about the families who live in the sprawling McMansions. They all have great curb appeal, but once you start digging, theres a LOT beneath the surface. This novel kind of reminded me of Knots Landing, the primetime show from the 80s that focused on a southern California cul-de-sac. Like the show, the novel focused on a lot of domestic drama, which isn't necessarily a genre I like. However, you needed that background to understand the murder in the present-day. #TheBlockParty Rating: somewhere between 😐 / meh, it was ok AND 🙂 / liked it
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This book is scheduled for publication on July 18, 2023. Thank you @stmartinspress for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A compulsively readable novel you will be unable to put down! The characters are relatable and feel real, if a little nutty, and their lives are diverse and complex. The timeline is a little bit confusing at first although it quickly sorts itself out and you become embroiled in the problems and issues of these characters. No one is all good, no one is all bad. Real life, albeit maybe a bit juicier, on the page. I loved it!

What a fun twisty read!

The Block Party is about a rich cul-de-sac group of people who are friends, their lives intertwined in different ways. With that comes a lot of drama and mystery as their secrets are revealed. What happened at the block party? The neighbours who weren't invited all want the inside scoop!

Highly recommend - this is the perfect summer thriller

Told in dial points of view, this twisty thriller will take you for a ride, nothing and no one is who they seem. An excellent debut novel by Jamie Day. Looking forward to more books by the author
Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press, and Jamie Day for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Alex and her teen daughter Lettie tell this tale of murder in suburbia- but who has been killed and why? This starts with the neighborhood Memorial Day party and then moves back a year to bring the reader into the lives of the various residents. While there are a lot of characters and you won't be able to tell initially who is important, it's not hard at all to keep them straight. No one, btw, is especially likable (not even the narrators). This is becoming a familiar plot- privileged (but not all) neighbors with grudges and secrets- but Day's got good storytelling skills that make this a page turner, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me!

The Block Party by Jamie Day
Published: July 18, 2023
St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Domestic Thriller
Pages: 367
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Jamie Day lives in one of those picture-perfect, coastal New England towns you see in the movies. And just like the movies, Jamie has two children and an adorable dog to fawn over. When not writing or reading, Jamie enjoys yoga, the ocean, cooking, and long walks on the beach with the dog, or the kids, or sometimes both.

“Once an egg tosser, always an egg tosser.”

Alex lives on a prestigious block, where everyone is friends. Everyone knows everyone. Kids were raised together, wives have ladies' night gatherings, and they take turns hosting a Memorial Day BBQ until the truth starts coming out.

Holy. This was intense and read like a soap opera! The secrets, twists, lies, deceit, and ego were bonkers. I enjoyed the build-up and character development.

There are a lot of characters in this book, but the writing is so well done that it’s easy to keep track of everyone. I found the way each character was fleshed out to be refreshingly realistic.

The last half of this book is so intense. There are no pausing places, so I devoured the ending. As things started falling into place, my jaw hit the floor, and I could not read fast enough.

This was well-written and had such delicious, devious twists.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started the book. I don't always like the characters in thrillers similar to this one. I was so happy to find that this book was unique. I loved the way the story was presented starting in the present and then going back a year. Presenting the story from both Alex and Lettie's perspectives was fabulous. Everything worked so well. I felt like I was part of the neighborhood. The book was paced well, and I was pulled in from the beginning. The comments from social media made me laugh because they are so realistic! I thought the ending was well done and was a very satisfactory ending. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Deliciously fun! A twisty domestic thriller. There are a lot of secrets on Alton Road and they all come to light over the course of a year. While there are a lot of neighbors to keep track of, the book is narrated by Alex and her daughter, Lettie. "Revenge might seem like a good idea, but everyone gets hurt in the end."

"This summer, meet your neighbors.

The residents of the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road are entangled in a web of secrets and scandal utterly unknown to the outside world, and even to each other.

On the night of the annual Summer block party, there has been a murder.

But, who did it and why takes readers back one year earlier, as rivalries and betrayals unfold—discovering that the real danger lies within their own block and nothing—and no one—is ever as it seems."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

I was super excited when I was approved for this book because when I read the teaser it felt right up my alley! I love when books entangle multiple people living in the same area with so many secrets and so much thrill and mystery. The foreshadowing in this book is excellent in helping the reader put the pieces together as they read along. I finished this book in two days because I could simply not pry my eyes away. Neighborhood dramas always pull me right in because I secretly love to imagine it in my own neighborhood and what I would be doing to solve things. I think that if you don’t have a hard time keeping track of multiple characters then this would be the book for you. Something about seeing a picture-perfect neighborhood having its dark secrets exposed is thrilling for us all.

An intriguing and twisty domestic suspense!!

I was happy to have both the ebook and audiobook of this novel to review. Being able to switch between the two had me finishing in just one day.

Alton Road is an exclusive cul-de-sac neighborhood in Meadowbrook. New to the neighborhood are Samir and Mandy Kumar, and their twenty year old son, Jay. Next we have Alex Fox, her husband Nick and their teenage daughter, Lettie. Across the street lives Alex’s sister, Emily, Emily’s husband, Ken and their two teenage sons. We also have Willow and Evan Thompson and their teenage daughter, Riley. And then there’s Brook Bailey, the gorgeous and childless widow.

The neighbors are all very close. The husbands have regular poker nights and the ladies have their own regular get togethers. But these people are all keeping secrets. Brewing beneath the surface is quite a bit of jealousy and anger. We will see that we often don’t know what goes on behind closed doors and that appearances really can be deceiving.

It’s an Alton Road tradition to have a block party every year on Memorial Day. However, this is the first year the police have been called.

The story takes place Memorial day present day and the same day one year earlier. It’s told from Alex and her daughter, Lettie’s point of view. Interspersed were posts to the online community Facebook page which gives insight into what is happening plus some extra local gossip.

“How did it all change so much in a single year?”

I was gripped as secrets and lies were revealed. There were many surprises. I guessed a couple of things correctly but there were a few great twists that I did not see coming.

The story touches on many relevant issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, and mental illness. There were times things may have been a bit over the top. There was also quite a few characters to keep track of. I did have to flip back a few times to check who was who. However, none of this really dampened my enjoyment of the story.

The audiobook was narrated by Megan Tusing and Suzy Jackson who really helped bring the story to life.

Overall, I thought was a very good debut novel. I am looking forward to reading more from Jamie Day.


I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

The Block Party by Jamie Day is one of my favorite books of 2023 so far! From nosey neighbors to complex storylines with well-meaning characters to miscommunications and murder, the neighbors on this block are in a class all their own. I love the vibe of the plot, the title, and the cover. Told from multiple perspectives with a multimedia approach, The Block Party will intrigue you, draw you in, and quickly become a favorite summer read.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Block Party is a great book for those who are on the fence about the suspense and/or mystery genre. The pace is quick and the story is easy to follow, with surprises aplenty and nothing to leave you wide awake and checking under your bed at night. I enjoyed it very much and appreciated the author’s gift of storytelling and intrigue.

Block party ending in murder?

Scandals coming out about everyone?

Sign me up!

I enjoyed this book and all the secrets of this street. Read it if murder and gossip are for you!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review.