Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Every year the Alton Road neighborhood has a block party. This year seems to be no different, but by the end of the night, 2 people will be dead and several secrets will be revealed.

The story is told in a couple of different timelines.

I had a hard time keeping up with the story, and I felt it lagged at times.

It was just ok for me.

The Block Party tells the story of the exclusive enclave of Alton Road. Its inhabitants have a yearly Memorial Day block party, organized by Alex, who is one of the POVs the story is told from; the other is from her 17 year old daughter, Lettie. The timeline bounces between current day and a year ago, showing how much things can change in a year and how even the most polished people have secrets hidden behind closed doors.

I ended up DNFing this book at 17%. The first chapter intrigued me, but I hated how we immediately jumped back in time. I wish that the chapters alternated more to keep up the momentum that the first chapter starts off with. Interestingly, the chapters in the past are interspersed with Facebook posts in a group for the town of Meadowbrook where the book takes place, and the posts are from the current timeline. All to say, it makes it quite confusing. I also didn't like that the POV keep bouncing from third person (Alex) to first (Lettie) - I wish the author had stuck to either but kept it consistent. The dialogue was awkward and none of the characters were not genuine or engaging enough to make me keep reading, especially when there didn't seem to be any thrills in sight for quite a while. This may be the book for someone, but that someone isn't me.

Wow this book had all kinds of drama and boy I was there for it!! I simply could not stop turning the pages to see what would happen next. I really enjoyed reading from 2 different POV which pulled in even more drama! I loved how the book began with the night of the incident and flashed back to show how we got there! I did not see it ending that way AT ALL! This was such a great read with a even better twist at the end! I highly suggest it!

The premise of this story pulls you in immediately. A well to do neighborhood in Massachusetts is having a block party. There are the usual cast of characters and drama. Then we switch to an online neighborhood chat where members of the outer neighborhood (not invited to the block party) discuss how the police and an ambulance have been called and someone has been murdered at the party. Instead of going back to the party, we then move backward to the same block party one year prior. Told in alternating stories from the perspective of Alex, a divorce mediator who typically sets up the block party, and her 17 year old daughter Lettie. We then learn the backgrounds and motivations of the main characters/neighbors on this block, and it is messy. Murdered husbands, bullied teenagers, abusive relationships, alcoholism, this neighborhood has it all. You are completely drawn in and can't put this book down as you await the discovery of just who gets murdered and why. This is a solid story, but I don't think most 17 year olds are as forgiving and as helpful as Lettie is to those who previously bullied her. Her life lessons on revenge, however, are something we could all take to heart.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance ecopy. My opinions are my own.

The Block Party by Jamie Day is a quick, entertaining read with Desperate Housewives vibes. The novel opens at the annual Memorial Day block party where a shocking event occurs and moves back to a year prior, so that the reader learns what leads up to the dramatic moment.

Told from an adult perspective ((Alex) as well as her daughter, Lettie, (who seems to be the more mature of the two) we get the firsthand perspective of many neighborhood secrets. While the ending twist was pretty predictable, overall, the novel was enjoyable and engaging.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

This had everything I could wish for from a murder thriller! I love when books dive beneath the surface and this one did that for me. Definitely recommend it as a summer read!

“The Block Party” by Jamie Day ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Domestic Suspense. Location: Meadowbrook, Massachusetts, USA. Time: Memorial Day (last Monday in May) 1 year ago to Memorial Day present.

Present: It’s Memorial Day, and there’s a murder on exclusive Alton Road. The cul-de-sac is full of wealthy residents with secrets and scandals. Alexandria (Alex) Fox lives there with husband Nick and teen daughter Lettie. Alex is the block party organizer. She needs lots and lots of wine to get through it. Nick disapproves.

Past: Back up one year to the previous Memorial Day block party and the year after it. Why did new neighbors the Kumars need a fresh start? Is the husband of Alex’s sister cheating again? Do the Thompson’s know about their daughter’s secret life? Who is Brooke’s stalker? Are Lettie and Jay Kumar (20) plotting revenge or helping friends? It’s privileged suburban life at its snarkiest.

Author Day flips back and forth between the previous year’s rivalries and betrayals and this year’s party (where she inserts gossipy texts from the Meadowbrook Community Online Page). She amps up the tension by keeping us in the dark about the identities of victim and perpetrator so you keep guessing until the very end! She adds a lengthy epilogue so you learn what happened afterward.

Day has written a funny, sarcastic story full of revenge, crumbling marriages, parent-child angst, and other suburban dysfunctions. She alternates the story between Lettie’s 1st person narrative and telling Alex’s story in 3rd person. It’s easy to get confused as residents run back and forth between houses-a map would have helped. Bottom line-it’s about wealthy, entitled, beautiful people learning their lives are just as screwed-up and uncool as the rest of us, and it’s a big 4 stars from me!🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️ Thank you to St Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Jamie Day for this early copy. Publishes 7/18/2023.

An interesting neighborhood drama-mystery surrounding the year of events that lead to a tragedy at the annual block party. Interesting characters and the various choices they make drive the story to a surprising end. While I enjoyed this book, it was slow and took me awhile to really get into. I would definitely recommend this for those who like Desperate Housewives type drama.

The Block Party is told in a dual timeline - now, and one year ago. As the neighborhoods secrets unfold, the reader gets closer to finding out who died and who is the killer but on this street everyone is a suspect, everyone is lying, and everyone has something to hide.

I really loved the blurb and premise of this book - the first 10% had me enthralled, and then the plot lost me until about 70% when it picked back up. I had debated DNFing but I read reviews telling me the ending twist was nuts and unpredictable so I kept with it. I guessed the twist…so it wasn’t that unpredictable, but I wish the middle of the book moved the story forward without getting so bogged down.

The Block Party focuses on the Memorial Day block party, who did it, and who died. This story switches between two different POVs, Alex and her daughter Lettie.
At first I hated when it switched to Lettie’s POV because it was so hard to read. She over explained everything and didn’t really talk like I thought a 17/18 does. Later in the story I didn’t like Alex’s POV. I found her ver my annoying with how nosey she is with involving herself in everyone else’s business.
Some of the drama and secrets were easy to figure out. The others seemed so far fetched. All the drama in the story just seemed so unbelievable to truly happen on one street within one year. Overall I thought the book was okay, but I don’t think I would recommend it to friends as a must read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I received this e-book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for the copy!

This is the second book I’ve read lately about the drama in a neighborhood and it was great! This was also gave me vibes from the TV show Desperate Housewives. This story is told from two different perspectives and I think the author did a great job of giving each of those characters their own voice.

The high end neighborhood of Alton Road throws a Memorial Day block party every year. Throughout the story, we are experiencing the events leading up to a murder at the block party through the eyes of Alex, a mediator, and her daughter Lettie, a high schooler. These two seem to not be able to mind their own business and try to help their neighbors as much as they can, while also getting into some trouble themselves.

The author has also thrown in some conversation from an online forum for the town which will remind you of your own towns, online forum, and is hilariously realistic.

If you like a good thriller, I think you would enjoy this one!

This book exceeded my expectations! If you’re a fan of Desperate Housewives and Big Little Lies then this is the book for you! This story starts with Alton Roads annual Memorial Day block party and ends with murder. The story then takes you back looking into several families, their lives, their problems and their secrets that led to that one harrowing Block Party.

While some of the story was repetitive in nature, there was good storytelling, lots of drama and suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat to see how the story unfolded.

This book by Jamie Day is a great one to stash for your summer vacay or pool day! The Block Party starts with a murder and proceeds to look at the previous year and the scandal and gossip that intertwined to lead to the end result! I enjoyed this easy read and appreciated its change of pace for a lazy summer weekend! I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

"You'll Die If You Miss It..."

Thank you Netgalley & St Martin's Press for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this one!

I love a good thriller and nothing feels more like summer than a block party on the most desired street in town! This book was really fun to read & had me guessing the whole time. I love when a story starts off with a bang & keeps you guessing throughout the rest of the story what actually happened and this one did not disappoint.

The Block Party follows the residents of the most sought-out street in town over the course of a year and had a lot of storylines that eventually all blended into one!

I especially loved the online community board of the other neighbors trying to speculate what was happening on the street - such a nice touch!

This is the perfect book for you to pick up this summer and will not dissapoint!

This is a new author for me and I thought I'd give the book a try as it sounded intriguing. I'm glad I did. I love finding new authors and Jamie Day has now made my list of authors to follow.

Memorial Day is a memorable day for the residents of the exclusive culdesac on Alton Road when they hold their annual block party. The current year is more memorable than most when murder occurs along with the sack races and egg toss games. The residents are a close-knit group replete with secrets and jealousies. When a revenge scheme goes awry, multiple lives on the street are affected. But affected enough to commit murder?

This is a fast-paced, suspenseful book that plays out mostly in the year before the murder so the reader is in the dark as to who has been killed. This bothered me at first, but I soon got caught up in the lives of the characters as told from the perspectives of Alex, a divorce mediator, and her teenage daughter, Lettie. Alex is a functioning alcoholic who is the glue of Alton Road while Lettie is coping with being bullied and knowing secrets about her prime bullier, Riley. Both face moral dilemmas: keep quiet about their knowledge or act on what they know. It's an interesting thread that both characters approach differently. True to the thriller genre, there are twists that kept me guessing as to who was murdered and whodunit. Both engaging and well-plotted, I recommend this book.

Alex is throwing the annual Block Party when things go awry... and then they go even more awry!!

As you travel back to a year before the current party, when new neighbors are looking at a home for sale on the posh Alton St., you are led through a year of Alex and her daughter Lettie's life as they navigate secrets from their friends and neighbors. As these secrets unfold, they lead to conflict that is unimaginable to the seemingly perfect neighborhood.

The writing style was great and I found myself really enjoying this story. It is not quite a "thriller" - there is a lot more character development that I really enjoyed. It is more of a slow-burn thriller with drama and insight throughout.

Recommended for book clubs
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. #sponsored

I was excited to read The Block Party because I have heard a lot of buzz about it on social media. I liked how it started with alluding to the incident and then flashed back to the year before. There are so many characters it was a little challenging to keep track at first. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives and thought how everything ended up tying together in the end was well done, but I found the book slow at parts and I was not really invested in any of the characters. Overall it was only average...

This story is filled with high drama and suspense. A neighborhood is racked with secrets that are being kept by adults and children. Things come to a head at the annual Memorial Day block party. The story is told from dual timelines and from the point of view of several characters. Families get torn apart as secrets become unmasked. The plot is twisted and interesting.

Synopsis: A murder happens at a Memorial Day block party, then the story rewinds one year to introduce the neighbors and lead us to who is killed, and who is the murderer.
Pros: This was a very White Lotus/Big Little Lies style story with many characters and layers to their personal lives.
Cons: At times there were too many story lines to keep up with and some of those were lackluster.
But overall I liked the story! It was not a thriller but rather a twisty, domestic drama that could play out as a TV show!
Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the early copy. Check it out when it’s released this month!

Every Memorial Day, the exclusive Alton Road residents host a block party, but this year someone is murdered. We’re taken back to the party from the year before to piece together just what went wrong.

THE BLOCK PARTY by Jamie Day is a domestic suspense full of d r a m a.

I really enjoyed the first quarter of the book: the setting of a ritzy neighborhood is one of my favorites with the addition of some wild neighbor drama, and the alternating perspectives between our lead busybody Alex and her 18-year-old daughter Lettie was a nice way to get an insight on all the goings on throughout the neighborhood.

However, after a while, I felt the pace to become a bit slow, the secrets and drama became a tad predictable and spanned over every trope imaginable, and the characters never seemed to really develop into anything substantial.

An enjoyable read for the most part, but nothing too noteworthy.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: July 18