A block party, neighborhood drama and a murder, what else could you want? When a murder occurs during Alton Roads infamous Summer block party, the secrets of all of the neighbors are aired out for everyone to see.

The Block Party had me hooked from the very beginning. It starts out with the murder and then we jump a year back and see the betrayals and secrets unfold as the author draws us to whodunnit. From the very beginning I was invested in the characters and as I learned more about them, especially the two narrators, Alex and her daughter Lettie, I was even more invested. This mystery kept me guessing until the very end on how everything tied together. There were parts that I figured out along the way, but I didn’t see the whole picture until the end and it was being laid out in front of us. This was a well written and really engaging book, in my opinion. I would definitely recommend this as your next summer, drama-filled mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book! I loved it!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed The Block Party by Jamie Day! I loved a neighborhood drama moment- this one almost gave me May Cobb (The Hunting Wives, My Summer Darlings) vibes! There are two POVs- Alex and her teenage daughter Lettie. Through them we find out and piece together the gossip and drama of the other neighborhood residents. There are quite a few characters to keep up with, and they each come with their own baggage. We truly cover everything- angsty teens, copious and troubling amounts of wine, infidelity, and a few other heavy topics. (Check TW!) This Desperate Housewives-esque drama was super twisty and kept me engaged the whole way through! I look forward to giving Day’s next book a read!

Welcome to Alton Road, an exclusive upper-class cul-de-sac filled with intrigue, secrets, and a troubled cast of characters. Pegged as a thriller, the story takes on the dual perspectives of Alex, a middle-aged legal meditator, wife, and mother struggling with a growing drinking problem, and Lettie, her teenage daughter struggling to find her footing through her final year of high school.

On reading The Block Party, I had a moment during which I suspected that the author was pulling a clever trick on the reader. Bouncing between third-person perspective chapters focused on Alex and first-person perspective chapters from Lettie's point of view, the entire book reads as though it's written by a teenage girl. I figured that the older Alex's chapters seemed so either to convey her world through the eyes of her daughter or to illustrate that the mother's mentality is as immature as her daughter's mindset.

But as the plot trod on and various secrets revealed, the pacing went a little wonky and I realized that cleverness was not the name of the game here. And once I realized that the story fell apart for me. What's left is a banal tale of wrongdoings, paranoia, and secrets in suburbia with a payoff that's undermined by the placement of the end at the beginning of the book.

The Block Party by Jamie Day is a twisty thriller full of secretive characters. This story has many different plot lines and they all weave together to the explosive conclusion at the yearly Alton Road block party. This book keeps you guessing from the first chapter. I enjoyed the intrigue but I never felt especially connected to any of the characters—I don’t know if it was because there were so many storylines or because I didn’t care much for any of them. Overall, good read for someone who likes a mystery with many characters.

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

This is a perfect summer read when there are bbqs and gatherings happening. This book centers around a block party in an upper-class neighborhood where everyone has something to hide. Overall, the book was fine but so many characters that I got lost trying to keep track of who is who. The pace was a little bit slow for me and the characters were annoying (looking at you Lettie).

A 3 star read. Think the first person POV of Lettie and third person of everyone else was why it took me so long to get into this. Very Desperate Housewives, but somehow really boring. It gets more interesting towards the end, but I thought way too many things got glossed over.

Full Review:

"The Block Party" follows Alex, who lives on Alton Road. Alex, is a divorce mediator who loves her work, but is also very stressed by it, her husband, and her almost 18 year old daughter Lettie. At the annual block party though we get to see that things are very dark between Alex and some of the residents and then the story shifts to comments on a blog in the neighborhood and we find out that someone died. Day then goes back a full year to the last block and we follow Alex and the other residents to see what was going on in that neighborhood that could have led to murder.

As I said above, Day having Alex and other's story told via third person and Lettie being first person did not work. I thought that the book at times felt like a mishmash of a thriller and a coming of age story when we shifted to Lettie. I think it would have been better to just have Lettie stay third person or not even have her as part of the book. Reading about the teen angst and some other things didn't really work. You get in the end why Day set it up this way, but it takes too long for any kind of payoff.

Alex is not a great mom or wife. And she's honestly a so-so sister. I just got tired of reading about her. Lettie also wasn't any great shakes. I get why she was angry about being bullied, but her getting into some "revenge" scheme with a dude she just met had me wondering if I somehow stumbled into a Karen McManus book and I was not pleased.

The other characters we get to know that live on Alton Road, Emily (Alex's sister), Willow, Brooke, and Mandy felt very thin as characters. Some of the reveals just felt very soap operaish. I am wondering if another way to have me feel more engaged was if Day had done first person for all of the women on the road.

The male characters are depicted as caricatures from the very beginning of the book and most of them stayed that way throughout.

The writing had moments of being really good, but some of the plotlines were so farfetched I rolled my eyes (see soap opera comment). The flow was not great because of the shift back and forth between third person, Lettie, and then the sprinkling of terrible comments on a blog post we kept seeing.

The ending was resolved in a way that felt very unrealistic.

Thank you so much to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for providing this fun and twisty thriller for my review. If you love Desperate Housewives and Big Little Lies then you will love this book. This book is all about neighborhood drama and secrets among neighbors and family. It is written in such a way that you just have to keep reading and turning those pages! This is a popcorn thriller at its best! I love the multiple characters and how we go back to various points in time to learn more about the characters and who might be responsible for a possible murder. Read to find out! I hope this book is turned into a tv series. It was that good! Thank you again for a wonderfully entertaining read!

I was excited to dive into this book-- I feel that I have been seriously lacking in the fun, summer, beach reads so far and hoped this book would deliver.

At first, it was a mixed bag for me-- we jump right into the action with little catalysts everywhere-- we know things are happening and they are important to the main character that we just met, but it was a bit discombobulating to see so much going on and having no semblance of who it was happening to and why it mattered.

Shortly after the chaos subsides we launch back into the year prior. There were multiple characters to keep track of (all in third person) which made it feel a bit like mental gymnastics. Not only that but every single character had major drama going on which started to make me feel stress-- stress from all the issues as well as trying to keep track of who was who and why it mattered.

Side note: I do feel the the Bug Man could have been completely eliminated. He not only annoyed the characters but the reader as well!

There was a point in the middle where the women play a game of two truths and a lie that I felt was a bit contrived, but by about seventy percent of the way through the novel it took an interesting turn.

It went from being problem, problem, drama, drama, to a more relatable note. We got to see past the carefully constructed veneer of each character's flat description to more depth and relatability. They began to feel more like people instead of characters and by the end the author did a masterful job of tying up all of the seemingly unrelated plot lines together.

What I liked about the story was that it kept my interest, it had two main POVs: Alex, the mother and Lettie, her daughter. I also liked how creative the author was with each character's backstory, personality, agenda, plot lines, and how everything ended up being interrelated even when it didn't appear as such.

I initially started off not liking Alex and Lettie's characters, but was won over by the end, thanks to them completing their full character arc.

FINALLY a great summer read! I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely check out this author for future reads.

The annual block party starts off the story, with sirens heading their way. Then it goes back a year to show us the lead up to the party, the personalities of the neighbors and gives us the chance to know the residents before coming back to the present to try to figure out has someone died? If so, there are several choices that come to mind once you know them.

It was entertaining and fun to read, though not a deep type of story by any means. A good beach read. I would read more by this author. 3.5 stars
Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Are you interested in a new Desperate Housewives/Big Little Lies type story? If so, The Block Party might be just what you’re looking for. It takes place over the span of a year - between two annual block parties. There’s a lot of drama happening in the neighborhood and an incident where someone ends up dead.

If this intrigues you, give it a shot! Unfortunately for me it felt too much like other stories I’ve already read so I decided to DNF at 43%. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance ebook and audiobook to review.

Revenge is a dish best served at the Meadowbrook block party 👀🍉☀️

This book kicks off in the middle of the action at the annual Memorial Day block party where there’s reportedly been a murder 😵 Then, we rewind a year ago working back up to the present day events through a mother-daughter dual perspective.

I was hooked by this one from the start! I enjoyed getting both perspectives because it really showed how the kids and parents were keeping things from one another trying to navigate their problems on their own, which made for a lot of secrets and confessions later on. I’ve not been a big fan of the domestic suspense novels I’ve read this year, but this was an exception, and I thought it was a solid summer thriller! 🌭🍉🍻☀️🔫

Here’s what you can expect in this one:

🤫 Neighborhood drama, secrets and gossip. Very Desperate Housewives, fitting the stereotype of bored socialites with too much time on their hands being nosey neighbors. (And I’m here for it!)
🍷 So much wine. Alcohol and drugs are constantly at play in many ways throughout the whole book
💬 The community chat is honestly hilarious to me! I am in one for my neighborhood’s HOA, and it is spot on 🤣
👥 There are a lot of very similar characters - almost too many. I did get them confused a few times, so maybe make notes as you read to keep tabs on them all
🐌 While I was intrigued throughout, it moved at a snail’s pace for me. The ending is pretty satisfying, but it took a whole lot of pages to get there. I think it could’ve been a little shorter and still told the story well!

3.5 stars, and a great addition to your summer TBR, especially if you like domestic suspense! Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC. I really enjoyed it! Review to come on Instagram and Goodreads closer to publication day.

Boy, did the drama in this one suck me in. I was invested.
This starts out in present day at the annual memorial day block party. We find out someone is dead, but who? And who is the killer?
The story then changes to a year prior to the events leading up to the tragedy. Told in multile POVs of mother and her teenage daughter this is sure to have you hooked from start to finish.
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

It's the annual neighborhood Block Party, but this one is a bit different than years past as someone is murdered!

The story is told in Dual POV and goes between the present day and a year ago leading up to the Block Party. There are many characters to keep track of- which was expected since it's a neighborhood. I found the characters all unlikable, and tbh I probably would have murdered more than one if I lived there. 🙃

If you love domestic drama with a lot going on, then grab this one!

What I didn't love: a bit too cliché

Thank you @getredprbooks
@netgalley
And @stmartinspress for this extra fun book mail!!

This domestic thriller screamed Desperate Housewives drama! I was invested in who did it the whole book, and I didn’t even know what “it” was until the end. There were a lot of couples to keep straight, but if you like rich people, lies & cheating, secrets & hidden pasts, then you will love this book! I was fully invested from the 1st chapter. Great book!

This is a block party that I would not want to be invited to, or would I? First, I would like to thank Net Galley, Jamie Day and St. Martin's Press for the UDC I received to read - I truly enjoyed this book. I have been struggling with thrillers and suspense novels lately and I think what I have been missing is drama and the residents of Alton Road did not disappoint. What wicked webs we weave and I loved how the characters were all intertwined and in each others business. Where I truly think that Jamie Day hit the mark with this one was the pacing of the book - at no time did the story feel rushed and there was just enough backstory where I was was not bored with too many senseless or unimportant details. If I had to pinpoint a flaw, the only thing I could come up with was the characters, there was none I loved or was rooting for and in the end there were several I felt were quite annoying but with the chaos in the end that truly did not matter. I definitely enjoyed this one.

Wow! Talk about a dysfunctional neighborhood! It was nonstop trying to figure out who’s to blame and where the story was going. There’s a lot of characters but it’s not too hard to keep them in order. Rich people and a mysterious murder…Who wouldn’t love that! Strap in and get ready for a wild ride! I’ll definitely ready more by Jamie Day!

I loveeee a good juicy summery suburban neighborhood drama so i couldn’t wait to read this one! it felt overly long but it was still interesting enough to keep me turning the pages, and we have enough different characters and storylines to follow to keep things moving along but i felt like that was also a disadvantage - it felt like the author was trying to throw every topical issue and the kitchen sink in there and it ended up just being too much. this was a solid debut but in terms of this genre, it’s definitely more of a forgettable one. for a stronger version of this, check out Joy Fielding’s <i>The Cul-de-Sac</i> or Annie Ward’s <i>The Lying Game</i>

This was fun! We have a murder, but initially, we don't even know who the victim is, much less who committed the crime. We have a tangled mess of drama, gossip, scandal, and revenge, all in a picture-perfect neighborhood. Dual timeline and dual POV, Mom Alex and her teenage daughter Lettie take us on a twisty ride through their community, complete with some juicy and funny postings on an online forum, the use of which I thought was done well. There were many moving parts in this, and several characters, all with a motive for murder. The characters were developed enough that they were easy to tell apart. I was invested in discovering who the victim and the murderer were, but the number of sub-plots and some of the commentary slowed down the pacing in spots for me. It did pick back up to deliver a suspenseful and surprising conclusion. Overall, this was an entertaining summer read with a unique premise by a debut author I will definitely keep an eye out for in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my digital and physical ARCs.

The Block Party was a fun, summery domestic suspense! I enjoyed the neighbourhood setting and the summer party atmosphere of this one that would make it a great summertime read. There was a large cast of characters and many subplots which took me a minute to get straightened out in my mind. I liked how it was told from two POVs - Alex and her daughter, Lettie - and especially liked how some events were told from each perspective which added a different layer to to story, without being repetitive. There was a lot of build up to the story, however at times it felt a little slow (particularly in the middle) and I found the book to be a bit on the longer side. I also was able to guess what I thought was one of the bigger twists, but there were so many little things along the way that kept me intrigued in the story, including lots of family and neighbour drama and secrets.

Overall, I liked this one and rated it 3.5 stars. If you are looking for a summery domestic suspense with all the neighbourhood drama, secrets and revenge, check out The Block Party (Out July 18)!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love me some town drama. Where we know the neighbors are nosy as hell, all up in peoples business, and they all have secrets!! Like a ton of damn secrets! So it’s never a boring theme for me. But this book right here had SOOOOO MANY secrets I had to pick my mouth up from the floor, I was not expecting any of it. We get Alex and her daughter Letties POV, and even though Alex’s POV was so damn repetitive, she has a little problem and as the fixer of everything and reading all she’s going through, I totally get it. But when we get to Letties POV, I was intrigued, yes the adults had their own drama but what’s going on with these Teens of the block. Well let’s just say Lettie is way mature for her age, hella smart but she befriends the new neighbor Jay and I knew we were going on an even wilder ride.