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.

I was so excited to get to read The Block Party, by Jamie Day. I think it was a good introduction to Jamie’s work, the title and the description sold me right away and the beginning of the book caught my attention immediately. The book starts off at the annual Memorial Day block party in Meadowbrook and we find out there is a murder. The next chapter takes us back to last year's party and events throughout the year that lead up to the end where we are back at this year’s Block party to discover what actually happened. We meet a full cast of characters through this book, with the main focus being on Alex and Lettie and the story told from each of their point of view. I do not read YA, so it was different having a YA POV, and I am not sure I really liked the teenage storyline, but it was unique having a mix of the two.

So as mention there is a lot of charters:

Alex, Nick and their daughter Lettie
Emily, Ken and their son Dylan
Willow, Evan and their daughter Riley
Mandy, Samir and their son Jay
Bug Man

I know there are more but wow that is a lot! There are marriage issues, teenage drama and angst, family secrets, some unsavory bits thrown in there (alcoholism, blackmail, among other things…), and so much more we experience with all of these families and relationships, and it was a lot to keep up with!

I thought the characters were very well developed but I also thought that the introduction to all of those characters and each of their story’s made this book a little slow paced for me. It took me longer than I expected to finish this book. I will say, I think it would have been a fantastic audiobook and I wish I had the opportunity to hear it narrated!

I don’t think this book was predictable and it drew me back in at the end. Jamie did a great job keeping us all guessing. I also enjoyed the online community page for the neighborhood, very gossipy. I would never want to live in a neighborhood like that but it's so fun to read! I also enjoyed the epilogue, one year later, more drama to follow! Book 2, maybe?

Thank you St, Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing a copy to review. Overall, I give this 3 stars but very close to 3.5. I ended up feeling good about the book and I am excited to see what is to come from Jamie Day in the future.

If you’re looking for a juicy, summer read full of suburban secrets, look no further than the The Block Party by author, Jamie Day.

Set on the “perfect from afar” Arden Street, the neighbors gather each summer for the annual block party to kick off Memorial Day weekend. But it quickly becomes apparent that way more than burgers that are sizzling at this shindig.

Told in alternating timelines, right after the audience is introduced to the effect the reader gets to learn the cause. The story unfolds through the viewpoints of multiple residents who live in the neighborhood including Alex, a burgeoning alcoholic, her brooding daughter, Lettie, and the mysterious new family that moves in, quickly occupying all of their thoughts for a variety of reasons.

The Block Party is the perfect twisty page turner to devour pool side, reminiscent of Desperate Housewives or Big Little Lies. I’ve always personally had a soft spot for this niche of fiction. So, while this particular story might not rank as my absolute favorite, it was enjoyable for what it was- seasonal escapism staged in one cagey as hell cul de sac.

Not the typical block party....someone will end up murdered. It takes a while to get to the heart of it, but the suspense is well built into a year of leading up to it. A lot of cheesy friends are introduced as the cheaters, psychological abuser, division between groups and a lot of secrets to sift through. This is an upscale neighborhood with a Facebook community chat to help solve the crime, which is amusing and my suspicions were gathered. I liked trying to solve the mystery with the information given.
It is an entertaining book written with two POV's through Alex's eyes and her daughter Lettie...entertaining, yet nosy neighbors are the worst.
The author does an amazing job with the story, but it does drag in some areas. It wasn't long that it picked up and one by one you are able to eliminate a few.
Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun book to get us ready for the summer season! Told from two different points of view, the neighbors on Alton Road are getting a little rowdy. Everyone always thinks the Altonites are stuck up and above everyone else, until one of their own is murdered.

I really liked this book! It was fun to get to know all the neighbors over the year and see how the plot really built up. The neighborhood gets a shake up when a new family moves in. Immediately people start questioning them and making assumptions. I found myself enjoying Alex, the mother’s plot more, and I was racing through her teenage daughter, Lettie’s POV. It needed more adults and less teens. I loved Brooke, she’s a femme fatale character who needs her own book!

Thank you again to St Martins Press. The Block Party is out July 18! If you enjoyed, Big Little Lies or Desperate Housewives, you’ll be happy!

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Everyone dreams of a cul de sac home with neighbors that become your besties, right? Alex has that. Not only is she friends with the women on her block, but she also lives by her sister. It’s a perfect neighborhood with families that are hiding awful secrets.

Alex thinks she’s the fixer, so when things are going horribly wrong with all the families on the block, including her own, she feels compelled to make everything right again. Even her daughter has inherited the ‘fix-it’ gene.

But things spiral horribly downward at their annual block party. So much so that the police are called. Will anything ever be right again?

This book dives into not only familial relationships, but friendship, and the secrets we keep from others. There is a lot to unpack. Written in a way that will keep you turning the pages well into the night, you won’t be sorry for reading this one. It’s summer. Grab a drink. Climb into your favorite chair, and read until you reach the end.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!

I held onto this eARC for a while and was finally prompted to pick it up when I saw quite a few booktubers talking about reading it. Overall this book was a solid domestic mystery. I wouldn't call this a thriller as it didn't have that kind of tension running throughout. I liked the premise of this book and the ways in which the different lives of the characters were woven and connected. It felt a lot like "Desperate Housewives" to me. However, in the last 1/4 0f the book, things felt pretty repetitive and I think overall the book could have been tightened a bit and definitely shorter. I will definitely pick up another book by Jamie Day, but I wouldn't call this a 2023 favorite. Overall a solid 3 star.

I couldn’t really get in to this book. I dnfd it. Meaning I did not finish it. It was kind of boring and I only read the first few chapters. Sorry.

The Block Party is a domestic suspense story. A murder happens during an annual Memorial Day block party on Alton Road. This is definitely a block party I would not want to go to!
An upper class neighborhood and lots of problems by the residents living there.
The night ends with a murder. Lots of characters, and drama. Everyone becomes a suspect, secrets revealed and some twists.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was good but there were so many characters and story lines to follow I found it hard to keep up at times. Overall though the story itself was really good

The Block Party by Jamie Day is a suspenseful novel that takes place in a suburban cul-de-sac. It's about a murder at a neighborhood block party and the surprising interactions of its residents. The author skillfully weaves together a cast of well-developed characters, secrets, and lies.

With its compelling narrative and palpable sense of community, The Block Party feels like a modern episode of Knots Landing (yes, I'm that old.). Mystery and thriller enthusiasts seeking a dark tale of suburbia will be thoroughly entertained. Recommended.

An absolute great way to kick off summer block party season! Told from multiple points of view going back and forth in time during the annual block party, this novel kept me guessing until the very end. Will be recommending to all in my network!

I love neighborhood dramas and The Block Party was the perfect encapsulation of what I love about them. The setting was beautiful, there were strong characters with strong character development and drama and secrets kept me on my toes! This was a great summer read that kept me interested throughout.

Oh to be a fly on the wall of the opulent houses on Alton Road… This fast-paced juicy mystery is the perfect summer read. The twists just keep coming!

There is something about books set in well-to-do neighborhoods filled with drama that I really enjoy. And Alton Road has no shortage of drama! I would love to hang out with Alex, drinking wine and getting involved in everyone’s business.

Thank to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.