For a book with murder and so much drama, it moved very slowly. There are a lot of characters to keep track of but only two narrators, which I found disappointing. Lettie’s chapters were painful to read and decidedly YA in both tone and subject. The characters were mostly defined by overused tropes like heavy wine drinker, jealous previously scorned wife, know it all, etc. I didn’t find the characters to be overly deep or nuanced either. It is a fine summer read though and has lots of drama for a beach read. Not my favorite book of the year but not the worst either.

Every year, a Memorial Day Block Party takes place in the exclusive cul-de-sac neighborhood on Alton Road. The novel opens with a murder at the block party, then flips back one year covering the lives of the members of 4 households up to the current block party. Each family member has their own secret which is exposed as the year progresses.
This is a novel that holds your attention as you become acquainted with the individuals and their reasoning for hiding parts of their lives.

Thank you Net Galley for sharing this book.

3.5 ⭐️‘S
Each year the upscale cul-de-sac of Alton Lane has a lavish block party. One that’s the talk of the surrounding neighborhoods and this year there’s a lot to talk about, after all there’s never been a murder before. As we alternate between the previous year and this year,
many secrets are revealed and all is not kosher on Alton Lane, they might as well have the police on speed dial. Day does a great job of keeping us in the dark as to just who was murdered with her back and forth narrative. This was a faced paced enjoyable drama filled beach read told in the voices of a mother/daughter, but one that won’t resonate for long. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.

3.5 STARS

A block party to die for?

I have a hard time passing up neighborhood thrillers, so I was really looking forward to a scandalous time!

There is a lot going on in Meadowbrook and a lot of characters to keep up with as well. I found most of the characters to be lackluster and with too much commentary so I struggled through most of the novel. Some unlikeable characters and a YA pov were also not my favorite elements.

So much melodrama happening! Which way to look?!!

There are some twists and surprises though and they kept me reading and wanting to know who did what, their motives, and how the author would wrap up it up. I think she tried to hard though and threw too much in the sink. I may be in the minority on this. Lots of 4-5 star reviews on this one!

I LOVED this novel! I basically finished it all today. What a tangled web of lies and secrets! My head was spinning and I was glued to my kindle!

This had big "Desperate Housewives" energy. I loved every moment. Once I was enthralled, boy I was ever addicted to this layered story of lies and secrets in a perfect neighbourhood.

I didn't see the ending coming at all and gasped a few times!

The story of suburban secrets and hidden dysfunction uses flashbacks and a Nextdoor-type message board to set the scene of a shocking incident at the neighborhood block party. It was a good quick read but the characters were a bit flat and several of the big secrets felt a bit cliched. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced readers copy!

"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."

Because neighbors are always up to something...

Summer Drama!

The Block Party is a domestic suspense novel about a murder during the annual Memorial Day block party on boujee Alton Lane.

There are many characters, but thankfully only two narrators to keep track of as the drama unfolds.

Narrated by Alex, a mediator, and her daughter, Lettie, a high school senior, I didn’t like either one of them.

Alex is the nosy neighbor with too much time on her hands who is immersed in her neighbors' drama. Lettie’s chapters have a YA tone. Her character is hard-core annoying, especially since she constantly explains her behavior and actions vs. letting the reader figure out what was going on.

There are several side characters to keep track of, some more interesting than others. None were particularly developed. All characters complain about their first-world problems.

The narrative alternates between last year’s block party to this year’s, interspersed with chapters that take place between fall, winter, and spring. In addition, residents of the community shared their theories in Facebook community chat--these perspectives were supposed to add fuel to the fire, but they didn’t do much for me.

This should have been juicy fun, but for a book with so much drama, the plot moved slowly. The characters were also unlikable. However, wanting to know the mystery behind the murder and the identity of the victim kept me invested.

The Block Party wasn’t the most original in this genre, but it held my attention and made for an entertaining read for the holiday weekend.

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story pivots around the annual Memorial Day block parties for the Alton Road cul-de-sac residents. Everyone in the cul-de-sac seems to have secrets and/or marital problems. The story is told with dual POVs and dual timelines. We learn early on that someone was murdered at the party and then we work backwards to try and figure out who it is with a very wide choice of candidates. I thought this was a really good read but what I did not care for was the amount of characters with similar first names which made it very confusing at times trying to remember who was married to whom. It definitely is a page turner.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this very enjoyable book that had a lot of twists and turns.

The Block Party, a mystery written by Jamie Day, takes readers on a journey filled with suspense, secrets, and unexpected twists that keeps them guessing until the very end.
The story begins at the annual neighborhood block party where a new family is introduced becoming the catalyst to unraveling a dark web of secrets. The twists and turns are skillfully executed, leaving readers on the edge of their seats and eagerly turning the pages to uncover the next revelation. The characters in The Block Party are well-developed and multi-dimensional, each with their own secrets and motivations.

Jamie Day's talent for storytelling shines through in this intricate tale of secrets and intrigue. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) With its well-drawn characters and skillful plot twists, this novel is a must-read. The Block Party delivers an enjoyable and immersive reading experience.

If (Queen!) Elin Hilderbrand recommends it, you know its going to be good. This novel certainly didn't disappoint. Thanks Netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

This books is perfect! It has it all. This story includes family drama, mystery, overcoming addiction, and suspense. The residents of Alton Road have their annual summer block party on Memorial day weekend every year. This year the block party included murder. This story takes you back a year to find out the backstory to unfold what really happened. The characters and their relationships are slowly developed and revealed in such a creative way that I couldn't put this book down. I highly recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

The Block Party by Jamie Day
Narrators: Megan Tusing and Suzy Jackson
Rating: 3.5 stars
Pub Date: 7/18

I think this will be a favorite for many. It had a Desperate Housewives feel to it and was full of secrets, lies, and betrayal. Everyone on the cul-de-sac is hiding something, but who is desperate enough to commit murder?

The Block Party is an addictive thriller with a captivating neighborhood backdrop. The story starts with a murder at the annual block party on the Alton Road cul-de-sac. We go back to one year ago and work our way forward, following multiple families and slowly unraveling clues.

I love neighborhood dramas where the characters are tied up in each other’s lives, and this one kept me guessing! I really enjoyed the alternating POVs and timelines, and I loved the format of working backward to solve the mystery. I couldn’t put this one down, thanks to the twists and turns throughout, and I did not predict the ending at all.

I alternated between the ebook and the audiobook, and I thought the narrators did an excellent job with the cast. Each character came through with their own unique voice, which was probably challenging because there were so many.

There were a few pacing issues, where the beginning started off strong but then started to drag. There are also a LOT of characters, and it was difficult to keep them all straight. And while I love thrillers like this, I've also grown tired of the alcoholic, suburban housewife narrative.

Overall, "The Block Party" is an addictive thriller perfect to throw in your beach bag or read by the pool.

Read if you like:
* neighborhood drama
* dual POV
* dual timeline
* a big cast of characters
* Big Little Lies

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary ARC copy and to Macmillan Audio for my ALC. The Block Party comes out on 7/18.

This was a fairly fast paced, slow burn thriller.

I was able to read along as I listened to the audio. I enjoyed the different narrators, and it was super easy to tell them apart.

This story takes place over the course of the year in an upscale neighborhood. It is told from the perspective of Alex, and also from her 16-year-old daughter, Lettie. Every neighborhood has its secrets, but this one tries especially hard to keep up appearances. You get all of the adult's drama from Alex's perspective, and all of the teenage drama from Lettie's perspective, until eventually it collides.

All is well in the neighborhood under a new family comes in, and slowly the secrets come to life. In this one, you know right from the beginning that there was a death (possibly murder) in the neighborhood, told through a neighborhood chat message board, which was kind of a funny spin due to how accurate it portrayed the off-topic comments and arguing. The book then takes you through the events leading up to the night of the death, and what leads to it. No one is entirely innocent.

The book ends with an epilogue, a year later. The one thing that threw me off was how nonchalant everyone was about it, the adults all essentially agree to continue to keep each other's secrets. No one seemed to learn a lesson.

Murder in the cul-de-sac! Who was murdered? Who is the murderer? With all the drama, secrets, and lies involving all of the wealthy families on Alton Road it could be any of them! I very much enjoyed this gossipy, crazy clan! I also liked how I wasn’t able to guess the ending.

This is the first book by Jamie Day I have read. It deals with very dark and disturbing secrets. I read it in one sitting and then could not sleep afterwards. The book is well-written and is a page turner once you get through the preliminaries. Whenever I thought something was moving slowly, I just skimmed forward.

The people of Alton Road have plenty of secrets and somehow their secrets connect to several families. This is a train wreck that you can’t put down.

The topics of this book are: Bullying, rape, friend and family dynamics, over drinking, and human decency.

I was given an advanced copy and am NOT required to leave a positive review.

Where do you live? A neighborhood? Out in the country? An apartment? In The Block Party by Jamie Day, the characters all share a cul-de-sac on an exclusive street. On the day of the Memorial Day block party there's a shooting. The reader is taken back a year to see what led up to the shooting. Everyone has secrets - but which secrets are strong enough to kill over?

The story is told through the POVs of Alex and her daughter, Lettie. It intially feels like a story of adults behaving badly, but there's more to Day's story. There is some terrible behavior but there's substance to the story. There are several storylines but it's never overwhelming. It did take a bunch of pages to keep the names straight and who goes with who. Day keeps adding to the narrative until we finally find out the why. And you won't guess.


The character and interactions reminded me of Big, Little Lies. Great debut from Jamie Day.

Every Memorial Day the residents of Alton Road have an epic block party. They have everything, food, games, music, booze. When a new family moves in across the street, they find out things aren’t always what they seem. Add in revenge, stalking, blackmail, cheating and lies and you get a perfect recipe for disaster. Next Memorial Day will go out with a bang.

Thanks NetGalley for this opportunity to read The Block Party.

The Block Party is a debut novel by Jamie Day. While I didn't know a whole lot about the story or the author prior to picking this up, I was very intrigued by the synopsis. Books about dysfunctional families set in perfect little towns are some of my favorites. I love the contrast in the characters and settings. Unfortunately, this one didn't really cut it for me. I listed to the audiobook for this story and quickly found that I didn't enjoy the characters or much of what was happening. I thought about DNF'ing the story many times, but because I needed to write a review, I gave it my best chance and completed the story. I honestly think my biggest issues with this story was the lack of transparency with triggers written into the story. There's very little to go on in the synopsis, and while read this, there were incidences of infidelity, rape, drugs, suicide, guns, and so much more. Additionally, there were too many side plots that I was confused and couldn't ever truly stay connected.

A block party gone awry. The story starts at the end and then takes us back a year so we can see the progression and events leading up to the murder. The families are wonderfully wacky and full of secrets and betrayals. I did feel like the pace slowed down in the middle, but the ending had a delightful twist and I enjoyed it overall. The audiobook is a fun way to read this novel and the narrators do a great job.