Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of The Block Party.

There are several characters in this book, but they are not to hard to follow. The story line kept me guessing until the end to see how they were all going to be tied together.

This was my first read of the year and it was a great way to start off the year. The story line kept a great tempo with interesting connections of characters. The story line of the teenagers was real it was messy and didn't tie up with a neat bow.

Domestic suspense is a genre that is hit or miss for me, and THE BLOCK PARTY fell somewhere in the middle. I did enjoy how the story was told; the reader is immediately thrown into the action with the murder at the neighborhood block party, and then time rewinds to share the events of the past year.

Alton Road is an an exclusive zip code, and only the most affluent can afford to call it home. Of course we all wonder about the secrets are neighbors may be harboring, but this plot suffered from too many outrageous secrets...suspected domestic violence, whispers of a murderess, the neighborhood drunk, a stalker, and the list goes on and on. There were too many characters doing too much.

The ending was clever and everything did tie together, but I just wasn't invested in these characters. There really wasn't anyone to root for. Many thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for my early copy. THE BLOCK PARTY will publish July 18, 2023.

The Block Party kept me guessing until the end with all the plot twists and all the drama of the families on Alton Street. A very good read told through the eyes of a mother and daughter. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.

The Block Party is a light, clever, slightly suspense-filled drama packed with family secrets. Alex, one of the block Moms, drinks too much and her husband and daughter know it. All the characters have secrets and some seek revenge. The novel is plot driven and has little character development.

Do we ever REALLY know our friends? What secrets do they have that might affect us? The book opens with scenes from a neighborhood block party that goes all wrong and people end up dead but we don't know who. We then move to other neighbors in the area chatting about it on Facebook which I think is great. Facebook comment conversations are very entertaining theses days and the author plays on that throughout the book. Next, the book goes back in time telling the story of the year prior to that fateful day. It tells the story of the families in the cul de sac and how they interact; husbands, wives and kids. I thought the story was suspenseful and entertaining. There were many twits and turns and I enjoyed the conclusion.

This was a great read!! I loved the story but was a bit confusing in the beginning- the flip flop of time and events was difficult to follow at first.
The story reminded me of my cul de sac with lots of families who have a lot going on. Including drama. It all came together and it was great.
Quite a few typos in the book too. Overall, I loved it.

Wow! This one will keep you guessing! The characters are diverse and I felt like I really knew them. Very well written. I can surmise that this type of book is very difficult to write. The story is fast paced and I didn't want to stop reading! I would definitely read another book by this author!

Sorry to say this is a DNF for me which is something I never do! Read over 20% of the book and just couldn’t finish. All the characters so far are just blah and the teen is a little too juvenile for me. Definitely wasn’t for me. Thank you for letting me give an honest review of this book.

Oh, the drama and secrets! Just when you think you know your neighbors, think again. This story introduces you to a crime and then takes you back neighborhood block party the year before and tells the story. You will not see most of it coming, but be prepared, because you can’t put this one down until you turn the very last page.

The Block Party by Jamie Day is a fantastic book about the families that live on Alton Road in the cul-de-sac.
The teen angst and drama, the couple’s fighting and the day to day boredom of everyday life, that turns sinister at the drop of a leaf.
So come; find out what goes on behind the doors in the cul-de-sac at the annual block party.
Find out what makes the young girls cry, the young men over dose, the wives scream in anger and the men hide behind their computers and umbrellas in the dark.
Maybe you will want to move to Alton Road too? Or maybe like me…you’ll want to scream too!
#TheBlockParty
#JamieDay

Good thriller that kept you guessing. I got a little mixed up in the beginning with the time line flipping back and forth but, as I kept reading it became clear. One of the descriptions of the story talked about "how Facebook lights up with intrigue" or something like that but, the Facebook part felt completely unnecessary and took away from the story. The characters were flawed enough that they felt realistic but not so flawed that you weren't rooting for them.

I love mysteries and suspense, but I wasn't sure about the "Desperate Housewives vibe" I kept reading about. I shouldn't have worried.
If you like HBO's Big Little Lies ability to combine neighborhood drama with suspense, then you'll likely enjoy this book.

The format isn't anything we haven't seen before - the POV goes back and forth between mother (Alex) and daughter (Lettie,) and we get more details with each chapter.

There are things discovered that aren't for the faint at heart - suspicions of abuse, cheating, stalking, etc. Although violence isn't celebrated, there are plenty of secrets and behaviors here that can destroy relationships and lives.

The pacing is good, and the plot kept my interest to the end. Overall, an enjoyable read that I'd recommend to anyone else. The "reveals" weren't always completely unexpected, but compelling nonetheless. Overall, a solid book for suspense fans.

I had never heard of this title or author, but the description spurred my request of the ARC. Good description and a very good book! The high-end Altonite neighborhood was full of mystery and intrigue. I read the book very quickly, as every chapter thickened the plot. A terrific read that will sell very easily to our patrons!
Thanks for this opportunity to read it!

A well-written exploration of the dynamics of neighborhoods and all the secrets they keep., this would make a great TV series. Great characters, plenty of craziness, friendship, and revenge, Gives you a lot to think about, some dark humor, Definitely worth reading. If you've ever wondered what's going on inside the minds of the people you wave to and say hello to every day, this pulls back the curtain.

It begins with a murder at a block party, but then takes us back one year to build up the story that is filled with drama, mystery and plot twists galore. Told from the view of teenager Lettie and her mother Alex. Alternating chapters gets us to understand all the residents of Alton Road and what lead up to the grisly crime. An easy read and one I did not want to put down.

Quirky, neighbourhood thriller. Lies, infidelity, rape, betrayal, secrets, murder, all bundled up to a #neighbourhoodthriller genre that us thriller readers enjoy. My first read by this author and it won’t be the last. Thanks to NetGalley, author, and St Martins Press for the arc of this book.

A good story that keeps you guessing to the very end. Every year the residents of an upscale cul-de-sac hold a block party - lots of food, booze and excitement. It is also a time when neighbors can gossip about each other and new scandals are revealed. But this particular year there are gunshots heard and a murder has occurred. The emails comments start up and the people living on that street all have an axe to grind.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is one block party that I’m glad that I wasn’t invited to! Lol! Seriously though, I have to admit that this book exceeded my expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was invested in the story and the characters from the first page all the way through until the last page. The Block Party contained a little bit of everything from drama (lots of it), lies, cheating, heavy drinking, revenge, stalking, and even murder! 🫣😲

The Block Party starts off present day at the Memorial Day BBQ for all the residents of Alton Road. We then go back to a year prior that leads up to the present day Memorial Day BBQ. In that time we come familiar with a majority of the residents who live on Alton Road. Now, there are quite a few characters to keep up with and sometimes I got confused- but only for a minute. This story flowed almost effortlessly and I resonated with each of the female characters- even that of the teenage Lettie (although I could probably never afford to live on Alton Road, but that’s besides the point).

I had to laugh while reading this story because Lettie made me remember a time in my younger years when I was attracted to a guy who was a “bad boy”, and did not like me as much as I liked him- as was the case with Lettie and Jay Kumar in this story. Jay told Lettie that it could never work between them, and he made a reference to the story of the frog and the scorpion (to those not familiar with that story, it is told in this book). I had to chuckle, because this same boy/guy that I had thought I was in love with told me that same story and I never forgot it! It has been years since I heard it, but it definitely brought back memories, and I enjoyed this story even more!

I highly recommend reading The Block Party as I was in a bit of a book slump, and this book brought me right out of it! If I’m being picky, there were a few too many characters- but totally worth it!
(4.5 stars) 🌟

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book that I had the pleasure of reading! All opinions are my own. Publication date: July 18, 2023.

I liked this book but I didn’t love it. It was written well and the characters were all pretty interesting in their own way— but I guess I just was hoping for some of the issues to be a little more insidious and less “desperate housewife”. It was an enticing story and I finished it because I wanted to get all my questions answered about the murder— but I did find myself getting a little bored in some of the chapters wishing it would hurry up along.