This is the first book I've read from Nikki Smith, but - my goodness - it will not be the last!

The novel is fast - but well - paced, with a range of authentic, troubled characters, set in a beautiful and easily-imaginable location in Mallorca. The plot kept me guessing at every stage of the novel, not only as to who might still be alive but also which of the characters were guilty of what crimes, both present and past. No spoilers, but there were a couple of twists in the book that I did not see coming - this only added to my delight when I realised exactly what had happened and how.

The only reason it's a four star rather than five was that, despite reading the book very quickly over only two sittings (I didn't want to put it down!) I struggled to remember which character was which, finding myself having to skip back a few pages every now and then to remind myself. This happened between Will/Aidan and Zoe/Claire, while Nina and Seb were more firmly established, to me anyway.

Still, an excellent book which I highly recommend.

This was pretty much what you'd expect from the summer old friends reunion and someone ends up dead type story! There's not really anything new about this one but I still found it a good read. The writing style was good and although it's a bit slow, there are so many layers/ characters and deep dark secrets from the past. This is the kind of book that really works best when read by the pool on summer, otherwise you overthink it all lol

This is the first book I have read by Nikki Smith, I am looking forward to reading some of her others now after devouring The Beach Party in a day.

Strong We Know What You Did Last Summer vibes here. A group of friends escape to the sun after graduation. Things go wrong. They keep quiet and thirty years later, their secret is back to haunt them and threaten to upend their settled lives. Granted this is not the most original of story lines but the author takes the classic buried secrets of the past trope and elevates it with fast pace, strong characters, twists and turns and great writing. It kept me guessing and speedily reading until reaching its final conclusion. I think this one will be leaping off airport bookshop shelves next summer. It is a perfect holiday read.

Thank you for this advanced copy. I just couldn’t get into this book. I feel like this theme is way overdone. It just was very slow moving and I skipped to the back fairly quickly to see how it ended. Just not for me.

The Best Of Times…
A beach party in a Mallorcan villa changes everything for a group of six friends. It was the best of times…until it wasn’t. With the whole truth of that time back in 1989 not being fully uncovered someone feels the need to make responsible parties pay. With a seemless blend of past and present, a deftly drawn cast, twists and turns aplenty and a mounting sense of tension and impending doom this rapidly turns immersive.

Great book with short chapters.
Fast paced which keeps you intrigued from start to finish

4.5 stars

I LOVED Nikki's first two books, but THE BEACH PARTY is far and away my favorite of hers. The nostalgia, the moral dilemma, the lush Mallorcan setting... this book is a holiday on paper, whisking you away to a sunny place with a dark edge. Five stars.

The Beach Party is set mostly in 1989, when six university friends celebrate their graduation by jetting off to Mallorca. It soon becomes clear there are existing tensions within the group, and that almost all of them have something to hide. But things get rapidly worse after a fateful accident at a beach party celebrating Nit de Foc (Night of Fire). Holed up in their luxury villa, the group start to turn on each other - and it becomes clear they may not make it out alive.

Despite a couple of promising narrative threads, I found The Beach Party a frustrating read. The pacing felt off to me, as there are so many loose ends in the first half of the novel that I struggled to keep track of them all - which actually robbed the novel of much of its tension, as I forgot what answers I was supposed to be waiting for. It also felt unbelievable that so many characters had explosive secrets in their past before the beach party itself even kicked off, especially as they are all about 21. This meant that the second half of the novel featured a lot of long, tedious conversations as the characters unravel exactly who did what and knew what - and by then, I didn't really care.

Having said that, I did think the central plot here was strong, if it hadn't been muddled by so many additional questions. I liked the 1989 setting, and the section when the group are hiding in the villa was tense and gripping. If the novel had stuck more closely to what happened at the beach party and its aftermath, rather than flashing between past and present, and giving its characters such knotty pasts, I would have enjoyed it much more.

I will post my full review to Goodreads and my blog etc nearer the publication date.

Short, punchy chapters really add to the tension in this nail-biter of a read. My fingernails are ripped to shreds! I really took a liking to all the characters, in a weird sort of way as some are more likeable than others, and I kept shouting at them as their situation kept getting stickier and stickier. The ending was a surprise for me… I did think things were going to head in a different direction. All in all, if you like a good ol’ thriller with some sexy characters and a apprehensive storyline, then ‘The Beach Party’ is one for you.

The Beach Party is very much a slow burn

Most of the book seems to be centered about what happened in 1989, and then the ripple that caused into the future.

Overall an entertaining and fun read

I’ve loved all of Nikki’s books but my gosh, this is her best yet!

Perfectly plotted, brilliantly tense, and utterly addictive - I gobbled it up in less than 24 hours!

As the Spanish sun beat down on me from above and the characters came alive before my eyes I had to keep reading! On completion I was startled to see the grey November day outside my window, yes it’s that immersive!