This was a real page-turner! The Final Party introduces us to three couples who are longtime friends and get together at a fabulous Italian villa to celebrate a 40th birthday. We know from the start that someone ends up dead but have to wait until the end to find out who and why. Of course, everyone is hiding one secret or another.

I enjoyed this book and it definitely held my interest, although there was a LOT of foreshadowing about the different secrets that somewhat distracted from the narrative flow. I loved the descriptions of the fancy villa and of Sorrento--I could easily imagine myself there (although hopefully with a lot less drama).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This thriller certainly was twisty! There were lots of storylines going on and lots of shock revelations throughout.
My only minor gripe is that often the revelations would then play out again from another pov, which, although good to see another characters emotions about it, did get a little bit long!

I thought the characters were all horrible, which I actually quite enjoyed- I did find all of them nasty and/ or annoying in their own ways and altogether I wonder why they would ever have stayed in touch at all- if not for the big reveal….

Overall I enjoyed this book, more of a slow burn thriller than I normally go for, but the descriptions of the setting (Sorrento) were really beautiful and helped set the scene for the drama, but it did take a little while to get going for my personal taste.

The setting was great - I love a book set abroad and the writing style was really nice to read and flowed very well. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and felt like we got to know all the characters pretty well. I didn't necessarily like many of them, but they felt like real people. How 'perfect' Padma is got on my nerves a little, everyone has light and shade and it would have been nice to have seen that with her.

The plot held my interest and there were lots of twists and turns to the story. I did see most of them coming ahead of time but one twist did throw me off so I liked that. The ending was good but if I'm being picky, I would have liked to have seen the aftermath POVs from more than one of the characters but that's personal preference, I like my books all wrapped up with a neat bow!

Overall I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Hera Books for the copy of The Final party by A.A. Chaudhuri. This is my first book by this author. The book started slowly with a lot of information, some repetitive, about each character. There was so much information it was monotonous and I wished it had been more succinct so the story would move along. Unfortunately, the repetition continued throughout the book.
The characters were all reprehensible and it didn't feel like they had been friends for almost 20 years. I never felt any intimacy between them and they didn’t behave like long term friends. If they had been, someone would have told Johnny to stop treating Lana so badly. If you like a lot of twists, you will love this book that’s twist after twist! If you’re looking for a deeper book with characters and situations you can believe in, you might want to look elsewhere.

Twist after twist after twist…I couldn’t put this down! A great setting in a luxurious villa in Sorrento. Six compelling characters, each with an explosive secret. Highly recommended

Three couples go on a break to Sorrento in Italy for Ness's 40th birthday.
They are bound together by interlocking events in their past, but Ness is planning to spill those secrets to clear her conscience.
Only 5 people return home.

I really battled to get into this book. The author packed in so much description and background of each of the characters into the long chapters, and I felt as though someone was speaking to me without drawing a breath between sentences.
I read two other books in the middle of trying to get through this one, but returned to it, determined to finish reading it.
I am actually pleased that I did that.
After the first 60% or so of the book, the actual thrilling, nail biting part begins, and the book ends with a heck of a twist.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what a story! So many twists and turns I did not see the ending. Fantastically written and brilliant characters. I really warmed to the characters and wanted to see what happened. A lovely backdrop with a thrilling end,

This is the first book I’ve read by A.A. Chaudhuri. It was a bit slow in the beginning for me but it did start to pick up. This book had me on the edge my seat. There were so many twists! I’m looking forward to reading more books by A.A. Chaudhuri! Thank you NetGalley, Hera Books and A.A. Chaudhuri for the ARC!

A.A. Chaudhuri is one my favourite authors which meant I was super excited to read this new book.
Wow, it certainly didn’t disappoint. Although it took me a little while to place the characters and relationships, once I did, I really enjoyed it and was really drawn into the story.
There are so many twists! I was sure I had guessed it a few times but then it took me by surprise again.
A great read that I’d recommend.

The Final Party is another new book by a new-to-me author, and one that I’m so glad I’ve read. I’ve only just finished it and have already bought one of A.A. Chaudhuri’s other books and have another on my wishlist; I enjoyed The Final Party so much that I absolutely must read everything she’s written!

I’m a big fan of psychological thrillers, and this is without doubt one of the best I’ve read. Talk about addictive; I finished it in two sittings, and genuinely couldn’t bear to put my Kindle down until I’d read just one more chapter. It’s full of crazy twists, sharp turns, and more shocking revelations than you can imagine, even right to the very last page.

The Final Party is set in Sorrento, Italy, and thanks to the author’s familiarity with the location, it’s all so well realised and easy to picture. It’s also a perfect place to have a years long mystery unfold, and makes everything that much more believable. Plot wise, it’s fairly simple: a posh villa is the setting for three married couples (also all best friends) to escape for a holiday, for one of their 40th birthdays, and things very quickly descend into an unorganised chaos. How chaotic, you ask? Well, let’s just say there are enough lies and secrets present to keep even the best Miss Marple wannabe rather busy indeed.

Padma, Nick, Johnny, Lana, Marcus, and Ness all narrate alternating chapters throughout the book, which gives a great insight and many different angles from which to learn what exactly is going on. I enjoyed all the parts they individually played in the story, and I must admit I was a little bit shocked at the conclusion. It’s a very clever book, and one you need to go into knowing as little as possible.

I really loved The Last Party, and I can’t wait to dig into the author’s other books. It had everything I could possibly want from this genre: alternating narrators, short chapters, multiple timelines, and a plot that constantly kept me guessing. It’s really brilliant, and I hope it finds a large audience out there in the sea of psychological thrillers. It definitely deserves to!

4.5/5.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

This book kept me guessing and captured and maintained my attention. It was enjoyable from the beginning. I wish the were half star ratings. The plot was great and the characters were good but the only drawback was that the characters perspectives seem to be the same and retold. The story is set in Italy, when a group of old friends reunite for a 40th birthday reunion. Events, from 18 years prior that they all thought would stay buried, start getting unveiled through mysterious text. Each person has their own piece to this puzzle that you must put together to solve. I would hasn't rated 4 stars, but I felt there was a bit of repetition throughout the story from each perspective.

I would give the concept of this book a high star rating if the characters weren’t so insufferable. The story would be a 4 star but the characters make it a 2 star, so we meet in the middle at 3. We read from all of their perspectives and each character tells you in excessive detail about the physical qualities of the other characters. Some characters we have to hear the same descriptions of two or three times. We get it, Padma is perfect and everyone thinks so, including herself. Johnny is super fit, okay we don’t need five people to reiterate that to us. Both the internal dialogue and spoken dialogue comes across very catty and snotty for both the men and women. Very superficial and unnecessary. There were some things we were told from characters that didn’t make sense, like Johnny explaining how close Marcus is with his dad. This would make more sense coming from Ness. Ness feeling indebted to Johnny for something that happened when they were eight years old….she must say “I owe him my life.” Four or five times. It gets repetitive and doesn’t add to the story. I felt like the author was trying to end every chapter with a new secret/revelation/cliffhanger and it got exhausting. I’ll repeat, the concept and general story of this book is good. But the characters and the way they speak and think makes it very difficult to take seriously.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via netgalley.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. This sounded really good, but the subject is too overdone these days. A bunch of friends get together to celebrate and someone ends up dead. Or a reunion and then everyone finds out some secret from the past. I expected this to grab my attention right away. Sadly, it did not. It was slow moving and the characters were just whiny. Just didn't care for it.

The twists in this friends reunion thriller are great, as are the deep characterizations.
Thank you Hera for the digital review copy.

My thoughts about A A Chaudhuri’s The Final Party. Wow, the story is brilliant. Every single moment is written for a reason, and every storyline is said for a reason. One event leads perfectly to the next, and then things get completely turned upside down when you least expect it. I am completely blown away by this intricate story. A A Chaudhuri’s The Final Party is an outstanding, intelligent and original thriller which does pretty everything right. 1st and foremost, the story. It’s clever, twisted and human without drowning in stereotypes. The Final Party leaves plenty of red herrings and all make not only sense but keep u hooked from the start to the jaw dropping finale. Writer A A Chaudhuri delivers yet another masterpiece that is full of praise. The Final Party story begins with six friends in a luxury villa set high in the hills above the glamorous town of Sorrento, southern Italy, three couples gather for the perfect 40th birthday celebration. Before the week is out, one of them is dead. Their perfect reunion quickly becomes the holiday from hell when one of the group starts receiving anonymous messages, threatening to expose a dark secret from their university days.
As old friendships are tested to the limit, it’s clear that what happens in the dark past won’t stay buried. Personally, I love whodunits. I especially love them I know I can’t trust what I’m reading and when I suspect the answer is being flaunted right before my eyes but I’m so engaged in the story I don’t have time to figure it out. Well, this is it. Absolutely engaging from the start and with the kind of ending you never forget. Prepare to get your brain to work. If you like riddles and thinking through different scenarios, you will definitely love A A Chaudhuri’s breathtaking thriller The Final Party. I would like to say a big big thank you to A A Chaudhuri, and publishers Hera books for kindly letting me read this brilliant thriller I’ve enjoyed reading. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥