A most excellent summer thriller!

The Block Party takes readers to the idyllic suburban neighborhood to the Alton Road cul-de-sac and is told in dual timelines beginning at present day where we learn of a homicide occurring, and returning to one year ago to find out who and why told via dual POVs of Alex—our link to the parent generation drama, and her daughter Lettie—our link to the teenage generation drama.

The mystery and the tension are enough to keep you wondering who finally snapped while the scandals and drama keep you flipping the pages/listening for more to find out if someone finally got what they deserved.

The addition of the present day neighborhood Facebook group filled with ALL the typical personalities who discuss the drama via assumptions, gossip, cattiness, and thoughts and prayers, adds another delicious element to an already delicious story.

Through all the drama and all the tension—at the heart The Block Party is about a group of women who have been traumatized directly and indirectly by the men in their lives. The secrets they hold on to are what could destroy them and leave them feeling isolated, while letting each other in can make all the difference.

The audio has dual narration for Alex and Lettie and was done well, capturing all the nuances

Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- listened in audio. This was a block party I definitely wouldn’t want to be invited to. I really enjoyed this audio. It gave me Desperate Housewives vibes. I enjoyed the dual POV getting each perspective on the block party.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

It’s the annual block party in an exclusive neighborhood. And please, no interlopers! Not even the pesky bug guy! (Sorry, buddy.)

But as with most neighborhoods things are changing. New families moving in, bringing their own personal sets of problems with them. Kids growing up and preparing to leave for college. And… marriages coming apart at the seams! Standard-issue problems that every neighborhood experiences.

Now something seriously dark is coming to this high-end neighborhood. Murder!

The focus is on Alex, wife and mother, who nearly everyone seems to come to for sage advice. Well, she is a mediator by trade so I suppose that makes sense. I also think she secretly enjoys being the one in charge.

We also hear from Alex’s daughter Lettie. Nearing the end of high school, wanting to save the world though no one else seems to take note of her quest.

The online community page, (a take on our neighborhood apps) was hilarious. It reminded me of familiar voices of my own neighbors!

This was a fun, engaging read. I definitely feel it falls into the category of family drama rather than thriller.
I enjoyed the audio and digital formats equally.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio.

Fun read!! This had me guessing throughout. Not only do we not know who did it… but who is dead?? I loved the double mystery. There were so many suspects and so many possible victims. Kept me held in suspense and so intrigued. And oh my the secrets!!

Everyone is hiding something. Everyone has a possible motive.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! Lettie did kind of annoy me at times but i still felt for her character. And i really liked the awareness that’s put into this. The consent. The alcohol abuse. It was done really well.

Definitely one of my favs of the year.

Also the narrators did fantastic and i enjoyed both. They were easy to listen to

The Block Party by Jamie Day totally exceeded my expectations! It was a phenomenal story filled lots of drama, gossip, secrets, and manipulation. I loved all of the very life like and well developed characters, along with the twisted and complex plot. This domestic thriller is one you won't want to put down! Such an addicting read and great audiobook.

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.

Set during an exclusive neighborhood block party where everyone has secrets and someone ends up dead. I enjoyed that this was told from multiple POVs and we get to see different generational perspectives (parents vs kids) especially when the story flashes back to the past year to give us greater insight into all the players.

Action packed, this book lead to a propulsive and deadly reveal and would make a perfect summer read! Great on audio too narrated by Megan Tusing and Suzy Jackson. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you @stmartinpress @macmillan.audio for a copy of this this book. This neighborhood drama ad similar vibes to Little Fires Everywhere and I enjoyed how it all started with a block party. I listened to this and there was a lot of characters to keep straight. The book started on strong and lost my interest in the middle and came back with a great twisty ending. This is a perfect summer read.

A great summer thriller! My only regret was that I didn’t wait until it was actually summer to read this. So many twist and turns!

3.5⭐️ This is a fun summer read, reminiscent of Laine Moriarty’s Big Little Lies. I enjoyed the setting and learning about the characters, though it’s a very large cast and I struggled at first keeping everyone straight. There were also quite a few subplots to keep straight (notes are helpful here).

My biggest issue with this novel is that the pacing felt off - a strong start led to a slower/draggy middle section. By the time I reached the conclusion, I didn’t feel as invested as I had hoped to.

Read if you like:
•ensemble casts
•twisty plot lines
•quick reads
•neighborhood drama

Thank you St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies.

The Alton Road residents have so many secrets and a heap of drama. There has been a murder. Throughout the book we don’t know the victim or the perpetrator. I love how the book dives into the drama filled stories of all of the characters while leading us to the shocking ending. The narration was fantastic on the audio.

Thank you to netgalley and macmillanaudio SMPInfluencer for this giftedaudiocopy .
Rated 4.5 Stars
I devoured this book in a day! It is laden with juicy schemes, flawed characters, and plot twists. I struggled to stop listening in order to feed my family...can you say Pizza Night?? A few warnings...this book does touch on triggering themes such as drug abuse, spousal abuse, rape, alcoholism, and suicide. However, it isn't an emotionally heavy book, if that makes any sense following the list I just wrote. This is about a highly dysfunctional neighborhood, but family, friendship, and surviving together as well. I recommend putting this on your summer reading list. It releases July 18, 2023. Available for pre-order now.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Block Party is my favorite kind of domestic suspense - just crazy suburban people acting crazy in the suburbs. The residents of Alton Road all have their own secrets, dramas, and rivalries happening on their exclusive cul-de-sac. However, it all comes to a head on the night of the annual block party..and the police are called. There’s been a murder, but we don’t know the victim or the perpetrator.

I was ADDICTED to this book. I have been searching for a thriller that’s very juicy and unputdownable and I have finally found it. I was worried the length of the book and the amount of characters would slow the pace and make it hard to follow, but that was not the case. Day uses multiple timelines to keep the pace steady throughout and the dual narration really helped keep the stories separate until they were weaved together. I absolutely loved this book. The characters were the perfect balance of unhinged, yet easy to root for. The humor was perfect and the drama was on point.

Stars all around. Story. Narration. Production. All perfection.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Block Party was a captivating, energizing read. Sure to pick you up out of a slump.

The vibe was definitely Big Little Lies and must’ve been inspired by it but is still unique and not a blatant copy. This kept me guessing until the last quarter or so! The ending was neatly wrapped up.

The narrators and great and did help with keeping characters straight - there are a lot of characters. At times it was hard to remember who is who and it left some to be poorly developed while some were magnificent. Lettie was definitely a fun character to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this ebook.

This was a great debut and I hope Jamie Day has more stories inside them.
This is a neighbourhood drama, reminiscent of The Slap, with multiple POV.
But, instead of one incident setting off a stream of events, this one has a bunch of events that lead up to a combustible end.
Much secrets, intrigues, crimes, and a bit of mystery...oh and it is all building up to shots fired at a BBQ. That's not a spoiler, that is literally the whole set up in the first chapter.
I was able to switch between the audio and the kindle version and I would recommend both. The writing transitions beautifully in both versions.
Much love to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio for my DRC's.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook copy.
This book had two narrators. Both did an excellent job. As for the book it was OK. It’s based on a lot of neighborhood drama. I would not consider this a thriller.

This started very slow. There was also too many characters and side plots for me. It picked up towards the middle. Overall it was an ok read. Maybe good for a vacation read.

****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

Synopsis:
"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."

My Thoughts:
We follow all the drama on Alton Road through two POV's, Alex and her teenage daughter Lettie. Following both an adult and teen POV rewards the reader with greater insight into the happenings in this neighborhood. We see just how intertwined they all truly are and quickly realize that danger is bubbling to the surface.
There are a lot of characters in this story and it took me a few chapters to understand who was who. While the story felt a little slow at times, other times I was on the edge of my seat. I was fully engaged throughout and enjoyed the multiple twists along the way. Just when I thought I was putting some pieces together, there would be a twist that I hadn't seen coming. This is a fun, twisty ride that kept me guessing right up until the end.

Thank you to @netgalley , @stmartinspress , and @macmillan.audio for the gifted copy of this book.

Thank you St. Martin's Press (ebook) and MacMillan (audiobook) for this salacious secret filled summer read. The Block Party starts off with a murder and then goes back one year earlier to lead the reader into the world of privileged neighborhood lives, uncovering a range of secrets, lies, and manipulations that make you think a lot of people had reason to commit murder.

An engaging, fast paced suspense book that brings the reader into the lives of several characters, connecting to themes on marital strain, drinking, substance use, and the lies that can keep people together or tear them apart. What stood out to me was that many of the themes covered a very real and relatable, delivered with nuance, and done in a way that made me care about most (not all) of the characters, even if they had a lot of flaws. There were some great contextual notes with short segments of posts from the community board (think NextDoor) that were pitch perfect.

Great for fans of the newly released Bad Summer People and books such as Big Little Lies.

One note to readers: there is a significant focus on some high school students, children of the main characters who are also fairly main characters as well. At times the book could feel a little YA given the focus; this worked for me as I thought it actually added depth to what was really going on in all of the lives in the neighborhood and in the families featured but it might not work for every reader.

Wow! So many secrets and lies plus so much drama and dysfunction equals a FABULOUS read! I devoured this audiobook! I was hooked right out of the gate and until the very last word.