Emily Hunt was found dead after her college graduation and a few days later a loner committed suicide. One text binding the two events together makes the police feel the case is closed. But they got it wrong and someone is determined to get it right.

Years later a group of college friends meet on a private island to celebrate an engagement. When an ominous note is found with a dead body tensions start to rise. They realize this party is not all it seems to be and they’ll need to find the killer before they end up being next.

Remote island thriller, compared to And Then There Were None, with Darby Kane as the author? I couldn’t grab this book up fast enough!

You could feel the tension radiating off the pages and the way the story alternated between 3 POVs was just addicting. I also loved the addition of book note chapters that gave insight into Emily all those years ago. There was just a great balance between all 4 type of chapters that kept us guessing without slowing down the pace of the story.

I did not want to put this book down, it kept me on the edge of my seat. Whenever my little one went down for a nap, this book immediately found its way into my hands. I had to get down to the bottom of this mystery. Which the twists were amazing, everything was so well put together.

This book was so twisty turny, it kept me on my toes the whole time. I never knew what to expect. This was such a great read and I enjoyed every page. This was the perfect book for a buddy read!!

Ahhh yes, Darby Kane does it again! Such an amazing thriller, suspense, dramatic read! I loved all of the characters and the way the author brought this storyline to life on the pages. Excellent novel and must read for those who love suspense and thriller novel!

This book was just toooooooooo much. I know the premise is the typical Agatha Christie locked door mystery, but this one is on steroids. The bad stuff just kept happening to the point that I barely cared anymore--the only thing the book lacked was a catagory 5 hurricane. At first it was who do you trust, all the characters have secrets, even up to the last chapter of the book, but instead of slowly being revealed, they were dumped at the end of the book. I also felt that the end with Zara, the daughter of two of the characters was very unsatisfying. I do suppose that maybe people who are really dedicated suspense/ thriller fans will find this book to their liking. It just be me tired and wishing it would end.

I really enjoyed this latest read by Darby Kane! This was a gripping, suspenseful read that helped me get out of a slump! My only issue is the ending wasn't detailed enough.

I was so excited for this book! I loved Pretty Little Wife. This was a super quick read, and one that kept me on my toes the entire time, but I just felt like there were too many characters and a lot going on that did not allow me to really keep up or be completely bought in.

A really enjoyable read. Darby Kane always delivers! Engaging characters, even the unlikeable ones lol. Fun and twisty plot with a solid ending. I always look forward to her books!

The story was solid but I might have liked this book more there wasn't so many pov's. I never connected with any of the characters. They were all pretty unlikable.

3.75 stars

A group of college friends gather on a private island to celebrate one of their engagements. They quickly learn not all of them/if any will survive. It was an interesting premise. Even though the characters are hate-able in their own ways, the story held my attention. I would have liked a little more action and a little more spooky/scariness. This author is quickly becoming a go to, go in blind for me. I love a wicked and twisted mind :)

“𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐃𝐢𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬.”

A locked-room thriller set on an island with a group of friends who all have secrets? Darby Kane’s latest has all the makings of things I love in a thriller.

I flew through this fast-paced novel, due to its changing point of view, short chapters and cliffhanger reveals. Kane wastes no time diving into the action of the story, with the crew barely on the island and at the house, when a dead body appears. I thought it was an interesting storytelling choice that out of all the friend group, Kane focuses on Alex’s perspective, alongside ‘outsiders,’ Sienna and Ruthie, as they try to figure out what the death of their friend Emily ten years ago and the present killings have to do with each other. In between the action are “book notes” that tell about Emily and the past the crew tries hard to forget, which I loved. The characters lean towards unlikeable, all guilty of past transgressions as individuals and as a group, which makes this revenge plot all the more delicious. I love a good storm, whether it be wind and rain or snow, during a mystery; between the power outages and the raging storm, there was a lot of tension and atmosphere. I couldn’t put this down, and as always, Kane delivered with a tight cat-and-mouse game, with an ending twist. It reads like a modern take on And The There Were None or limited series Harper’s Island.

The Engagement Party is a story of denial, revenge, processing trauma, guilt, responsibility, victims and villians. It had me on the edge of my seat, and would make for such an intriguing mini series. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC!

“The Engagement Party” by Darby Kane follows a group of college friends. Connected by the tragic death of one of their friends the weekend of college graduation, the group has purposely drifted apart. Yet, when one of the friends gets engaged, he invites the group to a remote island to celebrate the engagement and to meet his future bride. But when the group discovers a dead man in the trunk of a car, they realize this meet-up may take a sinister twist. Who is behind everything? And why?

This book had all the makings of my favorite thrillers: an isolated location, a shared questionable history, someone who knows more than they’re letting on… The character list featured diverse personalities that were distinct enough to keep them separated mentally. The true highlight was Sierra, honestly she seemed like the only person who really understood what was going on.

Despite wanting to love this book, it somehow fell flat. The surprise twists often felt like overkill and it made me less engaged than I wanted to be. I think this story had good bones, but maybe wasn’t as unique as I was hoping. In the end, I gave it 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A group of friends from college are invited to an engagement party. What could go wrong? Ruthie and Will are getting hitched after a very short engagement. This is not Wills first engagement by any means. Two friends Cassandra and Alex go to the party to silence a secret from long ago. There was a friend in college named Emily who was murdered. There was a accusation of who did it but everyone knew that wasnt the real murdered her. So who was it? All the friends come to the party to the island except for one friend Jake. As the weekend unfolds so do the juicy details of these friendships and what happened all those years ago. I felt the book has been done before and didnt catch me early like i like these stories to do. It was slow in some parts as well.

I have absolutely eaten up everything Darby Kane has written, and The Engagement Party was no different! I loved the isolated setting, dark secrets in the friend group, and a character who would risk it all to keep their secret from all those years ago. If you enjoy suspenseful isolation stories or have previously enjoyed any of her books, I highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and William Morrow for my Netgalley copy and a HUGE thank you to Darby for sending me a publisher bound ARC months before they were sent out. You're the best and I am so thankful we connected on Instagram!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A group of friends is only as good as the secrets, right? Apparently not when their friend goes missing and is found dead. Instead their friendship hinders more on guilt of seeing each other every so often to make sure all is good although some secrets aren't quite what they seem. As they all get together for one of their fellow classmates engagement party, is the bride to be who she appears to be? Also why is this creepy island the place to celebrate a happy occasion? So many questions are answered but not before some thrills, scares and so much more in this story. Even to the very last chapter, secrets are still being spilled and friendships were never as solid as they thought they were not to mention based on lies.

I really enjoyed The Engagement Party by Darby Kane. I won't lie, home alone at 1am in a house that creaks a lot and reading the beginning of it had me a bit spooked and had to put it away until the next day. To me, that's good writing. The next day I finished it because I HAD to know what happened, who did what and what originally happened to Emily when she went missing.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow Publishing and Darby Kane for the ARC.

By the author of Pretty Little Wife which I absolutely loved. This is another edge of your seat thriller with lots of twists and turns.

When a group of college friends go to a private island in Maine to celebrate a friend's engagement a nightmare begins. Almost from the very first minute. There are six people. Four went to college together. One was engaged to Will, Ruthie. One was there as a friend of Mitch, Sierra. The only married couple was Cassie and Alex, married since graduating. Who do you trust? Who should you fear?

This story is told in alternating povs. Alex, Sierra, Ruthie, and book notes. I didn't like any of these characters except Sierra. I also liked Mitch. They both seemed sincere and caring. I detested Cassie. She was so self-centered and very hateful to all. Even to Alex, her husband. I didn't like him because he came across as so weak.

Then you meet Dylan.... Who is Dylan and what does he have to do with this? Many years ago there was a death on the campus where the four went to college. One of their own drowned and it was presumed that someone killed her. Dylan was trying to clear his friend's name. A young man accused of killing Emily Hunt. But it is way more than that. Who exactly is this person and what is he really after. Who in this group has something to hid? What length will they go to?

I did figure out about halfway in who was pretty much responsible for Emily's death. Who had the most to lose? I had my ideas of what and why but never really got clarity on that. Yes someone was blamed but I still do not trust the person who finally told the "truth." I will forever believe my version of why....

I enjoyed this book and had a few gasps while reading it. Held my breath in places. It was good but not great.

Thank you #NetGalley, #DarbyKane, #WilliamMorrow, #HarperCollinsPublishers, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4/5 stars. It's a good one.

This book was giving “And Then There Were None” vibes when I read the description so I obviously had to read it! The setting was great (private islands get me every time). That being said - I hated the characters. All of them. For the entire book. That’s tough to slog through even when there are other things going for the book (again, private island). I really loved the concept, The first half of the book flowed well but I struggled more in the second half . I just wish the execution had been a bit better.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. Was this book a thriller? Yes. Do I love thrillers? They're my favorite. But I just didn't love this one. I feel like the author tried to throw in too many twist. I thought it was a very forgettable thriller and nothing really grabbed me.

Fans of Ruth Ware suspense/mysteries will really enjoy this thriller. The forced proximity adds to the tension and there are several surprising twists and turns. I didn’t really get the purpose of the final surprise, but overall the pace was engaging and I liked the ending.
Thanks #NetGalley for the ARC e-book.

Formal Review to be posted on social media.

This book ended up only being okay to me. I almost wanted to not finish it 66% through, but pushed through because I wanted to be able to give a complete and honest review.

I really was disappointed in this book. I had really enjoyed Pretty Little Wife. This book lacked the depth of characters, had too many characters to keep up with, and overall came across as really campy. I just think I’ve read other books with similar themes/tropes and this one is just not a stand out among them. I never felt much suspense and found the ending pretty predictable. Reads a bit like a slasher movie.

The Engagement Party is a great whodunit mystery. The story is full of tension, unlikeable characters (that you will root for because the writing is so good) and a twisting plot. The characters all seem to have something to hide.

Darby Kane never fails to bring out the very best and worst in her characters. An engaging read that kept me guessing throughout.