The friend group was lured to the isolated island with the hopes of getting a confession out of the killer. The secluded island, poor cell service, and storm added to the eeriness and sense of isolation. When things make a turn for the worse, no one knows who to trust.

Throughout the book, I had a hard time telling the characters apart. None of them had a distinct voice or personality, and they were all generally unlikeable. I also felt like the book was a bit too long at around 400 pages. I feel the book would have been better suited at 300 pages in order to maintain the suspense in and pacing throughout. Overall, this was an average read for me, and not a book I was eager to pick up and keep reading.

Read if you enjoy:
✔️Locked room
✔️Secrets
✔️Slow burn mystery
✔️I Know What You Did Last Summer
✔️Whodunnit

I have already recommended this book to eight patrons at work. This book leaves you guessing until the end and it was so good! Sierra and Mitch work together and he invites her to go to an island for a friend's engagement party. Mitch is hesitant to go because of a horrible tragedy when he was in college. Will and Ruthie are getting married and Ruthie invites all of his college friends for a weekend getaway. She has an agenda and is not who Will thinks she is. Cassie and Alex are married and they were there when their friend was found dead in college. They all show up on the island and immediately face tragedy. This book will leave you guessing who until the very end. I will be reading more by this author and can't say enough good about this book.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read this book as an arc.

The suspense and tension starts on page 1 and doesn't relent whatsoever till the end. The story took off running and did not stop. This is easily a bingeable 1 day read, especially if you're a fan of locked room mysteries (or in this case, locked on an island). This story is told from multiple POVs but still from the 3rd person POV, which I think took away from the characters a bit. Nonetheless, this was a very quick and enjoyable read! I can't wait to read more by Darby Kane.

Darby Kane is one of my favorite authors! Her stories are always unique and filled with unreliable but likeable characters! The Engagement Party was a fun revenge filled thriller that left me on my toes each chapter! I had no idea how this story was going to turn out, and I love unpredictable thrillers! Although this wasn’t my favorite by this author it was still a solid thriller.

A fun locked-room mystery with twists and turns that reminded me a lot of the Lois Duncan and Christopher Pike books that shaped my love of mysteries as a youth. This book unfolds as a slow burn yet with plenty of action, as we learn that each member of this engagement party has his or her own secrets and agenda for being there. I loved that this book worked as both a thriller and a traditional mystery with some great twists. Darby Kane is a reliable and thrilling mystery writer and I look forward to her next book!

This book read like it could become a hit movie. I enjoyed the twists and the ending I didn’t see coming!!

This was my first read by Darby Kane.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I was entertained through the whole book.

3.8 out of 5

This was a quick, "popcorn thriller" read. A group of college friends reunites to celebrate the quick engagement of Will and Ruthie. Will falls in and out of love, a running joke within the friend group. Ruthie, on the other hand, is calculated and intent on marrying Will. The friends begrudgingly gather in Maine, on a secluded island, each carrying a secret...they are one friend short on this trip...Emily, who mysteriously died twelve years earlier following their college graduation.

Sienna, is an outsider, brought by Mitch. Her perspective is appreciated and provides the reader with an alternative POV, which is welcomed. Things aren't always what they seem, and Sienna picks up on that right away.

The tension is thick, and when the group finds a dead body in the trunk of a car with a chilling note, things go from bad to worse. As a torrential storm moves in, deeply buried secrets begin to surface. Who will survive?

Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC.

Are you ready to get on a rollercoaster ride? The Engagement Party is an exciting mystery story with characters you don’t know whether to love or hate, an ending which will drive you mad getting to because it was completely unexpected!

When a group of former college friends reluctantly agree to go to “another” engagement party for their commitment phobic friend Will who has once again met the love of his life in a woman named Ruthie whom none of them have met, no one really wants to be there. The tie which seems to bind these friends is a terrible tragedy which happened a few days before their college graduation. One of their group, Emily Hunt was murdered. Hence, they seem to feel the guilt of what happened and bonded them for life. The party is on a secluded island of the coast of Maine. They know it won’t go well, but what they never could imagine is that not all of them would be alive by the end. 

The cast of characters include:

Will and Ruthie who met just a few short months ago and have decided to get married. Ruthie has not met Will’s friends and quite frankly doesn’t really care about them. Ruthie has an agenda and she’s sticking to it. Will just thinks he’s in love. Again.

Alex and Cassie who met in college and have a young daughter have amazing careers. A great life. Although they felt obligated to attend, they would rather have stayed home. Too bad they didn’t listen to their instincts.

Mitch and Sienna are friends. Sienna comes as Mitch’s plus one. Mitch is one of the friends from college and because of his past, they treat him with kid gloves. As for Sienna, she has feelings for Mitch, but he seems clueless.

The weekend immediately gets off to a rough start as they are the only ones on the island, there is a storm brewing and oh! they find a dead body in the trunk of a car. And it’s someone they know. Then of course someone goes out of their way to block the Wi-Fi and they are unable to get help. If that doesn’t get your attention, perhaps the severed head found in the shed will.

They realize someone is on the island with them and it looks like they are all in danger of being killed. But here is the question, why? Why them? As they begin to plan how to escape, their uninvited guest makes an appearance and seems to know all their secrets. But who is he? What are their secrets?

As they try to lie their way off the island, violence ensues and it’s everyone for themselves. But what they are hiding will kill someone. And of course, that’s when they begin to turn on each other.

The Engagement Party is an agonizingly exciting story with unbelievable twists and an ending which you will never see coming and never forget! Note to self…engagement parties are way too stressful!

Thank you #NetGalley #WilliamMorrowPaperbacks #TheEngagementParty #DarbyKane for the advanced copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝘼 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙙.

I really enjoyed Pretty Little Wife by this author so I was so excited when I got my hands on an early copy of this book… did I end up pushing it past the pub date? Yes, yes I did. But I’m so glad I finally got to this book because it was quick and entertaining.

I absolutely loved the locked room setting and the eerie atmosphere with the isolated island. The storyline was so well written and had me intrigued from the beginning all the way to the end. There was so much suspense that had me wondering what would happen next. While most characters were unlikable, I found each one to be interesting in their own way.

The story did get repetitive every now and then. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending, it just felt far-fetched and dragged. While the execution was fun, I didn’t fully love the villain and their motive. I would say the first half of the book was much more engaging.

I really enjoyed this twist, suspenseful, and bingeable thriller. I flew through it as I just couldn’t put it down. The overall plot was entertaining and aside from a few issues, I’m so glad I picked this book up. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you so much NetGalley and William Morrow for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was an edge of your seat, gripping, drop my plans and read fun time! I loved it and can’t wait to read more books from Darby Kane!

The Engagement Party
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Darby Kane

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and William Morrow and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Emily Hunt went missing from her affluent liberal arts school on graduation weekend. Her body was found floating in a river, and a quiet loner who most people on campus really didn’t know committed suicide. A tenuous link—one text—bound the two dead students together and was enough for law enforcement to close the case. But they got it wrong and now someone is determined to set it right.

Twelve years later, college friends gather to celebrate an engagement over a long overdue getaway on a swanky private island in Maine—with only one way in and one way out. Sierra Prescott, invited as a guest and unconnected to past events, is the only person who soon senses not all is what it seems.

The tension in the air is ignited when they find a dead man in the trunk of a car with a note: time to tell the truth. And things only get worse. As a torrential storm strands them together, the group’s buried stories begin to surface and secrets are bartered. To survive this deadly party, they’ll need to stop a killer before they become prey.

My Thoughts: This was a creepy, claustrophobic, dark, captivating atmospheric psychological thriller. Emily Hunt went missing over a decade ago, when she was found in the river. Another death tied into Emily’s death, with one single text message, and the police closed the case. This “tight” friend group occasionally gets together, regularly stays in touch, and have deep rooted secrets. One of them has recently got engaged and invites everyone to this swanky, very private island in Maine to celebrate for the weekend. When a fast moving storm traps them on the island, one dead body in trunk, with a secret message of “time to tell the truth,” and secrets begin to unravel, who will leave the island? Now the trope of a locked room mystery of who lured them to the island and being trapped on the island, has recently been drilled to death. While the book was a tad predicable, it was still an enjoyable read.

The story is narrated by multiple characters, in their own POV. The characters were the hardest part about this book. I really wanted to like them, but despised most of them. The only one I could connect to was Sierra, as she was the only “innocent” one there. Although, I found it hard why she would put up with Mitch, then again, we really didn’t get to know Mitch much, his character could have been more deeply explored. Unfortunately, the characters felt one dimensional with not much depth, I think if could have dug deeper into the characters and their relationships with one another, it would have been more enriching. The first half of the book really set the claustrophobic stage with eerie scenes, and really set the tone for the rest of the book. Except in the second half, some of the storylines become repetitive and tangling with two much zigzagging. The plot was divided into subplots and I think it just muddied the aesthetic of the book and skewed the pacing. The author’s writing style was suspenseful, twisty, creepy, with a creepy premise. The two elements of slasher killer mixed with a whodunit cat and mouse game will keep you intrigued, it just fell a little short with the character involvement and depth.

This had elements of a promising thriller, it was creepy, dark, captivating, gripping, claustrophobic atmospheric psychological thriller. I have been a fan of Kane’s previous works and had high expectations for this book, it just fell a little short. However, having said this, it was still an enjoyable read that I would recommend to other readers. If you loved the movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer, you will love the premise of this book, as it follows in the same locked room mystery vibe.

This was madness. I love the little weird romance.
I don't get being super close with college friends but I did not traditional college so that is probably why. It is weird though. I love the twist at the end!

Twelve years ago their friend, Emily, was found dead floating in a river. After a text message links Emily to a quiet loner who appears to commit suicide after the murder, the police close the case thinking the murderer is dead.

Now, all Emily's former friends have been invited to an island to celebrate an engagement. But, it quickly becomes apparent that truth about what happened to Emily has yet to be revealed and this group has a lot of secrets...and will kill to keep them hidden!!

A locked room, whodunit, mystery, The Engagement Party was a good idea for a novel but the remote island concept is really hard to pull off, in my opinion, and this one just didn't cut it. The characters were so unbelievable in their actions and the story just didn't come together well.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
While I enjoyed this book, it was all a little confusing in the beginning: too many characters and story happening. The book overall reminded me of some others I have read. The story was good but didn't seem original to me. The characters were all very unlikable, like all of them. There wasn't a single one I cared for.
The ending seemed to drag out a little and again so much happening all at once. I really liked the surprise twist at the end and it leaves room for a spin off story, another book.
Overall I liked it but it wasn't my favorite based on everything I wrote.

As a deference to how genius I consider Kane to be as a writer, I will absolutely be recommending this book to others, however, I will be honest in saying it is thus far my least favorite of all of her books.

The engagement party felt rather rushed, and didn’t quite have the hook and ah ha moments of Kane books of the past. Still, I was never bored while reading, and I did like the book.

In this creepy locked door mystery, a group of friends reunite to celebrate an engagement. Each person is hiding things and keeping secrets, but they’ll be forced to come to light over the course of the weekend. The mystery began with an untimely death (and possible murder) of their friend Emily on graduation weekend, but there are other connections to the past that keep coming up. Notes of warning appear, someone is creeping around the property, and the tide has risen so no one can leave the island. Will the truth come out?

This book gives vibes from I Know What You Did Last Summer, Agatha Christie, and Daisy Darker. The setting of an island at high tide is perfect, and the storm makes it atmospherically creepy. There are twists and red herrings throughout, making the final reveal very difficult to guess. The characters are all unlikable and one in particular is over the top in her villain portrayal. Despite that, I enjoyed this thriller and would recommend it to those who enjoy an atmospheric locked door mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC! Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I wanted to give Darby Kane another try after not loving her previous novel, but this novel was not at all memorable and I found myself slugging my way through the book.

💍 BOOK / REVIEW 💍

I ended 2023 with an absolutely INCREDIBLE #thriller!! It's a goal of mine to work through my backlist, and #theengagementparty by @hkdimon was begging to be read!

I went into this completely blind and so glad I did. I am not usually a fan of #lockedroom mysteries, and while this one could have been predictable, it was anything but!!!!! The multiple POVs worked very well in this novel, and while we do not get flashback chapters, I felt like the author did an incredible job of building the suspense and plot in a unique manner.

The ending was also not the "true" ending, which made the final chapter in this book so much better! You will be guessing until the final page!

Loved loved loved this book - so pumped to read others by this author 👏. Thank you, @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley, for my #gifted copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Ohhh this book had a lot of twist I didn’t know. Cassie, Alex, Mitch and will were part of a terrible tragedy in college they don’t talk about with their friend Emily. Emily lost her life, now it’s 12 years later and they were all invited to Wills engagement party to Ruth, Mitch doesn’t want to go but his now current best friend tried to get him to go so he agrees. When they get there a long lost friend ends up dead and Ruth isn’t all it seems! Will they make it off the island alive and or out of jail!

Thank you for the ARC copy.

This book was very much I Know What you Did Last Summer. Friends, mystery, murder and island. I liked the set up, but felt the book was a little flat. Okay, not great.