Would recommend for fans of…
💍 Scream
💍 I Know What You Did Last Summer
💍 And Then There Were None

Darby Kane’s debut, Pretty Little Wife, was one of my favorite thrillers a few years ago, so I was very excited to score an early copy of her latest thriller, The Engagement Party.

The Engagement Party follows a group of friends who head to an isolated island to celebrate one of their engagements. Upon arriving, they discover a body connected to their past and that’s just the start of the terrifying trip.

This book is reminiscent of what I like to call mild slashers – think Scream where the gore is minimal but the tension is high – and will have you turning pages as you try to figure out which of these supposed friends is the killer. Kane’s signature short chapters and shocking twists also make for a fast-paced and perfectly creepy reading experience. I will say there are some things about the story that don’t quite add up, but I still enjoyed trying to puzzle my way through the book.

While The Engagement Party incorporates many good tropes from the horror genre, it also shares some of the common negative qualities, namely impossibly dumb characters. There were many times throughout the book where the characters made stupid decisions that had me internally screaming “DON’T GO IN THERE!” or “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” If you consume enough content in this genre, you kind of come to expect this foolishness but I still found it to be very frustrating.

The Engagement Party is out today, Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After Emily Hunt went missing from her liberal arts school on graduation weekend, her body was found floating in a river. When another student died by suicide, law enforcement found a link between the two and closed the case, believing that the quiet loner had killed Emily. Twelve years later, Emily's college friends gather together for an engagement party on a private island in Maine, with only one way in and one way out. Things grow tense when the group finds a dead man in the trunk of a car with a note: "Time to tell the truth." As a torrential storm strands them together, the group’s long-buried secrets will be exposed. It soon becomes clear that someone believes that law enforcement got it wrong, and that person will stop at nothing to find Emily's real killer.

This was a really fun thriller in the same vein as "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "And Then There Were None." Reading the book's description, I was immediately sold on this locked-room mystery set on a private island. With its fast-paced plot, shocking twists, atmospheric setting, and unlikeable characters, I was completely absorbed in this book. I enjoyed that the story was told from multiple points of view with "book notes" that allowed the reader to learn more about Emily and her disappearance. This was my first Darby Kane novel, and I look forward to reading more of her books!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When a group of friends gathers on a remote island for an engagement party, they are faced with their past. Who will come out alive? As the cover says: “The guest list is a real killer.”

The Engagement Party is a juicy chaos of a mystery. I was blown away with how Kane wove together all the most salacious early 90s crimes and wrapped them in a classic locked room mystery. It was like being trapped in an 80s horror movie with an Agatha Christie twist…I simply couldn’t read it fast enough. Kane hits this one out of the park. Packed full of her trademark twists and turns, but this time wrapped in a classic horror mystery vibe. Her best novel yet.

Darby Kane really can write a twisty thriller and this was no exception. She packs a lot into this story so the plot takes off quickly and doesn’t let up. I love how she peppered details throughout to make you think you know what is going to happen but you don’t know the full story until it plays out. This was a very atmospheric read (a must for a locked room thriller!) and I loved the ending. All I have to say is you couldn’t get me to stay at a remote house, even with my besties!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #WilliamMorrow for the ARC #TheEngagementParty by #DarbyKane. This book was very interesting about a two people’s death that were covered up with lies and secrets. In a rage for revenge, an engagement party was set up on an isolated island to find out the truth.

Years after Emily went missing and then was found dead after her college graduation, her friends are gathering in a remote island. But they aren’t alone.

This was an interesting locked room thriller. There were a lot of characters to follow and three POVs split along in the chapters, so it was a lot to take in. The books also ran really fast, with a lot of action happening on each page. This will appeal to any thriller or action readers because of that! There were also lots of plot twists that will keep you guessing.

All in all, this was an interesting and fast paced thriller in the vein of Agatha Christie.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

Darby Kane returns following The Last Invitation with her latest, THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY —Inspired by the author's love of locked-room thrillers and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.

Who will survive as this twisty thriller unravels when old friends gather on a private island one faithful weekend, which turns DEADLY?

Emily Hunt, a college senior, disappeared on the Saturday of graduation weekend, but no one noticed until Sunday afternoon. She morphed from a young woman with promise to a cautionary tale. Her body was found by a couple in their sixties four miles from the campus in the weeds in the New Meadows River. She was 22 years old and a college graduate for one afternoon.

Her death turned out to be a horrible beginning to a winding and tragic tale rather than an ending.

Not an accident.
Not a result of alcohol.
A MURDER.

Ironically, none of this would have happened if she had gotten into Amherst as she dreamed. Some blamed it on her lifestyle. Then someone suspected Brendan Clarke, another student, murdered her. Then, not long after Emily, he was found dead, too.

The murder was never solved.

Twelve years later, college friends (Hunt's former classmates) —Will Mayer, Mitch Andersen, Alex Greene, and Cassie Holder (now Alex’s wife)—have reunited on a private island off the coast of Maine to celebrate Will’s engagement to his girlfriend, Ruthie for the weekend with one way in and out. The invitations have gone out. Who will accept?

Sierra Prescott, invited as a guest and unconnected to past events, is the only person who soon senses not all is what it seems.

Will and fellow Bowdoin College graduates— Alex and Cassandra Greene and Mitch Andersen share secrets about the deaths 12 years before of two fellow students, a weight they have carried.

Told from alternating chapters POV: Sierra, Alex, Ruthie with Book notes.

They find a dead man in the trunk with a note: time to tell the truth. Then, things turn into a horror nightmare as the storm bears down. They are cut off from the mainland by rising waters. Someone is murdered. The secrets and lies are unraveled. To survive, they need to STOP the killer.

Everyone's life is on the line!

From unreliable narrators and a cast of unlikeable characters, an atmospheric, chilling locked-room thriller with amateur sleuths and social media provides a modern twist for this cat-and-mouse whodunit mystery.

For fans of Alice Feeney, Sarah Pearse, Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Carol Goodman.

Thanks to William and Morrow and NetGalley for a digital advanced reading copy for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Dec 5, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
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Thank you @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for approval on this ARC 📚

This is the first book I’ve read by Darby Kane, although I’ve had Pretty Little Wife staring at me from my TBR shelf for way too long 👀

The blurb mentions that it’s a mix of And Then There Were None and I Know What You Did Last Summer… and boy can I picture Sarah Michelle Gellar sprinting around this isolated island…

Sierra goes on a weekend getaway with her “friend” ( 😉) Mitch to celebrate the engagement of one of his college friends. Not knowing anyone aside from him, Sierra quickly becomes the most likable character and it seems like the only one who can be trusted. It turns out this group of friends is harboring some very dark secrets about the murder of their friend Emily that happened on graduation day AND a second murder shortly afterwards. But then trapped on the island, finding a dead body in a car, and a note saying, “time to tell the truth” … not quite the fun weekend any of them were expecting.

This was a fast paced, locked room (or isolated island) thriller that kept me turning the page. I really enjoyed the multiple POV and my favorite chapters were past chapters written as “Book Notes” where we learned about Emily from what seem like research notes or articles written about her. I liked getting to learn about her character and about the manipulative games she would play. I do wish we got more of a connection between her manipulative personality and her murder.

The Engagement Party is the book for you if you like secluded locations, unreliable narrators, unlikeable characters (anyone could be the killer), and the "final girls" kind of tropes. The atmosphere is mysterious and dark. Unexpected characters turn up murdered. If this sounds like a book you'd enjoy, pick it up! For me, if I can't like at least one of the characters, I have a hard time staying connected to the plot or getting that "I can't put this down" feeling.

If you’re looking for a great “who done it?” book, this is the right one for you. This is a very intriguing mystery/murder suspense. It kept me on the edge of my seat! I recommend it to any murder/mystery fans out there! This book is told in multiple viewpoints with short chapters, which I enjoyed. The book has well developed characters with a thrilling plot. I am going to look for other books by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to share my unbiased review on the book!

I loved the location of this story. Set on a remote island that can only be accessed at low tide.

Emily was a college student who was murdered after a party. Now, twelve years later her former friends are meeting up at the island to celebrate the engagement of one of the friends.

Things start to go wrong almost immediately after the party starts.

I loved to hate these characters and didn't guess the whole truth until the end.

A little over the top at times, but good all the same.

Thanks to netgalley and William Morrow for the arc.

I really enjoyed the mystery of suspense of this one! If you're a murder mystery fan, you'll wanna check it out. I loved that it was a new spin on the locked room mystery type of story and that the secrets were stacking up right from the start. I was pulled right in and loved the pace.

The Engagement Party by Darby Kane is a fast paced, locked room thriller that leaves readers screaming “oh my got what?!?!?” to the very last page.

I read this book in less than 24 hours - from the start, Darby Kane does an amazing job of slowly letting the readers in on what’s going on and who to look out for - except this information keeps changing every page. Through notes for a book and multiple POVs, we see a group of college friends gather to celebrate an engagement, but this party isn’t what it seems and the island they gather on certainly is not as safe as it appears.

As the details regarding the night their friend Emily dies become exposed, the suicide of Emily’s killer starts to look more suspicious, and this group of characters becomes a lump of suspects as the reader tries to discern who is innocent and who is guilty - and who just needs to survive the night.

This was a feat of thriller genius and was such a rush to read. I audibly gasped and screeched out loud while I read, and had to fight my urge to scan the pages quickly to find out what was going on. I loved that the big twists kept coming and the end I couldn’t predict! I am a huge fan of Darby Kane and cannot wait to see what she has in store for readers with her next read. If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller to binge, this one is for you.

The Engagement Party by Darby Kane. Pub Date: December 5, 2023. Rating: 3 stars. A locked room thriller, this book is full of a "group of friends" who get together on a small island to celebrate the engagement of one of the friends. What ensues is a battle of manipulation, disturbingly psychological games, murder, mystery and everything in between. At times I found this book so far fetched I was rolling my eyes, but I also found it difficult to put down in the beginning. By the end, I felt it dragged, but overall the fast paced, short chapters allowed for the progression of the thriller. Creepy vibes for sure and how these people could even consider each other friends is beyond me. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #theengagementparty

Thank you to #netgalley, #killercrimeclub and #darbykane for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Engagement Party.

This book never had a dull moment from the moment I started reading the plot grabbed me. Each of the characters were developed well as the plot moved along.

There is a group of university friends who all have secrets and try to keep them hidden until one weekend when they meet up to celebrate the engagement of one of them. I was on an emotional rollercoaster until the very end.

If you want to read a story that is fast paced, awesome character development and keep you on your toes, this book is for you.

What a whirlwind of a book. The locked door theme but on an island was a fun spin. The twists of this one just kept coming. Told in multiple point of views kept you engaged and wanting to figure out the mystery.

A horrible secret held by a group of friends threatens to destroy them. Ruthie invites the group to an engagement party of a member of the group. No good can come from going to a secluded house on an island. What secrets are they holding? How can they know who to trust? This page turner kept my interest the entire time. I recommend this thriller.

What could go wrong on a private Maine island surrounded by old college friends who are celebrating a recent engagement? Well, for starters, as the weather starts to turn a dead body suddenly appears that brings back past trouble. Someone wants the truth of who really murdered Emily Hunt back when they were in college and this friend group knows the truth. As they try and figure out who is tormenting them past secrets are revealed that might just get them all killed.

Loved this lock room mystery! This book is told in multiple POVs and gives you glimpses into each of the character’s minds. You may think you know the ending but you have no idea.

This book got me out of my reading slump. The short chapters, and fast pace will keep you reading long into the night. Secrets and lies seem to be the only things this group of friends from college have, and getting together twelve years after tragic events ended their college experience brings everything to the surface. This book is a wild ride filled with mystery, murder, terror, suspense and eventually clarity. Highly recommended to those who like locked door mystery/thrillers, and the idea of getting revenge on those who managed to escaped justice for a long time. (4.5 stars)

🌟🌟🌟🌟
I was super excited to get an early copy of “The Engagement Party” by Darby Kane. It has most of the elements I enjoy in a thriller.

There are multiple perspectives and not all are reliable. One of the perspectives is “Book Notes”. These chapters are the best, in my opinion! They contain information about Emily, a college woman who was murdered. They discuss her friends and family, include passages from her diary, and discuss the suspects in her murder. The short chapters tend to end with a cliffhanger. Most of the characters have few or no morals, therefore, they aren’t very likable.

“Pretty Little Liars” is still my favorite book by the author, but this one is a very close second! This twisted and unpredictable locked-room thriller will keep you guessing until the very end!

Sincere thanks to the Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, Darby Kane, and William Morrow Books for this complimentary ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own and are left voluntarily.

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