Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lizzie is fresh out of rehab, after she went off the rails when her father suddenly passed away, and now she is on the way to a secluded family retreat with her estranged brother, mother (Claire), mother's new husband and his daughter. On the first night while everyone is enjoying dinner a strange figure appears from the forest... her dead father. While he has faked his own death and now returned to protect his family from Claire's new husband but by morning someone will have killed him for real this time. Who struck the fatal blow and why? When secrets begin to emerge about Claire's new husband and his families sordid past everyone could be in danger.

**Possible spoilers**

I liked the premise of this murder mystery and suspense of this family drama with twist and turns and never truly knowing who to trust. The story is told form Lizzie's perspective with her mother and brother not trusting her due to sins of her past. There are some glaring plot holes that bumped me from liking it more... one example someone kills Lizzie's father, Declan, for real this time but none of the other characters seem all that bothered with the fact that they are living with a murder as they all remain at the house for the weekend and carry on as if its no big deal that the dead Declan has be resurrected. The storylines trying to twist old family history with the current characters is flimsy and obvious with the killer being my primary suspect from early on, not a twist. The idea was there but not the execution.

I had the audio version read by Roisin Rankin who does a good job and is easy to listen to.

The Party by Tríona Walsh, narrated by Roisin Rankin, took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, but unfortunately, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. As an audiobook lover, I was determined to see it through to the end, even though I struggled to connect with the characters. The slow pacing and monotone narration made it hard to fully immerse myself in the story, and I found myself drifting away at times.

The saving grace of the book was the abundance of unexpected twists that kept me on my toes. From the very beginning, the plot was filled with shocking revelations, and I appreciated that the surprises continued throughout the story, rather than being reserved for the ending. Lizzi, the main character, stood out as a realistic and logical protagonist, adding depth to the narrative.

While the audiobook might not have been my cup of tea, I believe others might find it more engaging with a different narrator. The Irish accent provided an authentic touch to the setting, but the delivery could have been more dynamic to bring the characters to life. In the end, the twists and the compelling character of Lizzi make The Party worth a read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers with a blend of family drama and suspense. Remember, we all have different tastes in books, so give it a shot and see if it captivates you in ways it didn't for me!

Alright, we are back to the thriller genre! I've been taking us all over the place here lately. Which is my preferred reading method, just read a little bit of everything! Let us jump in to The Party. I will first say that I do not like any of the descriptions of this book. I read them after reading the story and they do not really do the story justice...I don't know if that's the correct term. First, each version of the book (kindle/audio) have a different description. I posted the Kindle version with the tag end of the audio because the audio version of the description just seems false.

This book follows the POV of Lizzie (not Claire as the description makes you think) the daughter of Claire and sister of Liam. Liam and Lizzie are adult children who are going to the woods with their mother Claire and her new husband George. No one was at the wedding so they are doing a surprise honeymoon weekend with the whole family. Including George's adult daughter Phaedra...who also secretly got married to a millionaire American named Hudson. Liam and Lizzie's dad died 5 years prior and everyone developed issues. Not only did their dad die but he killed himself after financally ruining his company and leaving his family with nothing. Liam and Lizzie lost their dad and have that trauma to contend with. Lizzie took to the drink, and coming to this weekend retreat she is straight out of a 6 month stent in rehab after drinking and driving and nearly killing her brother. Claire had to deal with her husbands death, financial ruin, and being a single mom to now traumatized children. Lots of mess and Lizzie coming out of rehab and this whole trip we see a lot of attempts to trust again, to build back the life that was lost, doubts of everything Lizzie says because of her issues and what not.

If you read the description you know that dad isn't really dead. He fakes his death (what a horrible human) then comes back when he hears that Claire has gotten hitched, then he dies for real and now we have to figure out who did it and why. The suspicion at one point or another is pinned on pretty much everyone. As you go along you realize that no one is as they seem and everyone is hiding something. I was happy I called it early on! There were lots of twists and turns and back tracking in the story though as Lizzie is trying to stitch all the mysteries together.

The narrator did a great job with the suspense and helping develop a voice for each of the characters. She did a fantastic job bringing everyone to life. The story was kind of all over the place though and there were some pretty crazy leaps and bounds going on. Overall, the story is pretty good. There are lots of family dynamics going on in the story, from both sides of the family. Lots of manipulation, lies, and suspense as well. This book is currently on Kindle Unlimited as well for those KU lovers. It is worth a read.

A remote country estate. A wedding party. Two broken families united because of the love of two people. A jolly atmosphere. An uninvited guest. A murder. 

This is how it all starts and the weekend that should be filled with love and laughter and feels like a new start slowly but surely turns into a nightmare... Who is the hunter and who is the prey and why?

It's funny how people feel safe when they have wifi or a cell phone. Well, when you are in a place surrounded by woods away form civilization, you are as lost as people were about 30 years ago and you have to rely on your own strength. 

Well, Georgie boy, I am glad I am not married to you, because if you would take me there on this mini honeymoon, I would divorce you straight away. ;) 

I loved how the dynamics between Claire and her children changed and how George was caught between a rock and a hard place but doing the right thing in the end.

My favorite character is Hudson because of the decision he makes at the end of the book.

I liked the narrator who did a splendid job.

An enjoyable story with some twists and revelations I did not see coming, but sometimes a bit too slow paced. 4 stars.

Thank you

An enjoyable listen. The storyline was good, I enjoyed the characters and I loved the addition of the poison garden. The bit about the poisoned deer not so much.

The narrator (Roisin Rankin) was wonderful, she brought the characters to life for me. I enjoy his author quite a bit, and this was no exception.

Three and a half sparkly stars!

I absolutely adored this audiobook. I loved that I had the opportunity to listen to this rather than just reading it, I think it was a much better experience for me in the case of this book! The twists were fantastic and absolutely unexpected.

It seems I’m in the minority, but I really couldn’t get into this. I went back to it three different times after listening to other audiobooks, I guess I was hoping it would get better.

It was super predictable and the “Twists” weren’t twists. No one was likeable, really. I also had to skip parts at the end to just get on with it.
Every single thing was described. I do enjoy descriptive paragraphs, but this was overkill. Just useless words to fill up the story which made it a bit boring.

I personally didn’t enjoy this, but I imagine some may. Readers who enjoy predictable crime stories.

The Party
By Triona Walsh

Your mom gets secretly married and invites you to your new step-fathers manor.
Everything seems normal until it doesn’t.
Your new step-father is a scammer who has scammed women out of their life’s saving and now he is trying to do it your mom. What do you do?

I enjoyed listening to this ARC from NetGalley and Bookouture. Thank you for the opportunity to listen.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio copy in exchange for a honest review. Lizzie struggled with the death of her father Declan and is fresh out of rehab when she joins her mother and brother to celebrate her mothers new marriage. They are at the new husband’s remote estate when Declan turns up alive and well! A gripping thriller with twists and turns. Who can you trust?

Narrated by Roisin Rankin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Party by Tríona Walsh 2. 5 stars

"The Party" by Tríona Walsh begins with a thrilling and action-packed introduction, immediately capturing the reader's attention. However, as the story unfolds, it tends to lose its initial momentum, leading to a relatively stagnant middle section. As I approached the conclusion, I found myself becoming increasingly detached from the characters, resulting in a sense of disengagement and detachment.

never got a chance to finish, it was archived before i was able to complete it. but what i had read was good

It has been SO long since I have listened to an audiobook. I am definitely a physical book gal...BUT...I think I am ready to embrace audiobooks. I absolutely LOVED The Party by Triona Walsh! This was such a fast-paced and twisty thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. I had several different theories going throughout the book and the majority of them were way off base. I really enjoyed the narration and the setting was perfect. If you enjoy a twisty thriller with lots of family drama then definitely check out The Party! 4 Stars! #TheParty #NetGalley

I listened to the audiobook and totally enjoyed the tone and nuances of the narrator. Lizzie, just out of rehab, rejoins her mother and brother and her mother’s new husband, daughter and boyfriend on a trip to George’s remote estate in Ireland. The suspense builds on the journey there as tensions between the characters become obvious. At times I struggled with all the comings and goings of the characters in and out of the estate, along with all the suspicious threads wrapping around the estate. and definitely with the big surprise guest.
The pacing was so fast and then had a major slow down as all the guests were suspects in the eyes of the reader. I admit that several times I backtracked thinking I had missed something while momentarily distracted by life going on around me…dogs barking etc.
In the long run The Party seemed more like a family drama with suspense thrown in instead of the thriller I was expecting but still a satisfying read.
Many many thanks to Triona Walsh, Bookouture, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of listening to this arc of this book, published on June 23rd.

I thought the story was going to be interesting but it got very slow and not much was happening at some points.

This was a really fun thriller. The title had me a bit confused, as I was expecting the events to happen at a raging party and not over the course of several days in a hidden forest estate with a small group. Also the description makes you think the story is about Claire but it's told from her daughter's POV. That confusion aside, this book was really clever, action packed, and kept me guessing. I liked that it was all told in one consistent time line except for the prologue. This was a fun one! The narrator was a bit hard for me to understand because of the accent, so I had to slow it down from my usual reading speed. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book started off well and I had high hopes for it. However, as the book progressed I found myself feeling a little disappointed. Some of the plot was a bit unbelievable, some predictable, and at one point it seemed the author had forgotten what she had previously written as the plot didnt make sense (the missing quad bike wasnt actually missing).
As this was an audiobook I must also review the narrator. Her voice and accent were very nice to listen to, and I could distinguish between the characters based on the narrator's use of tone. I would definitely recommend the narrator.

I enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator was engaging and the storyline move along quite swiftly.

My only negative feedback is that it became a bit "Scooby Doo" at the end, in that one of the central characters spelled out the entire plot as part of the climax of the book. I prefer an ending that allows the reader to figure out the finer point of the plot, instead of it needing to be revealed fully as an explanation by one of the characters. This would have been a four-star rating for me, had it not been for the way it ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 ⭐️
Okay I loved this.
I wasn’t expecting that much going into it but by the first few chapters the plot had me hooked and I had to keep reading to figure out what happened next.

What do you do when you're celebrating your wedding with just a few carefully chosen friends and family and suddenly your first husband turns up? The husband that you have believed to be dead?

The Party sucked me in from the start. I listened to the audiobook and caught myself stopping what I was doing to listen intently. That's how much I enjoyed this.

Read by Roisin Rankin, I found myself making excuses to be able to listen to this although I couldn't listen in the car and I wanted to be able to give my full attention to the book. Roisin, read at a perfect pace and put plenty of emphasis where it was needed.

Twisty, turny and the kind of book that will keep you awake reading until you get to the end.

Wonderful story and the narration was very well done. The person reading really drew you into what was happening in the story and brought it to life for you.