Wow! What the heck did I just read?! This book took me a while to write a review because of the emotional roller coaster ride it brings you on. When I say twists, man they just keep coming. I do not think I have hated a character more than Perla in quite a while but yet I could not stop reading this book. I love AR Torre and have read a few of her books, they always keep me on the edge of my seat.

Perla lives in a fancy home with her husband and almost 12 year old daughter. She appears to be a loving wife and mother but looks are not what it seems. We get to see the inner workings of Perla’s mind come out in tiny tidbits but boy is she evil and manipulative. Perla is obsessed with the “Folcrum Murders” that happened 20 years ago. Meanwhile Dr. Valden is visiting Lee Folcrum in prison to get help with his dissertation. Lee trades stories for an Arby’s sandwich.

This book is told from multiple POV’s including, Perla’s, her daughters journal, the media, Lee Folcrum and more. I was able to guess the biggest twist, but there were so many others ones. It is honestly a crazy book and I recommend it, but know going in, it’s dark! Some parts were difficult to read. This is my favorite kind of book, fast paced with short chapters!

🎉🔪𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘
𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
🗓️𝖠𝗎𝗀𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝟤𝟢, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟦(𝖲𝖠𝖵𝖤 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖣𝖠𝖳𝖤 🚨)
𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟜.𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤!★★★★✬(𝓇ℴ𝓊𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃ℊ 𝓊𝓅)

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...”A loving mother. A notorious murderer. Both have secrets to hide”….Go in blind, please!!

😋𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...I absolutely LOVE A.R. Torre! This is only my third book by her, but they have all been such favs! 💯 This one is dark. It is disturbing. It is twisty. It is MF insane…in the best of ways, of course. Some of the twists will be a smidge obvious, but others are not at all. The ending is highly satisfying 🙌& if you haven’t read this author yet..this would be a great one to start with! I highly recommend 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑳𝒊𝒆 & 𝑨 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒇𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓! Those were 5 star reads for me!👌This cover is so fierce too, am I right! 🔥 @alessandratorre4 you are the bomb💣✌️

Torre knows how to keep me guessing in her psychological suspense novels, especially in The Last Party. The high-grade angst never lets up, and attempting to work out ‘whodunit’ was challenging. I should have known better because this is the queen of masterful trickery. She successfully took me on a helter-skelter ride with its wildest twists and turns in one of the most mind-blowingly ingenious plots.

Get this! If there were one MC I utterly loved to hate, it had to be Perla Wultz. She wants for nothing and has taken precious time to become highly respected in her tight social circle. But, by now, I’d cottoned on to her manipulative ways which she’s good at. Motherly love and affection towards her husband she does flawlessly. But who’s she fooling and is the homelife she’d built so perfect? Her family certainly seemed to want to please her. Yet I still gave her pause despite her dark thoughts, and having an unhealthy obsession with whom you may ask makes for a gripping read.

I liked how Torre included beginning-of-shortish-chapter epigraphs, and how she’d woven the story together from multiple points of view. One, of course, is Perla’s, the other being an interested party who questions a convict assumed of committing a despicable crime years back. While being interviewed, the subtle cues of sarcasm and hints that are dropped are nothing less than word-clever. And then Sophie, Perla’s daughter, writes down unnerving thoughts in a diary I would never have expected from a pre-teen. However, the character I really took to was her father. Although he has an ace up his sleeve, neither he nor I could have known about the shocker to come.

Torre certainly leaves everything up to your imagination in her latest offering. Lovers of darkish, fast-paced thrillers, pick up this book. You won’t regret it! Bravo, Torre!

ARC gratefully received from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an honest review.

When I get nervous, I anxiously get up and walk over to the refrigerator and look inside. I know what’s there. I just need a bite of something to keep going. It’s after hours and I’m in the middle of a book by A.R. Torre and I can’t stop reading. I have a bite of ice cream, and then a few chips and then a half-eaten cookie. My mind is moving fast from the sugar and so are the pages. I stay up late reading just one more short chapter.

Perla, the wife, seems just too good to be true. She has inherited lots of money so she has access to the best clothes, wonderful spa treatments and donations for charities. She reads people well and she is smart with each calculated step she takes. She is married to the handsome Grant with 11-year-old daughter, Sophie, who is well behaved. I don’t know any girl of that age that has a perfect personality like Sophie. We get it: something has to happen and it does. You may guess what it is but I bet you’ll keep reading to satisfy your desire to see how it all ends up.

I can’t get enough of Torre’s books. Each one is written well with lots of twists. Her stories are entertaining for those that love a good thriller especially when it’s time to head to the beach. This book can be read in a day or two. She keeps it moving with characters that are a little bit off – enough for us to realize this is just fiction.

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of August 20, 2024.

OMG!! PSA! 🚨 GET THIS BOOK!!! Okay guys…. @alessandratorre4 is already an auto buy author for me. I swear… this is her BEST yet!! 😍 Hands down 5 mind blowing stars.

Perla is cold.. calculating… and crazy! My favorite kind of character!! Don’t believe me? Well just you wait 😳…

You see Perla has the perfect husband… Grant is a model citizen and an amazing husband. Sophie is a sweet but sassy almost 12 year old. Our girl Perla… well she puts on a good act. 😀…but lucky us… we are privy to her thoughts…😬😳🤯…Let me tell you… that is pretty scary.😂

Flash back in time… to the Folcrum party. The what?? You know… the party where there was a bloody massacre…😳…at a 12 year old’s birthday 🥳 party. Thank god the murderer is in jail. 👏 Except… somebody wants a repeat… of the Folcrum party. 😳 OH Noooo…

This was edgy… dark.. twisted and PERFECTION!! 😳🤯🤯Guys… I have five books on my top 10 for the year… and this is one!!! Absolutely loved it!!! I promise this is DEFINITELY a MUST read!

A. R Torre is one of my favorite thriller authors, and if you’ve read any of her work, hopefully it’s not hard to see why.

I’m still not okay after finishing this one. It was WILDLY disturbing, but I absolutely could not put it down! Perla Wultz is one of the most despicable, vile, and manipulative characters that I have ever encountered. It’s hard to say too much about this one without feeling like you’re going to give something away so I’ll leave you with this…

If you enjoy fast paced, unhinged thrillers with short chapters, multiple POV, and twisty plots, The Last Party is for you.

This book was bananas, in all the best ways. Perla is possibly the most despicable character I've ever read about. While I could mostly see the writing on the wall throughout the book, it was still evilly delightful to follow Perla's antics and plans for creating The Last Party.
Not sure how to describe this one without giving it away, trigger warning for violence against children.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

Perla Wultz Lives in an affluent gated community with her husband and daughter. From the outside they seem like the perfect family but Perla has a secret obsession with a killer. Leewood Folcrum is serving a life sentence for confessing to murder of two young girls during a birthday party twenty-three years ago. Despite the age of the crime, nobody seems to want to forget. When a doctoral student comes to interview Leewood about his crime he discovers that everything is not what it appears to be. The past and present begin to tangle in a twisted web of lies and deceit putting a deadly plan into motion.

The Last Party is a twisty whodunnit that will leave your head spinning. I don’t think I have read a book by this author yet that I didn’t enjoy. This dark tale of murder and deceit was no exception. A cast of truly despicable characters will have you pointing fingers at everyone as a potential suspect. This is an unputdownable must read for 2024.

The story unfolds through the alternating perspectives of Perla, the journal entries of 11 year old Sophie, and the interviews between Dr. Valden and Leewood Folcrum, with emails and commentary from neighbors peppered in. The pace is fast and short chapters allow you to say “just one more” as you race to find out if Perla will succeed. As much as I enjoy Alessandra Torre’s dark romance novels, I love her twisty thrillers even more, ones that challenge my gray cells to solve big puzzles and guess upcoming twists before the ground moves beneath my feet and I get fooled again! I devoured this book too quickly. I guessed the big revelation a little earlier, but it never stopped me from enjoying the full throttle! Witness comments at the beginning of each chapter and unreliable narrators push you in different directions, playing smart games with you until the end.

The book captured my attn at the beginning. So many times I was telling myself this can't seriously be happening and next thing you know another tidbit of information to throw your brain into another direction. Then poof .. did I just read that! NO WAY!

Author did a fantastic job building the characters in the book. Also did a good job keeping the pace going so it did not feel slow.

Well done and looking forward to more from them.

Thank you NetGalley and author for the early copy of the book.

There are so many 5 star reviews on this book and I can see why.

Perla Wultz has a loving husband, an amazing daughter and a mysterious obsession with Leewood Folcrum, the man serving time for the brutal murder of his daughter and her friends 23 years ago at her 12th birthday party. Through many twists and turns, you learn more about Perla and this obsession, as well as the plans she has for the future with her family.

Ultimately, this book wasn't for me. I did not find it as gripping and unputdownable as other books. At times, I was almost bored while reading it I found the twists were quite predictable and not surprising. I only wanted to finish the book to see if my predictions were right (spoiler: they were) and not because I was drawn into the story.

All that being said, while this book wasn't for me, that doesn't take away from the well written story and the fact that so many other people loved it! This is definitely an unpopular opinion, so take it with a grain of salt and read some of the other amazing reviews!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and the author for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Title- The last party by @alessandratorre4
Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my first time reading a book by @alessandratorre4 and I must say, she did not disappoint. The main character in the story is incredibly evil and dark, with twisted motivations that are fascinating to uncover. I particularly enjoyed the different perspectives presented throughout the book, as they flowed seamlessly and added depth to the narrative. The twists and turns are expertly woven throughout the story, not just saved for a dramatic finale. I found myself eager to continue reading, eager to discover what would happen next. I can’t wait to explore more of this author’s work.

I already know this one is going to be a hot one as EVERYBODY can’t stop talking about it over here at @thrillerbookloversthepulse 🔥

Synopsis-

Perla Wultz lives with her husband, Grant, and their precious daughter, Sophie, in a gated Pasadena community. Affluent, sociable, and accomplished, Perla plays the part of loving wife and mother to perfection. It seems an ideal life, if not for a decades-old crime that has become Perla’s dark and consuming secret obsession.

Twenty-three years ago, Leewood Folcrum confessed to murdering two young girls during a birthday party. Though he’s been condemned to a life sentence, his crime is not forgotten. Not by Perla, nor by an inquisitive doctoral student interviewing Folcrum for his dissertation. He’s getting the killer to open up—about his motives, his confession, and the truth of what really happened on that horrible night.

As the past and the present entwine, the deceptions behind the infamous murder begin to surface. But who’s deceiving who now? And why? And as an ingeniously twisted plan is set in motion, who will be the next to die?

Run and add this one to your tbr asap as it doesn’t come out on kindle unlimited and for purchase until August 20 2024✨

What a unique story! I read a lot of thrillers and it is hard to find something unique. I really hated the main character from the start, and was hoping she wasn't THAT evil - I couldn't put this one down because I was hoping that either (1) she wasn't that bad and there would be some "twist" or that (2) she would have something deservingly-awful happen to her. I felt like I could see the "twist" with Grant coming - or at least could figure out that he was probably Lee's visitor. I didn't predict that Grant was the sibling of one of the murdered girls. Overall this was a great, twisty thriller. I've read many books by this author, and this is my favorite by far! The only feedback I have is that by the last third, I felt like the book was getting a little long/dragged out. I just wanted Sophie's party to start already, and I felt like it took forever to get to that point. Perhaps some chapters/editing that could cut it back just a bit.

Perla Wultz is married to Grant and has an 11 year old daughter, Sophie. They live in a gated community.
Not too far away is a prison where Leewood Folcrum resides. He was convicted of murdering two young girls at his daughter Jenny’s 12th birthday party. He was found holding his bloody daughter in his arms
Tim Valden is a doctoral student who visits Leewood to question him for a dissertation he’s doing.
The story was a dark psychological thriller told from multiple points of view. It takes the reader into the mind of a psychopath. The reader will see a narcissistic with delusions of grandeur, being number one and center of attention. Parts of the book were boring, predictable and not many shockers

This was a twisted thriller of a read! Perla and her husband Grant seem to have it all. The large house, the perfect careers and the single well behaved child. But the past is never far it seems. It is coming up on the anniversary of a horrific event, where three girls were brutally stabbed at a sleep over. The accused murderer was the father of one of the girls. The police took him in custody, he was charged and is serving a life sentence in prison. Grant's sister was one of the murdered girls and he has never gotten over that something seemed off about the whole thing. He never really fully believed Leewood did it, or at least not by himself. When a doctoral student shows up with meal offerings to Leeward in exchange for answer his questions, Leewood agrees to feed him a bit here or there. His heath is quickly declining and he may just be on his death bed soon. Plus this student has proven a few times he is out for the truth and has given inside information about the crime. So when a birthday party of a girl that same age is nearing and she will have two friends over, this just might be the time to prove who really did that crime over two decades ago. Has Leewood been innocent this whole time or was there a second person that can no longer keep the urge under control? This was so twisted, so crazy and the ending is just nuts! This was a very fast read. This is a novel Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse is talking about and will take the summer by storm! Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the complementary ebook and for Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse putting this author on my radar. This review is of my own opinion and accord.

“Sometimes it’s not the people that change. It’s the mask that falls off.”

Y’all, this book…. People are chatting it up and loving it over at @thrillerbookloversthepulse and now I see why!
It’s dark, twisted, wild and I LOVED it. The twists are not just at the end, they are throughout the story and it makes you want to binge it. It’s told in multiple POVs, includes some interviews and journal entries and has short chapters. I can’t wait to check out more of this authors work because this is phenomenal. My thrillers friends are going to want to check this one out!

Rapidily becoming one of my favorite authors, each book is tightly plotted and reads at a fast clip! Thanks for the arc!

Thank you to @thrillerbookloversthepulse for the #gifted copy.

WOW!!! This one you do not want to miss! This was the first book I have ever read by this author and it will certainly not be the last. Multiple POV. Lots of twists. Never a dull moment. And Perla? Boy, was she something else!!!

Thank you @netgalley for an advance digital copy!

A.R. Torre continues to cement herself as an autobuy author for me. I will devour anything she writes, knowing I will be satisfied! This read was no different. I loved the different viewpoints and the little twisty ending. I can't say too much without giving stuff away, but for a fun, fast, a lil bit psycho read, this is for you!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Let’s start this review off with this statement - Perla is the MOST f*cked up character I’ve ever read in a book!! 😳 (sorry for the language but seriously, she was CRAZY!!!) I couldn’t believe what I was reading but yet I could not put it down. This book is a quick read that grabs you from beginning to end.

So if it’s that great, why 1 star from being a perfect 5 star book? Well I thought it was predictable and not many shockers in there. I felt like I had the whole thing figured out early on. With that being said, I still very much enjoyed reading how it all played out. I liked the chapters alternating between different character’s POV. Another reason for knocking off one star is because of Grant. When you get further into the book you can’t help but think that the guy is a moron for several reasons that I can’t say without spoilers.

I definitely enjoyed this one and highly recommend it. I look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

To see other reviews I’ve left, check out my Instagram and Goodreads:
*Instagram - bookworm_traveler808
*Goodreads - Cherihy808