Well, this was quite a read! Perla is married to Grant, and they have an 11-year-old daughter, Sophie. Perla inherited quite a bit of money from her parents, and they live a charmed life in Pasadena. But behind Perla’s perfect façade lies a devious mind. She dreams about starting over, but not in the usual way. Pearla thinks about how much notoriety murder might bring her. Perhaps a scenario eerily similar to The Folcrum Murders that happened so many years ago. She seems rather obsessed with the man, Leewood Folcrum, the man convicted of the heinous crime. He spends his days now slowly rotting away in prison. Why would he have killed these girls, and will he ever share his reasons? Grant seems obsessed with this old crime too. What is he hiding? What is Perla hiding? Heck, how much is Sophie hiding?
This book just kept me flipping pages to see how the plot lines would come together. Perla was some character, not someone I’d want for a neighbor.

I was hooked immediately by Perla Wultz and her unhinged personality. I found her to be such a fascinating character. Her daughter was also quite fascinating and I wish there had been more of her. I devoured this book in two days, which is not typical for me. I loved how fast paced and clever it was. The plot twists were somewhat easy to guess but that didn't affect my enjoyment of the story at all.

Another 5 star read by A.R. Torre! This might be her best thriller yet. Torre's characters are so thought out and so twisted. You're sucked into the story within the first pages. I appreciate the chance to read and review this ARC and look forward to reading even more of Torre's work in the future.

This was fun, I've had a hit or miss time with A.R. Torre in the past. I loved the Good Lie, but nothing really met that for me. This is definitely a close runner up. Twisty and turny without being too deep.

What a warped and fascinating novel! Perla Wultz lives with her husband, Grant, and daughter, Sophie. They are well off, living in an affluent community, but that wasn't how Perla grew up. She continues to hide the dark secrets from her past.

As the story goes on, we see Perla obsessed with a crime spanning over two decades ago, where Leewood Folcrum confessed to murdering two young girls during a birthday party. He has been condemned to life but is now opening up more to an interviewer about the crimes. As the past and present intersect, the author weaves a clever, twisted story that had me flying through the pages.
Such an addictive read and another one I recommend.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for this gifted review copy.

Many thanks to @thrillerbookloversthepulse for having me on this tour!

WOW! My girl is back! A.R. Torre never disappoints with her thrillers—and 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚 is absolutely no exception!

This was insanely good; diabolical and chilling in all the right ways! Unlikeable characters, dual first-person POVs, ominous interview excerpts, and obsessive fan mail to a killer. What more could you ask for?

Torre is at the top of her game with this dark and sinister masterpiece! It’s so binge-worthy you won’t be able to put it down once you start—and the character development…absolutely brilliant. 👌🏼This one’s going on my best of 2024 list!

Additional thanks to @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

All I have to say is wow: what tightly woven plot with twists and turns all throughout. No one is trustworthy; they're all hiding secrets, and I was on the edge of my seat for most of the novel. I also really appreciate a mystery/thriller where I didn't see what the reveal was until the author wanted me to, but then thinking back I could see the breadcrumbs that were dropped that made the reveal inevitable while still surprising.

Yes! Yes! Yes!
Chef's Kiss

This is my first A.R. Torre novel and you my dear just gained a new fan .

I've said it before , but it's books like this that ignite my reading passion.

The Last Party is a cleverly well written addictive psychological thriller .

I loved how Torre patiently planted little breadcrumbs through out the story for us to munch on to keeping you satisfied every turning page.

"Maybe we're all just psychopaths waiting for our trigger. Or maybe you killed earlier in life and no one ever caught you."

"Sometimes it's not the people that change. It's the mask that falls off"

A loving mother. A notorious murderer . They both have reasons to hide their secrets.

Without giving too much away The Last Party, is edgy , dark, suspenseful , gripping , dark humor, and shocking! It's everything you want and expect in a thriller novel!

Set with multiple POV's we follow the life of Perla Wultz and her family Grant and brilliant daughter Sophie . While Grant rarely talks of his past of his sisters death many years ago, Perla also does not disclose much of her past before her adoption.

When we are not reading about the Wultz family we are following Leewood Folcrum Inmate 82145 and Leewood doesn't have much to say about what happened to those 3 teenage girls 23 years ago , but it was a blood massacre and didn't end well for many.

If you love unhinged psychopathic characters , crazy plot twists and fast paced thrillers then is is a book for you and I promise you , you will be gasping multiple times . This unputdownable book will be in my top 10 for 2024 , at one point my husband said to me " that book must be really good you haven't moved a muscle in 2 hours "!!

I thank you Netgalley , Thomas & Mercer and A.R. Torre for this riveting digital ARC I feel honored I was gifted this advanced copy !!

The Last Party shows once again why A.R. Torre is one of my favorite thriller authors. This book was addictive. I wish life wouldn't have gotten in the way and I could have read it in one day because I didn't want to put it down.

Perla was unhinged. The more I got to know her, the more disturbed I was. Her relationship with her husband and daughter fascinated me. As things started to happen and the drama played out, I felt like I was driving by a car wreck: I wanted to cover my eyes but couldn't look away. Everything was so messy. And just when I thought I knew everything that was going to happen, Torre managed to surprise me. I should have known she would do that; she always does. 

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

📖 The Last Party
✍️ A. R. Torre
🗓️ 20 Aug 2024
📝 Thomas & Mercer

My first A. R. Torre book and what a wild ride this was. Oh I can’t stress enough about how much I enjoyed this!

The characters in this were brilliant, especially when we talk about evil characters. This was so skilfully done!

I would not read this if you’re not into dark stories, because of boy, this is dark. It’s evil in a delicious way that’s so weird to explain. Like the forbidden fruit, an accident you can’t look away from.

Some things I was guessing/expecting. But the story was so entertaining, I was drawn to it like a moth to the light. So. Well. Done.

⭐️Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own, I was under no obligation to review.

My first read by author A.R. Torre and I was quite pleased with it. "The Last Party" is a contemporary thriller with lots of twists, short chapters, an unreliable narrator, multiple POV's from messy & rich characters and an easy to follow plot & writing style. I enjoyed it & will likely look at her back-list & up-coming releases. My thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the "read now" and complimentary DRC - my pleasure to review it!

4.5/5⭐️

What a great read!
It was twisty, dark and very well done.

This book follows Perla, her husband Graham, their daughter Sophie, who have it all. Except Perla is obsessed with a crime that happened 23 years ago.

The story, the characters and pacing were all great. I loved how Perla's character was written in particular. Such a complex character. The unreliable narrator and short chapters all make it worth the time.
I am a fan of A. R. Torre's writing in general but this is by far her sharpest writing of the ones I have read.

The plot twists had me gasping in shock, I could not put it down. Very compelling and engaging.

I have read multiple books by A. R. Torre up until now and this one is my most favorite yet. This story has a lot of intrigue, suspense and drama.

I received an ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such unique character development in this novel! The Last Party was a dark and gripping story I could not put down.

Meet the crew:

Pedra - Omg, where to begin with this woman. She is terrifying yet captivating. I wanted to read more about her twisted mind. Pedra is mom to Sophie and wife to Grant. Her mindset is chilling...her plot is insane!

Sophie - Daughter, about to turn 12. She has been raised to have proper manners, etiquette and listen to her parents. But as a pre-teen, is coming in to develop her own stronger thoughts and views.

Grant - More or less, Pedra's trophy husband. She definitely runs the ship in the house and Grant puts up with his wifes oddities and actions. He has a tragic past of his own.

Folcum - Leewood Folcum. Prisioner. In jail for the murder of two young girls at his daughters birthday party twenty years ago.

Timothy Valden - Doctoral student doing a dissertation on Confessions and Deceptions. He has been meeting with Folcum at the prison to try and get the truth about what happened on the fateful night.

This novel was a roller coaster ride. While there are clues as to what is happening, it does not matter what your theories are because the story is so good, so fast, so captivating, you are going to not care if you are solving the mystery. My eyes could not read fast enough. It all comes together perfectly.

Amazing book. Worth the five stars and then some!

Another great, suspenseful novel from A. R. Torre. Everyone has their secrets including a loving wife and mother and a notorious killer. As their connection from the past comes to light, secrets are revealed and the future remains uncertain.

"The Last Party" was a page turner with a unique plot; it had me reading every second I could because I couldn’t believe what was happening–for better or worse. It's hard to share too much about the plot, without revealing spoilers- but let's just say that the plot was shocking and from a perspective unlike any that I've read before...and I've read a lot of thrillers!

Like many books in this genre, the plot was a little hard to believe. I was also able to guess several of the twists, but I don’t think it took away from the story. It was still fun to read, and was a good escape.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for sharing an advanced copy to read and review. The publishing date is August 20, 2024.

I was very impressed with this book! The depth of the characters and the mystery that slowly unraveled kept me captivated from start to finish. I would definitely recommend that any thriller lover give this book a try - it was excellent!

It’s going to take me a minute to process this one! The twists were so cleverly sewn into the story that you almost didn’t realize you were being given them. A. R. Torre never disappoints!!

The Last Party by A.R.Torre
I started reading this book w/o really even know what it was about. If A.R.Torre writes it, it’s bound to be a doozy. Well she did not disappoint. This is about Perla, a housewife and mother whose hobby is telling white lies. Her husband Grant is not a fan of what this is teaching their young daughter Sophie but Perla has worse things in mind, way worse things. The story jumps back and forth from this family to a man, Leewood who’s serving a life sentence in prison for murdering his young daughter and her two friends.
It drove me crazy trying to figure out if and how these two things could be connected. A great story with a phenomenal ending.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy of The Last Party by A. R. Torre. This book is dynamite! Perla was a very strange character and her need for constant adulation and attention made it impossible for me to relate to her. Her idiosyncrasies made for compelling reading though! I couldn’t wait to see what she did next. I loved the insight of the little quotes from other people before each narrative. If you love a suspenseful, well-written book with lots of shocking reveals, don’t miss this one. My mind is still reeling! 5 ardent stars.

I am never disappointed by AR Torre. This book was a wild ride and I LOVED it.

The character development was top notch. The way you were made to like Perla and slightly dislike her husband Grant really had me at first, and her obsession with a locked up killer was so interesting.

This one was a super fast paced and easy read, I finished it in one day but I was hooked from the get go.