I could not put this down from start to finish. I figured out the main twist early but it honestly didn't matter because the writing was that good. I would give this 11 stars out of 10!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

the description of this book sounded good, but after the first few chapters i realized the main character was so much more interesting than my expectations. i did find myself confused at a few points throughout the story, but i felt like most of those questions were wrapped up in the end. a story that was not what i was expecting, but ended up being more intriguing!

A.R. Torre is an underrated, thriller queen!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What can I say about A.R. Torre's thriller books that I haven't already said? This is my 5th year reviewing her new release and every year it lives up to the hype. I've never given one of her books less than 4.5 stars and I don't plan on it anytime soon.

The Last Party tells the story of the most f'd up cast of characters you've ever read about. And that's pretty much all you need to know 🤣 In this story, a families obsession with a true crime event starts to consume their lives. If you love classic thrillers from the 2010s - but with a twist - this will be right up your alley.

The Last Party comes out August 20, 2024. Thank you #netgalley for the advanced copy.

Wow, just wow! This is one of the best books I’ve ever read.

This fast paced, dark and addictive thriller tells a story of lies, crimes and love. I really enjoyed the different POVs told in an interview style…. The main character Perla is so easy to hate, as her story unravels you realize that the past and the present are related in the most disturbing way.

This story got me from the very first chapter and kept me engaged until the very end. I HIGHLY recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a digital ARC copy.

🧁The Last Party by A.R. Torre🧁

Pages: 352
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Goal 2024: 33/100

✨ What is something interesting you have had happen at a sleepover? ✨

I fell in love with @artorre in 2022 when I read her book a good lie. It was a top read for me that year. Then @netgally had the last party by her and I knew I had to request it!

Thank you @amazonpublishing, @netgally and especially @alessandratorre4 for this advanced reader copy before the release date! The Last Party will release on august 20th, 2024!

Are you looking for a thriller that’s like Chris Watts meets Crime Junkie and “I am a killer” tv series? If so, this is it! I used to spend a lot of time reading up on true crime, watching series on killers and listening to podcasts. This kind of reflected all of those memories.

I loved this book and A R. Torre will always be an auto buy for me. I loved the suspense, the banter and trying to decide who was guilty & crazy.

I will say that the ending felt slightly rushed and there were some extra WTF details added that I felt unnecessary but overall a great read that kept me on the edge of my seat!

Synopsis below:

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


#readingreviews #reviews #books #read #booknerd #bookstagram #bookgoal #100books

Wow okay I haven’t read a psych thriller that I’ve loved this much since I read The Good Lie (also by AR Torre).

It follows the story of a convicted felon, Lee, along with the story of a family with a seemingly unhinged and bizarre mother, Perla.

Lee was convicted of murdering 2 young girls at his daughter’s 12th birthday party and from the start it’s unclear as to whether or not he’s really guilty.

Perla seems to have a picture perfect family from the outside, but as we get to know her better we quickly realize that everything is not as it seems.

I don’t want to give away more of the plot but trust me that if you like psych thrillers, READ THIS! I will say it’s a tiny bit gory and quite dark; obviously a story about murdered 12 year old girls is going to be dark but wanted to add that disclaimer.

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Another great read from A.R. Torre. If you love a great thriller with short chapters, multiple points of view, and plot twists then you’ll love this new book by A.R.Torre. It was suspenseful and had me hooked from the first page to the last. I highly recommend this great read!!

4.25 Stars

This book is a bit weird. I'm always slightly confused when I don't know who to root for. And everyone we meet in the first few chapters ... seems a bit sociopathic? Or at least some kind of ...pathic.
Perla is our main character. A rich 35 year old mother and wife. With a weird fascination for a guy who killed two preteen girls 23 years ago.
And then it only gets weirder and ... I don't even know!
But we're here for it and we keep wondering and guessing and ... yeah - you kinda might guess what is what pretty early on - the clues are a bit too obvious - but I didn't care. I loved reading this.
We might even find someone to root for towards the end. LOL!
It was a really interesting and slightly strange book. But I would so watch the movie!
I loved the very many shortish chapters - so you can breathe a bit in between the craziness!
The cover is not really my favorite. It doesn't fit with anything in the book. There's no fire. No one smokes. It looks a bit porny - of which there is also nothing in here. Also the title. I was expecting some kind of huge Hollywood party thing. But the two parties in the book are birthday parties for 12 year old girls. So all that is a bit weird too - but that's what the book is supposed to be I guess. Weird. LOL!
It was mysterious. Creepy. Suspensy. Sad. Psychotic. Weird. And so much more.
READ IT!

A.R. Torre does it again! The Last Party was full of suspense, anticipation, and twist you never see coming! This is a must read for everyone who loves Thrillers

The storyline on this book was unique to other thrillers I have read. I figured out the twist pretty early on but I was surprised on how it played out towards the ending of the book. The main character Perla made my stomach turn.

WOW! This book grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let go till the last page.. The main character is named Perla and although you should hate her, she is written in such a way that you can’t quite commit to the hate. I loved everything about this book!

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!

Her latest thriller, “Last Party,” was perfectly executed, ready to be consumed in one sitting (of course, still keeping you on your toes, at the edge of your seat, and guaranteed to make your eyes glued to your e-readers, making you afraid to even breathe). This psychological thriller is another twisty, entertaining ride you can’t resist, even though the main character is a very unlikable narcissistic sociopath with a name similar to my favorite undergarment brand.

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 conclusion was also well-crafted. I cannot give this book less than five stars, and I can honestly say that A. R. Torre (Alessandra Torre’s pen name when she ventures into the dark side, handling the genre change perfectly) is one of my auto-approved authors for the reason that she never ceases to amaze me.

Let’s talk about the main plot, which revolves around Perla Wultz, a perfectionist, self-absorbed, dominant mother, married to the sweetest and most gorgeous nerdy guy, Grant, you can imagine. They are raising their intelligent, well-mannered daughter, Sophie, who is 11 years old, in a secluded Pasadena suburban community.

Everything seems picture-perfect about the family, but as Sophie’s 12th birthday approaches, Perla’s obsession with a 20-year-old true crime story reaches another level. She believes it may help exonerate the man behind bars and plans to retell the story by creating a reenactment of the murder scene. The Folcrum Murders, a 20-year-old urban legend story for podcasters, involved Leewood Folcrum, who was found in his trailer with his 12-year-old daughter, Jenny, with her throat slashed in his arms, accompanied by her two friends lying on the floor.

Perla’s strange obsession with Leewood leads her to contemplate getting rid of her family and building a new life with him, at the expense of leaving her own family behind. But why is she so keen to help a notorious murderer? And why does her husband hide crime scene photos from the 20-year-old case in his study? Could Perla be taking things too far to satisfy her murderous cravings? Could her husband be hiding dangerous secrets from them? And what about their sweet 11-year-old daughter? The things she’s writing in her journal can rattle anyone! What is she hiding from her parents?

Overall, this intelligent, “what the heck did I just read” kind of twisty, extremely wild ride is irresistible! I highly recommend it and look forward to reading more of A. R. Torre’s upcoming works in the near future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with this exciting thriller’s digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I feel like this was a very original thriller, I’m not sure if I’ve read one quite like this! This book was truly a ROLLERCOASTER (in all the best ways, of course!) The MC was truly INSANE - in all the ways that you want a crazy unreliable character to be! I could not put this one down!! It truly kept me guessing the whole time. At one point I thought I had the twist figured out, turns out it wasn’t even the twist 😅😅 AR Torre is truly becoming an auto buy author for me and I was so excited to be able to read this one!! I loved this one!

I am a huge A.R. Torre fan and was so excited to see she has another book coming out in August. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for The Last Party!

Perla Wultz was quite the character and the back and forth between her and a man in jail for murder kept me on my toes. It was a quick, intriguing read; I don’t think I’ve ever read a premise like this one. If you loved her other books, you will also like this one!

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC!

Holy. Smokes. A.R. Torre can write one heck of a twisty, suspenseful, psychological thriller. I could not stop reading this book. It hooked me fast and did not let go.

Perla and Grant are a well off couple, living in an affluent part of town with their daughter Sophia, who is about to turn 12. Leewood Folcrum is serving life in prison for the murder he committed during his daughter’s 12th birthday party decades ago. Torre gives us looks at both past and present as we weave through this seriously dark and gruesome story. The characters are flawed, complex, and full of secrets… all of them.

Torre builds the tension throughout this novel to the point that I was holding my breath. It was uncomfortable in the very best way. The twists were pretty predictable for the most part, but not in a way that felt disappointing. It felt intentional as a result of the way the story was being told. I absolutely devoured this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the opportunity to read this eARC.

I’m not sure WHAT I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. This is a seriously dark tale from start to finish. The unique storyline gripped me from the beginning. The plot twists seemed intentionally obvious but the built up tension had me on the edge of my seat regardless. I was anticipating the confrontation as soon as little tid bits were slowly getting revealed. I can’t say anything specific on how I feel about the characters without spoiling the story, just know they are written incredibly well. The ways in which the present timeline mirroring the past really had my mind spiraling.

This one was juicy and really a page turner! Finally something I felt was fresh in the psychological thriller world.

A twisty unusual book starring Perla Wultz who lives a pampered life with her husband, Grant, and daughter, Sophie. (Think Ladies that Lunch,) Perla is obsessed with a horrible crime that took place years ago at a birthday party, claiming the lives of two girls who attended the party. Although Leewood Folcrum confesses and is in jail for the crime, not everything adds up.

Safe to say, that is all I should share, as everything else is always in question! Join this family as Sophie's own birthday nears and find out whom is keeping secrets from whom! Fast, twisty, breakneck speed surprises and will keep you on your toes until the end!
#thomas&Mercer #thomasandmercer #artorre #thelastparty

The Last Party by A. R. Torre is a psychological thriller that is a captivating read with well developed characters. The story explores Perla's thoughts and, combines multiple stories to create a gripping narrative.. The plot twists are surprising and unexpected.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This book hooked me right from the beginning. The story was quite intriguing. After everything that we discovered while reading I had more and more questions which is what I look for in thrillers. I think the book built up to the ending well and kept you with some unanswered questions. Loved it