I really wanted to enjoy this book because I was really impressed when I read The Good Lie by the same author. I liked some parts of this story, but ultimately it felt really forced and unrealistic when it came to the characters' motivations. It felt like characters were only good or bad based on predisposition, with no room for growth or nuance or surprise. In the future I would pick up more A.R. Torre because I have really enjoyed one of her books, but probably not an auto-buy author and I'll wait to hear a specific synopsis before picking up the next one.

When I was younger I would commit the ultimate crime, I read the last chapter, first.

I hated secrets and I felt books kept them from me!!

I just had to know EVERYTHING without pause.

I have since overcome this slight jist of madness and I wanted to high five myself today on how far I have come.

I relapsed….

I was all hyped up and ready to go. Poured a glass of wine, hit the bedroom early, and grabbed my book:

The Last Party

A.R Torre, you little rascal, you!

This book is twisty! The suspense was present early on and I just couldn’t help but take a peak at the ending! I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it!

This book is fantastic and even though I did cheat, I didn’t ruin the book for myself! There is no way I could when you have an author like Torre, behind the pen.

Don’t believe me? Check out this teaser:

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?

This is a very solid thriller.

While the reveal wasn't a complete surprise to me, I still enjoyed how the author handled it and I was definitely sold on our characters.

Perla was...special. Very special and I enjoyed reading her, even as I would never, ever want to know her in real life.

The author brought us a unique story and I'll read the author again!

This was dark.As dark as it can get.This book actually scared.I am terrified of what a human mind is capable of doing.How emotions can take backseat especially when it is about your own child,you are thinking of.
Masterful writing. PA.R.Torre is the one to watch.

This book was amazing! It definitely ranks in my top five. It was brilliantly written. I love the way it incorporated emails, and personal interviews and podcasts along with various points of view. It was so cool to hear the story unravel through different perspectives. It kept my attention all the way to the end. I definitely recommend this book.

WOW!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I read a lot of thrillers and they can become redundant. The Last Party by AR Torre was exciting and the suspense played out well. I felt the twists weren't cheesy or convenient. I just really liked this book!!

Definitely a page turner packed with action. You'll love to hate the main characters and that's always a sign of a great author! If you are a fan of Karin Slaughter, Harlan Coben, Faith Gardner, definitely check out this read! Thank you @netgalley and @thomasandmercer for a copy of this title. All my reviews are unbiased.

I am such a fan of this author, and as usual, she didn't disappoint! I could hardly put this book down! It had so many twists and turns, and I loved the multiple POVs, as well as the therapist and prison sessions/interviews. Perla was so awful and unlikable, but you couldn't wait to see what she did next!

This book is one where it's best to go in blind. Then buckle up and prepare for a wild ride!

Thank you, @netgalley, @alessandratorre4 ,and @amazonpublishing for the #gifted e-arc of this book!

If you love to hate a main character, this is the book for you! I’m not sure I have read a book witb a more unlikeable MC. I enjoyed Sophie’s POVs and wish we could have seen more from other characters, especially what they thought about Perla. Not as twisty as u would like but if you need a quick, dark thriller you might enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I seem to forget how amazing of a writer AR Torre is and then I read their next book and I’m reminded all over again why I have read all of their books!

I love multiple POV books and the fact that you’re inside the head of a potential murderer made this book one that I could not put down. I have been in a major reading slump basically all of 2024 and I think this book has broken that.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dark and twisted… i love a good pyschological thriller and the last party checked all the boxes. A mother obsessed with a serial murderer and a party coming up. Told from different characters this book gets more twisted as you go. A birthday party massacre 20 years ago and a possible replay. Hard to put down and hard to figure out who’s lying what they’re lying about and who’s going to die….

Perla is the most delicious evil person that you can not look away from. The husband was so bland that I kinda wanted to smack him.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

I immediately hated Perla as soon as I started this book and I was hoping that would turn, but it definitely didn't. Going in, I realized that she would be an unreliable narrator, and I love those so I couldn't wait fot the story to unfold.
Perla lives with her daughter and her loving husband, but underneath she's a lunatic. She's plotting to make her daughter's birthday this year a spectacle.
There were things I guessed right up front here and that made it a little hard for me because I really want the big reveal to be something I didn't see coming, but there were so many other twists and turns along the way that it made it worth it to keep going. I was on the edge of my seat the last 20% of the book and couldn't put it down. I had to know how it ended.

Obsessed with A.R. Torre. I frequently rate her books highly and this was no exception and might be one of the best yet. These books all need more publicity because I have no doubt they would take off!

I was super excited to read this book, as I have enjoyed other books from the author in the past.

This one just completely fell apart for me and so for that reason, I DNF'd it.

I would love to recommend this, but I cannot. I would go for other books before this one.

WHOA!!! If you're looking for a fast-paced, dark, intense thriller, look no further! A.R. Torre managed to hook me from the very beginning with this one and offered a dark and twisty rollercoaster ride with the turn of every page. The pace is perfection, the character development is superb and I absolutely love the short chapters. All along you'll wonder where it's all going and how it's coming together and suddenly all pieces fall into place leaving you SHOOK! Absolutely fantastic! A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a dark and disturbing story. And I was equally obsessed, fascinated and unsettled. I was definitely very curious to see where the story was headed.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This one is so different than anything I have read lately. I could not put this dark, twisty, thriller down! Perla was a crafty villain that made my jaw drop open with her evil plotting! I am usually not shockable and this book has me shook! 5 stars!

"The Last Party" by A.R. Torre is a gripping thriller that delivers an emotional rollercoaster of twists and turns. Told through multiple points of view and interspersed with news clips and neighbor interviews at the start of each chapter, the narrative grabs hold of you from the very beginning. This story will have you in a literary chokehold from beginning to end!

This book is tailor-made for fans of fast-paced thrillers with short, intense chapters (my favorite!). It strikes a perfect balance of being dark without delving into excessive graphic detail, making it both chilling and compelling. Torre weaves a complex web of lies, secrets, and deception that keeps you guessing until the very end.

The characters are so well developed, each harboring their own secrets and motivations, which adds to the story. The plot is CRAZY, throwing one twist after another at the reader, ensuring that you are constantly on the edge of your seat. This story will give you whiplash from its surprising twists!

This might be A.R. Torre's best thriller. If you enjoy thrillers that are as intelligent as they are gripping, this one is for you! A 5-star thrilling must-read.

This is the second book I’ve read my the author and it was another twisty and suspenseful read. I was racing through the pages while on vacation and enjoyed it immensely. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.