An excellent locked room thriller from what I read of it (almost 50%) ! I had it downloaded before my trip and now back in the US- my download is missing in action; however I will get my hands on this book to finish it! I was fully into the characters and the SUSPENSE building up to it is unputdownable. Can't wait to dive back into Batchelor's work. Thank you for the opportunity!

This multiple pov tells the story of five uni pals reunited after 25 years to celebrate the life of their friend Tanya who died 25 years ago. It's engaging if a little predictable in places. Very entertaining. The development of characters is cleverly written to show the history of the story and the character arc. I would like a little more about Ginny but I loved ot. A quick read perfdct for anyone who likes a good mystery with predictable parts. The final reveal was fab. Thank you netgallery and publisher and author for thus 4.5 rounded up to 5 star read.

I have a little secret…

Penny Batchelor, just released one heck of a book, and it’s straight up poppin’!

The Reunion Party

This book deserves a standing ovation and I am SO here for it.

I cant even tell you what I thought I was going to read compared to what I actually did read but I can tell you, this book is one that I will never be able to stop talking about and it deserves every bit of the hype it is about to get..

Check out this teaser :

The outsider.
The geek.
The football star.
The quiet one.
The good Samaritan.

They're five unlikely people who wouldn't have met if not for Tania Armstrong-Jones. Widely popular and the resident It girl, she stormed into each of their lives with her beguiling grace and an inseparable friendship was formed. Until tragedy strikes, and Tania is taken away from them too soon, tearing the group apart.

Now twenty-five years later, they're reuniting at a remote country hotel on the anniversary of her death.

But when the drinks start flowing and with the party in full swing, the merry mood of the night suddenly turns when secret revelations come to light about their university days. But just how well did they know Tania? And could there be more to Tania's accident than they're letting on?

Trapped in the hotel with no way out and with no one they can trust, who will make it through the reunion in one piece?

I’m a fan of a reunion setup and this one was good. There was psychological thrills and twists as these old friends start to uncover things that weren’t how they remember them when their college friend died. Now they are all spending a few days in this country hotel for the 25th anniversary of Tania’s death. Of course weird things start to happen and people start to get sick or worse though they aren’t sure what exactly is happening.

Ooh, this book was FULL of plot twists. Penny Batchelor crafted characters who were both flawed and relatable, and I couldn't put this one down! The novel follows a group of friends reuniting 25 years after the death of a shared friend named Tania and is told from alternating perspectives. Each friend revealed secrets from the past that kept me guessing. Overall, a fun read!

I received an advanced copy of this book from Embla Books via NetGalley.

This book reunites five university friends at a luxurious country hotel to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of their friend Tania's death. Each character brings their own baggage to the gathering, making for a weekend that promises more than just fond memories.

Jeannie, the perennial outsider, is determined to make the reunion a success, throwing herself into the preparations. Keren, juggling two kids and a hectic work life, looks forward to some quality time with her husband, Adam, and reconnecting with old friends. Johnny, facing a messy divorce and looming bankruptcy, sees the weekend as a much-needed escape. Saira, overwhelmed with co-parenting challenges, would rather skip the event altogether if she hadn't promised Keren she’d be there.

As the drinks flow and the party gains momentum, the friends' merry mood takes a dark turn. Long-buried secrets about their university days resurface, challenging their understanding of Tania and the circumstances surrounding her death. The question lingers: How well did they truly know Tania, and could her accident have been more than just a tragic mishap?

The author masterfully paces the narrative with short, alternating chapters from multiple POVs. This technique offers varied perspectives on the group's past, highlighting the different dynamics within their relationships. The realism in the friends' differing views adds depth to the overall plot. While the characters might not be overly likable, they are well-developed and complex, which kept me engaged throughout the story.

The book is filled with twists, although the ultimate ending is somewhat predictable. The conclusion felt rushed, with a few details straining believability. These minor flaws detracted from the story's overall impact.

Despite its shortcomings, this book is an enjoyable read overall.

3.5 Stars Rounded up to 4

This is a fast paced book about a reunion party for a group of 5's uni friend who died 25 years ago.
The story is from multiple perspectives and what unfolds is how their lives have changed since uni and what happened from their perspectives while they were all friends at that time.

The Reunion Party is set in a boutique Yorkshire hotel which has a digital detox policy and one of the friends is the manager and has arranged for her 4 other friends to stay free of charge for the weekend to remember their dear friend, until things start to go awry.

I enjoyed the multiple perspectives in this book, as it really brought the story and characters to life and showed their vulnerabilities and insecurities, which helped me warm to them more. I was correct in my assumptions as to what had happened to an extent and I think I enjoyed the first half of the book the most as the suspense was building and the stories were unfolding and then the book took a different turn, which I wasn't expecting and felt could have been summarised more succinctly, which let the book down for me, as I would have preferred more of the mystery and build up, but that is just a personal preference.

I enjoyed how quickly the story moved and was able to read the book in two days (not bad for me especially as I had to work also).

If this kind of mystery appeals to you I think you'll enjoy it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This book had a lot of the things I like in my reads; multiple POV, short chapters, fast/even pace, a close-knit group of friends/suspects, secluded location & secrets! It’s a pretty simple plot, 25 years ago a college friend was killed in a car accident, this group decides to get together to celebrate her memory. We all know how this story goes, right? It goes all wrong! Drinking, talking, guilty conscience? There are some twists and turns, secrets revealed. I liked that each POV shared a version of Tania (the deceased friend), and that each character was able to share their unique perspective..

This was a twisted read, it was fast paced and held my attention until the end. I had not previously read Penny before and can't wait to devour more of her books.

The Reunion Party by Penny Batchelor is an engaging thriller.
It was fast paced and had me hooked right from the beginning. It was a brilliant plot. Played out well. Very well written.
With lots of twists in this book to keep the reader guessing. The characters were brilliant, and all complemented each other well.
A very enjoyable story.

Thank You NetGalley and Embla Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was a very tense and thrilling read from start to finish, it had me questioning who to trust throughout.

The Breakfast Club get back together and every point of view gets an airing. These different perspectives made it a deeper reading experience than it otherwise might have been and added a great deal of value. I liked the writing style and felt the interplay between characters made for some interesting diversions from where the plot was ultimately headed.

This is a little tough to review. This book moves quickly, but not with purpose and is hugely unbelievable but has some really nice characterisation.

I would think this is a gorgeous beach read.

I loved the premise of this book but could not get into. I thought the writing was good and the characters were interesting but thought it went on too slowly

Tania was killed 25 years ago in a car wreck. Her 5 old college friends get together at a secluded hotel to celebrate her memory. Things quickly go haywire and it turns into a reunion from hell with them fighting for their lives. This was an excellent read with some good twists and turns. I hope to read more by this author.
Thanks NetGalley and Embla Books for this eARC that will be published June 25, 2024!

I do like a multiple POV book, it is interesting to read the same events from different perspectives. I also like seeing how the character's lives have changed and how they feel about their past.
I liked the short chapters in this one, each ending on a cliffhanger, I was definitely kept turning the pages. However, it did seem a bit unrealistic at times. No parent would realistically agree to hand their mobile over and be uncontactable for a weekend. The book started off well but became ended up too far fetched. The dramas between the friends when they were at university were overblown in my opinion leading to so many consequences that just shouldn't have happened if only people had spoken to each other.

The Reunion Party, Penny Batchelor’s latest, features five friends reuniting 25 years after the death of their ringleader, Tania. Gathered at a remote boutique hotel where cell phones are forbidden, the group soon finds they are not alone, and this remembrance is about to take a dark turn.

Books where a group of former friends find themselves stuck in a remote setting with someone out to get them is always a fun trope, even if it is a common one. The setting of this book works well, and having alternating narration for the chapters helps move the plot along quickly. As the book progresses, it is easy to unravel how each person plays the role of an unreliable narrator. We learn everyone is hiding something, and questions remain about what happened to Tania.

While the book has entertaining elements, the plot takes some odd twists, and the characters could use more depth. After all, it isn't easy to believe Tania was a charismatic figure when she reads as flat, and Jeannie is a little too normal to fit the role of obsessed friend.

Ultimately, this is a decent read for anyone wanting a quick and light thriller, but the unbelievable twists and turns coupled with bland characters make it fall short of being a nail-biter.

I thought this was a pretty average thriller. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. It had a lot of the things I look for in a thriller - short chapters, a fast pace, a close-knit group of friends/suspects.

I never really felt connected to any of it though. The book didn't really hold my attention until the end. The twists were fun in an unrealistic way. I wish the rest of the book had more of that.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

5 stars - addictive reading and a fun book to read. Absolutely loved it, the pacing was brilliant and the characters were fun to read along with. The solution was fairly surprising although I did guess just before the reveal. Otherwise a great thriller.

I'm a sucker for a group reunion thriller type locked room thriller and it's very easy for them to all start to feel very samey but I didn't get that vibe from this one. The depth of the characters and insight into each of them with the multiple povs really set this book apart since I felt like I knew these people and was going through it with them. The twists were well plotted out and really enjoyable to discover. I literally flew through rhis in a night and couldn't out it down