This book was very easy to read, and the plot moves incredibly quick. I was expecting a “locked room” mystery, but it didn’t really feel that way when it was all said and done. It felt more like domestic suspense than anything else.

There was one aspect of the plot twist that just grossed me out completely. It definitely shocked me, so for that I can give it a flower. However, I would not have knowingly read a book with that premise.

I did really enjoy the psychological element of postpartum psychosis, and the way it was used as a plot device. The tension that created was outstanding.

All told, she had me in the first 90% and then I genuinely could not stomach the last ten percent.

You would take away the mystery with trigger warnings, I get that, but if I ever needed one…

We’re in Texas, where everything is bigger. Sophie’s sweet sixteen is going to be the biggest. With divorced parents, her father is throwing the lavish bash at his newly remodeled home. Which may or may not still be haunted.

Her father’s new wife, Dana, seems troubled and is always second guessing herself. Especially around her new baby.

Enter a nanny. Older, straight from Ireland, and very superstitious. She senses something very evil in this house and isn’t afraid to say so.

On the night of the bash, all is going well and we are about to cut the cake, when a body hits the floor. Not in a good way. More in a fell from the balcony way.

I don’t want to give away anything here because it is all brilliant! I adored the nanny!

Women are a force to be reckoned with.


NetGalley/ July 01, 2025 St. Martin’s Press

Such a fun twisty book set in a single day (with flashbacks)! This is a 16th Birthday party I am thrilled that I did not attend! Great story and characters.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

I thought this book was pretty good but was a bit slow until the last 25% of the book. This is your typical whodunit mystery set at an extravagant sweet sixteen birthday party. You have your typical characters, all of which are horrible but I think that really helped the book. I found the twist at the ending good and I really was shocked at how everything went down. By the end, I found myself having to sit down and process everything that happened in the last part of the book. Wow, what a wild ride!

In Party of Liars, Sophie is turning 16 and her dad is throwing a huge sweet sixteen for her and her friends. He is also inviting a lot of his own friends to show off all the renovations he did on the house. The house was once thought to be haunted. As the party goes on, there is your typical drama until someone ends up dead. But what happened and why?!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn’t sure where this book was going when I first started it. I wasn’t sure how all of the characters would fit together. The author made it work and made it worth my time to read. The story takes place in 1 afternoon/evening with flashbacks to fill in the questions. I love a good psychological thriller and this one did not disappoint. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give away too much away. Pick it up! You won’t be disappointed!

An extravagant Sweet 16 sets the stage for a party no one will soon forget. The reader knows from the start that SOMETHING tragic is going to happen, but to who?

With multiple POV’s, each chapter is told from the perspective of a guest at the party, leading up to a bombshell moment that I never saw coming. And just when you think it’s over, the last chapter gives you another shock that ties everything together perfectly.

Party of Liars comes out July 1st! Thank you to Netgalley, Kelsey Cox and Minotaur Books for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was an excellent thriller with engaging characters and plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged throughout the book. If you like Gone Girl you will like this book.
I received this galley from NetGalley.

Synopsis : Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted and shuttered for years from outsiders—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

2.5 stars⭐️ rounded up. This was an Ok book for me. It is written like a murder mystery leading up to when the body falls from the balcony and you only get little a glimpse of after the incident until the end of the book. It is very slow paced up until like the last 60 pages. I didn’t find it had any twists either.

Excited to get an e-galley of this very fun thriller/ whodoneit that revolves around an over the top 16th birthday party. I had a great time being along for the ride. The characters were well-formed and (mostly) intriguing. Enough to keep me reading quickly to see what happens.

Read as an ARC. This was your typical whodunit mystery type novel with a young adult storyline. It skips around between four characters for the majority of the book—the new wife, the nanny, the ex wife, and the high school daughter’s best friend. The first half of the book is very slow moving but still keeps you engaged and wanting to know what happens next. Once you get about 75% of the way through, the plot picks up and gives you whiplash with how quickly it gets to the point it’s been building up to. The twist it throws in will definitely have you going back and realizing what you had thought you were reading before was totally wrong!

Five stars! This was the perfect, fun, unputdownsble read! The setting was so well described it was like watching a movie, the characters were complex, and the story line superb!

Party of Liara is a locked room mystery told from multiple POVs. The book started off a bit slow but once i got past that, it flew by, even though you dont know who was killed until almost the end of the book. It made the end a bit rushed but it was a good book that kept me intriuged and guessing until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Bit of a slow start but buckle up and enjoy the ride! Easy read that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Kelsey Cox delivers a fresh and fast-paced locked-room mystery with Party of Liars, where a lavish Sweet Sixteen quickly turns into a crime scene. Set in a newly renovated mansion with a dark history, the novel unfolds as a shocking death disrupts the night’s festivities, leaving a tangled web of suspects—including a new stepmother, a suspicious nanny, a best friend with hidden depths, and an embittered ex-wife.

Cox expertly builds tension, blending classic whodunnit elements with modern twists. The multiple POVs add depth, allowing readers to uncover each character’s secrets and motives while keeping the suspense high. The Texas Hill Country setting adds a moody, atmospheric backdrop, enhancing the novel’s eerie undertones.

While the plot is gripping and the twists well-executed, some character arcs could have been developed further, and a few red herrings feel slightly forced. However, the pacing is strong, and the final reveal is satisfying without being overly predictable.

A party in a mansion on a hill is the setting for this thriller. The characters include Dani, the owner and the wife of Ethan, mother of Charlotte; Orlaith, Charlotte's Irish nanny; Ethan, Dani's wife; Kim, Ethan's ex-wife; Sophie, Ethan and Kim's 16 year old daughter, and Mikayla, Sophie's friend. The story is told in turns by each of these characters except Ethan. Ethan and Dani are opening their home to envious friends to celebrate Sophie's birthday. We know that sometime during the party, a person falls from the balcony and dies. We also know that almost every character has a dark past/current life. This is a very compelling story as we hear from each character and try to find out who died and what happened. It is an immensely easy-to-read book, and I loved it! Highly recommend!!

I am still processing the ending of this book and wow I applaud the author because I had so much doubt and suspicion with absolutely everybody in this book, I loved the ending and not at all what I guessed. Such a great thriller that kept my attention and honestly never wanted to put it down. 5 ⭐️

How can a book that makes you so angry be so infuriatingly good? This story made my blood boil with sheer rage. It’s tense and immersive, like you’re experiencing everything right alongside the characters. A slow-burn, but highly addictive and worth every page.

The POVs were perfectly chosen. Each character with her own inner demons, unable to trust her own senses. The twists were perfectly revealed, and I absolutely loved how the story came together at the end. This is so much more than a suspense/psychological thriller - it’s female rage and motherhood in its rawest, truest form. I could not put this one down!

Thank you to Netgalley, Minotaur Books, and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I recommend this book if you are looking for a locked room mystery with multiple POVs and short chapters. I didn’t know who to trust! The only aspect that I didn’t like about this book is that we didn’t find out who was murdered until 93% in, which made the ending feel quite rushed.

Do not quite this one. It's super slow, but it can't be skipped to the end. It's a build on each page worth reading.

It's hard to review this one without spoilers, so I will focus on what I felt. Will I recommend it? YES! It's super slow building. Instead of the classic build of whodunnit, we get the "death" happening close to the end. We live with these characters without knowing who to trust, who is going to die... but we can't stop reading because there's nothing we can do, and holding that to that idea, the end gains a deeper meaning. Because there's nothing we can do until it happens. Very good ending and novel.
My fav character: Órlaith

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox is an absolutely gripping and thought-provoking read that had me hooked from start to finish. The author masterfully creates an intriguing story filled with suspense, drama, and a touch of mystery. The plot is full of twists and turns that kept me guessing, and the pacing is spot-on—just the right balance of tension and revelation.

The characters are complex and well-developed, each carrying their own secrets and motivations that unfold throughout the book. I found myself invested in their journeys, even when some of their actions were morally ambiguous. The relationships between the characters are intricate and add depth to the story, making it not only a thrilling ride but also an emotional one.

The only reason I didn’t give it a full 5 stars is because there were a couple of moments where the pacing slowed down a bit, and some plot threads felt slightly underexplored. But overall, Party of Liars is an impressive, addictive novel that I couldn’t put down. Highly recommended for fans of suspenseful, character-driven stories with plenty of twists.