Jo Warren's daughter goes missing at a birthday party hosted by her sister.
Ten years later the family is still broken by Elle's disappearance

An absolutely engrossing novel by Shalini Boland.
Perfectly paced, with well developed characters.
Sad, suspenseful and emotional.
The reveal is very unexpected - talk about a massive twist!

5/5 stars from me. I recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

I really enjoyed this one! I couldn’t put it down and was torn between wanting to race through it to know the ending and to take my time as I didn’t want it to end. I was hooked from the first page!

I am a big Shalini Boland fan and was so excited to get this ARC to read. However, this one didn't hit the mark as much as I expected it to. Although I liked the twist at the end, the story itself felt bland, the pace was not fast enough and I found myself picking up other books whilst reading this one as I didn't want to go into a reading slump.
A little disappointed but still looking forward to reading her next book!

This has had me staying up late and page turning at record speed as I had to know what happened. It is every mother’s nightmare, a child taken from a birthday party- your niece too. It was thrilling, suspenseful, had a dual time line and some chapters include the voice of the kidnapper (I think this often works well). A definite recommendation! Additionally , I am a massive fan of this author! All 3 books I’ve read so far by this author I’ve really enjoyed and I do plan on reading the others. This was so reminiscent of a book by Jennifer Hillier called ‘Little Secrets’ (another great read).

Omg.. seriously a freaking amazing twist to this book. No way I saw that coming!!!! The pain, the heartache all real and truly felt. Shalini Boland is a superstar writer it's always a pleasure to get an early release of her books.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

I really enjoyed this, particularly as it was set where I lived. I loved recognising the various locations.
The characters are all fully rounded and believable. I think Jo was particularly well written as there's a tendency to portray the mother of a missing child as a fragile saint. Jo is complex and understandable.
I liked the now and then timelines. They kept well to the unfolding of the revelations. Good twisty ending too!

The Birthday Party" was a fast-paced, twist-filled read that I absolutely flew through in a single day.

The writing was gripping from the start, pulling me into the mystery and keeping me hooked with each chapter. I especially loved the use of dual timelines - it added so much depth to the story and slowly revealed pieces of the puzzle in a really clever way. Just when I thought I had things figured out, a new twist would throw me off course.

The characters were well-drawn, and I found myself questioning everyone's motives right up until the end. It had that perfect balance of suspense and intrigue that makes for a truly binge-worthy read. If you're into psychological thrillers that keep you guessing, this one is definitely worth picking up.

I loved this book! I threw all my adult responsibilities to finish it in one day! This is definitely five-star book! This was an absolute fun, fast paced and of course twisty read! I love all of Shalini Boland’s books and this one was her best yet!

Everything about this book pulled me in. I was completely engrossed it was thrilling and twisted. The twists and turns were epic and left me gobsmacked!

This is definitely must read! A massive ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!

A narrativa começa com a celebração do oitavo aniversário da filha de Natalie em uma pista de patinação, onde sua sobrinha Elle desaparece misteriosamente após ser atraída por alguém vestido com uma fantasia de desenho animado. O desaparecimento ocorre sem que ninguém perceba, transformando a festa em um cenário de pesadelo.
A história avança dez anos, mostrando Natalie apoiando sua irmã Jo, a mãe de Elle, enquanto elas lidam com a dor da perda. À medida que o décimo aniversário do desaparecimento se aproxima, Jo começa a sentir que está sendo observada por alguém que conhece a verdade sobre o que aconteceu naquele dia. Segredos há muito enterrados começam a emergir, forçando as irmãs a confrontar o passado e enfrentar novas ameaças que podem abalar ainda mais suas vidas.​
Shalini Boland é conhecida por seus thrillers psicológicos que mantêm os leitores em suspense até a última página. Com mais de 2,5 milhões de cópias vendidas, seus livros são publicados por editoras renomadas como Amazon Publishing e Bookouture. "A Festa de Aniversário" promete seguir essa tradição, oferecendo uma trama cheia de reviravoltas e tensão emocional.