Set against the backdrop of a stunning hilltop mansion, the story unfolds at a gathering for a16th birthday party. With an ex-wife living close by, a new wife adjusting to motherhood, a troubled teenager, and a party brimming with tension, one thing becomes abundantly clear: what could possibly go wrong?

The characters are layered and compelling. Kim, the ex-wife struggles with alcohol and is portrayed with authenticity, it shows a personal battle and a source of familial strain. The nanny adds a touch of levity, curiosity and mystery, with her seemingly endless tales, while Dani, the new wife, is a captivating figure whose paranoia about being watched adds a chilling undercurrent to the story. These characters are well drawn, each contributing to the tension and web of lies and secrets.

The plot is well-constructed, with excellent pacing that builds suspense steadily. From the outset, the reader is aware of an accident, though its details remain a mystery until the final chapters. This narrative device works brilliantly, drawing the reader deeper into the tangled relationships and precarious dynamics of the household. The gradual unveiling keeps the pages turning, ensuring that the climax is both satisfying and impactful.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

I loved this brilliant book and couldn't put it down. The story was very clever, and kept me guessing to the end, but the ending was very satisfying. The characters are all believable and actually sound like real people. I will definitely recommend this book.

This book was a wild ride for sure! I was gripped from the very beginning. It has literally every component you would want from a thriller! The premise of this novel seems simple and straightforward but it is everything but. It has secrets, lies and has you feeling every emotion.

I cant wait to read everything this author writes!

5⭐️ for sure.

📚I was able to read an advanced copy of title thanks to NetGalley, Kelsey Cox and Hodder & Stoughton📚
📚All reviews and opinions are entirely my own📚

Thank you to Net Galley and Kelsey Cox for an ARC of, “Party of Liars”.

I enjoyed how the story unfolds through different perspectives, with every character bringing their motives and suspicions to light. The characters are very complex, each with lies and secrets which continue to add depth to the story as it progresses.
The tension builds brilliantly, and I loved the eerie atmosphere and description of the house itself. It was so refined, I really felt like I could visualise it.
I couldnt turn the pages quick enough, and despite having suspicions throughout, the final reveal still managed to surprise me.

A black tie birthday party in a mansion

A body falls from a balcony

With one guest dead, and another a killer - who's lying??

Brilliant

This sounded like a good quick read. A death, and the events leading up to it. I've read hundreds of these books. Mostly they're entertaining.

This one though, far exceeded my expectations.
The secrets and lies that were discovered were great. Extra surprises all the way through the book.
I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
Add to that the slightly sinister myth of The Mother and you've a cracking read.
It should be on everyone's holiday reading list, because it's definitely one you want to devote a chunk of time to.

A party where a lot of secrets come out! I raced through this book, the short chapters making it easier to read. I loved the characters, especially Danni and Sophie, the relationship between the two of them stood out. A fantastic storyline with many secrets that will keep you reading late into the night ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ethan and Dani Matthews have organised a 16th birthday party for Ethan’s daughter, Sophie, in their beautiful – but possibly haunted - hilltop house. Dani, who has recently had a daughter, Charlotte, has been diagnosed with postpartum depression after fearing that she’s being watched (the house on one side is all glass) and finding that things in the house have moved or disappeared. Are these things really happening or is Dani delusional? To help her cope they’re hired a nanny and during the party Dani feels increasingly unsettled – is the nanny who she says she is, does Ethan’s ex-wife Kim wish her ill, what about the guests at the party – are they really friends or is one of them a sinister stalker?

I absolutely LOVED this – the best psychological thriller I’ve read for a very long time. The characterisation and the plotting are, I thought, excellent. There are a lot of strands here – different characters– you know there’s been an accident at the party but until nearly the very end you don’t know who it was or who was involved or why – but it’s all tied up brilliantly. Wow.

I literally picked this book up in the evening and began to read it and before I knew it I finished the next morning. It was that addicting, honestly I found this so hard to put down. Every page that went past, the suspense was palpable!

As the plot weaves together the doubt and THE PLOT TWISTS!! I absolutely loved the characters some were questionable, loved the story and loved everything about this book! This was my first by Kelsey Cox and now I am running to read more by her!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!

Thank you to Net Galley and Kelsey Cox for an ARC of, “Party of Liars”.

This is a story told from multiple point of views surrounding the circumstances of the people involved with Sophie who is having a very lavish “Sweet Sixteen” birthday party. I would definitely consider this to be more of a slow burn mystery rather than a thriller. There are quite a few characters and it is a lot to keep up with which could be confusing to a reader not used to this type of format of going back and forth between everyone.

The title to me implied that every main character involved had some sort of secret but it would only be revealed in a matter of time. There are several loose ends and the last 10-15% of the book kind of leaves you hanging but in a very unresolved way. Overall, there are entertaining elements and I would have loved the idea of the supernatural aspect to have been involved in the story line a bit more.

Sophie Matthews is turning 16 years old. Her father, Ethan, and step mother, Dani, are hosting the birthday party for Sophie at their luxurious mansion. The locals have been watching the renovations of this mansion with great interest, and they are all delighted to accept their invitations, and be able to examine the mansion in detail, especially as many of the local people believe it to be haunted. Nobody is more interested than Sophie's mother, Kim, who still feels slightly cheated that the beautiful home she helped her then husband to design and renovate is no longer hers. Add into the mix of the family dynamics the curious locals, the group of hormonal teenagers, and a creepy Irish nanny, and it is almost inevitable that the party should end with a bang, but murder?
From the first page I was drawn into the story, it was told by several of the characters in turn, some more likeable than others. All of them appear to have secrets which makes for a thriller that keeps you turning the pages. I will look for more books by this author.

I would like to thank Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you know when you read a book and you reach THE MOMENT? For those unaware of THE MOMENT, this is when you are so desperate for answers that you are trying to read at the speed of lightning, digesting the information as you desperately search for answers.

I was genuinely obsessed with this plot. This plot was suffocatingly tense. I didn't want to know the answers; I NEEDED to know the answers. The only warning I can give you for this book is that everybody lies. Every single person lies.

My only criticism of this book is something I was hugely excited for. I was incredibly excited for the setup. The before and after trope, although used frequently, often works well. I think this trope worked particularly well in Big Little Lies - but for this novel, it didn't execute as well as I liked...

I still think this is an incredibly tense book and I did really enjoy it.

A black tie birthday day at an impressive mansion ticks many boxes for thriller lovers – because you can guarantee that things won’t have gone to plan by the time cake and candles are revealed. This much is true: a body falls from a balcony onto the dance floor, meaning one guest has been murdered, and one is responsible. And of course, there’s plenty of suspects including an Irish nanny – Orlaith – of whom we’re oddly fond-slash-slightly scared. But who died and why?

This is a captivating thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish

The author skilfully builds suspense through a series of well-crafted plot twists and turns, creating an atmosphere of tension and intrigue. The characters are complex, each with their own hidden motives and secrets that add depth to the narrative. The pacing is fast and relentless, ensuring that readers are constantly engaged and eager to find out what happens next.

s.

I just finished Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox, and I was hooked from the start. It all kicks off at a glamorous Sweet Sixteen party that takes a deadly turn when a body falls onto the dance floor—so creepy and dramatic!

The story jumps between “before” and “after,” told through the voices of four women, each with their own secrets and motives. It’s tense, twisty, and full of dark family drama with just a hint of the supernatural.

If you’re into thrillers with Big Little Lies vibes and a touch of gothic mystery, definitely add this one to your list!

On the day of Sophie Matthew’s birthday, her father holds a luxurious party for her and her friends (and a great deal of his friends) at his renovated home which he bought with Sophie’s mother, Kim. But now they are divorced and he has remarried Dani. Dani is recently postpartum and struggling a bit, which is why they have a Nanny, Orlaith.

This is a book heavy on characters and I was a little concerned that I wasn’t going to keep up. I really enjoyed the use of multiple point of view here and hearing from Dani, Kim, Orlaith and Mikayla was surprisingly enough to make the ending completely satisfactory.

The author is very skilled in making you feel uncomfortable, there wasn’t a single part of this read where I felt I could relax and what more could you ask from a book?! The characters back stories and the lies they tell are woven expertly.

I think this book does the impossible and manages to make it accessible to new and old mystery lovers alike.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this eARC in return for an honest review.

Sophies father has organised an no expense spared sweet sixteen birthday party and when someone is found dead all hell breaks loose.

The characters all come out and show their true selves and they are most unlikable. This is more of a domestic drama than a thriller but it is a fun read and I loved trying to second guess the outcome.

2,5/5
My sincere thanks to NetGalley, Kelsey Cox and Hodder & Stoughton for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Sophie is turning sixteen and her father Ethan throws her an amazing party in his breathtaking mansion called The Dollhouse by locals, as one of the walls is made entirely of glass (I wouldn't be able to live exposed like this, it's horrendous). Anyway, there are many people in attendance, among them Kim, Ethan's ex wife, a venomous and bitter viper of a woman, his current wife Dani, seemingly in a fragile mental state after giving birth, Sophie's best friend Mikayla, a bit tired of being always an element fading in the background, and Orlaith, the Irish nanny with some kind of hidden agenda and a handful of scary stories to tell (she is by far the best character here). The party is in full swing, and suddenly tragedy strikes. There's a dead body... was it an accident or something more sinister it's at play?
To be honest I'm very disappointed after reading “Party of Liars”. I was expecting a locked-room mystery, which I love. But the book is not a thriller, is not even a crime story. It's a domestic drama heavily packed with inner monologues and soul-searching. It's dragging forever before there's even a body and even more before the identity of said body is revealed.
In a nutshell, as a domestic drama it is quite good and well written, even if not particularly original or memorable. If you are expecting a locked room whodunnit though, there's a fair chance you are going to be disappointed just like me.

#PartyofLiars #NetGalley

Partly told in an arm's length narrative style and partly like stream of consciousness writing, this is ideal for fans of suspense stories set in a possibly haunted house.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

On publication I will post the blurb and this short review on my blog.

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox is a gripping and atmospheric murder mystery that kept me hooked from start to finish. Set against the backdrop of an extravagant Sweet Sixteen party in a supposedly haunted mansion, this locked-room whodunnit is packed with secrets, tension and unexpected twists.

Sophie’s sixteenth birthday is meant to be the party of the year. Her father has spared no expense, turning their newly renovated Texas estate into the perfect venue. But just as the night reaches its peak, a body falls from the balcony, sending the celebration into chaos. With a guest list full of people hiding something, the question is not just who did it, but who will make it out alive.

I enjoyed how the story unfolds through multiple perspectives, each character bringing their motives and suspicions to the table. The tension builds brilliantly, and I loved the eerie atmosphere of the house itself, which felt like a character in its own right. The pacing kept me turning the pages, and while I had my suspicions, the final reveal still managed to surprise me.

This is an impressive debut, and I will be looking out for Kelsey Cox’s next book. If you enjoy locked-room mysteries with a modern twist, this one is worth picking up.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.