An intriguing read that is hard to predict and will keep you guessing until the last few pages. Hard to test at the chapter breaks as you are compelled to know more. You question how you would react in that situation. It's a brave and exciting plot, exploring the less than pretty sides of people when they are in awkward and unfortunate predicaments.

This is the first book by Mel McGrath that I have read.

Early in the first pages, the character; Carrie poses an intriguing question 'What would you have done?'. This is the question on which this novel is based.

Starting in London, then moving to the Isle of Portland: I felt that the use of real geographical locations adds to the story.

Throw in a bit of geology too and I can see that many aspects of this book have been well researched.

As I approach the half way stage, I appreciate the well crafted characters.

I will avoid saying too much about the plot to avoid spoiling the story. Suffice to say that there are plenty of twists and turns in the story.

The underlying question being; who is being honest and who isn't?

On the strength of this story I will look out for future books by Mel McGrath.

My thanks to Netgalley and HQ books.

With a finale set against a backdrop of Chesil Beach we witness the unravelling of The Group.
Hedonistic, shallow and self-centred just about sums them up. However, one of The Group has a conscience and its pricking away at her. She reflects upon the circumstances which led to the death of Marika following a concert the group attended and a brutal sexual assault they witnessed. As the final few hours of Marika's life are revealed we realise she has connected with each member of The Group.
A very cleverly crafted story with some nasty characters at its core. Could The Group be a viable entity, has the author loosely based the group on people she knows or is it a work of pure fiction? I would love to ask.

It's the age old question. If you saw a crime would you stop and help or look away. Look away is what these group of friends did and it follows them for years. Interesting and witty in some parts.

I didn't manage to finish this book. I need to be able to engage with the characters in some way and not one of these has anything about them that makes me care how the story ends. It may well end with redemption, healing, all that good stuff, but I can't bring myself to keep reading on, sorry.

It starts with something unforgiveable, whichever way you look at it. It progresses just as bleakly and offers nothing to the reader other than the 'what would i do?' question, which is answered swiftly and without debate.

There are elements of this book that will leave you feeling very uncomfortable, and with a theme that examines the idea of control, both that lost through peer pressure and through more dubious means, you may well find, as I did, that you struggle to find any redeeming qualities amongst most, if not all, of the characters. But the story is one that is still important, addressing issues which are far too prevalent in current culture and forcing the reader to take a long hard look at themselves and ask the question - what would you do if you saw someone in trouble? Would you help them or would you walk away? And if you turned away, could you live with the guilt?
A complex tale that really makes you look at yourself and not in the nicest of ways.
Really intriguing story.

I had really high hopes for this novel - sadly it didn't meet them.

Long time friends, Cassie, Anna, Bo and Rex meet at a music festival and get separated. Catching up with each other afterwards, they witness a woman being assaulted, and caught up in the post-festival feeling, they don't intervene - in fact they just walk away and pretend nothing happened. A few days later, the victim's body turns up in the river. Seeing it on the news and in the local paper, a guilt-stricken Cassie asks the question - are the group guilty for not doing anything? Did they inadvertently cause her death?

The group go away for a planned weekend one of their regular little breaks - sans partners, children, just the four of them. It's a weird little group with a strange dynamic. They seem less friends and more acquaintances; people who keep meeting and getting together out of a sense of duty and sentimentality for the past, rather than because they want to. As the book goes on it becomes obvious that the random events of the night of the murder are perhaps not so random, and the murdered stranger, perhaps not a stranger to them all.

Cassie is the main focus of the book, with her ex-boyfriend-turned-gay-friend Rex, obnoxious rich boy Bo, and the self-obsessed, selfish, high-maintenance Anna. I'm afraid I didn't like any of these people and this perhaps affected my enjoyment of the story as I didn't feel connected to any of them. I just didn't care what they did or how the story turned out. I did read to the end, but purely so I could give a fair review.

Thanks for Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

An interesting look into the age old question - If you witness something and do not speak up/help, are you also guilty? The book looks into the motivations of each of its characters silence and develops its plot and themes well throughout. I enjoyed the concept of this, and I liked the setting of old friends on holiday and how it was used to show each characters relationship with the others.

I found this book very disjointed and hard to follow at times as it skips backwards and forwards from character to character while the story unfolds.

The story centres around four friends, a night at a music festival and a weekend in Portland. As the story unfolds we find that they each have a connection with the young woman found dead after the festival and they each have secrets. None of the characters were particularly likeable which is maybe the angle the author was going for.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I liked the concept of this book. The plot was intriguing and inviting I couldn't get into this book however so it's an unfinished read for me.

The writing style just didn't work for me

I might try to revisit this read as Im sure if I persevered, Id enjoy it. May be its something that would work better as a tv drama

Thank you to Netgalley and the author and publishers for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise was interesting and suspense/thriller books are probably my Number 1 genre. Unfortunately, The Guilty Party has become one of a very few books in that genre to leave me absolutely cold.

I can't really speak too much on the plot as it all intertwines as the story progresses. Cassie, who I suppose is our main character, and her 3 friends witness a violent rape and do nothing to stop it.

That happens at the very beginning of the book and sets up what I can now confirm to be 4 of the most unlikeable characters I have read in a very long time. Of course, they're meant to be that way, but it's rather draining to read page after page of characters with no redeeming qualities nor any characterisation beyond them being vile.

I was going to give this book 2 stars because the writing was actually very good itself and I would actually like to read other books by this author. However, the ending managed to confirm to me that I just thoroughly disliked this book and so I can only give it 1 star.

I'm not often shocked by subject matter or sensitive to issues that can be triggering but this book was just full of moments that, instead of leaving me shocked and desparate to know what happened next, left me disgusted and honestly wishing I hadn't picked it up at all.

Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend this.

Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.

I'm afraid I couldn't get on with this book. I found the story tedious and self indulgent with very unlikeable characters.

A twisty, turny book which flicks between different timelines to reveal the story - between characters and some parts in the past and some in the present day. I found this an interesting read as I didn't really like any of the characters - they were all very selfish and self-centred. Morally complex with many layers, this book centres around a challenging subject and is shocking in places.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Guilty Party by Mel McGrath 🖤
Thanks @netgalley @harpercollinsuk for my ARC
Publication date 7th March
‘You did nothing. That doesn’t mean you’re innocent’.
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The beginning of this book gave me actual goosebumps and had my heart racing throughout. The story had a real air of mystery to it and we were led to believe that each of the four main characters were hiding a dark secret. I couldn’t read it fast to enough to find out who was hiding what.
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A huge frustration for me in his book was the main characters lack of likability. I think this was planned in the story but I really struggled to emphasise or sympathise with any of the four main protagonists. However, I got through this as the story was completely gripping and unputdownable. A very dark and intelligent story. Highly recommended xx

This was an average read for me; it held my attention but I found the jumping of the narrative irritating and the story a little far-fetched.

If you were out one night with your friends and witnessed a terrible crime taking place would you intervene? Would you call the police? Or would you do nothing and simply run away. The latter is the route taken by Cassie, Annie, Bo and Dex when they witness a woman being attacked on their way home from a music festival.

They have been friends for fifteen years and swear by their love and allegiance to one another but when a body is discovered and it is clearly the woman they say being attacked Cassie becomes increasingly uncomfortable with them not coming forward to speak to the police. On a break in Dorset to celebrate Bo’s birthday it becomes more and more clear that they are not the perfect group they’ve always professed themselves to be and that some of the relationships within the group are, in fact, highly toxic and based on layer upon layer of lies.

The plot becomes increasingly tense as Cassie finds herself realising that perhaps her friends are not the people she thought were. I will leave the rest for you to discover! This a very good read and most thought provoking in the moral dilemmas it raises. In a world where people often seem far more likely to walk way than help someone clearly in trouble it feels very relevant. With some of the key characters coming across as highly dislikeable I found myself rooting for Cassie and for the truth to prevail. The writing is deeply evocative and the tension palpable throughout. All in all it is a yes from me!

My thanks to #Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of #TheGuiltyParty in return for an honest review.

3 stars from me

My word, what a horrible bunch of people. I think the only one I actually liked was Will!

The 4 friends the story revolves around are all self obsessed and stuck in the past where their friendship meant everything, it's like they've all moved on in their lives but only partially as they are all anchored together because of their nasty 'little black book'. Honestly, what a grubby bunch they are.

I struggled to rate this book, I have ended up with 3 stars because the storyline became quite hard to follow and veered quite far into unrelateable - I don't mind at all reading about unlikeable characters but it just went to far with them all pretty much being despicable and immoral and as for Anna and Bo...Overall I feel this isn't far from being a great book, it just needs a bit of a tweak. Maybe a 'kill your darlings' moment or a 'less is more' mindset would help.

Synopsis: On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help.Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realises that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands.But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all?

Four friends witness a horrific attack at a music festival, but do nothing to stop it. When a body turns up the next day; one of them begins to wonder what happened; could they have prevented the death?
A disturbing and meandering narrative, that jumps back and forth in time as the events of the festival are slowly revealed. The friendships described are toxic and I didn't like any of the characters! It made me wonder, what would I have done?

To start with I was intrigued, hearing the different sides of a story, waiting to get the full picture. But, after a few chapters, I found it a little confusing and not in a good way. Everything started to feel very unlikely, the author was trying to tell an intriguing story and so couldn't let you in on everything, but let that get in the way of common sense/realism. The drig taking enabled the characters to "forget" things which helped the author confuse you.

I also found I could not connect with any of the characters and did not find them particularly likable. Due to the style of the book you hear a lot of their thoughts and I disagreed with everything they said. I was waiting for something, a bombshell or twist to justify their thoughts and behaviour and nothing ever did. As a woman in my 30s I found their lifestyles unrealistic, they sounded like they should be in their early 20s not their early 30s.

I thought the concept of the story was interesting and the characters well fleshed out but overall sorry, not to my taste at all.

The first thing which strikes me after reading this book is how self-obsessed, manipulative and shallow people can be. I did not like any one of the characters - even the one person amongst the group who had a shadow of a conscience was too weak to stand up to a group of people who even she knew she could not truly call friends.
This is a book which is really difficult to review without giving away huge spoilers. It is one which needs to be read with as open a mind as possible. The setting in Dorset where the group goes for a long weekend is one of my favourite places in the UK so I felt I was able to picture the scene in my head. The events which are related through the book however do not make for comfortable reading, and I felt the whole time I was questioning my own moral compass and asking myself what would I have done in the circumstances.

The group witnessed a crime in the vicinity of a music festival they had all attended earlier in the year, however nobody stepped up to report what they had seen. The book runs through events before and after festival which are supposed to explain why each of them was reluctant to get involved to either stop the crime or report it. Whether any of these reasons is truly enough to let someone escape justice and possibly go on to repeat what they have done is a tricky one. A proper moral dilemma.
I usually really enjoy dislikeable characters but this time there was definitely something I couldn't quite get to grips with to make the book work. I can't put my finger on what was missing, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me.