Trust me to start a series on book 5. Luckily it read really well as a standalone, but I’m looking forward to going back and reading from the start. Especially as not only was it completely gripping I may have just a teeny weeny bit of a crush on Detective Dan.

I’m always in awe of crime writers, the amount of planning that must have gone into this is insane. It all starts fairly innocuously with a husband and wife holding a dinner party for their close friends, with Evie the mother cajoling her daughter Libby into playing the piano for them. Libby comes across as a dutiful daughter who is studious and sweet. That is the first deception as she is anything but. She is a master at manipulation and in a few hours she will be brutally murdered.

From then on more and more comes to light and nobody is as innocent as they appear. Imagine a small snowball as the first lie and as it starts rolling it collects even more until it becomes so big it will cause an avalanche and many lives will be destroyed.

I loved all the characters in this, and the author has absolutely nailed narcissistic sociopaths. Yes that’s plural as there is more than one and they are both as ghastly as each other. Evie, although she made many mistakes in parenting, you can’t help but feel sorry for her as her eyes are opened to the truth.

I did actually guess the culprit, which is very rare, but little did I know that a letter in the final pages would be the biggest twist for me. This book was a genuinely nice surprise and I can’t wait to read more.

Two couples. Three secrets. One murder.
The Drayton family look picture perfect from the outside. But one evening while hosting a dinner party for their closest friends there picture perfect life is destroyed.
The Drayton’s daughter Libby is brutally murdered and everyone has a something to hide.

I did not realise that this book is book 5 in the Detective Dan Riley series, but I did not feel that I missed anything by not reading the series from the beginning.
This book had me hooked from the beginning and I really had no idea who killed Libby. I loved how all the characters played there part in the murder of Libby, from the lies and blackmail to Libby just manipulating them all to do what she wanted.
I really liked Detective Dan Riley and I would have liked more on who he is as a person, maybe you get that in the other books.
Overall this was a solid domestic thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read any of the other books in this series, but I don't think this mattered. A great read-full of surprising twists and turns. Very engaging. I look forward to more books from this author. Recommended.

Thanks to #netgalley and bookouture for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. This book was yet another great domestic thriller in the D.I Dan Reilly series- like all of the books so far in this series, they can be read as stand alones, but I should warn you, once you read one it will be hard to resist the temptation of reading the entire backlist of them, they are all that good! This one centres around a perfect teen girl who goes out one night and ends up going missing. We then delve into many intricate webs of lies from both her and her family and family friends....a mesmerising read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ #netgalley #bookouture #anna-louweatherley #thenightoftheparty #goodreads #amazonaustralia #amazonkindle #thestorygraph #litsy #bookqueen #bookstagram #domesticthriller

Oh, what a book! I don't even know where to start.

I think I'll start with the lovely Detective Dan. Oh, Dan Riley. I have loved you since the very first book. This man has that coppers gut. He seems to just know when something isn't quite right. It's quite a skill. Dan has grown so much since the first book but he's still the same man in his core. If I ever needed a crime investigating he would be one of the top detectives on my list.

This case had SO many secrets. I couldn't tell who to trust and if I was coming or going. Honestly. Every time something was revealed it just gave more questions than answers. I was totally hooked!

I love Anna-Lou's writing style. I love the different POVs and the way this book reads so differently from other police procedurals. This one really gets into the psychology of it all. I really do find it fascinating.

I absolutely loved every page of this book and cannot wait for the next one.

What a dark, twisty, wild ride this took me on! This book is not for the faint of heart. It is very dark and heavy, so keep that in mind if you want to read this. I did figure out early on who the murderer was, but the twists definitely had me second guessing myself! You know it's a good story when it makes you question yourself. This was unputdownable! Thank you to Anna-Lou Weatherley, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.. CW: suicide, murder, gore, vomit, infidelity

Couldn't put it down. So many twists and turns. A great psychological thriller. Will be looking for more by this author.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I have never read anything by Anna-Lou Weatherley before and let me say she will for sure be added to my list of must read authors going forward. This was and excellent psychological thriller that hold lots of unexpected twists, lies, betrayals and secrets that will leave you speechless and staying up way too late to finish it!

Wow. Thrilling. Packed with twists. Just exquisite storytelling. Fast paced. Wonderful. Very highly recommend this amazing book.

WoW The Night of the Party by Anna-Lou Weatherley was another superb read. I love the way Anna-Lou writes and how she draws you into the story, I was hooked within the first few pages, which was brilliant.........just like her other books I have read. This book is a great psychological thriller that had lots of brilliant twists and turns throughout.
All the characters within this book have lots of hidden secrets, that will lead to lies and betrayals and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat!

So, who killed Libby she was only 17 years old and had all her life in front of her!?

I highly recommend all her books they are just brilliant!

Big Thank you. to Bookouture through NetGalley for an advance copy.

A fascinating fast paced thriller whose ending I could not have predicted. The Lemmings are enjoying a dinner party when something goes wrong. I could not put this book down once I started. I enjoy a good whodunnit and Weatherly created one with engaging characters and exciting twists.

*Honest review provided for net galley copy.

Two Couples. Three Secrets. One Murder.

This is one of those books where I think it is best to go in as blind as possible. You know all you need to know from the synopsis. Read that and dive in! Seriously, you will thank me!

This was a hard to put down, nicely paced and riveting psychological thriller. The synopsis was intriguing. A party, a missing girl, a gruesome discovery...This is all right up my alley! I was glued to the pages and as the plot unfolded, more than one discovery was made! I enjoyed the twists and it had me thinking of the quote:

'Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive'


This had a little bit of everything that I enjoy - likeable and unlikable characters, twists, turns and reveals. There are secrets, lies, hidden motivations, family, relationships, deception, loss, sacrifice and of course the dead girl. This book also looks at how well you really know someone. You may think you know everything about them, but do you? This was a gripping and absorbing whodunit. This book is part of a series but worked as a solid stand alone for me. I didn't feel as if I was missing anything.

This was my first book by the author, and I am hooked. I will be reading more of her books in the future.

Gripping, riveting and well written.


Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

An interesting book that had a lot of thrills and chills.

The story was wonderful and just kept me reading. I think that this would make a great movie as it shows so many great and talented stylized writing.

This book was really good and sucked me in from the first page! Even though I kind of figured out who did it, there were tons of other twists that caught me by surprise. Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

The night of the party by Anna-Lou Weatherley.
Two Couples. Three Secrets. One Murder.
In a beautiful house surrounded by woodland, the Drayton family and their dearest friends are enjoying dinner together. The wine is flowing, the meal has been lovingly prepared, and it’s going to be an evening none of them will ever forget…
A doting mother
with a manipulative daughter.
A loving husband
lying to his family.
A close friend
keeping a shocking secret.
A beautiful girl
who will be dead by the end of the night.
A very very good read. Couldn't put it down. I had many suspects but couldn't figure out who. Full of suspence. 4*.

The Night of the Party is a dark and twisted story of secrets, manipulation, and power. Fast-paced and beautifully written. 5 big fat stars from me!

Evie and Tom Draynor host a dinner party with their long-time friends Una and Jim. Evie and Tom have a daughter together called Libby, she is excelling in everything, a sweet, kind, seventeen-year-old that any mother would be proud to call her their daughter. When Libby doesn’t come home and is found bludgeoned to death they cannot understand it, who would hurt their precious, loving, friendly daughter?

This was a great psychological thriller that kept me hooked from the first chapter. Everyone was a suspect and had a motive, although I did guess who the murderer was early on, that did not spoil the book because we don’t actually find out until close to the end of the book and there are many twists and turns.
It was fast-paced and written very well. Anna-Lou Weatherley is a new author to me and I really enjoyed her book and I will definitely lookout for more from her in the future.

A perfect family in a perfect home enjoying their friends and a perfect meal. What could go wrong? There are several here! Twists abound as we progress through the story and the three POVs of the Drayton family. A thrilling psychological tale!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Well what can I say yet. This really was interesting reading and I just needed to keep going.

I did guess one of the endings not the other. The main fun was working on how it happened and the reason why.

Fully recommended it will keep you engaged and entertained.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own

Evie Drayton was having a party with her family with her 'perfect golden child', Libby playing the piano before going out with her best friend. Until, Evie was worried about Libby since she didn't text her and didn't come home the night of the party.
As Detective Daniel Riley investigate Libby's case, secrets are getting revealed one by one. Secrets that will shook Evie's entire world.

A great psychological thriller that comes with unexpected twists, lies, betrayals and secrets that will leave you speechless!

The plot is well crafted and well written. The writing style with multiple POVs makes the story even easier to follow which makes this book was impossible for me to put down. I finish this book in one day!

Most of the characters here are not as innocent as you think. Especially Libby. She's not the perfect golden child everybody think. I was shocked about the revelation regarding Libby's real character.
She's a skilled liar and very manipulative. The way she used people to do her biddings and even the length she goes through to achieve it just gives me goosebumps.

I feel sorry for Evie finding out the secrets that her child have been keeping from her all this time. Her POV was heart breaking.

To be honest, I didn't know that this story was a part of a series called Detective Daniel Rylie series. Nonetheless, I was still able to enjoy this story as a standalone without reading the previous books on this series.

There are some parts that manage to surprise me and some things I manage to guess. Several characters in this story have secrets and the motive to kill Libby which makes it slightly more difficult to point out who actually did the killing that night.

Overall, this is a very quick and enjoyable read! This book is such a page turner with every secret being revealed throughout the story!
I think I'll be reading the other books from this series in the future since I enjoy the detective POV in this book!

<b>Special thanks to Netgalley, Anna-Lou Weatherley and Bookouture for granting me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!</b>

Note: Will be posted on Instagram on January 13th, 2022