Let me begin by introducing you to our cast of despicable characters:

Ralph: Birthday boy, uber wealthy, obsessed with his ex-wife even though he has a new girlfriend, and a total wanker.

Sarah: Ralph's ex-wife and engaged to be married to Jack yet still likes to lead Ralph on by sleeping with him occasionally.

Jack: Described as a silver haired fox, Sarah's fiancé, and total fool for getting involved with this insane family.

Gemma: Ralph's new girlfriend and a gold digging hoochie momma that wouldn't mind hooking up with Jack and Ralph's son just to make him jealous.

Janice: Ralph and Sarah's daughter, whiney, entitled, and may or may not have psychopathic tendencies.

Patrick: Ralph and Sarah's son, party boy that likes to ogle his Dad's girlfriend whether his girlfriend is around or not.

Anna: Patrick's girlfriend and the QUEEN of all KARENS.

Ralph has decided to treat those he loves to his lavish 45th birthday party by whisking them away to the Amalfi Coast for endless champagne, food, and festivities. Inviting your ex and their new spouse in order to win her back doesn't sound like a good plan to me but Ralph thinks so and he thinks by bringing his new girlfriend it will be just the thing to make Sarah jealous and rushing back into his arms. What could possibly go wrong?

Again, as with all the books of hers that I have read, Robson embraces the 2nd person narrative and rather than actual chapters the breaks are marked by who's point of view is speaking at that time. Normally I don't have a problem with this but this time I have to say it just didn't work. I had to go back many times to re-read sections in order to figure out who I was reading about and I think, perhaps it was poor formatting, that some of the breaks didn't get marked properly so, for instance, you think you're reading from Jack's perspective and then all of as sudden he's putting on high heels and a lacy top. That is jarring to say the least and I spent a lot of my time saying what the fuck but not in the way I was hoping for. Very confusing.

Check out these gems:

"Ralph is walking toward me, looking as dapper as ever in his seersucker shorts and bright red pumps."

I think even Robson was getting confused on which character is which and who she was writing about unless bright red pumps mean something different in British slang.

"I thrust open the lunch box, pull out the pizza slice that is inside and take a bite. The cheese is soft and delicious. Heaven. But one bite is enough. I know after not eating so long I must take it easy. Then I place the rest of the slice in my pocket and save it for later."

What in the actual fuck? Who puts a slice of pizza in their pocket? Better yet, who eats only one bite of a slice of pizza? Psychopaths, that's who.

Where were the editors???

So, yeah, this is not a favorite of mine but I'm not writing Robson off yet because her previous books were great guilty pleasure reads and I'm hoping this was a one off. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my complimentary copy.

Really Ralph? Really Sarah? Ralph has invited his girlfriend Gemma invited, his daughter Janice, his son Patrick and his friend Anna to spend his 45th birthday at a villa on the Amalfi Coast. Oh and he also invited his ex-wife Sarah, who he still pines for but she's surprised him by bringing her partner Jack. It's a recipe for disaster,, to be sure (all those emotions!) but murder? No spoilers from me as to who, how, and who did it. Each character has as chance to share their point of view, which makes for an entertaining read given some of their views! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good beach or garden read.

Amanda Robson's The Party Guest is a domestic thriller with an interesting premise.

For Ralph's 45th birthday he hosts a combined family trip to the magnificent Amalie coast. Ralph's girlfriend Gemma, Ralph's ex-wife Sarah, Sarah's fiancee Jack, Ralph and Sarah's children Janet and Patrick, and Patrick's girlfriend Anna are in attendance. Everything is well until two people are reported missing.

The Party Guest is entertaining with fascinating plot twists. The short chapters are easy to read and are told in alternating points of view. It was sometimes difficult to keep up with multiple characters. Once I became accustomed to the author's writing style it was easier to follow the story. As the chapters progress, dark secrets and forbidden thoughts are revealed. It's like getting a delicious glimpse into someone's hidden diary.

The Party Guest is available on June 16th.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon Books UK, Avon, for allowing me to review this twisty book. Your kindness is appreciated.

I could not get past the idea that an ex wife would go on holiday with her new partner and ex husband who is still obsessed with her,knowing this she immediately puts herself in situations to be alone with him etc, Ralph ( ex hubby ) goes on and on and on,within 15 mins I had enough of all of them am afraid and gladly left them to it at the Villa

For me this is 3 stars. I loved the cover and the sound of the blurb. I also liked the the fact it is small chapters I prefer this. The story is told from each person's pov which I didn't mind as have reads books like that before but for me I just found it didn't quite flow right. Found it very easy to work out who and what happen also found some characters far fetched and not likeable.

I loved Amanda’s last book so I was keen to read this one. Unfortunately I was left disappointed. It was nowhere near as good. I’m not sure if it was due to being an arc but the chapters were all over the place. Sometimes the wrong point of view, changing point of view in the middle of a chapter. It was all very confusing and somewhat repetitive.

Ralph was turning 45 and hired a villa in Italy to celebrate along with his money grabbing younger girlfriend, his 2 grown up children (Plus his son’s girlfriend) and his Ex wife and her fiancé! All characters were unlikeable and I was unable to warm to any of them.

Chapters were written in the style of each character narrating. Some were very short consisting of just a paragraph, which felt rushed. I didn’t enjoy this style of writing at all. Just my personal preference though. Others may like this format.

I don’t really like leaving negative feedback but unfortunately this just read like beta notes to me and not a finished novel.

I did finish reading but skim read part of it. No real twists.

Many thanks to netgalley, the publishers and the author for an arc. Really sorry for not enjoying this one. I won’t review on Goodreads, Twitter etc as hopefully the final edited version might be a lot better.

What an unforgettable birthday for Ralph.

Ralph took his girlfriend Gemma and the family to a villa in Italy to celebrate his 45th birthday. Ralph also invited his ex-wife Sarah, the woman he still loved, and her another half Jack to join the party.

A party turned out to be a tragedy. Two bodies found.

Believe it or not, I was shocked when I started to read the book. It has 180 chapters, which is a lot compares to the other thriller/mystery I read (around 50 chapters). Among these 180 chapters, definitely it’s a page-turning and intriguing book.

Pace was good and comfortable. Intervening with each characters perspective and the intonation of all the characters are so unique.

I struggled with this one. It was a good storyline, but so much was unbelievable and the story jumped around a good bit. I did enjoy the twists and turns! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It’s Ralph’s birthday and he’s booked a villa on the Amalfi coast. He’s taken along his girlfriend Gemma his son and daughter. He is also invited along his ex-wife Sarah who has bought her new partner Jack. Ralph is still in love with Sarah and hopes that they can become a couple again. Ralph becomes bitter when he discovers that Sarah and Jack are taking their relationship to the next level and it’s not long before one of them turns up dead. Fingers are pointed and accusations made.. Then another person goes missing.

Who is responsible for the murders. This is a fast-paced book broken down into very short chapters. Each chapter is told from the perspective of each of the characters. At first it takes a little while to get into the flow of the book . However you soon find yourself whipping through the pages to find out who done it and why.

Many thanks to net galley and the publishers for the opportunity to see an ARC

Sadly, this was not the book for me. It was difficult to get to know the characters. The story also seemed rushed and out of place for me. I’m giving this 3 out of 5 stars.

<b>Note:</b> I received an advanced copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley.

2.5 Stars

Ralph is turning 45, and the only gift he wants this year is his ex-wife.
Gemma, his trophy girlfriend, is trying to ignore this.
Sarah, the ex-wife, has agreed to attend Ralph’s birthday party, but with her new man in tow.
And Jack, Sarah’s partner, is keen to accompany Sarah to keep an eye on the proceedings.

It’s a birthday trip like no other. The whole extended family in a villa on the beautiful Amalfi coast. But under the politely strained surface, every party guest harbours their own agenda.

By the end of the trip, two people will be dead. But while Ralph unwraps his presents, will anybody be able to unwrap the truth…?

The concept of this story and description are what really intrigued me to want to read this book, however, for me as a reader this plot fell flat. The characters were all unlikable and I thought the story itself was just weird. It did not flow nicely and was patchy.

Phew! What a rush and a mess. So many blaring editing errors. So many messy pages. The characters were flat, unlikable. The story, therefore, wasn't very interesting. It got pretty predictable too. I did not like thus writing style either.

Sadly, this was a miss for me.

Unlikely premise and overall uncomfortable. Short chapters made it very hard to really know the characters.

Beautiful cover, though!

Robson does it again. This book is a well thought out thriller with great characters and an end will leave you flabbergasted. Highly enjoyable read!

Ralph is turning 45 and decides to throw himself a lavish destination birthday party set against the glistening, jagged landscape of the Amalfi Coast with his children, trophy girlfriend, ex-wife and her new highbrow boyfriend. What could go possibly wrong?

Told through the POV of Ralph and each of the party guests, the chapters are short and insightful, exposing crippling insecurities, dark secrets, desperate longing and savage hatred. All of the characters are fatally flawed and broken, some are downright deplorable.

A page-turning thriller, full of deceit and duplicity....and I must confess, I've never been so happy for a book to end, so I could shed the unrelenting weight of these poor, fractured souls.

Ralph is about to turn 45 and has organised a trip to Italy to celebrate. Along with his children and current girlfriend he has also invited his ex wife Sarah. To say that Ralph is still in love with Sarah is an understatement, he is absolutely besotted with her. Unfortunately for Ralph, Sarah has fallen for another man and is intending to marry him. When this news is broken Ralph is devastated, he has always had fantasies of Sarah coming back to him.

The story will take further turns as two people are murdered and then one imprisoned. I enjoyed the book but can't say that I was riveted by the story, I think this was mainly because I really did not warm to any of the characters at all and found that I worked out what would happen and to whom quite early. A quick read but one I have to say that I really did not enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

This is definitely a beach read! Loved the characters and the mysteries! The villa and surrounding areas sounded amazing! Look forward to reading more from this author.

I enjoyed the party guest. The many characters, the murders and the well-written characters that could all be the culprits. This was the author's first book. It was nice to read because of the short chapters, so I could promise myself 5 more chapters before going to sleep. Exciting and entertaining.

It’s a birthday trip like no other. The whole extended family in a villa on the beautiful Amalfi coast. But under the politely strained surface, every party guest harbours their own agenda.
By the end of the trip, two people will be dead. But while Ralph unwraps his presents, will anybody be able to unwrap the truth…?
It was a thrilling, edge of my seat novel full of conflict and tension. Recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What seemed promising at first turned into a ball of confusion: character POV paragraphs labeled incorrectly or not at all, pages missing, author misidentified own character(s). I tried to get into this book but it was rather difficult as a reader to even follow along.