I've been saving The Last Party as a birthday treat to myself and boy does it not disappoint. Clare Mackintosh is the queen of the last line twist and fills her novels with breadcrumbs and trails to take you off wildly in the wrong direction. It's done in such a subtle way that once the truth starts to be revealed, you'll wonder why you didn't twig it in the first place!

The Last Party features two lead detectives investigating the murder of a wealthy celebrity on the England - Wales border. With multiple timelines and plenty of supporting characters, there are plenty of suspects and motives, including DI Ffion Morgan. As readers we're very comfortable with strong female detectives, fighting to uphold the law whatever it takes - but is that the case here?

The Last Party is a great start to a new series from one of my favourite authors.

It's the party to end all parties... but not everyone is here to celebrate.

The Last Party is set on Llyn Drych, better known as Mirror Lake, at the base of Pen y Ddraig mountain, nestled beside the village of Cwm Coed on the English/Welsh border. Around the lake, luxury lodges have been built by Rhys Lloyd and his business partner Jonty Charlton, and the first phase of 'The Shore' development is already proving a success with the new owners, so Rhys has decided to throw a New Years Eve party to celebrate and has extended the welcome to the villagers but, on the stroke of midnight, Rhys is found dead in the middle of the lake, by morning DCs Ffion Morgan and Leo Brady are investigating a murder and, as they uncover the reputation of this failing opera singer, the suspect list is growing.

In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning.

This latest thriller by Mackintosh is different to her previous books, as this is the first in the Ffion Morgan series so, as expected, it's a bit more of a slow burner as we meet all the new characters that will take this series forward, however this doesn't mean that we aren't subjected to the well known twists that Mackintosh likes to throw into the mix to completely mess with our minds along the way and this one has plenty. Many of the villagers in this tight knit community have secrets, Ffion Morgan included, and the topics of these secrets are very sensitive but are dealt with by the author with compassion and integrity. The story begins on New Years Day, then back tracks to the months leading up to the party and the days following, told by various different characters. I loved the instant friendship that the author has carved out for Ffion and Leo and am looking forward to seeing how that develops in future books in the series, and spending more time in that beautiful Welsh setting.

I'd like to thank Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Ffion investigates the murder of Rhys Lloyd, who died at the party held to celebrate the opening of the new lakeside holiday homes. She is helped by Leo, from the English side. Ffion has known these people for years, but now has to interview them as suspects. The property tycoon Rhys has a lot of enemies, so many people had a motive, with Ffion herself hiding secrets.
I love the quirky character of Ffion, and the Welsh detail. Great twists and superb writing. So looking forward to the next one! Love Clare's writing!

It's new years eve and the party to end all parties. You're a local celebrity and you've got a bright future ahead of you with your singing career and adding more luxery holiday homes for the wealthy to the 5 you've already built in the town you grew up in, what could possibly go wrong? Well by midnight you'd be dead in the lake.
The last party is a story following the murder of a local celebrity Rhys Lloyd (this is not a spoiler its in the blurb) in the samll Welsh town of Cwm Coed and uncovering who could have possibly wanted him dead and why. DC Morgan has grown up in the area and knows everyone and in turn they know her and now it's her job to uncover who in the town is a murderer whilst trying to keep her own secrets under wraps. Soon it becomes more of a case of who didn't want him dead rather then who did.
I loved the way that Clare really managed to get the feeling of such a small town where everyone knows everyone and their business and the challenges and conflicts that can arise from this not only when dealing with such a serious crime but also whilst growing up in such a place. I also loved the welsh words/phrases incorporated in the book (of course as I'm welsh) but don't panic they are translated for those who don't understand. Every character that we are introduced to seems to have something that they want to hide which is great as it keeps the reader on their toes and wanting to find out more. Also just when you think all has been revealed and that things will be wrapped up, BAM another twist is there ready to hit you in the face!
The story is told from multiple viewpoints (which I personally really enjoy as you get to see and understand situations from different viewpoints) but the two main characters who tell the tale are DC Ffion Morgan and DC Leo Brady who are in charge of the case from different police forces due to the area of the murder crossing the borders of Wales and England. Throughout the book we get to see how their relationship develops and how they start to trust working with other despite their rather unusual meeting and initial tensions.
Thankfully this is the first in a series of books following DC Morgan so it won't be the last we see of her and I already cannot wait for the next installment! We'll done on another great book Clare! Everyone should go and get this book, you won't need disappointed!

I’m somewhat relieved that I wasn’t on the guest list for The Last Party, an extravagant New Years’ Eve bash held at the exclusive lakeside lodge community The Shore which borders a large lake which has Wales on one side and England on the other. The lake (Llyn Drych) is the setting for the annual New Years’ Day swim and despite many of the locals attending the party, they were prepared to enter the water when someone spotted the body of Rhys Lloyd floating in the surface. Rhys had invited the local villagers to the party- was it an effort to rebuild bridges or to simply show off? A retired opera singer, Rhys was used to being centre of attention but also had many enemies. Who wanted him dead? And why?
Introducing Ffion Morgan, a DC with her own secrets; assigned to investigate the circumstances surrounding Rhys’s death, she is shocked to find her English counterpart in the investigation is Leo Brady, an English police officer with whom she had a one night stand. Living at home with her mother and sister after separating from her husband, Ffion is holding her own secrets, ones that even Leo doesn’t know. This story has many characters and you find yourself changing your mind so many times; the ending really does come with a twist! For me, the story was beautifully enhanced by its setting - if you are familiar with Clare’s work you will know she lives in North Wales and her love for this area shines through this book. Genius pairing of Ffion and Leo, I am glad that we will be seeing more of the feisty Welsh DC. Can’t wait! Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for a complementary copy. #TheLastParty

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication date: 04/08/2022
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It’s always a pleasure to read one of Clare’s books and this one was certainly no exception.
This is the first of a series of books following main character DC Ffion Morgan from a sleepy village in Wales. When one new year, Rhys Lloyd (owner of a brand new set of lakeside holiday homes) hosts an extravagant party in his home it is clear not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Lloyd is floating dead in the lake. Ffion has to put what she knows about the village to good use with partner Leo from Cheshire police, all whilst keeping her own secrets hidden.
This was a bit of a slow burner for me. It is important to know that this is the first in a series of novels as the beginning of the book takes a while to set the scene and there are a lot of characters to get to know. Additionally, there are many uses of the Welsh language at the beginning which I did feel was a little forced but this settles over time. However, once I got into the book and the action began ramping up I found myself guessing (as I do with all Clare’s books) what the secrets were and who killed Rhys Lloyd. There were many twists and turns, lots of shocks and many parts of the story I was unable to guess or even think along those lines. Another excellent write from Mackintosh and certainly one to add to your TBR list.
Thank you to NetGalley, Clare Mackintosh and Little Brown Book Group UK for this ARC.
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#books #booknerd #bookworm #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstack #bookchallenge #booklover #reader #read #2021reads #readersofinstagram #reading #bookswithcookandacuppa #netgalley #hostage #claremackintosh

I love Clare Mackintosh's books so I was beyond excited to see that she was starting a new series! But of course, I was also very cautious. Would this new genre suit her style of writing? Would I be invested in a new detective?

No need to worry! I enjoyed this so much that I sat and read it in one sitting.

The plot itself isn't particularly anything new. A small town, a man with lots of enemies, a determined detective who vows to find out the truth. But Ffion isn't like most detectives. And in fact, she has more secrets than most, so she's not exactly willing to upturn every rock to find out the truth. More, she's making sure that nothing can lead back to her in doing so.

But while the concept of having a murder happen at a party with a small town full of suspects isn't anything groundbreaking, what really made it stand out for me is the setting of the small Welsh town set on Mirror Lake. I instantly got this beautiful picture of the location and the luxury cabins where these residents reside, as well as a vivid picture of the individual locals on the other side of the lake who want to be left alone.

This is all due to Mackintosh's phenomenal writing. It's not often a book can so easily make you feel at home with a new setting and set of characters, but Mackintosh makes it all seem so effortless!

Most of all, I absolutely loved the character of DC Ffion Morgan. There's a lot of great wit in her narrative and I really liked how her female character broke the typical boundaries. I am more than excited to read another book led by her!

This was quite a slow burn of a book, but fear not, Clare Mackintosh pulls out all the stops to engage her readers with this novel featuring a new detective, DC Ffion Morgan. The action takes place on the border between Wales and England (coincidently, the neck of the woods I grew up in) in a village called Cwn Coed. The locals all know each other, and all the gossip, they are fiercely protective of their heritage and so it is no surprise that the luxury lodges at 'The Shore' haven't been welcomed with open arms.

On New Year's Day a body is found floating in the lake and a murder investigation ensues with DC Ffion Morgan trying to rule out the many suspects she has which include practically every adult in the vicinity!

The story is well-constructed, peopled by a wide variety of characters, including the police, and enough side-plots to keep every reader entertained. I for one will be ordering the next one in the series!

From the very first chapter, I was completely drawn into The Last Party.

During the obligatory New Year’s Day swim in Llyn Drych, the local residents of Cwm Coed find a body floating in the chilly mist. The victim is Rhys Lloyd, seemingly well liked, a local celebrity. Our crime fighting duo are DC Morgan and DC Brady, officers from either side of the Welsh/English border. Local DC Ffion Morgan is a complex, multi-layered character, that I liked immensely; I instantly warmed to DC Leo Brady when I read of his view of his traditionalist boss DI Crouch.

As the story progresses, the tension mounts, we start to see beneath the veneer of Rhys’ perfect life. The dual time line shows us that he has upset virtually every single person around him, including those closest to him. This had me questioning everyone, literally everyone’s intentions. One question becomes apparent. Who didn’t want to see Rhys dead?

Knowing that this book is the first, in a planned, series featuring DC Ffion Morgan, fills me with a reader’s joy. Morgan’s character is so interesting, and the evolving relationship between her and DC Brady is complex, and kept me piqued.

The eclectic characters are all well rounded and idiosyncratic. There aren’t too many characters which can lead to confusion for the reader, but still plenty of characters for you to mistrust and analyse who you think is responsible for Rhys’ death. I loved the small town feel, and how this pulls the loyalties of Morgan’s allegiance, against her role as a Detective. Living in a small community, on the Welsh/English border myself, not as small as Cwm Coed, I understand how such a small community works. Once an opinion is formed, it can last for generations in some instances, as memories are long held. Connections between neighbours, running deep.

Claire Mackintosh puts the case forward, very well, for each of the suspects, using plenty of misdirection. Despite suspecting everyone at some point, I didn’t solve the case myself, which I love.
I highly recommend this 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ non violent read, which I think will have a very wide appeal with readers. I’m already looking forward to diving into DC Morgan’s next outing.

On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead on the freezing waters of the lake. On New Year's day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so so the suspects are her neighbours, friends and family - and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

What a great start to a new police procedural series. The pace is fast and the action starts straight away. The story has a dual timeline - the build up to the murder that's told in the past, the investigation into the murder, that's told in the present day. it's told from multiple points of view. This is a thrilling, whodunit, murder mystery. The characters are well fleshed out. It did take me a little while to get into this book, but once I was in, I was hooked. The ending wasn't how I expected it to be, it was much better.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #ClareMackIntosh for my ARC 0f #TheLastParty in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed emotions about this book. I do love my series books but I also really love this author for her stand alone psychological books. But she has chosen to embark on a police procedural series - not that we need more of these but... I was more than willing to give it a crack.
And I am not sure... I didn't really like Ffion. There now I've said it. Not that that matter as I know from other series where I haven't liked the MC. But I also wasn't keen on her partnering with Leo Brady. An English/Welsh joint force partnership that I got a bit bored with. Especially with how they met!
I know... and I'm sorry :(
The story was good. Hitting the ground running and keeping up the suspense all the way through. I really loved that side of things. Weaving the past and the present seamlessly as the dual narrative complements all the way through, moving the story along well.
We start with the body of Rhys Lloyd, found in the lake near where he has his holiday home - yup that gets a bit political too! We have the obvious spat between the holiday homers and the locals. And a bunch of in-fighting within each camp. We also have the action right at the English Welsh border so throw that into the mix too!
And a lot of characters to get straight - out came the list.
The story was well plotted and held my attention nicely. It also went along at a fair lick with not much distraction.
But for all of that, it also reads a lot like a psychological thriller with police rather than a police procedural. So there's that in its favour!
Will I progress with the series? That's the big question. And yes I will. As per all series books, there's a certain amount of scene setting, background and foundation laying to be had and, hating the characters aside, that side of things was done well and I am intrigued to see what happens next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

4.5 🌟
Clare Mackintosh is one of my go to authors, I always buy her new releases. I was lucky enough to get this book from Netgalley so I was thrilled.

The book is set on Wales/England border in a village which has a new development of luxury holiday homes on Mirror Lake. The developer Rhys Llyod is found dead in the lake after a New Years Eve party. As the book develops there are many people who would have reason to kill Rhys and it's up to DC Ffion from Wales and DC Leo from England to find out who.

The book is full of the twists and turns that Clare Mackintosh is famous for and I absolutely LOVED the dynamic between the two detectives so I love it that this book will be the first in a series! Really recommend for thriller lovers and thank you Next Galley for the ARC.

Boom! What an opening chapter! I was immediately pulled into the story and finished the book in a day.

A group of New Year's Day swimmers discover the body of a local celebrity floating in the lake. It’s clear that Rhys Jones, who grew up in nearby Cwm Coed has been murdered.

Jones’ decision to build a luxury resort, The Shore, has angered many in the small town. The resort has not only destroyed much of the area but also brought flashy English incomers to the Welsh town. Many residents can’t forgive Rhys but did anyone hate him enough to kill him?

As the story unfolds we learn that it wasn’t just the resort that earned him his enemies and that he is not the only one in Cwm Coed with secrets to hide.

DC Ffion Morgan is a great character. Like most good detectives in fiction, pretty dysfunctional but really well written . Ffion is also local to Cwm Coed and she knows the community and its personalities - knowledge that can help but also hinder in the search for the killer. There were certainly a few twists before the crime was solved but I enjoyed Ffion’s personal story as much as the detective work.

Some real humorous moments too and the banter between Ffion and Leo, the English DC she is paired up with, just felt really authentic.

The setting of the murder so close to the Wales/England border added another element of ‘community’ to the story. It is not just tensions between a small town and outsiders but also tensions between the two countries (and even the two officers) I thought this was really well portrayed and enjoyed the use of the Welsh language and the emphasis of place and people names to highlight the discord. Actually made me think that I do not read enough books set in Wales!

This is my first Clare Mackintosh book but based on how much I enjoyed this I’ll certainly be going back to read her others and am very much looking forward to following DC Ffion Morgan throughout the series.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown for the chance to read an early copy - I loved it!

This was my first Claire Mackintosh novel, though I do have two more on my TBR pile that I'll be diving into soon!

This is the first in a new series featuring DC Ffion Morgan and I loved her partnership with Brady and the setting in Wales which creates a really dark atmosphere. The dialogue crackles and feels very authentic, the pace doesn't let up throughout and there are several jaw dropping moments.. I look forward to seeing what Morgan and Brady get up to next!

It is an understatement to say that I was excited to read the first of Clare Mackintosh’s new series of detective novels – being a huge fan of Clare’s thrillers, and knowing her first-hand experience of working in the police force, my expectations were definitely pretty ramped up and I could not wait to meet DC Ffion Morgan!

Our story begins with a New Year’s Eve party and the discovery of Rhys Lloyd’s body. Found in the lake by his new luxury holiday rental development, The Shore, things are complicated by the location’s Wales/England border. And so our North Wales detective Ffion reluctantly joins forces with Cheshire detective, Leo, to solve the mystery of what happened to Rhys.

It quickly becomes clear that Rhys was not a well-liked man and that a lot of people in the village of Cwm Coed may have had reason to not want him around anymore.

This was just an absolutely wonderful story – the characters were great – I loved Ffion and Leo, and laughed and gasped in equal measure! The location of The Shore and Cwm Coed were gorgeous to imagine, and I really enjoyed the snippets of welsh language, as I have been learning welsh for the past couple of years so this was particularly delightful for me! (but would not in way cause a problem for people with no welsh knowledge, it’s just the odd few greetings, but it really added to the authenticity of the setting).

The twists and turns as Ffion and Leo delve further into the case and the village’s secrets were great and unexpected – I failed to guess anything that happened, and for once I actually stopped trying to guess because I was just enjoying the book too much to even let my mind wander! And alongside the mystery of Rhys’s comeuppance were the personal battles of Ffion and Leo, which made me even more fond of them.
I am absolutely not surprised that this has been snapped up to be made into a tv series and I cannot wait to watch it, nor can I wait for book two!

This il the start of a new series introducing welsh DC Ffion Morgan and english DC Leo Brady. I really enjoyed these characters and I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Clare Mackintosh never disappoints!

I read The Last Party on Netgalley in exchange of honest feedback. This book was full of surprises at every turn, and I found it very hard to put this novel down once I started it. It is very fast paced, an exciting read and thrilling. In short, a perfect ‘who has done it’ story where every character is a suspect at some point.
I loved the location of the book. I can almost picture the scenery, the beautiful but freezing cold lake, mountains all around it. The novel is set in North Wales, and it brings back fond memories of a camping trip in Wales with my family. It rained a lot, so much in fact that the camp site started flooding, but the scenery was beautiful and it was so peaceful. It’s a majestic location for this crime thriller.
I liked the plot of the novel. So much was happening on every page that I found this book unputdownable. The story held my interest from the very first page to the last. I also liked the character development, and the complicated relationships between the characters in this novel and the locals and second house owners. There definitely was a divide in the village, and this is a very topical issue in many communities right now. Claire described the tension perfectly and it adds to the thrill of this book.
This is a proper ‘I did not guess that’ novel and I enjoyed reading it. If I could have given The Last Party 6 stars I would have done. I recommend this book to all fans of thrillers, crime and police novels.

An utterly compulsive start to Clare Mackintosh's new series. Two damaged police investigators - Ffion Morgan and Leo Brady - arrive with intriguing back stories to find a murderer. The plot is structured with razor-sharp precision and characters sizzling with psychological depth and dark secrets. The stage-setting is masterful and the revelations impeccably paced as twist after twist keeps one guessing till the deliciously dark denouement. I already have withdrawal symptoms waiting for the second book in the series!

Cwm Coed, North Wales – in particular the new lakeside development known as The Shore, home to the wealthy and entitled, an area of second homes that are on the verge of bringing more and more outsiders to the areas, much to the chagrin of the locals. Rhys Lloyd, the famous singer, is the brains behind the scheme and on New Year’s Eve, he hosts the party to end all parties. And it turns out to be the party to end Rhys Lloyd.
The next day, DC Leo Brady of Cheshire serious crimes and DC Ffion Morgan from the local constabulary are assigned to the case, but both of them have other things on their mind. Leo is struggling with custody of his son, but Ffion has more serious concerns. As a resident of Cwm Coed, she has grown up with all of the suspects – indeed, some of them are in her own family. But Ffion is determined not to let this stop her working the case. Because she has secrets of her own that she is desperate to hide…
It's a little hard to track how many thrillers Clare Mackintosh has written as I’m not sure how many of her books are in that genre. Pretty sure “A Cotswold Family Life” isn’t one, but not sure about “After The End”. Anyway, she has definitely written four thrillers to date, of which I’ve read two, “Let Me Lie” and “Hostage”. Absolutely loved the first one and almost absolutely loved the second – one of the beats right at the end didn’t sit well with me. I was intrigued when I saw that Mackintosh was starting a series, given that the previous books were primarily two point-of-view tales and I was curious how she would adapt that to the police procedural format.
Extremely well, as it happens. It’s billed as the first “DC Morgan” novel, but I do hope that Leo Brady continues to be a main character too. The author does a good job of introducing a natural barrier between the two sleuths – I’m not going to say what it is – and does a good job of bringing them together as a team.
There’s also the personal element in the case, as Ffion has family members involved and is clearly not exactly an innocent herself. Everything on the personal side evolves naturally through the tale, and never feels forced in order to force the story in any particular direction.
Early on, we get chapters alternating between Ffion and Leo’s point of view, but as the book goes on, we get some insight from all of the suspects, most of which are set before the murder takes place, so we get some insight into Rhys Lloyd and why it seems that everybody has a (good) reason to want him dead.
It’s probably less of a twisty thriller than the previous books, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t at least two very good surprises in it. The ending is extremely satisfying, the solution to the case makes sense and the case is actually solved, rather than someone just confessing to it or going nuts and trying to kill the heroes.
All in all, this is a really impressive book, melding the police procedural with enough of the psychological domestic genre to keep the people who buy that sort of thing happy. A really satisfying thriller with characters that you will care about. And will want to know what happens next to them…

There are some authors I don’t read the narrative of their books just get stuck into what I know will be a great read. This author is one of them.

Rhys lloyd is a once famous welsh singer whose career is drastically flaying. Much to the locals chargrin he invests in the building of a holiday home resort in his former childhood home town called The Shores to attract famous and weathly people to the area. On New Years eve he hosts an extravagant party for locals and newcomers alike. New Year’s Day he is found dead in the lakes a local tourist attraction in suspicious circumstances.

As the story unfolds it becomes clear Rhys is not a liked man nor a decent human being and any number of people would have good reason to end his life.

The Welsh/English border sees detective leo Brady from Cheshire police and detective ffion Morgan from the local welsh police station join forces to unpick the many secrets of the town and their residents.

This is a truly gripping and, at times, comical who dunnit with many twists in the tale. Just when I thought the story was over a new twist emerged which had me mouthing “OMG”!

This is a must read!!