What a rollercoaster ride, psychological thriller this is! It delves deep into the human psyche. Each major character is put under the microscope via their inner dialogue and flashbacks to the past as they seek to comprehend the horrific event on the evening of Sophie’s lavish, sweet sixteen birthday party.

It is held in the Texas clifftop mansion inhabited by her father Ethan, stepmother Dani and half-sister baby Charlotte. Sophie lives elsewhere with Ethan’s divorced wife Kim, who battles with alcoholism and sour feelings because the exquisite house was a place she helped create and assumed would be her lasting domain.

With refurbishment now complete, the mansion is the talk of the town and the invited party guests can’t wait to see it in its full glory. But there is a serpent in this seeming paradise. Local folklore legend suggests it’s also haunted by a ghost called ‘The Mother’, and an emotional cauldron seethes beneath the surface as Dani’s equilibrium is shattered by her postnatal suspicions and fears.

Revealed in before, during and after the party timelines, the narrative jumps from character to character as it provides insight into what makes them tick and how they relate to one another and react to the terrible incident they’ve witnessed.

Attention is focused mainly on insecure new wife Dani, embittered, unstable ex-wife Kim, Sophie’s complex, uncertain best friend Mikayla, and Orlaith, the rather odd Irish nanny who freely speaks about the spirit world and death.

They are all vulnerable in their own way. Secrets and lies abound to the extent that motivation is hard to pin down. Suspicion falls on them all because none of them are completely trustworthy or reliable. This is a dazzling debut that keeps you hooked up to the denouement and beyond. Grateful thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the eARC.

A somewhat familiar setting with a Texan mansion/house the setting for Dani and Ethan holding a party for his daughter's sixteenth birthday. 'Sweet Sixteen' - never heard of it except in a Johnny Burnette song? Of course there is the stereotypical local football (not soccer) handsome quarterback.

It does get worse with some rather ridiculous characters, and there are so many of them!

The party also has a body falling down from the roof, or does it. Luckily, the FBI help out.

With too many POV narratives, I found it too much.

Thanks to Net Galley and Hodder and Stoughton for the chance to read and review.

This is an excellent book! I love the way its told by several character's view points. They story is set around Sophie's sweet sixteen party. Someone falls to their death and the book takes you from before the party to the aftermath of it. An excellent and enjoyable read and will seek this author out to read any others by her

Sophie Matthew's ridiculously overblown sweet sixteenth party in Texas is the setting for this book, in a cavernous house, that's almost a character in itself. We have multiple PoV, twists and turns, unreliable narrators, 'fresh take on a classic locked-room whodunnit'... sounds really promising! And, of course, we have a murder... Here are our 4 key PoV characters:

Exhibit A) Dani, Sophie's (whose birthday it is) new 'stepmother', although only kind of because they're so close in age. She has a new baby, Charlotte, and has been struggling with self-doubt since the birth... is she a bad mother? She wants to seep her baby safe, but does that mean from herself?

Exhibit B) Órlaith, the nanny hired by Dani and Ethan to help look after Charlotte when Dani finds herself struggling. She's an older woman, originally from Ireland, and carries her superstitions open to the world, at least to anyone who will listen.

Exhibit C) Mikayla, Sophie's BFF, who is actually feeling really left out and out of sorts. Sophie puts her down, mostly without meaning to, but is there a mean streak there? And what about Mikayla's own mean streak? What is it she's feeling so guilty about? And why can't she just relax and chill with the other teenagers?

Exhibit D) Kim, Ethan's ex-wife, returning to her dream home that's no longer hers. Is it too much to come back to the life you helped build to see your ex-husband inhabiting that life. For Kim, it's also very specifically about the space - those are her marble topped work surfaces she spent so long planning for, and now Dani is using them to create the absolute Perfect sixteenth birthday cake for Kim's daughter?! Maybe a few glasses of wine is inevitable...

This is a very twisted and dark book. Personally, I didn't gel with it - I was so confused by the PoV shifts at the beginning, and the sheer number of characters! (Who was MaryBeth and who was Vera again? Am I supposed to remember?) As the narrative progressed, I became more and more confused - this was partly due to my own experiences, and I would definitely recommend looking up trigger warnings for this - quite specific ones. SPOILER: For me, it was the use of Midazolam as a retrograde amnesic. When that got mentioned, I think I lost my head completely and was no longer able to inhabit the story. (hide spoiler)

Still, I can see the skill with which this was written: the dread, the secrets, the confusion, the creepiness... It really freaked me out. Which says something about the writing! (And about the state I was in while reading it).

Overall, this is probably an excellently crafted book, but I struggled with it immensely and almost DNF-ed on a number of occasions. Read it when you're in a good headspace is my main advice!

Thanks to NetGalley, Kelsey Cox and Minotaur Books for the ARC! It hasn't affected my opinions regarding the book.

This is an absolute belter of a boom from Kelsey Cox! There are so many twists and turns and I literally couldn't put it down. I have recommended it to all my book club friends.

An absolutely cracking read!

Really well written book, that had me finding lots of slots throughout the day for 'just one more chapter'!

The novel flits between before, during and after the party, and even though we find out the 'what' early on, you are left guessing until the very end as to the 'who/s'.

Divorced parents, new young wife and baby sibling, forever friendships, and the mysterious nanny. And the oh so gorgeous house and the party of the year.

I'll definitely be looking out for the next book by Kelsey Cox.

Enjoy, ideally by a pool, on a plane, or failing that a sunny park day!

This book started a little slow for me however once it got into the story it was great!! It did get a little confusing at points as to who's perspective you are in, so I did find myself having to back and forth to try and identify who. Additionally at times, the narrative didn't make sense as to who's it was. However the story was great!

Unfortunately due to the format this was uploaded, it was impossible to read.
This is not a reflection of the author or the book itself.

This was such an intense read with guests who are full of secrets and a guest list packed with tension and everyone’s got something to hide.

After a hesitant start, this book really ramps up the pace and tension.
Super rich, madly in love successful couple, jealous ex-wife, a slightly odd nanny, spoiled teenagers and bitchy rich neighbours all mingle at a party where the doors are thrown open to the recently renovated, rumoured haunted, house.
From the start we know that something has gone badly wrong and the police have been called. But what has happened and to who isn't clear until the final pages.
The multiple POV and shifts in time manipulated my opinion of who was the hunted and who was the prey. I constantly questioned who holds the power and what they will do when their position is threatened.

This is a completely absorbing jigsaw puzzle of a book; only when the final piece is revealed does the picture become clear.

I enjoyed the book couldn’t put it down

Blurb

Everyone's invited. Everyone's a suspect.

An exclusive black-tie birthday party.
A sprawling mansion.
A body falling from a balcony.
One of the guests is dead, and another is a killer - but who is the hunter, and who is the prey?

As the drinks flow, so do the lies . . . and nobody is safe.

Was it Dani, the tenacious new mother with a history of postpartum psychosis, or Kim, the ex-wife with an alcohol problem? Orlaith, the elderly Irish nanny who talks to spirits? Mikayla, the lonely teenager, or the clique of toxic mean girls who pretend to embrace her? Or was it the pair of psychotherapists who watch and judge them all?

It took a while for me to get into this book and I almost gave up at times. Dani and Ethan hold a party for his daughter's sixteenth birthday but it all goes wrong when someone falls from the balcony. I liked the denouement which was quite satisfying.

What I liked: I thought it livened up towards the end but I won't say why because that would lead to spoilers!

What I wasn't sure about: Too many narratives from too many different characters. Leaping about from past to present made it difficult to get into the story. Most of the characters are unpleasant. The house is described over and over.

Overall an OK read. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I found this book really slow to get into. The chapters blended into the pages which made it really hard to follow..
The plot was great but I think the writing style just wasn’t to my taste and wasn’t as fast paced as I would usually like.
Looking forward to trying other books by this author to see if I find them any easier to read as I really liked the story line and the characters.

The premise had me intrigued... rich people, secrets, a party gone wrong but the execution didn’t fully land for me. The multiple POVs were easy enough to follow, and I liked the slow unraveling of what really happened. There were definitely some twists I didn’t see coming, which kept things interesting but sadly just not enough to keep me hooked for long periods of time. The pacing dragged in places, and I didn’t feel super connected to any of the characters. Some of the tension felt forced, and by the time the reveal came, it didn’t hit as hard as I hoped.

Not a bad read, just not one that stuck with me. A solid popcorn thriller if you're in the mood for something quick and dramatic.

Secrets, lies, and a party no one will ever forget…

Party of Liars is a fast-paced thriller full of drama, suspense, and jaw-dropping twists. Just when you think you’ve figured it out—boom! Another curveball.

Wrote with multiple POV and dual time line.

The characters are messy in the best way, and the tension keeps building until the very last page. My perception of the characters did a whole 360 and those I loathed at the beginning, I loved at the end!

If you love dark academia vibes and unreliable narrators, this one’s for you!

I really enjoyed this book!

There are so many layers, I loved how they all came together and blended so perfectly. The author was great at dropping red herrings and twists, I was left guessing until the end.

A perfect psychological thriller!

Cox does a brilliant job of weaving suspense with social commentary, showing how control can masquerade as care, and how charm can be a mask for manipulation. It’s a fast-paced, binge-worthy read that fans of Big Little Lies or The Guest List will devour.

While the mystery keeps you guessing, it’s the subtle exploration of power dynamics—especially within families—that really lingers. Because sometimes, the most dangerous person in the room isn’t holding a weapon. They’re holding your trust.

The main issue that I have with this book is the pretty major inconsistency. In both the blurb and during one of the first few chapters, it says a body falls right as Sophie is about to blow out the candles but later on in the story, Sophie blows out the candles without incident and they all eat cake before anybody falling from the balcony.

Other than that I enjoyed the story, especially how none of the characters are particularly likeable and anyone could’ve been the one to do the crime. The story is told in multiple timelines, mainly the time leading up to and including the party with flashbacks and snippets of the future within and between the main chapters. I think the short chapters the day after the party could’ve been improved as they were too vague and didn’t really add anything to the narrative. I really liked the full cast narrating the story but at about the halfway point I had to switch to the digital review copy because it was kind of annoying having to adjust the speed of the audiobook depending on who was talking. This book had me guessing right until the end and further convinced me to never marry a psychiatrist. I think this was an amazing debut by Kelsey Cox and I’m excited to see what else she writes in the future.

Thank you so much to the author, netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton Audio for providing me with an audio and digital arcs in return for a voluntary review. All thoughts expressed here are my own.

I was looking forward to starting this debut novel but after 50 pages I was struggling. I stopped reading and continued two days later to find I was enjoying the book. Each chapter is narrated by a different character and the narrative is confusing at times and I was turning pages back and forth which slowed the flow of the story.

Dani and Ethan Matthews live in a renovated house on a cliff, a very expensive house, the envy of the local residents. The locals say the house is haunted and strange things happen. The cliff house is about to be the venue for a very lavish 16th birthday party for Ethan’s daughter, Sophie, from a previous marriage and Sophie’s revengeful mum, Kim, is invited. Each character has a secret and lies are being told by Dani, Ethan, Orlaith, Sophie, Mikayla, Kim and Curtis. I was slow to connect with the characters and if I was to choose a favourite character, it would be Kim, revengeful, mouthy and gutsy. The plot is a mixing pot of a best friend, ex-boyfriend, ex-wife, a nanny, Ethan’s secretary, ex-friends, resentful neighbours and bitchy, rich ladies. LET THE PARTY BEGIN!

This book is about revenge, jealousy, bereavement, mind games and a lot more. I loved the ending! I think this book would make a great TV series. The writing style is not for me but the plot made up for that.

I give a 4-star rating.

THANK YOU TO THE PUBLISHER AND NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ AN ADVANCED READING COPY OF THIS BOOK IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

The tension rises and rises with every chapter. As it hurtled towards its conclusion, I found myself guessing and then second guessing who was falling from that window. I'd decided very early on who I *wanted* it to be, and my views on that particular character never changed. That character is a real villain but every time you think you've reached the depths of what they did, you peel back another layer and more horror is uncovered.

When it came to the other people, specifically the women you see the PoV's of, its fascinating to see them change, to learn more and find the truth scrawled on a mirror.

There is a twist, around 75% of the way through the book that I didn't see coming - mostly because the internal monologue pointed in the complete opposite direction - but once that came out, the pieces started slotting together with speed and satisfaction.

I felt sorry for some characters, hated some others and really there was only one that I finished the book actually liking and feeling as though they had deserved the growth and happy ending they had been given. Others didn't deserve it.

What annoyed me however was that it was described as a 'classic locked-room whodunnit.' This is not a locked-room murder. Its a closed location murder but thats a whole different thing, and someone going in expecting the story to be around the 'how' the murder is committed will find themselves disappointed as this is a thriller about the 'why' more than anything else. And what a 'why' it is.