The jumps in time backwards and forwards got a bit confusing at times, but the thread stayed there and although you know something has happened, you don’t know what until the end and it is an unexpected twist.
Dani and Ethan live in the big Victorian house at the top of a cliff, the highest house around. The house was bought by Ethan and his first wife Kim, but she left him, they stay close though for their daughter Sophie’s sake, and now it is her sweet sixteen birthday party, and everything comes to a head.
Well written and gripping, I marked it down because it dragged in places, but a really good read. My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

What a wild, breathless, brilliantly twisted experience. From the first page, this book had me locked in. Not politely hooked, but gripped by the throat and dragged into the chaos. I was constantly on edge, second-guessing everyone, and completely unable to stop reading. If you love tense, real-time thrillers that unravel over one disastrous night, this one delivers with venom.

The setup? A sweet sixteen turns into a nightmare when a body drops into the middle of the party. Quite literally. And from that moment on, things spiral fast. Secrets bubble to the surface, lies unravel, and everyone’s carefully managed mask starts to slip. It’s messy, emotional, tightly wound, and completely addictive.

What truly makes this book sing is the women at the centre of it all. Each one is broken in a different way, balancing guilt, shame, pressure, and fear. They aren’t just characters. They’re emotional minefields. You feel their pain, their panic, and their desperation to hold it all together as the night unravels.

Dani, the young second wife, is especially well-drawn. Trapped between motherhood, online pressure, and creeping paranoia, her mental state is raw and unfiltered. You’re never quite sure if she’s seeing ghosts, losing her grip, or both. Her vulnerability makes her sympathetic but also deeply unpredictable.

Then there’s Kim, the ex-wife, who’s hanging by a thread. Grief, regret, and years of resentment make her a walking powder keg. She’s a character you can’t quite root for but also can’t write off, which makes her dangerous in the best way.

Mikayla, Sophie’s best friend, is more complex than she appears. She’s caught between two versions of herself. The grounded girl from nowhere and the new one shaped by Sophie’s glittering, toxic world. Her arc is subtle but devastating, and when the pressure hits, it really hits.

And Orlaith, the eerie Irish nanny, feels like she stepped out of a gothic novel. Her obsession with death, her intuition, her quiet, creeping presence. She’s both unsettling and oddly compelling. The question isn’t just what she knows, but what she’s truly capable of.

Structurally, the book is razor sharp. Flashbacks are placed with precision, always giving you just enough to question everything. Every reveal adds weight, not just to the plot but to the characters' emotional lives. It’s suspense layered with real human pain. Motherhood, mental illness, betrayal, trauma. All explored without ever slowing down the pace.

The ending? I gasped. Not from a cheap twist, but because it earned it. Everything builds to a final few chapters that are as emotionally raw as they are shocking. You’re left reeling. Not just from what happened, but how it makes you feel.

This isn’t just a thriller. It’s a story about women pushed to the edge and what they do when they finally break. And it’s absolutely unforgettable.

This character driven thriller has the perfect about of mystery or surprising twists to firmly hold your attention from beginning to end. It’s such an easy read that hours went by without me even realising!

But of a slow burning black tale. I did not enjoy this book if I am honest. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Set against a backdrop of a 16 year old's lavish birthday party this is a psychological thriller with tons of twists and turns. Early on in the book we are aware that a body has fallen from a glass balcony at the property and someone has lost their life. What we don't know is who did it and who fell. Kept me guessing until the very end

An interesting read once we got to delve in the various characters lives
Loved the small town gossipey side of the book
Slow at times but overall good enough to keep reading as the story was there to be discovered

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (Hodder & Stoughton) and the author (Kelsey Cox) for the free review copy in exchange for my honest, unedited feedback.

Party of Liars is a gripping, debut psychological thriller from Kelsey Cox. It is an eerie and creepy story with a gothic edge, involving a house which is steeped in history and folklore.

The main players are:

👨 Ethan - the owner of the house

👩 Dani - Ethan's second wife

👶 Charlotte - Ethan and Dani's daughter

👩 Kim - Ethan's first wife

👧 Sophie - Ethan and Kim's daughter

👧 Mikayla - Sophie's best friend

👨 Curtis - Ethan's best friend, Dani's psychiatrist

👩 Gemma – Curtis’s wife

The story starts with Sophie having her sweet sixteen Birthday party at her dad and Dani’s house. There are plenty of guests invited, along with a bunch of Sophie’s friends and her mother, Kim. A body falls from the glass balcony and this is where the fun and ambiguity start. Most of the main characters have their foibles and the book had me thinking whether the reasons were, the house and the rumours that it's haunted, or was someone gaslighting them all?

The book consists of three parts: Before the Party, After the Party and The Night of the Party (which was written in real time). There were many twists and turns throughout the book, as well as some red herrings, which kept me hooked. Despite me having several of my own theories, I was totally wrong when the twist was revealed at the end of the book.

The only criticism I have of the book is that there are a lot of repetitive descriptions of the house itself, which I think could have been filtered a little. Other than that, if you are looking for an edge-of-the-seat summer thriller, this one is definitely for you!

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox is a gripping, twist-filled psychological thriller set against the backdrop of a lavish Sweet Sixteen party at a Texas Hill Country mansion with a dark history. When a body falls from a balcony during the celebration, secrets unravel through alternating “Before” and “After” chapters, This concept kept me on edge as the mystery deepens. Told through multiple compelling female perspectives—including a fragile stepmother, a bitter ex-wife, a sharp best friend, and a superstitious nanny—this book explores themes of motherhood, mental health, privilege, and betrayal with emotional depth and sharp insight.
The author masterfully blends gothic atmosphere with modern suspense, delivering morally complex characters and shocking revelations that stick. A confident and addictive debut, Party of Liars is perfect for fans of locked-room mysteries, domestic drama, and thrillers that linger long after the final page.

This story revolves around Sophie and the events that take place at her sweet sixteen.
think broken family drama, small town gossips and teenage relationships.
Everyone is invited in but not everyone will make it out.

We begin at the end of the party - someone is dead but we dont yet know who, then the story goes back towards the incident that ends the party. The events take place over one day - I really did enjoy this aspect as it made it a much faster pace.
There are also multiple POV's which really do provide such a great insight into the depth of everyones lives and lies which i liked. None of the characters were particularly likeable however.
It does end up being a good 'whodunnit' and would be one to read if you are into fast paced family dramas.

3⭐️

Released on 1st of July.

thanks to @netgalley for my ARC copy.

This started as a slow burn, but as the reader learns more about the characters, things begin to twist and turn. Who knows who? Who is telling the truth? Who is going to die? Who is the killer?
As everyone gathers for the party, in the newly refurbished, but supposedly haunted mansion, the reader knows that someone will die. But who will it be and how will it happen?
As we read about the interactions between the guests, there are many situations where the tension builds and a death looks likely, but there are red herrings on the menu!
I did feel that sometimes there was some out of character behaviour, which stretched credibility, but overall the psychological thriller kept me entertained and guessing.
With thanks to NetGalley, Kelsey Cox and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry but just could not get into this book very slow start and i admit i did not finish it. The characters seemed formulaic and i am sure i have read similar books.

Party of Liars is a gripping, slow-burning psychological thriller that pulls you into a small community where secrets run deep and trust is a dangerous game. From the first few chapters, there's a subtle sense that something is off—and that tension only grows with every page.

The story centers around a group of people connected by a past they’d rather forget, all thrown back together by a present-day event that threatens to expose everything. The characters are layered and flawed, each carrying guilt, fear, or denial in different ways. Their relationships are tangled—full of mistrust, buried tension, and half-truths—and that makes every conversation and every silence feel loaded.

What stands out most is the emotional realism. This isn’t just a story about who lied or what happened—it's about the consequences of silence, the pressure to keep up appearances, and how secrets can quietly destroy lives. The pacing is steady, the writing immersive, and the atmosphere tense enough that it feels like anything could crack at any moment.

Rather than delivering constant twists, the book leans into slow reveals—each one more unsettling than the last. The final chapters bring a payoff that’s both shocking and emotionally satisfying, tying together the story’s undercurrents of guilt, loyalty, and betrayal.

Party of Liars is perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven thrillers that are as much about internal conflict as external danger. It lingers long after the last page—and leaves you questioning just how well anyone really knows the people around them.

DNF @53%

This book doesn't know what it wants to be - a ghost story? A thriller? It's been half a book of descriptions and no substance. The short chapters that hop between voices makes it very hard to be immersed in the book.

I loved this so much! There were some great plot twists and I really liked the way the flashbacks were included throughout the chapters as they helped to create a lot tension and suspense. Overall a stunning debut!

Thank you NetGalley for early copy!

A good beach read that will keep you reading with short chapters and different viewpoints. A glamorous house party, a tragic death but whodunnit?

FLOP

This was so bad it genuinely enrages me. I can’t believe I wasted days slogging through it.

We follow the events leading up to a death at 16 year old Sophie’s birthday party at a newly renovated house in Texas. Her alcoholic mother, her psychologist father and influencer stepmother are just a few of the many characters possibly guilty for this murder. The drama sounds like everything I could want for the literal first mystery book I have read since I was probably 13. WRONG.

Every 3 pages we changed to a different character’s perspective so we never actually get enough detail to care. It felt like we were rushing through their inner monologues to get to the next POV.

There was no mystery to speculate about either. The whole time the author hints at the ghost of ‘The Mother’ haunting the house but of course that whole idea adds nothing to the actual plot of the book. The ending was a complete cop out on the paranormal themes that are excruciatingly emphasised.

The writing was incredibly cringeworthy too. In an attempt to build tension, each chapter ends with a three word sentence that just states the obvious whilst trying to be profound. Each chapter was so formulaic it felt like reading the same thing over and over again.

Safe to say I will never read from this author again.

From the outset of this novel, the reader has an ominous feeling about the house on the hill where the 'party of liars' is about to convene.
Set high above the Texas countryside, the gothic-style property is haunted by 'The Mother', according to local legend and stories. After years of dereliction, the house has been restored into a designer mansion, with one side stripped back and glazed, almost like a dolls' house.
This is the venue for a 16th birthday party where secrets, lies, murder and mystery come to the surface. Whose is the body hinted at that has fallen from a balcony? And who did the deed?
Party of Liars is that perfect crime novel to binge - short chapters from multiple viewpoints, shifting perspectives and timelines but not (hurrah!) confusing to follow.
Very well written, with pace and panache, the narrative featured tricky subjects but keeps the reader hooked throughout.
Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this novel.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC I

An enjoyable read that kept me entertained.

I have just finished this book and Wow! The book is a slow burner but it fills out the characters beautifully. The story centres around a birthday party but refers back to earlier times. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the ending had a brilliant twist. Would thoroughly recommend this book.

Party of Liars is told from the point of view of a number of characters, mainly over 1 night - a party. The timeline does jump back and forth, but I found it easy to keep up with and understand what was happening.

I found the book a little slow to start, but once the party started, I was invested and needed to keep reading!

I will be looking out for more books by this author.