I just finished *Party of Liars* by Kelsey Cox, and I have to say, it was a wild ride. The audiobook, narrated by a talented cast including Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, and Suzy Jackson, really brought the story to life and made the multiple perspectives even more engaging.
The story kicks off with an exclusive sixteenth birthday party at Ethan’s mansion in Texas—a beautiful, yet slightly eerie, setting that hints at dark secrets lurking beneath the glitz. Right from the start, I knew someone had fallen from a balcony, but the mystery of whether it was an accident or murder kept me guessing the entire time. The suspense builds gradually, with each chapter revealing new secrets and motives among the eclectic cast of characters.
There’s a wide array of guests—Ethan’s ex-wife, Kim, his new wife, Dani, Sophie, the birthday girl, her best friend, Mikayla, the nanny Órlaith, and others from a wealthy Texas enclave. Each character is complex and flawed, and I loved how the story explores their struggles—Kim’s drinking problem, Dani’s mental health, Mikayla’s unspoken feelings, and Órlaith’s mysterious behaviour. The multiple POVs helped me understand each person’s perspective and added layers to the unfolding mystery.
What I found especially compelling was how Kelsey Cox weaves the past and present, slowly revealing what led to the tragic event. The slow-burn pacing might not be for everyone, but it worked for me, building tension and anticipation toward that explosive climax. The gothic mansion setting added an extra layer of atmosphere, making everything feel more sinister and suspenseful.
The ending was satisfying and cleverly executed—everything clicked into place, and I appreciated how the plot wrapped up. The twists caught me off guard, even though I’d pieced together some clues along the way. The narrators did an excellent job bringing each character’s voice to life, which made following the story a real pleasure.
Overall, “Party of Liars” is a richly layered, character-driven mystery with gothic vibes, plenty of secrets, and shocking twists. I really enjoyed the mix of suspense, family drama, and supernatural hints. If you love stories that keep you guessing and enjoy a well-crafted, atmospheric whodunnit, I definitely recommend giving this a listen.

A cleverly plotted psychological thriller that kept me guessing all the way through, with excellent twists and a brilliant final coming together of all the different characters' stories. I loved it!

During a sixteenth birthday party, a body falls from a balcony. Was it an accident or murder? Or could it have been "The Mother", the legendary ghost who haunts the house?

Author Kelsey Cox has packed a lot into Party Of Liars, from the supernatural element, through revenge, jealousy and desperation to keep secrets hidden. As I listened, I was constantly changing my mind about the direction the story was taking. The story is told from multiple perspectives, and the use of a variety of narrators really helped me to understand clearly whose narrative we were hearing.

The book opens with a sixteenth birthday party for Sophie Matthews. The party is being held at her father Ethan's mansion, a once rundown property that Ethan has completely modernised. Right from the beginning, we know that someone has fallen to their death from an upstairs balcony. The author keeps the reader in suspense throughout as who has fallen isn't revealed until the very end.

Since the setting is a party, there is a wide range of characters. Alongside Ethan and Sophie, there are Ethan's first wife, Kim and his new wife, Dani. Both women are struggling in their own ways. Sophie's best friend Mikayla feels out of place because of the cheerleaders present and daren't tell Sophie she likes her ex-boyfriend, the boy Sophie is desperate to get back together with. There's also the nanny Ethan hired to help Dani, who is struggling with being a new mother, a nanny who acts a little strangely.

There are lots of other guests; friends and colleagues from the well-to-do enclave of Bulverde, Texas. Over the course of the day, we learn that Kim is looked down upon because of her drinking problem and Dani is considered to be struggling with her mental health. As people mingle and the alcohol flows, secrets are uncovered and grievances aired, all leading to the cataclysmic ending. By the conclusion, I'd just about figured out what was happening, but events were still shocking, and even more secrets were then revealed.

I love a good mystery, and I suppose Party of Liars falls under that but for some reason I found it...underhwelming. However, I suppose that is because I read this book while I was on a thriller kick and so many of the tropes in this book felt a bit cliche, superb writing though! very suspenseful

A very enjoyable and promising debut. It reminded me a lot of Big Little Lies, so if you enjoyed that book you should probably try this too.

The story is mainly set during a birthday party, and we learn from the beginning that someone has died. Then the book goes back in time and we slowly discover what happened, who died, and why.
The book had a slow-burning plot, and much of the action was condensed towards the end, but I thought the four point of views were all quite interesting and I liked how we slowly uncovered the past and the secrets of the four main characters. I also liked how the suspence gradually built up towards the ending.

The ending was especially well done. I thought everything fit very well, and it was very satisfying how everything wrapped up. I will definitely check out Kelsey Cox's future books.

As for the audiobook, it was extremely well done and each narrator did a really good job. It was a great way to experience the story, and it definitely contributed to my enjoyment of the book.

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox is a suspenseful, nail-biting psychological thriller with some great, jaw-dropping twists at the end. For me, it was the ending and those twists that truly saved the book.
I listened to an audiobook narrated by Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, and Suzy Jackson, and they all did a fantastic job bringing this story to life. Without multiple narrators, the book would have been a disaster due to its many points of view.

I found that for nearly half of the book, I had no clue who was who or what was happening, but then everything clicked into place. I was finally able to recognise the characters, and I practically devoured the second half of the book. And the ending? It was fantastic!

If you struggle with remembering names, I recommend taking notes to keep track of the characters.

The story takes place in a haunted house and is told through multiple timelines.
We follow Sophie, the daughter, and the events surrounding her 16th birthday party—before, after, and during the celebration.

Sophie’s mother, Kim, is an ex-wife with a drinking problem and complicated feelings toward her ex-husband and his new wife.
Sophie’s father, Ethan, is self-centred and seems to only care about his own needs.
His current wife, Dani, is an Instagram-famous influencer and the mother of their six-month-old daughter.
Sophie’s best friend, Mikayla, feels like she is always fading into the background and is desperate for attention and has secrets that could shatter everything.
Then there’s the Irish nanny, Orlaith, who is obsessed with death stories and has her own hidden agenda.
Various side characters add depth to the story, each with their own storylines.

As the party is in full swing, tragedy suddenly strikes—there's a dead body...

I listened to the last chapter twice to be sure I understood correctly... that was such an unexpected turn, and so many things made sense finally!

Thank you, NetGalley, and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for this fantastic audiobook!

It was okay. I liked the baby was named after me but throughout the book I was confused on what was actually going on and what was happening. But I’m not sure whether that was my problem or the books

The mansion sits on a hill like a doll house, one side entirely glass. At night, the light pours out, letting inquisitive eyes look in. Kim and Ethan redesigned the historic house together but by their daughter, Sophie's, Sweet 16, Ethan's second wife Dani plays hostess. Still struggling from lingering PPD, Dani longs to find herself again. Kim, who lost much more than just her dream home in the divorce, hasn't known who she is for a long time. At the flashpoint of adolescence, Sophie and her friends, push boundaries. The enigmatic hand of The Mother wends between them all as the party rages. When someone plunges to their death, has the wailing spirit claimed another soul as her own?

The production values on this audiobook are excellent. It features a full, talented cast, and suffers from none of the hiccups multi-narrator productions sometimes have (the sound is level between each narrator's chapters, there's no intrusive transitional music, no one talks noticeably faster or slower than the others). I enjoyed listening to this thriller immensely!

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.

DNF - Unfortunately this one just isn’t for me and it’s not engaging me at all so I’ve decided to not continue…

Part thriller, part ghost story and full page turner! Kelsey Cox, a new voice in psychological thrillers is going to be BIG!

Party of Liars is a twisty turny thing that had me gripped from the start, the audiobook is a full cast (always a treat) and the narrators are just spot on.

Thanks to Netgalley for sharing in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed Party of Liars.

A clever psychological thriller with a full cast of formidable characters, taken on by wonderful narrators who brought them to life.

A sweet sixteenth birthday party in a house with a past sets you on a mystery tour of all those attending and their web of lies and deceipt, creating an uneasy and tense atmospheric story.

A great debut from Kelsey Cox.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to listen to this arc.

Really enjoyed listening to this audiobook.
Someone falls off a balcony during a party and then the narration goes back to the beginning and keeps you guessing all the way on who it might have been.
Kept me listening all the way through.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for letting me review this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

New mum Danni is struggling with postnatal depression, her house appears to be haunted and she feels like she is losing her mind. Her husband throws a lavish sweet sixteen party for his daughter from a previous marriage and invites everyone, including his alcoholic ex wife, up to their newly renovated home on the hill. Will the pressure be too much for Danni to survive?

I had this as an audiobook , I loved the character voices and thought it really helped set the background scene but at times I felt it a little hard to stay focused.

The story was intricately woven with each character and different time zones to pull everything together which helped to build the mystery but overall I felt it a little slow to gain momentum.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves a slow burn, psychological mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for offering this ARC in exchange for my personal thoughts.

I don’t often read psychological thrillers, and as I read Kelsey Cox’s debut, I was thinking ,“Is this Contemporary Fiction or Gothic?”; “Is this YA Fiction and not Adult?”; “Wait – is this not Thriller, is this Horror?”; “is this Folk-Horror?!” and then, finally, “Whoa! THAT’s what!” An author who can make me question my assumptions and reconsider my expectations like that, is worth every ounce of their weight in gold. This ambiguity seems to have disappointed some reviewers, but for me, it is one of the novel’s most thrilling lures.

The setting and scenery are fantastic; original, so vivid. The house-party location creates as much tension as Hitchcock’s ‘Rope’ (and staying with movie comparisons, if you’ve been to see the latest Final Destination installment, Bloodlines, then you’ll enjoy the parallel glass- cracking scene here!). In literary terms, if ‘Party of Liars’ reminded me of anything, it would be Emma Cline’s ‘The Guest’ meets Liane Moriarty.

As for Cox’s characters, I found myself quickly attuning to the variety of voices. Sophie, Dani, Kim, all are gripping; Orlaith adds the Gothic edge. And the stellar cast of audiobook narrators? They made it as-easy-as-kiss to slide into the different viewpoints (I have to confess, I’m a card-carrying Saskia Maarleveld fan and I listened to this title purely on the strength of her being billed as one of the narrators). At first I thought that the plot was being diluted by too many perspectives, but trust the author and pay attention! Everything in ‘Party of Liars’ is purposeful. In fact, there really isn’t a word out of place here; for a debut, that’s remarkable.

All I would have asked for to garner that fifth star from me would be some solid queer representation. In all? I say put a LOUD reminder in your phone to grab this audiobook when it comes out on 3 July!

My thanks go to Hodder & Stoughton Audio for the chance to review the audiobook.

Unfortunately I DNF this audiobook. I found the different characters too confusing and the narrator just didn't keep my attention.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

"Party of Liars" by Kelsey Cox is a compelling and atmospheric locked-room whodunnit that delivers on its promise of a twisty, pulse-pounding thriller. Set against the backdrop of a lavish Sweet Sixteen party in a supposedly haunted Texas mansion, the novel immediately plunges readers into a high-stakes mystery when a body dramatically falls from a balcony onto the dance floor. Cox masterfully crafts a "killer guest list" of complex, often unlikable, but always intriguing female characters, each with their own baggage and secrets. From Dani, the new stepmother battling self-doubt, to the superstitious nanny Órlaith, the meek-but-not-really best friend Mikayla, and the vengeful ex-wife Kim, every attendee has a motive, making it a genuine challenge to figure out who is dead, who is the killer, and who the hunter or prey truly is.

The narrative skillfully weaves between multiple perspectives and timelines, slowly unraveling backstories and building palpable tension. While some readers might find the pacing to be more of a slow-burn psychological drama than a fast-paced thriller, the intricate plot, rich character development, and exploration of themes like motherhood, ambition, manipulation, and hidden desires keep you hooked. The house itself, with its dark history, adds a gothic edge that enhances the overall sense of dread. "Party of Liars" is praised for its strong writing, engaging mystery, and shocking twists that will keep you guessing until the very end. If you enjoy character-driven psychological thrillers with a touch of gothic suspense and a tangled web of family secrets, this debut novel by Kelsey Cox is definitely one to add to your reading list.

If you’re into twisty, tension-filled thrillers à la Lucy Foley—where everything unfolds in one tight location and every character is a potential suspect—then Party of Liars absolutely needs to be on your radar.

I listened to the audiobook and wow, the full cast (Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, Suzy Jackson) brought this story to life so well. The multiple POVs were brilliantly done, and the narration seriously amped up the suspense. Each voice added its own layer of tension and made you question every character's motive just a little more.

The pacing is quick, the twists are smart, and the structure is brilliantly done. The way the flashbacks are woven in is masterful—just when you think you’ve got someone figured out, a little bit more is revealed and you're back to second-guessing everything. It’s one of those stories where you feel like your heart is stuck in your throat the entire time, and you're constantly bouncing between “I think she did it” and “Wait… maybe not?”

It’s like peeling an onion made of secrets and betrayal, and every chapter adds another punch. You’ll shift loyalties more times than you can count—and still probably be wrong.

Highly recommend the audio version for maximum immersion. This one’s a binge-worthy ride.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

For well over a hundred years the empty dilapidated Victorian mansion has sat atop the cliff, towering over the small Texas town of Bulverde. Rumoured to be haunted the locals know to avoid it.

Until 2010 when Ethan Matthews, his wife Kim, and their three-year-old daughter, Sophie move in, intent on renovating and fully modernising the property. Fast forward thirteen years later to the night of a lavish, no expense spared, sweet sixteen birthday party, a night when someone will tumble to their death from the glass walled balcony to the bluestone patio far below.

Note: Apologies for any incorrect spelling like characters names etc, as I only had early access to the audiobook.

The Players:

Dani – Ethan’s 27-year-old second wife. The party hostess. She has a new baby with Ethan – Charlotte. The three of them live in the house.

Kim – Ethan’s first wife. Sophie’s mother. Early forties. She put her heart and soul into the renovations but it’s Ethan’s young wife that has reaped the benefits.

Ethan – Dani’s husband and Kim’s ex-husband. Sophie’s father. Early forties. The party host.

Orlaith – Baby Charlotte’s sixty-something live-out Irish nanny.

Sophie – Ethan and Kim’s daughter. The birthday girl.

Mikayla – Sophie’s best friend. A down-to-earth Texan farm girl

Mason – Sophie’s ex-boyfriend. Quarterback on the football team.

Curtis – Ethan’s best friend. Dani’s psychiatrist.

Gemma – Curtis’s wife.

Before starting, I mistakingly thought that Party of Liars was YA since it was set during a sixteenth birthday party. I was wrong, this was a psychological thriller/family drama/gothic horror for an adult audience, and only one of the narrators was a teenager. I was also expecting more of a soap opera style plot with bitchy gossipy behaviour, and there was some glamour, glitz, and indulgence, but all the characters, even the minor ones, were surprisingly likeable, deep, and grounded, well fleshed out, with compelling backstories, and tantalising hints of secrets. There were humorous moments as well – I laughed aloud several times.

Party of Liars was creepy, eerie, and haunting, steeped in superstition, folklore, and a house with a dark, mysterious history. This added ambiguity as I wondered if the danger surrounding the characters was supernatural, whether they were being gaslit or toyed with by someone to make them seem crazy, or was their own guilt, grief, or bitterness playing on their minds causing them to imagine things. The modern mansion setting where everything appeared perfect, stylish, and beautiful was an illusion, a façade disguising something rotten. Just beneath the surface was the abandoned, crumbling, derelict, and feared bones of the original house. Speaking of the house it was a character in itself – its rooms seemed endless and disorientating to the point that it appeared as if the very house itself was expanding and multiplying – every few chapters of the party would find the character narrating in a different wing, level, outbuilding or grounds of the house. Plenty of nooks and crannies to escape, hide, lurk, and spy.

Party of Liars contained three parts. Before the Party introduced the four main alternating narrators – Dani, Kim, Mikayla, and Orlaith. The Night of the Party comprised the bulk of the novel and events unfolded in real time in a pressure cooker environment. I waited with bated breath wondering who was going to be murdered, why, by whom, and when it was going to happen. I made sure to listen carefully knowing that every thought, detail, and conversation mattered. After the Party featured POV’s of guests on the periphery of the party offering their impressions and interpretations of the tragedy which heightened tension and gave the plot more realism and dread. The twists were phenomenal with excellent use of misdirection and red herrings. Kelsey Cox sure had me fooled – every time I thought I had something figured out she pulled the rug out from under me and made me second guess myself.

I had no complaints regarding the audio reading but at the same time there wasn’t anything that really stood out for me to make it special. I did enjoy the Texan and Irish accents though.

What an author! I eagerly await Kelsey Cox’s next thriller.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton audio, and Kelsey Cox for the audio-ARC.

Publication Date: 3rd July 2025.

I was looking for an audiobook to accompany me in the gym - one that provides the perfect amount of mystery, intrigue and addicting story which would help me to forget where I was and how much I in-fact hate warm ups on the cross trainer! It was perfect for that.

The chapters were split into different perspectives and time periods, which as you work your way through, slowly starts to give you more of the story to piece together where and what happens at its conclusion. Although I don’t mind this format, I can find I get a bit pulled in and out of the story as I try to fill in the gaps between when it’s taking place but that’s purely laziness on my part. A straight time trajectory I always find easier to read!

The narration to the audiobook was fab as well, with each character voiced by a different actor and one that was super easy and enjoyable to listen to. So you couldn’t ask for more out of an audiobook.

All in all, it was an enjoyable mystery thriller with enough intrigue to keep you engaged and certainly made me forget how long I had been on the cross trainer for!