Thanks to both Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC!

I am a fan of Shalini Boland, so of course I jumped onto the chance to read her newest book early. And what can I say, it did not disappoint!

Sure, the missing child trope is nothing new, but this book was gripping, and full of twists, and making me stay up way too late in order to read 'just one more chapter' while trying to figure out what happened to Natalie’s niece Elle, who did vanish during the birthday party of her own daughter. Why does Jo - Elle's mother - is convinced someone is stalking her when the tenth anniversary of the incident comes closer? Who does know the truth about that day, and why did they not come forward yet? If you want to find an answer to those questions as well, go and read the book! Highly recommended!

𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈...𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈.

Natalie is celebrating her daughter's 8th birthday with some little girls at the ice skating rink. It's close to Christmas, and there's a feeling of festivity in the air. She's tasked with watching her niece Elle while her younger sister enjoys a night out at the pub. Elle is a few years younger, but she's well-behaved and never gives anyone a cause for worry--until Natalie loses sight of her and realizes that Elle is gone.

Through an unnamed POV, the reader gets a first person account of who is responsible for Elle's disappearance, with all the nervous anticipation that would go along with attempting the daring feat of taking a child in the midst of so many people.

The years slip away, the family has given up hope. I really liked that the main focus was on what happens to the people left behind--the author did a great job navigating the conflicting emotions of Natalie and her family; the overwhelming guilt and shame of feeling at fault. When the identity of the person responsible was revealed, I was in total shock, and I hadn't fully recovered when I was thrown for another loop.

This was so much more than just a missing persons domestic thriller. It's the story of the quiet suffering an entire family went through because of the act of one person. While I would have liked a little more from the unnamed POV, this was a thrilling early read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer Publishing for the early copy. This book will publish May 15, 2025.

A child's birthday party at the ice rink in Bournemouth gardens ends in heartache when one of the children is missing, presumed abducted. What a gripping start!

The bulk of the book deals with the 10 year anniversary and the impact that Elle's disappearance had on her family; her cousin who was the birthday girl, her aunt and uncle, the party hosts, and of course, her mother, Jo, whose behaviour and attitude made me feel for Natalie and Theo, who she lived with after her daughter's disappearance. I didn't particularly like Jo and would have preferred that the book focussed more on the mystery of Elle's disappearance and the hunt for her, rather than her spiralling life.

Once a clue as to what really happened to Elle is uncovered, the pace really picks up and wow! There were some truly heartstopping twists and also some really tender and emotional moments. A brilliant ending!

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Shalini Boland and Amazon Publishing for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Just loved everything about this book.
When little Elle goes missing a really tragic tale begins.
Its all set in an area of the country that i used to live in which made it easy for me to visualize the surroundings.
Brilliant storyline and an ending which came as a great surprise!!
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.
Easy five stars from me.

Georgia is having a birthday party at the ice skating rink with some friends and her cousins, Elle. While her mother, Natalie, is tending to one of the girls, Elle disappears. Because Natalie and Theo feel guilty, they allow Jo to basically freeload off them for the next ten years. During the 10 year anniversary search, a new lead is discovered. What Natalie finds will shock the reader! This is one of my favorites by Shalini for sure.

A day that they would never forget.
The birthday party, Natalie Edwards the event planner is having an ice skating party for her daughter, a party with a difference.
But this is a party they will never forget Elle her neice goes missing and is taking away from her mother Jo. Ten years later she still has never been found.
Who was involved? who is to blaim?and what are the reasons?
This is a family traumatised by not knowing if the little girl is dead or alive.
Natalie will never give up hope of finding her neice.
What a absolutely amazing story, keeping you on tenderhooks as you read, full of almighty twists right through that I truly enjoyed.
Full of lots of emotions.
Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I don't know why so many thrillers I read deal with the missing child trope, but here I go, talking about another one. 😂

It all began when Natalie and her husband, Theo, decided to host their daughter's birthday at the local skating rink. But things go awry when her six-year-old niece goes missing. The search that follows results in very few clues, and soon the police tell the family they have no leads to work with. Over the next decade, Natalie's guilt leads to her tending to her sister, Jo and keeping her family in a state of anxiety. When strange things begin to occur, it ignites the family's desperation to solve the mystery of what happened to six-year-old Elle.


Don't get me wrong, this book had a heart-stopping beginning, and I was desperate to see what would be revealed. I felt that when we jumped to ten years later, it took a lot of time for Shalini Boland to unravel the mystery. That led to me feeling a bit impatient. There were some twists, but I wish there had been a few subtle clues here and there to keep me invested.

Overall, I do like this author and will be on the lookout for more of her titles.




#TheBirthdayParty #NetGalley
Expected Publication Date 15/05/25
Goodreads Review Date 21/04/25

The Birthday Party is a parents worst nightmare. A child disappears on what is supposed to be a happy and fun day. The plot had me guessing and engaged. The characters all felt guilty. I enjoyed every minute of the mystery.

I struggled with this book as I found the story too incredulous and a little tedious. The first 20% was really well written and the panic of losing a child totally came through. However I was expecting the story to be a procedural journey in resolving the crime, not a ten year gap exploring the emotional impact of the abduction as told through the child’s aunt.
I don’t think the then and now format worked very well, as it jumped from the point of abduction by ten years, with no real narrative in the intervening years. Also how they found the abductee was too much of a stretch for my imagination and had the sense of a magic wand being waved.

The Birthday Party by Shalini Boland is another gripping read from an author who, to my mind, never fails to deliver. I drop everything to read Ms Boland's latest, and this one, as always, had me glued to the pages.

Natalie is hosting a birthday party for her daughter at a local skating rink when her niece Elle, the youngest of the group, goes missing. As a frantic search yields no results, the days turn to years, and Natalie must support her sister Jo through her grief. After all, little Elle disappeared on her watch, so she must bear responsibility.

This story is expertly crafted, and the characters are drawn with such empathy and relatability. There are few authors who can virtually guarantee you a five star read, and Ms Boland is one of them. If you have not yet discovered this wonderful author, do yourself a favour and add all of her titles to your TBR immediately.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an ARC.

You can count on Shalini Boland to take an ordinary fear and turn it into something extraordinary. She’s constructed a fantastic story that plays on our everyday lives and shows us that normalcy can escalate into disaster in the blink of an eye.

Boland had my pulse racing and my mind sorting every character into either the ‘good’ or ‘possible evil’ list. I didn’t rest until it was finally resolved.

The story opens with a birthday skating party for a 9-year-old girl and morphs into a twisty tale.

This is stuff that stokes parental nightmares! I felt Natalie Edwards' desperation and burden of guilt/blame and then as time progressed, I started to question what really happened that day on the ice. Clearly, something sinister was going on and I picked up the pace in order to find out. The added weight of ‘no safe place’ within the family circle, added to the emotional pull of this psychological thriller. It’s easy to unburden ourselves in a safe place where we can be reassured by loved ones that we aren’t to blame; most of us would do this with family. However, with a family member missing on Natalie’s watch, she’s caught between a rock and a hard place. Right? Read on!

Another winner for this author!

I was gifted this copy by Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This author is quickly becoming my favourite, I just love her writing style , the way the book is composed and the fascinating characters . This book is another brilliant one with just the right amount of tension and the brilliant twists at the end . Definitely 100% recommend this book . Five stars from me , can’t wait for the next

I am a huge fan of Shalini Boland - I credit her with getting me into this genre - and have read every single book by her. I was up to date a good few years ago , so I am always excitedly waiting for the next.
This book did not disappoint , I could not put it down and I devoured it within a day ( into the early hours of the next day anyway !! )
The book begins on Natalie’s daughter’s birthday party , but things take a tragic turn when Natalie’s Niece , Elle, goes missing.
Throughout the book , you are taken through quite a ride.
The book flits between the past and the present , but it’s not confusing.
The difference I found in this book , compared to others with similar storylines , is that the main character is not the parent of the missing child , but instead her aunt.
I found all the characters easy to like , I genuinely cared for all of them and found myself really hoping that certain characters were not “ the bad person “ .
I read a lot of books in this genre and I like to think I can see a twist a mile off - but I did not see this . It came together nicely , when you thought you had it it then shook you up a little bit more !
I read this in a day , and it was a satisfying ending - I didn’t feel there were unanswered questions .
I easily lost myself in this for a day. I couldn’t put it down and I wanted to know what had happened . Yet another great read from one of my favourite authors ! Hopefully not long until the next one !!

Suspenseful and intense with a bit of predictability. I love that I can always count on Shalini Boland for a "read in a day, single sitting" thriller!

The book starts with a birthday outing for the daughter of Natalie and Theo, who with friends and her younger cousin are ice skating for her 8th birthday. Suddenly the adults realise that the younger cousin has disappeared. From here we are in a dual timeline. The aftermath of the party and the search for Ella and the current day, with the family living with the news that 10 years later she has not been found.

The story is very well written and has several plot twist right up to the epilogue, all of which I really had no idea were coming. The plot is well told and woven back and forth in time with the characters being believable and the effects on those left behind to deal with the trauma becoming more evident as time goes on.

Highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a family thriller and a story with lots of unexpected outcomes.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was super fast paced right out of the gate and it stayed that way to the very end. It was so good I read it in one sitting. There were a few twists at the end too, I definitely didn’t guess what actually happened. Very good read.

When your own child disappears while your attention was briefly elsewhere, it’s a horror scenario—but I think it’s even worse when it’s someone else’s child you were responsible for at that moment, who suddenly goes missing…

This is what happens to Nathalie when her niece suddenly vanishes during her own daughter’s birthday party…

The search begins while Nathalie’s feelings of guilt toward her sister Jo keep growing, and with every day that passes without a trace, the sadness and despair intensify.

You also feel the pressure building up on the family members, and there seems to be no happy ending in sight…

Sometimes people think and hope they can reach their goal by twisting the truth, but often they end up doing more harm than good.

I thought this story was brilliantly written—but then again, I’m a fan of this author. Time and time again, she manages to charm and intrigue me with her talented writing. From the very first page, you feel something is about to happen, and all your senses go into “danger” mode. Throughout the entire book, you keep wondering who, where, and why—until you reach the sublime reveal…

I can and want to give nothing less than 5 stars.

Thank you.

Jo Warren's daughter goes missing at a birthday party hosted by her sister.
Ten years later the family is still broken by Elle's disappearance

An absolutely engrossing novel by Shalini Boland.
Perfectly paced, with well developed characters.
Sad, suspenseful and emotional.
The reveal is very unexpected - talk about a massive twist!

5/5 stars from me. I recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

I really enjoyed this one! I couldn’t put it down and was torn between wanting to race through it to know the ending and to take my time as I didn’t want it to end. I was hooked from the first page!

I am a big Shalini Boland fan and was so excited to get this ARC to read. However, this one didn't hit the mark as much as I expected it to. Although I liked the twist at the end, the story itself felt bland, the pace was not fast enough and I found myself picking up other books whilst reading this one as I didn't want to go into a reading slump.
A little disappointed but still looking forward to reading her next book!