Review of ‘The Christmas Party’ by Kathryn Croft, due to be published on 3 October 2025 by Bookouture.

Gabby invites her old friends to a reunion Christmas party at her remote Scottish property. None of them have seen each other for twelve years - since the Christmas her younger sister Seffie disappeared without a trace.

Desperate to get to the truth of what happened, to achieve closure, Gabby spirals, accusing them all of lying to her about that night.

The story is told in the ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ and is a classic murder mystery, with the fingers of suspicion being pointed at every character, who all seemingly have something to hide about that fateful night. I had an idea of who I thought the culprit was, and enjoyed the lead up to the big reveal.

A great novella, with plenty of twists to the tale. A lovely quick read. Recommended.

This is a superb psychological thriller. It's a modern day twist on a classic closed door murder mystery story. The suspense and anticipation of what happened at Gabby's Christmas party twelve years ago slowly builds, adding to the tension between the six reunited friends. They are snowed in with no WiFi. Written in "now" and "then" chapters, I found it enthralling and full of drama. Oh! The anticipation and suspense knowing that the unexpected truth will reveal itself in a shocking way. Highly recommended.

Wow, what a book!! It was addictive, chilling and mind- blowing; a real page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout each chapter!

I love this authors writing style, Kathryn Croft always leave you guessing and eagerly turning the pages! I love when she has a new book out as each one gets better every time!

The characters were well written I could empathise with Gabby. What an ending oh my goodness I was speechless didn’t see that coming at all! I’d highly highly recommend this book another cracking book by Kathryn Croft!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars

I very painfully finished this one, it was just dull and boring...sorry. Disappointing really. I have read others by the author and enjoyed them.

The Christmas Party
By: Kathryn Croft
Pub Date: October 3, 2025
Publisher: Bookouture
Christmas should be a time of reflection and gratitude, however longtime friends are finding the past difficult to forget.
Twelve years ago six friends were partying at one of their homes, and Gabby’s little sister Seffie comes up missing. Of course everyone is a suspect.
Now, after all this time Gabby says she needs closure and invites these same friends to a remote Scottish lake house. A storm is brewing in more ways than one.
A snow storm, a remote home, secrets, revenge and more! This novella was just the ticket.

I didn't realize this was an audiobook I already listened to. I didn't care for this book at all. It is def not on par with her other books. Very flat.

I rarely read novellas, but this one looked too good to miss, with a festive ‘locked door’ mystery and secrets I got in to it.

The novel starts well with good pacing and interesting enough characters and the vibe of Christmas past returning. But that was as much as I could enjoy, silly phrasing, ridiculous holes in the plot and then the most abrupt ending I have read. It was truly shocking that I invested my time in this for it to be so very disappointing.
I know people tend to be a little dramatic and say the book made no sense often, but this book doesn’t have a clear, logical ending, middle or beginning, and I wish I had read it in that order.
I hope this is edited and maybe entirely reworked

Six people spend their first Christmas together in twelve years. Their hostess knows one of them has information on her ten year old sister's disappearance.

Trapped and nowhere to go, so the mystery has to be solved. Everyone is a suspect - but I actually sussed out the perpetrator.
I found this to be a formulaic psychological thriller, but it was entertaining nontheless.

3/5 stars from me.

Does Gabby want revenge! What happened in the past? Suspense…red herrings…family and friends…this talented author has written a page turner. Realistic characters kept the story moving quickly. What will happen next? Is one of friends guilty? Who? What? Will these questions be answered? Enjoy solving this mystery. Thanks Netgalley

This book is everyone's worst nightmare. Nobody wants their relatives to go missing. Christmas will never be the same again.