It was ok wasn’t a fan of it but good book to read

Blurb

Twenty years ago, a dark truth was buried. Now, the past is at her door and a killer will stop at nothing to keep it buried. 👀😱
Summer, 2005: Five students attend an end of year party. As dawn breaks the next day, four of the friends are preparing to leave when they realise one of the girls is missing. That's when the screaming starts.

2025: Amy is at home when there’s a knock at her door. The woman on her doorstep introduces herself as Hannah Hastings, a well-known true-crime podcaster. She’s investigating the drowning of a young woman at a party twenty years earlier. Amy slams the door, but the damage is done. And a few days later, she receives a threatening note, telling her not to speak to Hannah… or she’ll regret it.

Now, the night Amy has spent two decades trying to forget is coming back to haunt her. But this time, she’s the one in danger.

I had forgotten just how much I love this author and hadn’t read their books for a while. This was a fast paced psychological thriller which reopens the events of a party from 20 years ago and the events of that evening unfold through the pages interspersed with the present day. This story would make a good tv adaptation.

This was a quick read with lots of twists which kept me guessing until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of After the Party.

I love this sort of book. People running away from their past. The past rearing its ugly head when someone totally out of the loop starts meddling and researching. Just like… a true crime podcaster.

My opinion of ‘whodunnit’ changed with every chapter! And then… WHAM… take that! I did not see it coming until 2 sentences before the big reveal!

A very enjoyable, short read that will keep you entertained from start to finish!

After the Party hooked me right from the start with its dual timelines and slow-burning sense of dread. If you love your thrillers with buried secrets, a dose of true crime, and the lingering guilt of the past coming back to bite, this one delivers.

The story flips between a summer party in 2005 that ends in tragedy, and the present day, where Amy—now trying to live a quiet life—is forced to face what happened when a podcaster shows up at her door asking questions. The tension ramps up quickly, especially after Amy receives a threatening note. From there, it’s a twisty ride that had me second-guessing everything.

I really liked how real Amy felt—flawed, defensive, and clearly weighed down by something she hasn’t fully processed. The true-crime podcast angle added a modern, unsettling touch, especially the idea that something so personal and traumatic could suddenly become public fodder.

The reason this is a 4-star read and not a full 5? A few of the twists felt a little familiar if you read a lot of psychological thrillers, and some of the characters could have been fleshed out more. But overall, it was still an incredibly engaging, fast-paced read that kept me flipping pages late into the night.

C.L. Swatman knows how to build suspense, and After the Party is proof.

This is twisty, tense, read that is totally bingeable. Twenty years after a girl vanished at a summer party, a true-crime podcaster knocks on Amy’s door and cracks open secrets someone will kill to keep buried.

This is an average thriller . Told over two timelines. An easy read It was just okay, the characters are quite forgettable. Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for ARC.

This was not my favourite book, even though it’s an enjoyable enough read with a simple storyline, but it just didn’t do it for me unfortunately. By and large, the plot is good but the only few twists in the book were not difficult to guess and I felt it lack the tension and atmosphere that a good psychological thriller should have.
I did feel that the characters were easy to engage with, but some of the writing felt a bit amateurish to me, and the pacing could have been brisker. Perhaps if it had been told from multiple points of view it would have added more depth, but in my opinion, it was a bit one dimensional.
If you are looking for a mystery/ thriller that is strong in plot, character and atmosphere, then you may find this story falls short of your expectations.

Five students go to a party it only four return home.
20 years later Amy gets a shock when a true crime podcaster comes into her life, she’s scared to revisit the night that changed her life. She now feels that she’s the one in danger.
Gripping physiological read that will keep you on your toes. Brilliant

I couldn't put this down! Amy is a great character, is she in danger?

It was a twisty tale, with a few shocks along the way!

The Epilogue is just the kicker - right to the end you do not know what is happening!

Summer is a confusing character too, I loved her background and the descriptions. The two halves of a house was a really clever idea too!

A great psychological thriller.

after i read the blurb i new i wanted to read this book straight away and it went straight to the top of my pile. and im so glad i did. its was an absorbing and intriguing read that i had to keep turning the pages of from start to finish. it was clever, tight and engaging throughout. right until the end Swatman was leading me only where they wanted me to go. and i was trying to figure it out with all revelation or clue revealed. i was excited and surprised many times and a thriller it certainly was.
being suspicious of everyone is something i was throughout this book. i could quite pin any of them down. we learn of the story via two timelines with a group of friends that went to a party and then one went missing.
now in present day its appears the past certainly wont stay buried. someone wants it to come out. and someone then really does not.
Amy gets a knock on her door from a true crime pod caster digging into that night. Amy turns her away of course not wanting this bought back up. but then she gets a threatening note. telling her to stay away from this. and so it begins...
we then get to meet the others from that night who are also getting blackmailing notes. they are all different voices and with different things going on. they all have something being held against them even if they are saying the info isn't even true. but the threat is enough for them all to be fearful.
the threats added even more tensions to the story. there is way more at steak here. you really get to feel that coming off Amy in waves.
we get to know the story via present and past timelines slowly unravelling it for us in delicious increments. and the more you read the more you need to read. the more you know the more you need to know.
things get messier, scarier and more chaotic. and little twists keep coming at us to keep us on that edge.
a fab read and a fab time had with this book.

After the Party is such a a gripping psychological thriller that slips between a fateful party in 2005 and the present day, where buried secrets resurface. Tense, atmospheric, and emotionally charged, it’s a story of memory, guilt, and friendship that keeps you hooked until the final twist.

Twenty years ago a groups of friends get together for a party and one of them ends up drowning. Now twenty years later, a true crime podcaster named Hannah wants to open this case back up and goes to the remaining four friends. After Hannah reaches out, the four begin to receive threatening letters saying not to speak to Hannah. This was twisty and suspenseful. I liked the dual timeline so we can see what happened then and try to put the pieces together. Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

After the Party is a suspenseful psychological thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. I felt what the characters were feeling. The novel has a dual timeline: the summer of 2005 and the present. C. L. Swatman puts in lots of twists and turns to the very last page. If you enjoy thrillers, you will love this book.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved After the Party by C.L. Swatman. From the very first page, I was completely hooked it’s gripping, intense, and emotionally charged in all the right ways. The characters feel so real, and the twists kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to recommend this to everyone. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this great book. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Twenty years ago there was a party and Summer ended up drowning. Fast forward to today and podcaster Hannah is re-opening this cold case file to find out what really happened that fateful night. As Hannah starts to contact Summer;s friends who were also at the party that night, they all start to receive threatening letters stating that if they talk to Hannah some kind of harm will come to their loved ones. The group of 4 friends get together to compare notes and to see if they can find out who is sending the letters and what is being hidden from them. As they continue to investigate, a young woman shows up on Amy's doorstep who is the spitting image of Summer. I did enjoy this book for the most part until the reveal was made and then I was kind of not really interested anymore as I don't care for these cult story lines........Enjoy!!!

After the Party by C.L. Swatman is a tense and absorbing psychological thriller that explores how one night can destroy lives and how the past never truly stays buried. The novel moves seamlessly between two timelines. In 2005, five friends attend a university party that ends in tragedy when Summer disappears and never comes home. In 2025, Amy has built a quiet life by the sea, but everything she has tried to forget comes crashing back when a true-crime podcaster appears on her doorstep asking questions about that night. Soon, Amy and the others receive threatening notes that make it clear someone wants to keep the truth hidden.

Swatman does a brilliant job of capturing the recklessness of youth in the flashbacks while layering in an atmosphere of dread. In the present, Amy’s fear and isolation are palpable, especially as she begins to realize that danger is closing in. The shifting timelines are executed with precision, each chapter deepening the mystery and tightening the suspense. The characters are flawed and complex, each carrying guilt and secrets that make them compelling to follow.

What makes this story stand out is its atmosphere. Every secret feels heavy, every twist hits with impact, and the creeping sense of menace makes it impossible to put down. The conclusion is shocking, with revelations that left me both stunned and satisfied.

This is an engrossing thriller about friendship, betrayal, and the weight of the past. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy layered mysteries that deliver both emotional depth and relentless tension.

Told in two timelines, the summer of 2005 and the present. A true crime podcaster, Hannah Hastings, approaches a group of friends about the night Summer died. Amy, Olivia, Henry, and Michael were a tight knit circle while at university until they befriended Summer. Summer lives at a commune, doesn’t attend school, and a bad influence on Amy. It gets twisty, it’s predictable, and fast paced, a good read! Thank you to Boldwood for a copy.

This was just an ok read for me. The storyline was good but the characters were not developed enough and I didn’t really care much about any of them. Even when the ending came I honestly wasn’t surprised.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Wow!!! Is all I can say about this absolutely outstanding book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope there is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked! This was an outstanding novel from the cover to the last page!

It was a pleasure to read « AFTER THE PARTY » by C.L. Swatman. The plot continues to move forward at a good pace. The chapters are divided by « now » and « then » when Summer dies during a student party resulting in a friendship between Amy, Olivia, Henry and Michael to never recover. Each of them tries to bury the past, each of them suspicious of the others, and each of them now tormented by threats to the lives they have now established. It is a great premise and well executed. The epilogue is haunting. I highly recommend this novel.