The Festival

Woah this novel is dark and twisty. It’s a great read, one that will have you up late, on the edge of your seat. Thoroughly recommend this.

A story of a group of friends, all at different points in their lives and having been somewhat estranged, come back together to attend a music festival and revisit their youth.
I found that I identified with these characters, being the same age and having experienced some of their life experiences and I found the characters to be real and we'll rounded. I enjoyed the way each character has a distinctive voice and how she reflects the very real insecurities we all have, no matter how others may view us.
The plot slowly unfurls, gaining in pace until it reaches a breakneck conclusion and one that was just a little bit far-fetched when compared to the relative normalcy of the book as a whole.
Enjoyable, entertaining and ultimately satisfying, I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who loves a light-hearted crime thriller.

Absolutely loved each and every character in this book. They were so well written. The story followed each woman in generous chunks, not just focusing on Orly overall. Each woman was so relatable!

For Mel's 40th, these women bring us all to a festival to celebrate.... and Naughton certainly paints the scene. I've never been to a festival, but was able to imagine myself right there in the thick of it, thanks to the brilliant writing in this book.

Full of suspense and twisty turns. This book was 'unputdownable' ... I finished in roughly 24 hours!

What a gripping read this was!! I absolutely loved it!! It sums up everything I love in a story, festivals, murder and who is the killer!
I loved how the author wrote about each of the friends in this story! It really kept me guessing as to who could have been the murderer. A brilliant and gripping read, cannot wait to see what the author has for us next!

Thank you to Newgale, Orion and Sarah J. Naughton for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for my honest review. This book drew me in from the first pages. Knowing from the outset that not everyone survives was exciting as I was trying to work out who, why and how one of the friends dies. Interestingly written showing the darker side of friendships, the cliques within cliques and all the in fighting, competition, jealousies and snarkiness that goes with it. I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.

This was fantastic. The concept is right up my street: Four friends all with problems/secrets meet up for a weekend at a festival and someone is targeting them. You know from the start that at least one character is going to die and it's so much fun working out who, why and who the potential murderer/murderers are.

I was really excited to see a map when I first started reading. Love a map. It makes it so much easier to picture where the characters are and make the setting more real. Talking of the setting, the author did a fantastic job of describing the atmosphere at the festival.

At first I thought there was too much time spent on getting to know the characters before they even get to the festival but upon reflection I'm actually really glad we got all the backstory as it made me care about their fates much more.

I loved the sense of danger that the characters were in and I genuinely had no idea who the murderer would turn out to be. There were so many potential suspects and it was fun trying to work it out.

The only thing I didn't like was the insistence by multiple characters that people without children couldn't possibly be as happy as those with children. It's just not true and came across as a bit preachy.

Overall this was a brilliant read and I would definitely recommend it.

This book has been completely and utterly impossible to put down. I have been completely gripped, suspicious of all the characters involved and completely unable to predict where this book was going. This is well-written, completely addictive and all round a wonderful gem. I absolutely recommend this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a great read about four close friends, all dealing with things in their lives.
Orly is a recent widow, struggling to cope with the death of her husband. Lenny is a successful business women raising twins as a single mum. Mel is a struggling single mum of a teenage son who is about to leave for university, but she doesn’t know how she’ll cope and Thea is mum to two children but her partner seems to be losing interest in her.
With Lenny’s 40th birthday fast approaching they decide to get together for a weekend away and go to a local Festival that they went to when they were younger.
All is well until they find a case on the train which belongs to a man they just met, and agree to meet him at the Festival to return it to him. It seems he wanted them to find the case and take in the contents for him so they dump it when they realise what it contains.
Threatening texts are then received and also weird items left outside their tent.
It’s clear something will happen to some of the group but it was a surprise when I realised who was behind it all.
A great read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thanks to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

#TheFestival #NetGalley
An electrifying thriller of 2021.
Orly, Lenny, Mel and Thea have been best friends since school. But now it is 20 years later and inevitably they have drifted apart.
ONE WEEKEND.
It is Lenny's 40th birthday, plus Orly and Mel need cheered up, so Thea suggests a weekend away at a festival in their hometown. It's a chance for them all to reconnect.NOT ALL OF THEM WILL SURVIVE.But their holiday soon takes a sinister turn, and not all of the friends will leave the festival alive...
I loved this thriller. All are not what they seem in this book. It's brilliant.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group Trapeze for giving me an advance copy.

I read The Festival by Sarah J Naughton as part of my monthly online book club’s readalong with approximately 60 other members over a 3 week period.

The Festival is the story of four women now approaching their 40th birthdays who have been friends since school but their lives have all gone in very different directions.

Orly is a recent widow, grieving the death of her husband from Cancer and the loss of their hopes and dreams, Lenny is a successful business women raising her twins as a single mum and trying to balance her work and life, Mel is a struggling single mother of a teenage son who is about to leave for university and having severe “empty nest” concerns and Thea is the beautiful trophy partner of a rich older man who appears to be losing interest in her.

With Lenny’s 40th birthday fast approaching the ladies decide to get together for a weekend away and go to a Festival, held in their home town and escape their current situations by dancing and getting drunk and reliving their youth. However as this is a thriller you will expect things to go wrong and they certainly do in this book. Long kept secrets are uncovered, guilty consciences force the women to reveal the truth about their past and what should have been a weekend of fun and frolics turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

I really enjoyed the pace of the writing and getting to know each of the characters throughout the storyline. When the women find their lives in danger, there were several red herrings scattered throughout the book to ensure the reader is constantly kept on their toes and never quite knows who to trust.

I look forward to reading more from this author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

In many ways this is a book of two halves - the first delving deep into the live of a group of friends as they navigate their way towards midlife, the second a dark and tangled web set at a midsummer festival.

Much like Sarah J Naughton's last offering The Festival has strong themes of trust, lies and the power of female friendships.

A gripping psych thriller.

This thriller was an excellent tale on a “class reunion” kind of plots, only it takes place at a festival. Old secrets and grudges literally took my breath away. Highly recommended!

Oh I love this delightful book. Three friends go to a festival were murder turns out it’s on the song list. This book is basically set up like any huge festival Coachella. There’s even a map at the beginning of the book that kind of explains the layout. I was really into this it’s basically a psychological thriller and a mystery wrapped into one.


I highly recommend this