On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests.
His lakeside holiday homes are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. This will be the party to end all parties.
But not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.
On New Year’s Day, DC Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects.
The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbours, friends and family – and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.
With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead . . . but who finally killed him.
In a village with this many secrets, a murder is just the beginning.
I’m not often drawn to an adult thriller, but there was something capturing my attention about The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh. When I found out this book was set in Snowdonia, where the author now lives, I found myself much more interested than I originally expected. I also heard the author talk about this book, which definitely made me want to pick it up!
However, it didn’t quite hit the spot for me. I listened to the audiobook, and I found it not as gripping as I expected it to be. I did really enjoy the setting, and the lakeside location was enjoyable to read about and fit the plot well. However, it didn’t feel overwhelmingly like it was Snowdonia, it felt like it could have been set in a lot of remote, mountainous locations.
I also found the cast of characters to be very large, and difficult to follow, especially on the audiobook. Because there was so many characters, it was difficult to connect to any one of them, meaning I was not too tied up or interested in the murder or who the murderer was.
I did enjoy the plot, however, and it was the strongest part of the book in my opinion. I was interested in the ending especially and finding out how everything tied together by the end.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with some elements I liked, but I don’t think I’ll be continuing with the series.
★★★
3 out of 5 stars
-Beth
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