A Death at the Party

A Novel

By: Amy Stuart

Narrated by: Kate Handford

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

In this tense, spellbinding thriller set over the course of a single day, a woman prepares for a party that goes dreadfully wrong—for fans of Ashley Audrain and Lisa Jewell.

Nadine Walsh’s summer garden party is in full swing. The neighbors all have cocktails, the catered food is exquisite—everything’s going according to plan.

But Nadine—devoted wife, loving mother, and doting daughter—finds herself standing over a dead body in her basement while her guests clink glasses upstairs. What happened? How did it come to this?

Rewind to that morning, when Nadine is in her kitchen, making last-minute preparations before she welcomes more than a hundred guests to her home to celebrate her mother’s birthday. But her husband is of little help to her, her two grown children are consumed with their own concerns, and her mother—only her mother knows that today isn’t just a birthday party. It marks another anniversary as well.

Still, Nadine will focus just on tonight. Everyone deserves a celebration after the year they’ve had. A chance for fun. A chance to forget. But it’s hard to forget when Nadine’s head is swirling with secrets, haunting memories, and concerns about what might happen when her guests unite.

©2023 Amy Stuart (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

“A terrific family drama. I adored it—absolutely compulsive reading as all the family skeletons are clamouring to get out of the cupboard. I inhaled this book over twenty-four hours.”—LIZ NUGENT, international bestselling author of Strange Sally Diamond and Little Cruelties

“A superb masterpiece. A Death at the Party brilliantly unfolds over the course of a single day, featuring a deliciously imperfect protagonist untwining her past as she prepares for the party of her life. Stuart's crisp writing and tightly paced plot made me hold my breath from the first line to the last. . . This is an absolutely stand-out book by a phenomenal talent.”—SAMANTHA M. BAILEY, #1 bestselling author of Watch Out for Her and Woman on the Edge

“What a mad delight this book is—so seductive and twisted. Highly recommended!”—SHARI LAPENA, New York Times bestselling author of Not a Happy Family

ok not great

Easy to figure out in the first few chapters what was going to happen. Easy to follow writing but very predictable. Did have likeable characters.

the suspense build up was intense!

This book started out light, but quickly started weaving the tangles and thorns. Starting with a passed loved one and escalating from there. Trigger warning for endangering minors and sexual assault.

Great read!

I enjoyed this story. It set the characters up well and slowly built up the story until the surprising and satisfying climax at the end. I also enjoyed the narrator who read this novel

Intelligent Well Written Supence

Well done Amy Stuart you wrote a great book and were not afraid to use a well placed "big word" once in a while
The narration by Kate Handford was beyond belief fantastic.
This book had twists, well drawn characters and it will keep you guessing.

Good Read

This was a pick from my book club, and I enjoyed listening. The reader was easy to listen to, and the characters were well developed. Once Nadine asked Teddy what kind of car he drove, I knew it was him.

Borrring!!

I have tried 3 times to get through this book and I just can’t. A lot of nothing going on. And I have listened to plenty of books that may not immediately grab my attention, but usually by the second chapter I’m in. Not this one. Narrator isn’t bad, but she just doesn’t do it for me. I will eventually attempt to listen again since I paid for it, but it’s a no from me on this one.

Where’s the mystery???

I got so bored with this book. Kept waiting for the mystery. For some suspense. I finally stopped listening. I know the author must have worked hard on this novel but enough about the main character! Get on with the whodunnit.