It all stats at a garden party where everyone is enjoying themselves when Nadine Walsh, the hostess, finds herself standing over a dead body in her basement. What happened?
Set over the course of a single day, the story rewinds to that morning with Nadine deep into last-minute preparations and as we follow her through the afternoon and evening Nadine is haunted with memories and secrets of a past birthday party 30 years ago.
This is an engaging read. Smoothly said and tightly plotted with charismatic characters, I liked them all. The story had me on the edge of my seat and I enjoyed the plot twists thrown in just at the right moment. The 3 parts split (morning, afternoon and evening) was a clever tactic to build anticipation and keep us engage. Tidbits of reveals (secrets) come our way to keep us guessing and engaged. I found this a wonderful mystery that is not taxing at all.
The best part was how Nadine’s character progresses from a loving wife and mother preparing a special event to gradually morphing into a suspicious, judgemental and deceiving individual. In my mind I pictured the gradual transformation in her character and I told myself mid-way Nadine is not what she appears to be. Ms. Stuart kept me riveted by using a first person narrative and pulling me into the mind of a killer.
“A Death at the party” is a solid story I zipped through in no time. Well said and well-done.
My thanks to Simon& Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC
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