The Party Hardcover – 13 Jul 2017

It is interesting to see how divided the reviews of this book are. I feel it is because people are coming into this with the wrong expectations. This is not a thriller, it is in my view a literary novel which has borrowed some of the structural elements of a thriller novel. But it does so in a very frustrating way for a thriller fan because it breaks the 'rules' of the genre. Every time that a scene leads up to something juicy, it is cut away to a different scene. Which means that we the reader have no chance of solving the puzzle, we are given no illusion of activity, we are forced to sit passively and watch the story unfold. Which is not what thriller readers want.Saying that, there is some lovely writing and some very interesting exploration of character. There are some great moments where all you can do is cringe at Martins sycophancy. Lucy was far and away the most engaging character and I would have loved about 100% more of her. But I think there was a failure to dig into Ben's emotions at having Martin chained to him for so many years. The ending was as flat as a pancake, very much a literary ending as opposed to a thriller one.So if your a fan of the thriller genre, avoid, this will just frustrate you. If you want an exploration of relationships, friendship and character you may enjoy it more.

Dreadful book. Cardboard characters I couldn't care less about and muddled plot. The writer is trying far too hard and as a result the prose is pretentious and self conscious. Also the writer obviously hasn't checked a lot of the facts she mentions (and has clearly never stayed in a Premier Inn).

The tag line is One Night - A lifetime of secrets. But it is basically just a story to reinforce the fact that the rich walk all over the rest of us and don't give a toss. In this story, the main characters are either incredibly wealthy and do whatever they want or they are sycophantic hangers on who are too stupid to see that they are being used. Not one character is likeable - not even the children.

This book is not just sold as a thriller, it reads like one. But it's not. It's nothing of the sort.Now, obviously, not every book is a thriller nor has to be thrilling, and the author can't be held to account for how her publishers chose to promote this book. However, what she can be held to account for is writing what is clearly supposed to be a 'thriller' and then not following through on that in terms of plot.This is a decent enough exploration of the relationship between two men and, to a lesser extent, their spouses, and there are some very clever, very well done looks at the same situation from two different perspectives, but there's not enough of that to call it a literary novel, and I don't believe it's supposed to be that. Instead we're led through the plot and interest is (initially) maintained through the devices a thriller writer uses.Unfortunately, about halfway through, as the plot begins drifting instead of tightening, a nagging doubt begins to appear that there may not be many thrills in store at all. Right up until the final 5% I thought there might at least be a little twist at the end that's led to the positive reviews. There's not. The book fizzles out rather pathetically. (Even the ending I'd thought looked most likely but probably not true because it's a bit too obvious / not exciting enough turned out to be ten times better than what actually transpires.)Greatly disappointing given the initial promise.

This isn't my usual read at all, but I responded to some credible social media coverage and gave it a go. What a great read! A gritty tale of a relationship over decades, with enough edge and a disturbing climax to satisfy anyone interested in the darker side of human nature.

Ben and Martin have been friends for 25 years, since their school days, but the friendship is an unequal one. The lack of balance in their relationship is never spoken about until, at Ben's 40th birthday party, things come to a head. Martin is and always has been an outsider. Seen by many as slightly odd and aloof, he idolises the wealthy, charismatic Ben, doing , quite literally anything for him. Ben likes and then tolerates Martin, until he reaches the point he feels he can do so no more, despite the hold Martin has over him. The complex relationship between the two men is brilliantly portrayed through the eyes of Martin and his long suffering wife, Lucy. From the outset, we know something awful happened at the party, but it is not until the end we are told what or why. The suspense builds well, mainly due to the well observed characterisation.

Two mysteries woven in two timelines. This is told by Martin and diary extracts by his wife Lucy. I hope my review does this book justice. The characterisation is flawless and so well written that even though most of the main characters are highly dislike-able you can’t help but want to know more. Add to that you know something has happened but not what and you have an amazing read. There’s an old saying “with friends like that who needs enemies” and it perfectly describes this cracking book.

This book was disappointing and did not live up to the hype. Although it began well, nothing much happened and the end was very flat. I certainly would not describe this book as thrilling.