The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

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Description:
At midnight, one of them is dead.
By morning, all of them are suspects.

It’s a party to end all parties, but not everyone is here to celebrate.

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.

But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year’s Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, 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, murder is just the beginning.

Review:

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh is the start of mystery thriller series. I have become a big fan of Mackintosh, having read all her wonderful thrillers.   On New Year’s Eve, during a big party thrown by a wealthy famous singer, Rhys Lloyd, was found dead in the freezing water of the lake by his mansion, later that night. The case is assigned to Detective Constable Ffion Morgan from North Wales CD and Leo Brady from Cheshire Major Crime; with Ffion being part of the Wales side and Leo being part of the English side.

Ffion, our heroine, is mostly the lead in this story, with Leo playing a big part.  She is a great protagonist, strong, determined, as well as having an emotional past; but she is a great detective. On the site, Ffion and Leo interview many of the people who attended the party, as well as the swim earlier in the day; Ffion knows all the locals, and there are so many suspects, which include her neighbors, friends and even family. Though all the locals were thrilled to be at the party, truth begins to show that Rhys Lloyd was hated by most of the town; he was not the good man he pretended to be.

The storyline switches often from the past and the present, learning more about Rhys, and the other locals who had past conflicts, tensions with many.  Ffion was under pressure during the interviews, which included those who were parts of Lloyd’s life; his wife Yasmin, his partner, Jonty, those who owed him money, and other locals who purchased lodges, Clemmie, Caleb, Dee and those who Lloyd used, such as Mia, Seren, Huw, etc.  Ffion also reflects back to her childhood, which comes back to haunt her.   To say too much more would be spoilers and this is an intriguing, complex psychological thriller that revealing anything would ruin it for you.

The Last Party was an intense small town murder mystery that kept me glued to my kindle.  There so many suspects, and every time Ffion and Leo thought they had the killer, things would change fast.  The Last Party was a psychological thriller, with surprising twists and turns, that was so very well written by Clare Mackintosh.  If you like thrillers, you most definitely need to read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher