The Beach Party by Amy Sheppard
Genre: Psychological thriller, Did Not Finish
Read: 27th August 2022
Audio links:
Published: 30th August 2022
★ 1 star
DESCRIPTION:
We were all at the party. Which of us wanted her dead?
As the smoke from the bonfire spirals into the night sky and the cool drinks slip down our throats, none of us can take our eyes off Lacey. She dances in the dunes, her long golden hair damp from her late-night swim, her smile dazzling, her blue eyes closed.
Everyone who is close to Lacey sits by the smoky fire. Her adoring boyfriend, who holds onto her, perhaps a little too tightly. Her little sister, always in Lacey’s shadow, sifting fine soft sand through her fingers, never taking her eyes off Lacey. And me. Sad and full of rage, after an argument forced the man I love to leave the party early.
When the fire burns out, we stumble away from the beach, along the cliff path – faces burned by the wind, hearts full of secrets. But Lacey never makes it home. The next morning, her body is found in the sand dunes, a heart-shaped locket missing from around her neck.
Who would have thought our beach party could end the way it did? Close friends gathered on the last night of a long hot summer – which one of us could have killed the girl everybody loved?
An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with an ending you will NEVER see coming! Strap in for a twisty rollercoaster ride that will keep you turning pages all night long. Perfect for anyone who adored The Holiday, The Guest List or Gone Girl.
MY THOUGHTS:
THE BEACH PARTY is something of a slow burn thriller that didn't quite reach the heights of anticipation I had...well...anticipated. I found the writing clunky and convoluted with "Sophie this" or "Sophie that" with every second sentence...almost as if Katie didn't have a thought of her own.
So the two young women, Katie and Sophie, met at uni whilst studying journalism. While Katie wanted to write it, Sophie wanted to broadcast it. At the same time being something of a social media influencer for fashion and beauty. The two friends decide to start a true crime podcast called Small Town, investigating cold cases, which they will research, write, record and produce together. That is until Tom comes onto the scene.
Katie knows Tom from her hometown in Cornwall. They grew up together and had the same friends. But ever since Sophie came home with her on one of her visits, Tom has been a fixture in Sophie's life and it soon becomes clear that there is no room for Katie as well.
And soon the podcast gets neglected also. That is, until a radio station then commissions six episodes on the murder of a girl who both Katie and Tom knew, at a beach party they had both attended five years ago, which to this day remains unsolved. Neither Katie nor Tom are excited at this prospect but Sophie is thrilled.
Now the three of them are on the journey from London back to Cornwall for a month long stay while they research the cold case two of them are reluctant to face. Returning home brings up many fears for Katie, mostly of what she might learn or what they may uncover about that night. And what really happened to Lacey.
This is Amy Sheppard's debut and while the premise was intriguing, the execution I found a little lacking. I'm not sure why but it just missed the mark with me. I think because the writing was so stilted and convoluted, some of it just didn't make sense. It was ludicrous. And I wasn't excited about anyone or anything and Katie was a sub-standard narrator that didn't have a voice for narration. It was more robotic than anything and it gave me (the reader) a sense of disconnection. And she seemed to have a crush on just about everyone at some point. Who is this story about again? Not only that, she appeared to be a tad bipolar with her paranoia and anxiety of just about everything.
I wanted to like this book but it just wasn't for me. I struggled so much with it I just gave up.
I would like to thank #AmySheppard, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheBeachParty in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Her debut novel is out in August 2022. A psychological thriller set in Cornwall called 'The Beach Party'.
Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Amy Sheppard here
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