The Party by Nora Valters
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 7th February 2023
Published: 16th November 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
This will be a party to remember. For all the wrong reasons.
Ruth loves her life in London – she has a high-powered career and a handsome and successful fiancé. This Christmas she’s bringing him back to her home town to meet her family and school friends, one of whom, Holly Murphy, has a new baby.
But, as the Christmas Eve party is in full swing, the unthinkable happens – Ruth drops the baby, injuring the little boy.
Or did she?
Ruth becomes convinced she didn’t cause the baby’s injuries, that they were inflicted before the party, that the Murphys are not the lovely family they appear to be.
Determined to discover what really happened to the child, Ruth digs for the truth. And won’t stop even when she’s shunned by her old friends, alienated from her fiancé, and sacked from her dream job.
MY THOUGHTS:
A party to remember...for all the wrong reasons...
All it takes is a split second. One minute Ruth has everything - friends, a loving fiance, a high-powered job she loves - to having nothing. And all it took was one moment in time when she was tipsy for her whole life, as she knew it, to change dramatically.
It's Christmas Eve and Ruth is up from London with her fiance Kofi to join her closest friends at their annual Christmas Eve party at friend Thandi's house. One of the group, Holly, has recently had a baby and is passing him around her friends. As the night draws further in and a few more drinks are consumed, Ruth finds herself with Holly, her once close friend whom she hasn't been close to since before her marriage to Shane. Ruth is the only one who hasn't had a hold of baby Dylan and so naturally she asks if she could. Holly hesitates before handing him over but Dylan goes easily and moulds himself in Ruth's arms.
But then in a split second when she reaches for her glass, baby Dylan slips from her lap and falls to the floor. You could cut the air with a knife through the silence as the group waits with baited breath for any sign of movement from the baby. Suddenly his eyes open followed by his mouth is an ear screeching howl. Ruth breathes a sigh of relief. He's okay; the baby is okay.
And then it is discovered his little body is covered in bruises and suddenly all fingers point to Ruth.
But something doesn't add up. She's no expert but the marks on baby Dylan's body are not consistent with the fall...or at least they don't appear to be to Ruth. But who would believe her? No one, it appears. And very soon Ruth finds herself without friends, fiance, job or a place to stay...since London held nothing for her in her quest to find out what really happened. Ruth is adamant that she will prove that she did not cause those marks on baby Dylan's little body. However, her quest turns into an obsession in which she becomes almost manic and incoherent at times in her search for the truth. But something was going on in Shane and Holly's house and she was determined to find out exactly what...just to keep Dylan safe, if nothing else.
At the beginning of the book we are thrown headlong into the party and find ourselves amidst such a group of people it was difficult to get one's head around them all at once. But they soon made their own unique presence felt. Mihika was certainly a force to be reckoned with while Thandi and Briony were pretty much kept in the background. The main players from the party we came up against were Ruth, Kofi, Lewis, Holly and Shane. And of course baby Dylan.
THE PARTY is a unique tale that certainly kept me engaged and had me thinking about the book even when I wasn't reading it, and I couldn't wait to get back to it. But the thing I struggled with was that Ruth's entire network of friends she had grown up with from school to now thirty-somethings just turned on her. They were meant to be close friends for nigh on over twenty years! Why would such close friends do that at the mere drop of a hat? And be so quick to judge and point the finger at her as being responsible yet couldn't possibly entertain the fact that something else was going on. And then there was Kofi. My gosh, his reaction and subsequent behaviour was just cold. I found him to be selfish and controlling not to mention his sudden rage at the mere sniff of alcohol or even mention of it. Ruth would be well rid of him, in my opinion. I don't care what his excuses are, his treatment of someone he was meant to love and support was atrocious. And don't get me started on her father. It was like he wasn't even related to her. So quick to disown her and believe the worst in her...bullying both her and her mother with snide little comments and insults. The man never had a kind word to say in the entire book!
And then there were Ruth's actions. They were seriously questionable to say the least and while I understood her motives they weren't really believable. I mean, would you do half the things she did in her position? I don't think so. But still...while the story wasn't overly believable it was certainly entertaining and kept me turning the pages to find out what happened.
When the twist came, I wasn't surprised. I had my suspicions as there were a few pieces I had already put together. But I didn't know the whole story and I was itching to uncover them. There was one aspect of the ending I didn't like...and given my review, when you read it I'm sure you'll know exactly what part I am referring to. But overall, a relatively satisfying conclusion.
I've not read Nora Valters before but after delving into this madhouse of events, I'm keen to test out some of her others.
Overall, THE PARTY is a good solid thriller that was a bit of a train wreck while at the same time you are unable look away as you fly through the pages. An entertaining read.
I would like to thank #NoraValters, #Netgalley and #InkubatorBooks for an ARC of #TheParty in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
She studied English Literature and Language at Oxford Brookes University before embarking on a career in marketing and copywriting.
Her debut psychological thriller Her Biggest Fan was published in October 2020. Now You Know came out in June 2021 and Here For You in January 2022. The Party was released in November 2022 and she’s currently writing her fifth novel, which will be out soon.
Nora loves to travel and has journeyed around the world. She enjoys exploring new places, painting, hiking, and is an avid reader. She’s also a bit obsessed with dogs…
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