The Party on Laurel Street by Ruth Heald
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 30th June 2023
Published: 28th June 2023
★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Only she knows what really happened that night…
It was meant to be a time of celebration, of neighbours chatting over sparkling glasses of wine, enjoying the decadent surroundings of the huge mansion house which overlooked all the houses on Laurel Street. But then my troubled friend Gabbie has a heated argument with her husband. She leaves the party and disappears without a trace.
Gabbie’s neighbours rally round, painfully aware that Laurel Street has already had its share of tragedy. Years ago, when we were children, my best friend Erin vanished, never to be seen again, after having a secret party in the woods with me and Gabbie as our families celebrated the new year.
I want Gabbie to be found safe. I need her to come home. Because if she doesn’t, I know that all eyes will be on me as they were years ago.
But then I discover that my husband Luke was the last person to see Gabbie alive and I’m reminded of all the times I saw them getting close. As much as I pushed it to the back of my mind, I have to ask, can I really trust them? And worse, is someone about to make me pay for the secret I’ve been keeping for so long?
A totally unputdownable and gripping psychological thriller with a shocking twist for fans of Lisa Jewell, T.M. Logan and Louise Candlish.
MY THOUGHTS:
Only she knows what really happened that night...
Well...who would want to live on Laurel Street? Not me, that's for sure! But it made for an ideal setting. Nosy neighbours and all that. Roz was especially a thorn in my side with her exacting ideas for perfection on the street.
The story begins with a twenty five year old mystery of missing ten year old Erin who disappeared on New Years Eve party after she and her friends decided to hold a little party of their own in the woods. However, Erin brought her rucksack with her and was intent on running away. The question is...did she?
Some two decades later, Mel is returning to Laurel Street with her husband Luke and their one year old Lily, moving into the house she shared with her grandmother during her childhood. Since her gran passed she had left her house jointly to Mel and her mother, Angela, who was living in Spain. As soon as Mel arrived she was greeted by her childhood friend Gabbie who had also recently returned to the street with her husband and living in the house that Mel and Gabbie could only covet as children. But the shadow of Erin's disappearance still loomed largely over them.
At the end of the street sat the gothic manor house in which Erin had grown up and her mother Tamsin still lives. Every year Tamsin held a memorial in the village church for Erin. Mel continued a friendship with Tamsin over the years, the woman still clearly mourning the loss of her daughter with no closure and no idea what happened to her. When Tamsin decides to throw a party for the street, Mel steps in to help her organise and set up. Everyone in the street comes and it is a huge success. Until a drunken argument with her husband sees Gabbie storm out of the house...and vanishes without a trace.
At first, Mel thinks Gabbie has just left her husband as that is what he told her. But then all her calls to her friend not only go unanswered but go straight to voicemail, as if the phone is switched off. After two weeks and still no word, Mel is convinced something has happened to her and goes to the police.
The police presence on the street rakes up all old memories again from twenty five years before. They didn't find Erin then...can they find Gabbie now? Is Gabbie's disappearance linked to Erin's? Someone knows something and soon secrets begin to surface turning everyone's world upside down.
I have read all of Ruth Heald's books and I love her work though I would have to say that this one was less like a thriller than her others. It was a slow burn as the story gained momentum and was definitely intriguing but not one of her best. I did enjoy it for the most part, despite some of the unlikeable characters.
Overall, a compelling read dripping with secrets and tension.
I would like to thank #RuthHeald, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #ThePartyOnLaurelStreet in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Ruth grew up a suburban Buckinghamshire town. She studied Economics at Oxford and then worked in an eclectic mix of sectors from nuclear decommissioning to management consulting.
Seeking a more creative environment, she found a role at the BBC and worked there for nine years before leaving to write full time. Ruth is fascinated by psychology and finding out what drives people to violence, destruction and revenge. She’s married with one daughter and her novels explore our greatest fears in otherwise ordinary, domestic lives.
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