Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Last Party

Well paced thriller with just enough clues to keep you guessing and intrigued as the book goes along. A bit of a slower start, but speeds up halfway through

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akshade's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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kaseymkelley's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Clare Mackintosh for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Everyone at The Shore is not who they seem. What starts out as a traditional New Years Day swim in Cym Coed quickly turned into a nightmare when a dead body is floating in the water. Everyone has a reason to hate Rhys Lloyd, and no one is innocent.

I enjoyed this book overall! I thought it was a great mystery and had me unsure of who was responsible until the very last moment of the book. I feel like some of the story was a little too drawn out, so that’s my reason for 4 stars. Enjoyed otherwise!

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rachelwastaken's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Last Party is whodunit procedural mystery that begins with discovery of a body in the lake that divides more than just two countries.

Llyn Drych (Mirror Lake) is a much a part of this mystery as the characters themselves. Once firmly on Welsh soil, the lake has been divided between Wales (the village of Cwn Coed) and England, where the inhabitants of The Shore - including our victim, Rhys Lloyd - reside.

As the mystery unravels, we discover that no one is who they seem.

Rhys was a local celebrity who fled the village after he was discovered at a singing competition - only returning to claim the land his father once owned to build The Shore, a vacation home for the rich and elite. His family, friends, and locals are all suspects and the investigative team have their own secrets to hide.

DCI Ffion Morgan is the local investigator assigned to the case, joined by DCI Leo Brady from the nearby English task force. Together they are entrusted with determining not only where the murder took place (was it on Welsh, or English soil?), but also the who, what, when, where, why aspects of the crime.

With multiple narrators and points of view, and a nonlinear timeline - this mystery will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

I hesitated to begin this series based off other reviews saying this book was slow to start - but I disagree with those claims. Mackintosh does the characters justice as she weaves together the connections of the townies and tourists across the lake.
I found myself enjoying the chapters when Ffion, Ffi, was the main narrator and connected with her story the most - but loved all the twists thrown my way that kept me guessing until the end.

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milesofkiles's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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micaelamariem's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I’m not usually into mysteries but this one was fun, a lot due to its setting in Wales and seeing more of their culture as well as the struggle between the Welsh and the English. I also enjoyed the mirror structure plot, and found a lot of the backstory of different characters to add something new and thrilling. Some of the reveals about the characters were even more shocking then just the whodunit. Plus I love Leo’s and Ffion’s dynamic working together. I couldn’t guess who the killer was; everybody was a suspect, and I liked the uncertainty of that, too.

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Not my favorite, though the second half was much better than the first, and the characters grew on me. Full review to come!

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kimveach's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this mystery. The characters were interesting and created so many suspects. The setting of the border between Wales and England helped add to the conflict. I'll be reading future DC Morgan books.

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