Mary Grand – The House Party

‘The House Party’ by Mary Grand is an entertaining mystery story set in The Isle Of Wight.

Beth attends a house party with family and friends and while there, Kathleen begins to confide in her. They are interrupted by other guests approaching them, so Kathleen ends on ‘I will tell you later’. The only problem being is that Kathleen falls to her death the very next day. The question is, did she fall accidentally, was she pushed or was it suicide? Beth has her doubts after the previous evening’s conversation so makes it her mission to get to the bottom of this.

I liked how every single character that was present at the house party all played their part in the events. Beth is suspicious of them all, including her own husband and children. That said, I do think that when you are left hanging on to a thread with I will tell you later and there is no later, it makes the cogs in your brain go into overdrive. Especially when you are aware it is about secrets…enough to get the blood flowing faster.

I totally empathised with Beth, not only has she lost a friend, she has lost her in suspicious circumstances AND maybe someone close to her is responsible. Her task seemed impossible but I liked how she managed to solve the clues throughout, made me feel like it was akin to Agatha Christie, a cosy mystery murder and may really appeal to the fans of such books.
The suspense and the tension builds up all the way through and the twists and turns send you running down blind alleys, the totally wrong way. Then when the ending comes, well it’s hardly ever what you expect!

Thanks to Rachels Random Resources and Netgalley for the ARC of this book I thoroughly enjoyed it.