"Sparkling with glamour and tainted by murder and desire – this twisted mystery centred on a secretive family and their clifftop mansion must be one of the summer’s hottest reads."
Psychological thrillers don’t get more glamourous than this. The lavish parties, expensive frocks and hedonistic escapades are like something lifted from the pages of a celebrity magazine – and a very dark one at that!
When Lucy Ross returns to the coastal town she spent a summer in over 20 years ago, it’s eerily coincidental that a body washes up on a nearby beach owned by her wealthy neighbours, the Whitlam’s. The gruesome discovery brings back troubling memories of a wild night Lucy spent at the Whitlam mansion, and the complex relationships she formed with the dysfunctional family as an impressionable teenager.
Don’t be fooled by the slightly slow start to Rebecca Heath’s debut thriller – once the real drama starts, you won’t look up or stop for breath until the novel reaches its thrilling climax. The characters will get into your head, the sexual tension will have you hot under the collar … not to mention the underlying tone of menace that will have you on pins throughout. The Summer Party has such an unpredictable, sinister edge – and a mass of brilliantly drawn, flawed characters – no wonder it's quite so addictive.
If you’re a fan of Big Little Lies, and are looking for a summer read to lose yourself in for a few hours, it absolutely ticks all the boxes. Let’s hope there's plenty more by Rebecca Heath coming down the line.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
Perfect families are only as perfect
as their best kept secrets.
Summer, 2000
The Whitlam siblings have it all and sixteen-year-old Lucy only wants one thing – to be close to them. Soon she's lazing around their impossibly large pool, wearing Annabel's expensive clothes and having secret rendezvous with Harry, until at their lavish clifftop party she sees something that could jeopardise it all.
Winter, 2020
One failed marriage later, Lucy is back in town and quickly lured back into the Whitlam's shiny world. But when a body washes up on the beach and someone seems determined to frame her for murder keeping their secrets this time could cost her everything.
Now that summer is over is she with them or against them?
A totally addictive psychological thriller you won't be able to put down. Perfect for readers of A. A. Torre, Gillian McAllister and The Guest List.
The Summer Party features in the following genres: Audiobooks of the Month, Debut Books of the Month, Recommendations, Crime and Mystery, Thriller and Suspense, Psychological thriller, Fiction
The Summer Party is available in Paperback, Audiobook
The Summer Party was written by Rebecca Heath and published by Head of Zeus
The Summer Party has 416 pages
£8.99