Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz

Pages: 297 

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 5th of September 2023 

Everyone has a secret. Everyone has a motive. But only one of them brought a knife to the party . . .

To celebrate the end of high school, Izzy Morales joins her best friend Kassidy and five friends on a luxury 1920s-themed getaway at the glamorous Ashwood Manor. There, Izzy and her friends party in vintage dresses and expensive diamonds - until Kassidy's boyfriend turns up dead.

And when a raging storm traps them on the island with two detectives, the sparkling young socialites become the prime suspects in his murder. There's the girlfriend, and the other girl. The old friend, and the new friend. The brooding enigma. And then, there's Izzy - the girl who brought the knife . . .

A glamorous and scandalous modern murder mystery that'll have you reading through the night to find out whodunnit!

What I Have to Say 

Okay so to start with this book was really easy and fun to read. It was the sort of book that you could sink down into and really relax and enjoy. I found myself really looking forward to my sessions reading the book. I also loved the whole 1920s theme. I would really like to go away for a 1920s roleplaying holiday (although I would probably die without my kindle). 

The problem I had with this book though was the whole way it was set up to make it look like Izzy did it. I'm not going to say whether she did it or not, that would be a spoiler. But right from the start I didn't buy that she did it. If she did it, why did she not seem more guilty right after. She didn't act like she had just committed murder. 

But then on the other had,  if she didn't do it, why wasn't she more surprised by the fact that there was a murder!! I just spent the whole book trying to work out whether I should be disappointed in one respect or the o
ther. This made the ending just feel completely flat because it didn't make sense to me. 

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been a straight murder mystery rather than have Izzy set up as the killer straight away. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Death at the Party by Amy Stuart

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Penguin 

Released: 3rd of August 2023 

THE PLANNING TOOK MONTHS. THE MURDER JUST MOMENTS . . .

Nadine Walsh is determined to make her summer garden party the event of the year.

Everyone deserves a celebration after the year they've had. A chance to forget.

As she prepares to welcome her guests, however, Nadine can't help but be distracted. Her husband is of little help to her. Her two grown children are consumed with their own concerns.

But it's Nadine's own secrets that threaten to destroy her perfect party.

By the end of the night, Nadine will be standing over a dead body in the basement.

But which of her guests will she have murdered? And why?

What I Have to Say 

I don't think there was a single character I liked in this book. Maybe the daughter or the niece, but they didn't get a lot of screen time and I'm sure if they had, I would have hated them too. 

I didn't warm to Nadine at all. She seemed to hate and judge all of her neighbours, even the one she was having the affair with and that just set off on a bad foot to me. Then the story was massively predictable. It didn't really matter to me which neighbour she killed because all the ones it seemed likely to be were very interchangeable. 

Honestly I was just bored through most of this book. There was no tension there, not much desire to know more. I'm giving it three stars because it wasn't badly written, but I didn't enjoy it very much. 

3 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with this gifted copy for review.