Title: Party of Liars
Author: Kelsey Cox
Publication: July 1, 2025
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Thrillers
Pages: 336
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SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.
It’s a killer guest list . . .
DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl
ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house
MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume
KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .
Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Nothing makes a better suspense novel more than a death at a party full of rich people! It almost always seems like everyone is guilty when you are trying to pick who you think did the crime. Kelsey Cox has delivered a fantastic, twisty story that kept me guessing through to the end.
The story is that of a teenager’s party, but filled with adults from her life. When someone falls from the balcony dead, everyone is a suspect. There’s a lot of options, as we have a group of teens as well as adults, and a lot of the adults have questionable motives and a lot of grudges going around. Cox wrote a lot of interesting characters that kept the story moving. While it jumped around a bit, I really enjoyed how we got to get glimpses of a lot of the characters so we could try and figure out motives. I usually like at least one character, but none of the characters really stuck to me, which is probably what kept me from giving the book five stars. I always like to have one character I kind of bond with.
Cox definitely kept me guessing. I read the book quite quickly because I needed to know how it ended. Page-turner would definitely be how I described it. If you love a great, twisty domestic thriller with a lot of characters, then Party of Liars is for you! You will not be disappointed.
