About the Book
It’s the party to end all parties….but not everyone is here to celebrate.
On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.
On New Year’s Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family – and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.
With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead…but who finally killed him.
In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning.
Format: Hardback (448 pages) Publisher: Sphere
Publication date: 4th August 2022 Genre: Crime, Thriller
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My Review
The first in a new series featuring DC Ffion Morgan of North Wales CID, The Last Party is a clever and intricately constructed whodunit. Set in an exclusive small development of luxury lakeside lodges, it has the feel of a locked room mystery. As the book progresses it turns out pretty much everyone, including the residents of the nearby village, had a reason to want to kill Rhys Lloyd.
Since the murder scene is on the England/Wales border, DC Ffion Morgan is teamed up with DC Leo Brady of the Major Crime unit of Cheshire Constabulary. Their partnership gets off to a rocky start although, as we discover, they have more in common than they realise.
Alternating with the investigation are flashbacks to the months, weeks, days and hours running up to New Year’s Eve. These are told from a number of points of view, building up the back stories of the various characters as well as giving insights into their relationship with Rhys Lloyd whether that be business, personal or familial. I especially liked the way the author often ends a chapter with a teasing final sentence. For example, ‘[X] tells people it’s all water under the bridge. It couldn’t be further from the truth.’ As the book goes on, the motives keep on stacking up, as do the red herrings and false trails.
The author gives Ffion a sardonic, no-nonsense attitude and a deadpan sense of humour. However is that just a facade? Not only does the investigation expose fractures in the relationships between families but also between the lodge residents and the local community. And there are stresses in strains in Ffion’s and Leo’s domestic lives as well. However, I loved the way Ffion encouraged Leo to stand up to his overbearing boss.
The Last Party is an ingenious and absorbing crime mystery that will keep you guessing until the final chapter. The next book in the series, as yet untitled, is available to pre-order now.
I received a proof copy courtesy of Sphere.
In three words: Ingenious, intricate, engrossing
Try something similar: The Companion by Lesley Thomson
About the Author
Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award winning author of five Sunday Times bestselling novels. Translated into forty languages, her books have sold more than two million copies worldwide, have been New York Times and international bestsellers and have spent a combined total of sixty-four weeks in the Sunday Times bestseller chart. Clare lives in North Wales with her husband and their three children. (Photo: Twitter profile)