Book Review - The Surprise Party by Julia Crouch

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Title: The Surprise Party

Author: Julia Crouch

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 28th June 2024

Rating: 3 Stars

The party is a surprise… but what happens afterwards will destroy everything.

To celebrate my special birthday, my husband and I have returned to the beautiful Greek island village where we spent our honeymoon. If two weeks in this paradise don’t fix our marriage, nothing will.

But then the next day a second boat arrives, full of my friends and family. My grown-up children jump on to the shore, grinning and holding balloons. My husband beams at me and says, “Surprise!”

I should be overjoyed, but there was a reason I wanted it to be just the two of us. Now I won’t have the chance to confess what I’ve been hiding for years…

As my husband hands out champagne, I watch my children glare at him. I stare out at the sparkling sea and try not to mind my best friend flirting with him. I’m terrified at the fractures in my family, which I’m about to rip open.

But even after my party ended in disaster, I didn’t expect anyone to die…

A completely gripping psychological thriller about the darkness at the heart of a family and how far a mother will go to protect her children that will keep you glued to the pages as you discover twist after twist. Fans of Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware and Lucy Clarke will love The Surprise Party.

This was certainly a gripping story, and it was set in a fabulous location. 

However I really found myself not being a fan of most of the characters. They were all quite hard to like and Eve is an utter doormat and seems to be able to manipulated by everyone in her life. 

There are all sorts of secrets to uncover, but nothing that overtly shocked me or had me gasping.  I was keen to know what was happening but ultimately it didn't quite grab me in they way I hoped it would. 

I was able to read it quickly, as I wasn't feeling great and this certainly took my mind of my cold, but at least some of the key reveals I guessed fairly early, and with my disconnect from most of the characters, it just didn't work for me. 

It's not a bad book by any stretch, but I think it may have just been the wrong book for me at the wrong time. 

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.