There’s nothing worse than a bad party—I mean, to think that you could have just stayed home! Or worse: you responded to one invitation as a yes before you got the second, so you could have been having fun, but you jumped the gun. Still, nothing’s as bad as a party ending in a crime, especially if you’re a suspect. Check out these 6 thrillers for some stories about parties that went wrong.
Murray Sedgemont proposes to Kass Baptiste after a whirlwind romance—so quick did they fall in love that she hasn’t even gotten to meet the Sedemonts yet. She finds it odd that they receive an invitation to an engagement party in their honor before they even announce it, but she’s excited to meet the family. She’s surprised again, though, when the Sedgemonts turn out to be one of the most rich and powerful families in North Carolina… and she’s even more surprised when just as the champagne pops, a body is discovered in the Sedgemont estate. Kass is the middle-class interloper among the bluebloods, so everyone suspects her. She simultaneously has to prove her innocence and face secrets in her past.
Format
Hardcover
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Lucy knows that she’ll always come second to her husband Martin’s sacred, lifelong friendship to Ben. They’ve been inseparable since childhood, which she finds sweet and unlikely given their class difference. Martin is earning his career as an art critic after a poor childhood, and Ben is London old money. So it’s no surprise that the 40th birthday party Ben throws for himself at his new country estate is a lavish soiree… but what does surprise her is the next morning, when Martin gets called into a police station for questioning about the events of the night before. What exactly happened at that party? And what’s kept this friendship going over the course of a lifetime?
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If you’re a thriller lover, then there’s no way Big Little Lies snuck past you. Still: do you remember the party where the three women’s timelines crash into one another? We have Celeste, a beautiful woman with a secret flaw to her perfection. There’s Madeline, the passionate mother who remembers everything. And then there’s Jane, the new, single mom in town who is so young that the others mistake her for a nanny. All their pasts come rushing together at a fundraiser party with the theme of Audrey and Elvis, where everyone’s dressed like different iterations of the celebrities.
Format
Trade Paperback
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Ellery Wainwright was supposed to be at this resort in beautiful Big Sur, California, with her husband, to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary. But she finds herself alone at Broken Point. And to make matters worse, there’s a wedding taking place during her stay, and that celebration throws her own life into relief. With a little perspective provided by distance, she might not be as happy as she thought she was. When she discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool during a rainstorm, she naturally reports it right away… but before the police can arrive on the scene, a mudslide washes out the road to the resort. Now the guests are trapped. When another guest dies, she knows something is terribly wrong.
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One year ago, Jemma and Matt were invited to Matt’s old friend Lucas Jarrett’s beachfront palace for his intimate wedding. No one expected that the bride would die that very night, and she’ll never forget the sight of her lifeless body floating toward the shore. A year later, Lucas has invited them back for the anniversary of her death. He’s convinced someone knows more about her death than they’ll admit, and he’s developed a game to bring the truth to light.
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My favorite parties are always costume parties, so I couldn’t not include this novel. At a Halloween party, thirteen-year-old Joyce brags that she once saw someone get murdered. No one believes her. Not until the end of the party, when Joyce’s body is found in the apple-bobbing tub. Hercule Poirot arrives on the scene to investigate, and his first operation is whether he’s looking for a person who’s murdered one person or two.
Format
Trade Paperback
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around June 14, 2011. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
