The Party

Gr 9 Up–Ten friends from a UK boarding school are invited to a boozy, weekend spring break party in the remote, decaying castle owned by the parents of wealthy twins Allegra and Fergus. The aura of secrecy surrounding the weekend makes Bessie uneasy, but she tries to focus on the positives—things in their friend group have been strained since a car accident the year prior, and the party offers a chance at normalcy. When they arrive, however, Bessie is concerned to learn that locals opposed to the castle’s development into luxury apartments have made threats against the family; then a brewing storm quickly cuts them off from civilization. They wake up the next morning to find one of the party murdered. As bodies pile up and the storm rages, Bessie works to determine whether the serial killer is an angry local or one of her closest friends, all while facing a mounting fear that she will become the next victim. While suffering from bland, repetitive dialogue; interchangeable characters; and a frustrating final twist that is repeated multiple times, this novel will nevertheless find an audience with reluctant readers and those who are fans of the author’s previous work. Bessie is cued as white, Shen and Jia are from China, and other supporting characters are cued as diverse in terms of skin tone.