A Death at the Party
A Death at the Party
By: Amy Stuart
“Somehow, it came to this: a dead body on my bathroom floor.”
Because of the swearing, the unlikable characters, and the loose ends, this book didn’t do much for me.
I am also not a huge fan of books (or movies) that start with the end and then rewind to tell us how we got there. It removes some of the mystery!
This book begins by telling us that Nadine, the main character, is in her bathroom with a dying man, choosing not to call the police and allowing him to die.
“You did this.” she says.
So who is this guy?
Stuart throws a lot of options at us throughout the book of men Nadine might have a motive to kill. I didn’t necessarily ‘figure out’ who the man was for awhile, but the problem with that is that we still have the issue of all these other guys that did these other things or were suspicious for something. Unfortunately, some of these things didn’t really get resolution in a satisfying way.
I admit that part of that is because this book takes place in one day: the day of the party which ends with the death of the mysterious man. We get a few flashbacks for context, but otherwise everything happens within one day— morning, afternoon, and evening— and all loose ends can’t easily be tied up in that time frame.
The party is a sixtieth birthday garden party Nadine wanted to throw for her famous writer mother, Marilyn.
But these ladies don’t have a great track record with parties.
This party occurs on the anniversary of her mom’s 30th birthday party which had ended in her mother’s 15 year-old sister’s mysterious death (whose body Nadine— just ten at the time— found). Plus just last New Year’s Eve they had a party where Nadine fell down the stairs and shattered her hip.
Besides party tragedy, we’ve got another trauma that happened just six weeks ago when Nadine’s daughter found her friend, River, overdosed and is now in a coma.
There’s something not right with this family.
Stuart gives us hints that Nadine is hiding something. Keeping some secrets. And that she will do anything to protect the ones she loves.
“My job is to protect Marilyn, even if that means keeping secrets from her. No one, not even her, knows the truth better than me.”
“Even a marriage that seems steady to an outside can be full of ups and downs. I’ve often thought that it’s the downs that ultimately bring you closer. The losses you endure. The secrets you keep. I hope that for all our downs, Paul and I will hang on forever. Because despite my wrongdoings, the risks I’ve taken with our life together, I don’t know what I’d do without him. I need to believe he’d forgive me for almost anything.”
What makes Nadine unlikable is a bit hard to pin down. She’s a bit of a control freak. Suspicious. She had an affair that, even though it’s over now, no one knows about. And her inner dialogue isn’t super pleasant to listen to.
I think the author writes her specifically like this. After all, we have to believe that she’s killed a man so something had to have driven her to feel the feelings required for that and it’s the day of, so no development can happen to progress to that point slowly.
Also she uses ‘Jesus’ and ‘God’ as a curse allllll the time. Which turned me off as well.
In some ways this book reminded me of The Guest List which is also a book that takes place in one day (actually it’s two)— a wedding instead of a birthday party— but both have a death of someone and you aren’t told who it is til the end. But I didn’t really like that one other. I think it’s an interesting concept for a book but I’m not sure I’ve read one done really well.
Maybe The Dilemma? That’s a book over a one day period with a party, but without a death. Just some secrets between a husband and a wife about their daughter and a bit of a twist at the end. But even then, there was just a disconnect between the reader and the daughter which felt important.
I think I just like to read books with more depth, context, and development. I think I’d prefer more of a locked room/Sherlock type of mystery in a situation like this rather than a domestic thriller type of suspicion.
I’m just not going to be super invested in the characters and it leaves me with too many questions.
In terms of A Death at a Party, I don’t want to share my unanswered questions because that would give away who is NOT dead and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who is going to read the book.
I guess here’s a couple things I think I can get away with saying: Do we even really know WHY Nadine threw this party? What’s the deal with Marilyn? The two doors didn’t feel as momentous as I thought they were going to be. And I am just not sure what life will look like for Nadine after this because it feels like her problems are far from solved.
Some people like some open-endedness to books but that’s not my cup of tea.
Recommendation
I think there are some people who are going to like the book— especially if they like rewinded… rewound… books or stories that happen all in one day. But those who like more of a developing plot and likeable characters may want to pass on this one.
As other reviewers have commented, the cover is really pretty, but it didn’t quite live up to what I was hoping for when I picked it up.
It just felt a little too unsatisfying when I finished.
[Content Advisory: 54ish f-words, 18ish s-words; lots of ‘Jesus’ and ‘God.’; Nadine had an affair and there are some references to the trysts]
**Received a copy from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review**
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