The Summer Party

by Kate Gray

It's the event of the year - the company summer party. Mel can't wait. Sun, sea, cocktails, her sights set on her work crush, and letting her hair down with her colleagues. One big happy family. What could go wrong?

But as the Champagne flows and the sun begins to set, cracks in the team start to appear. Secrets, lies, revenge. No one is as innocent as they seem.

But could someone be guilty of murder? Mel soon realises someone is orchestrating a deadly plan. And she needs to uncover the truth if she's going to get out alive . . .

A twisty and sun-soaked locked-room thriller that will leave you breathless. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Catherine Cooper and T.M. Logan.

Praise for Kate
'Deliciously addictive. The perfect summer thriller' Chris Whitaker
'Tense, pacy, twisty and ingeniously plotted' Isabelle Broom
'A nerve-jangling tale of tension, suspicion and betrayal' T.M. Logan
'Gripping. Atmospheric. Couldn't put it down' Imran Mahmood
'An addictive, jaw-dropping read' Claire Douglas
'Fantastically atmospheric and suspenseful' L.V. Matthews

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Summer, Fiction

358 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2024

Reviews

[Zoe Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written, exciting and page turning read that I didn’t want to put down. A perfect summer thriller with twists and turns and plenty of red herrings and speculation. Set in an eerily perfect paradise.

For the employees of ‘Flavour’ , their annual summer party is the event of the year they all look forward to. This year it is being held at Point Grey, a luxurious hotel on a remote sea fort off the coast of Portsmouth, where 8 members of staff drawn from a hat get VIP stays to also spend the night. Mel, the office HR lead is especially excited as her office crush Charlie and herself both won VIP stays.

But the staff are reeling in the aftermath of the death of coworker Holly after their Christmas party, and things soon come to a head once alcohol is involved and emotions are high. A fire breaks out at the hotel on party night and we are kept up to speed by chapters with newspaper articles and police interviews following the fire and chapters in the day and night of the summer party.

Who survives?
Who is to blame?
And why?

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for my arc in exchange for my honest review.

[WhatMichaelaReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't let the title fool you, this is about a work summer party and that is the only summer thing about it.

The book was well written and that's probably the only positive. The motivations of the characters did not make sense to me and felt extremely juvenile.

[Stephanie Bull · Rating 4 out of 5]

Digital Agency, Flavour, arrange their Summer Party at a disused Sea Fort in The Solent that has been converted into a luxury hotel. The only way to reach (and leave) the hotel is by a pre-arranged boat. Eight lucky members of staff, who think they have been randomly selected, stay overnight as VIPs. At a previous Christmas party Holly, a graduate trainee, had died of hyperthermia as she walked home alone. The death of this trainee is very much on people's minds, especially Mel from HR who is one of the eight chosen to stay over. As the drinks start to flow we become aware of the many undercurrents between various departments and individuals. All of which culminate into an explosive and gripping tale.

At the end of the evening the partygoers and hotel staff are taken back to the mainland, with the exception of the chosen eight and the hotel's Night Manager. Not too long after, one of the eight is found dead. The remaining seven very quickly realise they are trapped with no way of leaving the hotel. From this point the pace accelerates with twists, turns and unexpected revelations on nearly every page. Who, if any, will survive. The eight are a very interesting mix of quite complex personalities, with secrets and back stories that ultimately reveal why they were the ones selected to remain behind.

I thought the regular insertions of newspaper articles and police interviews a clever way of dropping tantalising clues into the narrative. At times I did question some of the decisions the eight made as they fought for survival. On a couple of occasions the storyline seemed a little far fetched, however I genuinely couldn't put the book down. The conclusion was very satisfying, and thinking about it after, wondered if there could be a slight variation to the one written. I love thrillers that leave one or two strands for the reader to ponder over.

Highly recommended if you want a fast paced and addictive Summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my advanced reader copy in return for my honest and unbiased review.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

I wasn't totally enamoured with this one I have to admit. The copy I received was a digital copy and the sections with the newspaper reports and police interviews were quite muddled up which may have affected my enjoyment of the book.

I'd had an idea who the "baddie" was going to be so the ending fell a little flat for me. The build up was good though.

3.5 stars rounded up

[Seb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was a good book, a decent plot (a typical whodunnit thriller), and superbly written.

[BookswithLydscl | · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to the biggest event of the year - The Summer Party, a tense and fast paced locked room thriller that is an ideal by the pool/holiday read this summer season.

In this story we meet Mel and the team at Flavour, a fashionable agency who have been invited to hold their summer shindig at the highly exclusive Point Grey Hotel, with only 8 of them winning the draw to stay overnight as VIPS. As the party develops secrets, lies and revenge become the new agenda and everyone invited to stay wonders why they were the 'lucky' ones to be chosen, especially as the bodies start to pile up.

I really enjoyed the structure of this story. Despite its initial slow start, and Mel being a wet blanket, the pace ramped up after the first third and the setting was particularly evocative and effective. I love an isolated setting which gives you 'And Then There Were None' vibes and we had also all the glitz, glamour and cattiness I would expect in this genre of vacation style thriller. I really liked the use of social media, police interviews and news articles interspersed between chapters to help move the story along as well as act as the present POV for the story. It was a more interesting way of doing a dual POV story and kept everything vague enough to want you to keep reading to see how the story unfolds.

Despite Mel being a bit of a drag of a main character at the start (especially her mooning over Charlie like a teenage girl), I did enjoy her character development and by the end was willing her on as she gained somewhat in confidence and was willing to push herself outside of her comfort zone. I admit, I saw a lot of my own personal traits in her so whilst cringing at her at times I also felt sorry for her and wanted her to come out victorious.

The ultimate reveal for the who I kind of guessed but I didn't get the why or the how which I liked. The reveals worked and I did generally enjoy the final few chapters which wrapped everything up with a few surprising elements.

This was a fast paced thriller that kept you engaged and invested as the action unfolds. Not all the characters are likeable at all but they do read very familiar to anyone who's worked in a classic office setting and some of them make for great victims. The locked room element was superb and the red herring and twists and turns added well to the mystery. Overall, a highly enjoyable read and comes recommended.

3.75* rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline | Mountain Leopard Press for a digital review copy of "The Summer Party " in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

[Silvie Klokgieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het is dé gebeurtenis van het jaar: het bedrijfszomerfeest. Mel kan niet wachten. Zon, zee, cocktails, haar zinnen gezet op haar werkverliefdheid, en zich uitleven bij haar collega's. Eén grote, gelukkige familie. Wat kan er misgaan?

Maar terwijl de champagne vloeit en de zon ondergaat, beginnen er scheuren in het team te verschijnen. Geheimen, leugens, wraak. Niemand is zo onschuldig als ze lijken. Maar kan iemand schuldig zijn aan moord?

Mel realiseert zich al snel dat iemand een dodelijk plan in gang zet. En ze moet de waarheid ontdekken als ze er levend uit wil komen...

'The Summer Party' begint de inleiding zo'n beetje met het einde van het verhaal, dus je weet dan al meteen dat er een dode is gevallen. Maar wie en wat er precies is gebeurd, is dan nog onduidelijk.

Vervolgens maak je een sprong naar wat weken daarvoor. Je leest over het geplande bedrijfsfeest, maar tegelijkertijd kom je ook iets te weten over een andere gebeurtenis en dit loopt als een rode draad door het verhaal. Wat dit is ga ik natuurlijk niet verklappen. ;-)

Eenmaal op de plaats van bestemming lijkt alles soepel te verlopen. De sfeer zit er goed in en iedereen lijkt het naar zijn/haar zin te hebben, totdat de eerste vreemde gebeurtenis voordoet. Vanaf dan loopt alles helemaal uit de hand en neemt de spanning flink toe.

Ik vond dit best een vermakelijk verhaal om te lezen. Je voelt dat het verleden iets met het heden te maken moet hebben, maar je blijft nieuwsgierig naar de waarheid. En dan is er natuurlijk de spannende sfeer op de locatie zelf. Wie is de dader? En waarom heeft diegene het op deze collega's voorzien?

Als je van Engelstalige thrillers houdt zou ik dit verhaal zeker lezen, want je komt genoeg plottwists tegen waardoor dit verhaal tot het einde boeiend blijft!

Beoordeling: 4,0 ⭐️

[Freyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

A modern take on a locked door mystery - with Flavour’s annual summer party taking place on a navy-sea-fort- turned-luxury-hotel, it should be a peaceful retreat for the 8 employee ‘VIP’s who stay overnight. But when one of them turns up dead, the pressure is on to find out what happened, before anyone else dies…

- review -
I absolutely got what the author was going for, the plot itself was an almost Agatha Christie-esque with group of people trapped in a remote location, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me.

Thank you to Headline Books for the gifted Advance Copy

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows Mel who works in HR at a fancy PR company. Her and her colleagues get to attend a luxury trip for their summer party and they're all buzzing. It's a steady start at the beginning of the book but ramps right up as we get further into the novel. In the vein of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None", we see the fun soon turn into disaster and someone is picking them off one by one. I enjoyed guessing who it was, I loved the tension between the characters and hearing about their backstories.

I really enjoyed reading the police interviews - I thought that was a nice addition and gave us another perspective. Mel's character did annoy me though, she was a bit too much of a stickler for the rules for me with jumbled priorities - more busy worrying about HR policy than people getting murdered. I didn't expect the ending and this was satisfying and wrapped everything up nicely. Overall, a fun and thrilling read!

Thanks Netgalley and Mountain Leopard Press (Headline) for the opportunity to review in exchange for an honest review.

[Vivien Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely one of the best thrillers I have read. This was completely addictive and impossible to put down. Kate Gray has also written the Honeymoon which was fantastic too. Well done Kate for this wonderful second book. Really wonderful

[Sammy Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was a roller-coaster of a read

[Kate Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick easy read

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did find this entertaining (particularly as the industry and location matched my own) but I predicted the twists very early, and the motivations fell a little flat. Still a good read.

[Leah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this, and I liked the way that articles, social media comments and the interviews were laid out in other ways and led you in to the next chapters

[Lorna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing book by Kate Gray. I never would have guessed that plot twist

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller set in the SOLENT, off Portsmouth



It’s the 20th June and the design agency Flavour has arranged to hold their employee Summer get-together on Point Grey, a striking man-made island, built in 1867 to protect Portsmouth Harbour from the threats of a French invasion. It is now owned by Cobalt Hotels and is a luxury and discreet getaway.

The team has travelled over by boat and spent the day and early evening enjoying the party. Eight people have been singled out to stay overnight, which of course upsets the dynamic between the employees. Those not chosen head back to the mainland, leaving the others behind to settle into their luxury suites, enjoy the jacuzzi and generally socialise.

At some levels this jolly get-together feels inappropriate because at the Christmas party held six months ago, they lost one of the team, who seemingly froze to death in her skimpy dress before she could get to the warmth of her own home. She is remembered at this Summer party, fond memories coupled with a real sense of unease.

Mel is in charge of HR and is keen on Charlie. Everyone knows about her unrequited love for him and she is taken aback that her longing for him is so publicly evident. Much of the story is told from her perspective. She senses fairly early on that things don’t feel quite right, compounded by the AC stuck on its lowest – freezing – setting, the water in the jacuzzi turned to high so that it is scalding. And then someone is found dead, someone slips and breaks an arm and there is no internet, no available landline, all adding to the sense of being marooned atop this island. The story channels Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, as people fall by the wayside…

Police interviews are slotted into the narrative at intervals early on, together with newspaper reports which all alert the reader to the fire that takes place during the night of their stay, and thus the reader already knows that things get wildly out of control. Who is behind the killings and why?

An easy to read story that perhaps loses a little of its momentum partway through, then ratchets up as the incarcerated party guests frantically fight against unseen forces. And of course a storm inevitably adds to the panic-stricken atmosphere, mayhem is unleashed as everyone strives to find ways to get to get to safety.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

PR company Flavour is having a huge company summer party. They have done PR for a place called Point Grey, a remote sea fort-turned luxury resort, who as a thank you have let them have an event at the Point Grey Castle sea fort in the Solent, off the coast of the UK. Flavour staffer Mel can’t wait, she is looking forward to a night out with her colleagues in a relaxed setting, and chance to talk to her work crush, Charlie, in a non-work environment, and perhaps, get to know him better.

As a big perk, eight lucky staff have been randomly chosen to stay overnight. Mel can’t believe her luck that she is one of the chosen ones, along with her crush! The staff all start to relax and enjoy themselves, the drinks are flowing and the sun is shining. The party is fantastic, until Mel’s boss makes an announcement that goes down like a lead balloon. When the sun goes down the rest of the company leave the eight lucky selectees behind, heading off via boat, the only way off the fort. The chosen few try to continue to party. It is just the eight of them, and the night manager Eddie, available if they need him.

The party soon takes a dramatic turn however, with tensions rising and lies uncovered. Then the murders start. Who can be trusted? How can they escape? Was it such a random selection that put them all together to begin with?

This was a thrilling read. The drama and suspense were built up really well and the cast of characters was broad, and the author had no compunctions about killing off people we were starting to form relationships with as a reader. The characters being trapped in such an isolated, yet luxury setting was a wonderful juxtaposition. I really enjoyed how the story was told from a mix of points of view, police interviews, and newspaper articles. It kept you engaged, and also guessing as to what the ending would be. A very fast paced, page turner, and definitely one to read!

*I received this book from NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

[Paula Sterling-Stead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little summer read here. Set around a digital agency, Flavour. One of their clients has offered eight lucky staff members to spend the night in their luxury hotel on an island. They have been chosen randomly or have they.
A year ago at another staff Christmas party, a young graduate trainee died of hyperthermia as she walked home coatless and intoxicated. Now a year on it's the summer party and there are plenty of drinks and celebrations going around. As staff let their hair down we start to see their back stories and cracks start to surface. Poor Mel in HR can not cope a break as she is desperately eager to be liked by the team or noticed by Charlie, a charismatic account handler. Dominique over does it as she accuses her team of disrespecting Holly's death and is removed from the Island. As the party erupts and drinks are spilt, It quickly becomes apparent that this group are anything but a happy family. Those randomly chosen have all had something to do with Holly during her time at the agency and it look like someone is out for revenge .
I guessed the culprit early on symply by the dynamics but that didn't spoil the plot.
I loved the structure of using social media to accompany the events. We learn fairly early on that there has been a fire and several bodies have been found. Gray then switches to show what really happened. It's high octane stuff and there are twists and turns at every page. Highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

[Henrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None meets Yrsa Sigurdardottir's The Silence Of The Sea .
The account of a small group of people stranded on an island takes up most chapters on the present tense, while some chapters in the future let us know of the tragedy that happened there, as well as of the ongoing investigation, without letting out too many spoiler details.

Although readable, it does lack the power of its "parents", or inspirational novels. It is a bit slow to start and also unnecessarily slow to get to the ending. In between, there are a few nail biting, suspenseful pages, with all the usual red herrings one can more or less see through.

Credibility gets to be a little stretched towards the explanation of the murders. I don't think it's ever a good idea to get multiple murderers if you're not dealing with criminal professional gangs. Ordinary people do not commit murder, so a single murderer in the course of one book is quite enough for me, but obviously most current authors do not seem to agree with this view.

Motivations just about make it, there's little background, so they're on the brink of feeling like last minute excuses.
I have read worse though.

Still, the infamous secret holding the protagonist in the claws of guilt throughout the book turns out to be completely laughable. It is arguably in character, I can see the idea behind it, but even so it feels thin.

In short, a good enough read full of potential that was somehow lost along the way.

[Nic_thebookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the event of the year - the company summer party. Mel can't wait to let her hair down with her colleagues. Sun, sea, and her sights set on her work crush. One big happy family.

But as the champagne flows and the sun begins to set, cracks in the team start to appear. Secrets, lies, revenge. No one is as innocent as they seem.

But could one of them be guilty of murder? Mel soon realises someone is orchestrating a deadly plan. And she must uncover the truth if she's going to get out alive……

You heard it here first (or maybe not 🤣) this is going to the be the thriller of the summer!!!! The Honeymoon which was Kate’s debut thriller last year was a summer spectacular - this is just as good!!

I absolutely love a locked door thriller and this one was not only locked door but an old military fort only accessible by boat!! This certainly ramped up the tension for the people who were at the party and also for me as the reader.

The characters were all so well written. They kept me guessing throughout as to if they could be trusted or not. I love unreliable characters in a thriller, they really keep you guessing.

For me this had absolutely everything that you want in a thriller - great atmospheric location, numerous untrustworthy characters and a fantastic plot that kept me guessing until the end.

If you’re going on holiday later in the summer this is the perfect suspenseful beach read. If you have no holidays planned get beach sounds on Spotify and just pretend 🤣🥰

[TrishAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flavour company had done a successful PR job for a luxury hotel, a hotel that was converted from an old fort set in the Solent, as a reward, the owners of Point Grey Hotel had invited the employees of Flavour to hold their annual Summer Party there and eight randomly chosen ones would spend the night in their luxury apartments.
Head of PR. meek and mild but diligent Mel is delighted to be one of the chosen few, she was even more delighted that her long time crush, Charlie, had also been chosen, perhaps her time to shine would come.
At the end of the party the eight remaining guests waved off the rest of the group as the boat took them back to the mainland and they prepared for a night of luxury and pampering but all is not as it seems on the island hotel, it soon becomes apparent that the eight were not chosen randomly but why were they chosen ?
The first death occurs and the remaining seven soon come to realise that they are trapped in the middle of the ocean, they have no means of escape.
As the body count escalates they are all terrified, who would be next ? who is committing the murders and why ?
This book is a bit slow to get going but quickly picks up, I must admit that right until the end I didn't warm to Mel's character, I thought she was a bit of a wimp but it is a good plot with plenty of suspense and action and I did guess some of it but not the whole.
Thank yo Net Gallery for my ARC, me review is totally voluntary.

[Mark taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.


The Summer Party by Kate Gray is a mystery thriller about Mel who attends a work party set in an exclusive Island Hotel.

However as the drinks flow, things start to turn dark as things start to turn dark and for the lucky few who are staying overnight even murder.

The Summer Party is a mystery novel, that uses the setting of a small island to heighten the tension as there is no war for the individuals to escape, yes I know this is not a new plot line however Kate Gray carries this of well,

The narrative of the story is told entirely through Mel’s perspective who while playing a major part of the story she puts herself on the outside of any friendship groups of the workforce.

However I am not sure if this is because of a number of reasons, Mel works is the only one in HR, Mel’s personality or even just the way that the story is written.

Either way this allows the reader an overview of the novel, however only from one perspective, having said that Mel’s character is very good at keeping personal information from the reader, in an almost unreliable narrator way.

Having said this about only having Mel’S perspective to the story allows The Summer Party by Kate Gray to have a number of twists and turns needed for a thriller to work.

All of which makes The Summer Party by Kate Gray an enjoyable beach read mystery Thriller.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mel works at design agency Flavour and is excited for their summer party at a luxury, remote hotel. As the party gets under way, cracks begin to appear and soon she discovers someone has come up with a deadly plan. Will she make it through and discover the truth?

Having read this author’s debut, The Honeymoon, when it was first released and really enjoying it, I knew I needed to get my hands on her second novel. The Summer Party was another great offering. The story starts strongly and I found myself invested, wanting to find out what happened next. There is plenty of eeriness and tension to keep you reading. By the end up head was spinning, not knowing who to trust.

I think the characters are written well, but there are a lot to remember and Mel’s personality frustrated me at times. Although the storyline was entertaining, it felt as though it was slightly too long and could have done with reducing some of the repetitive parts. These are just a few minor issues however, and overall I found this to be a suspenseful, fun thriller, which is a perfect holiday read. I look forward to more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast paced locked room murder mystery . It was an enjoyable and exciting read overall and I raced through the pages, but at times it could be boring and dull but I think this was down to the main character Mel. She didn’t have much depth and had been harbouring a massive secret that really was a massive let down.

Mel is the HR manager at a marketing firm who are having their annual summer party in a fancy hotel on an isolated island. 8 staff members won an overnight stay but soon they are left fearing for their lives! What has this to do with them and how does it connect to Holly who died on the last works night out?

I found this book to be rather predictable and I correctly guessed the baddy rather early on, there was some doubt and it was good to get to the end to see how everything would be tied up.

That being said, I raced through the pages and couldn’t wait to get to the end. The chapters were short and I really liked the newspaper articles and police manuscripts that were slotted in throughout the book.

If you love a good locked room murder mystery, then this will be right up your street!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Mountain Lion Press for this advanced digital copy!

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this summer thriller and found myself devouring it. The setting of the book gave me serious Fort Boyard vibes and the seclusion of the location only attributed to the thriller aspect of the story.
The storyline was good and I liked how the dual timeline was told, as it allowed for us to see what happened on the past staff party and insight into the characters. I really liked how police interviews and newspaper articles broke up the prose of the story and allowed us to see a little into what does happen within the party at the end.
I really liked Mel's character and you could sense a naivety within her and a need for inclusion. She also had an inner strength, and she wouldn't back down in signs of trouble and constantly searched for answers. There were a few questionable colleagues who she worked with and at one point or another, I questioned them all. The tension continued to build towards the end and I could not stop turning the pages, wanting to know what was next. The twist within the story regarding the real culprit I was not expecting at all and I liked how this came about.
This was a fantastic thriller that I would really recommend and I immediately went straight into her previous book, The Honeymoon.

[V Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's debut novel, The Honeymoon and this was another tense, gripping twister of a novel! Loved it!

The story starts with Mel and some chosen few colleagues staying at a luxurious hotel as part of their work summer party. What starts as excitement, soon turns to recriminations and then terror, as it becomes apparent that someone has revenge on their mind....

This Agatha Christie style locked room thriller hooked me in straight away and reminded me (in a good way) of And Then There Were None. Mel, as the main protagonist, is relatable especially in her behaviour around her work colleagues and I found myself rooting for her from the start. The tension builds quickly and from then on, things escalate until I had no idea who would be next! The hotel setting was imaginatively described and the uncertainty and fear between the characters was palpable!

The perfect holiday read, I cannot wait to see what Kate Gray comes up with next! Definitely recommended.

Thanks to author Kate Gray, publishers Headline Mountain Leopard Press and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this was one wonderful thriller.

I was never completely sure who was behind everything, and although my suspicions were partially correct, the journey to discover that as well as all the secrets that come out in a group of colleagues is well worth the read.

There are news articles dotted throughout the story, reporting as information comes to light, about a summer party that clearly ended in tragedy.

And between that the reader is treated to everything from Mel's point of view, and she is one of the "lucky VIPS" being allowed to stay the night at this exclusive and isolated setting on the Solent.

After the main party is over and the lucky ones are left behind, its starts to become very clear things aren't what they seem. And then it becomes rather life threatening to say the least.

This was a wonderfully plotted book that had my attention from beginning to end. I was gripped, I had theories and I was invested in finding out the truth.

Set predominately over the course of an evening, its fairly quick paced, and just brilliant.

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

[Farah G · Rating 3 out of 5]

When HR manager Mel is chosen to be one of the select few in their agency who win an overnight stay at a lavish hotel which is being relaunched through a PR campaign run by the agency, she is thrilled. Things like this don't happen to people like her, and it gives her chance to get closer to her office crush, Charlie.

Except that things don't work out quite as expected. While Mel has been closely guarding her involvement in the tragic death of a young colleague, Holly, several months ago, it turns out that Mel may not be only one in the office with secrets. And all is about to be revealed in the worst possible way at the much anticipated office party...

This story was entertaining enough and an easy read. But elements of it were so reminiscent of a classic slasher movie, that I found it a little hard to take seriously. I did guess the most unlikely part of the plot, but the author did a good job of dropping red herrings along the way. A fun read based on a familiar trope.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mel is the HR manager at Flavours Agency. She feels unloved and mostly unseen, so she is eager to please everybody. Mel is delighted when she is chosen as one of 8 VIP’s invited to stay the night, after the company’s summer party on Point Grey, a fort in the Solent turned into an hotel. Mel started off seeming a bit naive and silly but as the story developed so did she and I found myself rooting for her.

Briefly, the excitement turns to horror as one by one, the not so lucky 8 are picked off by various murderous methods. With no means of contacting the mainland can Mel and the others survive and work out why they have been targeted.

A clever and devious locked room thriller with twists and shocks right to the end as secrets are revealed. I liked the addition of the police interviews and the newspaper articles which added depth to the narrative acting as the past in this dual timeline story. A fast paced and exciting read.

[RachelReads9 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot focuses on a company who go to a fort in the middle of the sea for their company party. Several employees are chosen as VIP guest and get to stay the night. Book is written through the perspective of Mel who is the HR manager. I initially found it a bit slow and wasn’t getting too invested, once they get to the fort and things start to go wrong it felt a bit drawn out..the story is majority one party so it stretched out a bit. However about 2/3 in it started to get a bit more interesting and I read the last bit very quickly to find out what happened. Overall, it felt a bit like an American horror film and the motivations of some characters felt far fetched. It’s not my usual type of thriller where the characters are usually more relatable. Think I preferred the Honeymoon by this author, but all in all a good easy read that kept me guessing to the end although I did guess a lot of the plot twists.