The Christmas Party

by Kathryn Croft

On a cold winter’s night, a little girl went missing. What really happened at the Christmas party?

Twelve years ago, the six of us were young and carefree, getting ready to celebrate Christmas. We had the house to no parents, nobody telling us to behave. We just had to look after Seffie, my friend Gabby’s little sister. We thought she was tucked up safely in her lilac pyjamas, sleeping through the music. We were wrong. The next morning, when we went to wake her, her bed was empty. She was never seen again. And no one ever found out why…

Twelve years later, I receive a call from Gabby, inviting me to spend Christmas at her remote Scottish lake house. None of us have spoken since the night that Seffie disappeared, and part of me knows I shouldn’t go.

But Gabby says we need to be together to help us move on. Yet as soon as I arrive, it becomes clear that she has another reason to bring us all together. She claims one of us knows what happened to her little sister. And, as a snowstorm traps us in the house, she’ll stop at nothing to get to the truth…

An absolutely gripping novella from an Amazon No.1 bestselling author. Strap yourself in for a totally twisty page-turner that will leave you gasping for breath. Fans of The Housemaid and Lisa Jewell will be hooked on The Christmas Party.

What everyone is saying about The Christmas Party:

‘Wow, what a book!! It was addictive, chilling and mind-blowing; a real page-turner that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout each chapter… What an ending oh my goodness I was speechless didn’t see that coming at all! I’d highly highly recommend this book another cracking book by Kathryn Croft!’ Acre Reviews by M, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘If I could give more than 5 stars, I would! Wow! What a good thriller!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A highly addictive read! … A thrilling, twisty tale!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This one had me so engrossed that I completely lost track of time—I didn’t even notice how short it was! With plenty of twists and turns, I found myself unable to put it down. The author does a fantastic job of keeping you guessing, spinning your head with unexpected revelations. I absolutely loved this read!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I loved every minute of it. I got so lost in the story and lost track of time. I finished it in just one sitting. It was just that good.’ Blue Moon Blogger, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Very gripping. I always like this author for a good, intriguing read.’ Innovated Reading, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A superb psychological thriller…enthralling and full of drama… Highly recommended.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genres: Audiobook, Thriller, Christmas, Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller

209 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 31, 2024

Reviews

[Debra - can't post any comments on site today grrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleighbells will not be ringing this year for friends who have gathered at a remote Scottish lake house! The snow is falling but no one will be decking the halls as Gabby has invited her friends to celebrate Christmas with her. It will be there in her lake house where they will revisit their 'ghost' of Christmas past. Twelve years ago, the six friends gathered to celebrate Christmas without any adult supervision. All they had to do was look after Gabby's little sister, Seffie. They thought she was all nestled as tight as a bug in a rug up in her bedroom while they had a night of fun but in the morning, Seffie was nowhere to be found!

Come to the Lake house, Gabby said. We will all move on, Gabby said. Gabby lied! She believes that one of them knows what happened to her sister and she wants answer! Woohoo, Kathryn Croft has delivered once again!!!! The Christmas Party brings on the secrets, lies, tension, suspense and revelations! This was a fast-moving book which me guessing and coming up with my own theories only to have another twist and reveal pop up and see me starting over with my suspect list.

I had a great time reading this book. The book is told in two timelines which had me fully immersed in the book and glued to the pages. How well do you know your friends?? Could one of them be a killer?????? I loved the setting, the atmosphere, the trapped feeling and the quest for answers.

Gripping, shocking, chilling, and hard to put down! The Christmas Party is a wonderfully written, well thought out, and shocking page turner!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖

[Callie Kakascik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't expect much going into this one, and that's what I got. It started ok, but the ending was so abrupt that it felt like the author just gave up.



3-stars

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long enough to be a novel but felt more like a novella given how quick I read it. A woman reluctantly accepts an invitation from a former friend to spend the holidays with their group of 4 other friends. After a haunting incident just over a decade ago they've all lost touch. But have the really, we come to discover... and the secrets begin spilling out. Another death rocks the house, and just when I figured it out, the book abruptly ends. I was at 81% and thought... that's a little early on so this must be misleading. Then the book went on to have a totally different short story for the last 15%. Oh well... still enjoyed it but that ending was like... " and then I discovered the killer was X. And (s)he went to prison/died this was all solved. Thanks for reading." I exaggerate but really, it needed another 2 chapters to unfold and let readers lull in the way each surviving character moves on. But still enjoyed it.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything about this book screams my name. Christmas/winter setting, group of folks "locked in", everyone has a secret and you don't know who to trust, including the narrator. This was a fairly quick read and I don't know if that's what cause this book to falter. Everything was going splendidly well till the last two or three minutes. I seriously had to check to see if I had missed something by accident. It almost felt like the author just randomly decided they were done and just stopped. All in all it was still an interesting read for me. Just a tad confused by the very rushed and haphazardly wrapped ending.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read from Kathryn croft. A group of friends enjoying a Christmas party at safffie House something bad happens saffie younger sister disappeared they were all questioned but had no evidence it was any of them..12 years later Saffie knew a bad storm coming and inviting them all to another Christmas party and she looking for answers.will she discover the truth..my rating was going to be 5 stars but the ending finished sharply...looking forward to reading more of her books...

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrators Billie Piper and Avita Jay bring this deadly Christmas mystery to life. Six long time friends snowed in and secluded create an atmospheric, chilling tale of the past coming back to destroy the present. The plot kept me interested throughout this holiday whodunit.

[Meagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just because you can publish doesn’t mean you should

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3.5 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrators Billie Piper
Avita Jay

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I sort of guessed who done it but then I kept second guessing myself but I ended up being right in the end.

This is more like a 3.5 so I rounded up to help the average.

[City · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so bad. When you write a story you should really have a story board and at least make one character likable. It was an audible freebie... clearly for a reason. NO trigger warnings for the R that happens. Save your time.

[Landa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was okay

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

*https://www.instagram.com/mrsb_book_r...

🥳🎄The Christmas Party by Kathryn Croft is an Audible exclusive title, which was released in October this year. The Christmas Party is a story of dark secrets, a reunion, suspicion, old acquaintances, strained friendships, loss, past love and future plans. This short format audio book was just 4 hours and 42 minutes long and I soon got through this holiday escape read while I was doing some end of year cleaning.

🎉🎄The Christmas Party revolves around a reunion where we see old friends gather for a festive party that is filled with secrets, tension, and unresolved pasts. Croft's narrative contains a thrilling mix of suspicion and shock revelations, along with a set of complicated relationship issues. What starts as a festive get-together quickly turns into something much darker, as old relationships are revisited and the truth about past betrayals, along with details surrounding a shock disappearance of a young girl comes to light.

🥳🎄The highlight of this short Audible exclusive was the crisp Christmas party setting, complete with an incoming snow storm, which was the perfect backdrop for the drama to unfold. The reunion element between characters was filled with tension and unresolved feelings, making me question each cast member's motives. The narrators, Billie Piper and Avita Jay worked in unison to bring the characters to life. Piper’s voice was especially captivating, giving the narrative an extra edge of suspense.

🎉🎄Overall, The Christmas Party was a great holiday read for anyone looking for a swift and twisty yuletide mystery thriller.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4 stars, out now!

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, The Christmas Party, by Kathryn Croft, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Its been over a decade since Gabby;s little sister Seffie went missing, at Christmas time. This is not a cozy Christmas read at all. This book goes back and forth between present and when Seffie went missing. I did not care for the characters, especially Anna, but it was a chilling read.

[verdoch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no words.

This book is so bad. I audibly laughed at the end, because after all the intertwining it went out with a loud wet fart. There were no shocking twists, it was so predictable and every character was stuck up, middle class and so boring. I didn’t care for anyone in the book. It was repetitive, predictable and wildly flat. It’s quite shocking but hilarious just how dreadful this is. I was fooled by the book cover, so there’s that.

[Trish S · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was finn

[Tierney Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping thriller that has you shuffling forward to the edge of your seat as it goes, and grips you there until it lets you go only in the very last minute.

A really good first person and third person POV structure, and superbly narrated by both the performers.

If other reviewers talk about an abrupt ending, it isn't, or I should say it builds to a sudden climax. Perhaps there should be a short epilogue, but that's a matter of opinion. The ending fully justifies the story, for me. This is the best thriller I've read or listened to all year 😊

[Tom Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just another cliche version of the reunion of old friends for dire purposes

While the guilty party was not necessarily identifiable at the outset the reader was pretty sure of the purpose of the Christmas Party. The erformance was all right but there was nothing outstanding about the story.

Sorry, just another disappointing Audible Original. Three Stars. ***

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ | Some invitations should be left unread! This is exactly what Sasha should have done when she received an invitation from her long lost friend, Gabby! Considering their last encounter resulted in a missing child, this is one reunion she is not looking forward to.

The amount of secrets that were between these friends was mind blowing! Yes it’s been 12 years but it’s evident there are still deeply rooted feelings being harbored and I was worried about this group as the tension built, wondering would everyone make it out alive - especially considering one of them is a suspected killer! Overall I enjoyed this story, and it’s perfect for this Christmas season, but I do not want to attend this party! Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

[Mike Finn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to 'The Christmas Party' in a single sitting during a long, slow drive north through mist, fog and darkness. I think it was the only thing that kept me sane.

'The Christmas Party' turned out to be a solid mystery, told mainly in the present day but with crucial flashbacks to the last time everyone had met, on Christmas Eve twelve years earlier. It's a twist on the locked room mystery in that, if there was a murder, then the murderer is one of the six people currently snowed in at an isolated lochside house in Scotland. Add in a twist that one of the six has no memory of most of the party twelve years ago and so considers herself a suspect and this becomes a rubrics cube of possible murder suspects.

At the start of the story, I was concerned that this might be one of those "Haven't I read this already?" stories, as the concept of a reunion that brings past evil-doings to the surface seems to have been done a lot recently. I'm glad to say that the storytelling in "The Christmas Party' soon showed me that my concern was unfounded. Kathryn Croft paced the reveals in the story and the movement from the Now timeline to the Before timeline kept the tension high and the story moving forward. I liked that this wasn't a story that depended on the extended foreshadowing of a single big reveal. It was a series of revelations, each one of which changed my understanding of the situation and the six people locked into it.

This is a story where all six of the players are liars. They all have secrets to protect. Their relationshjps, past and present, are complex and not always honest. Trust is in short supply, Guilt, grief, disappointment and anger are plentiful.

I didn't like any of the six players much but they were all easy to believe in as flawed people trying to forget a terrible mistake. This was a satisfying mystery that held my attention to the end and delivered a resolution that made sense.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

by Katherine Croft
Kathryn Croft has always been one of my goes to authors and I have read most of her books. The Christmas Party Is a short story of 172 pages but for me felt so much longer that that. This is an engaging read about a bunch of close-knit friends. Reuniting at Christmas in a remote part of Scotland. Bring brings back memories of the last time together when someone goes missing. Never to be seen again.
Although I found this to be an engaging read, I didn’t really like much of the characters. But it did have a satisfying twist at the end. 3.5 stars from me.

[Olga · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5


Adivine al culpable.

[Anja Karenjina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Zapravo sam impresionirana koliko su zanimljivi ovi Audible originals. Odslušano u cugu

[Breeee Ranae⚜️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody in this was INSANE!! 🙁 Every other chapter it was a new secret!!!!
Where is part two ? WTF

[Fanny Reads ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este thriller empieza con una reunión aparentemente inocente: un grupo de amigos se reúne en una cabaña para celebrar la Navidad. Entre copas, secretos pasados y tensiones no resueltas, la noche que debía ser de celebración se convierte en un escenario de sospechas, revelaciones y peligro. Cada uno de los presentes carga con su propia verdad, y poco a poco se va desvelando quién oculta algo más oscuro de lo que aparenta.

Al leerlo, no pude evitar sentir que tenía vibes muy similares a En un bosque muy oscuro (Ruth Ware) e incluso a Diez Negritos de Agatha Christie. Siento que últimamente muchos thrillers intentan replicar esa esencia del “todos atrapados en un mismo lugar, alguien miente y nadie puede escapar”, pero pocos lo logran bien.

Este, a pesar de ser un libro cortito, consiguió atrapar esa atmósfera tensa y oscura. ¿Que fue predecible? Sí. ¿Que no es nada del otro mundo? También. Pero la verdad es que se disfruta, tiene ese aire de misterio clásico que engancha aunque ya te imagines por dónde va la cosa.

[Jo Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another wee bit of a disappointing audible original, I think I’ll lay off of them for a while. I enjoyed the premise of the story, if it was all a little hap hazard and the ending was bizarre. It really feels like they put more effort into production and getting known names to narrate them. They are fairly short though so it’s worthwhile trying to see if they’re a good guy for you.

Currently included in audible 🎧

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a short book, this felt like it dragged on forever. I think the narrators would be enjoyable in something else, but they made the characters in this sound snobby, immature, and insufferable. Then again, maybe that’s just how the characters were. Either way, I didn’t like any of them and found myself annoyed for most of this. If my group of friends was this vapid, I’d rather be alone. Thank goodness this was free on Audible. I’d be mad if I had paid for it.

[Diane Petrella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh! I couldn’t wait for it to be over! The last 1/3 of the book was a struggle for me but I kept going and finished it. It started out ok but then it dragged on. The narrator being dramatic was too much for me too-not believable.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time.

[Chrissie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not connect with this unfortunately, but Billie Piper is great.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more apt title for this story would be Christmas Hell.
Stuck in a remote house in a colossal snow storm with people who used to be your friends sounds like a fun holiday party, right?
This group of six was like a Venn diagram how they were all connected with one another, revealed in stages.
When the final confession is revealed I was surprised because I never suspected that person.
It’s a quick thriller to read about secrets long buried that get unwrapped.
Thanks Bookouture and NetGalley for the advance read.