Surprise Party

by William Katz

As she plans a birthday party for her husband, Samantha Shaw gradually learns that he is the deadly calendar murderer

Genres: Thriller, Horror, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Suspense

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Erin Tresch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was ...weird. I picked it up in the $1 section at the used bookstore based on the cover. I thought it was going to be like the movie Clue (which is a terrible comparison because I've never seen Clue). I was hooked but in a way that I can't really explain. The title is really inaccurate. Samantha is not throwing "Marty" a surprise party, he knows about it the whole time. But I guess the surprise is what "Marty" is really up to. The tension was fantastic, though. I was anxious for like half of the book. The end was kind of weird too. I have no idea how I feel about this book, but I also loved it? So definitely 4/5.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an unputdownable book, intriguing story, and unexpected ending .. I enjoyed reading it !!

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprise Party was just that – a surprise! I picked the book up on a whim when browsing through a list of books and authors that inspired the Silent Hill franchise, so I went into this book blind, and I had so much fun reading it! I picked this book up at just the right time, literally, the date of the party is December 5th.

The story is told from the dual perspectives of Samantha and her husband Marty. Samantha is a blushing new bride eagerly planning a birthday party for her husband. The party is not the surprise part of this story, as Marty knows from the start that she’s planning the event. Samantha decides to make this birthday special by honoring her husband’s exciting life – first class schools, proud military service, she starts looking into all the important events in his life to find old teachers, friends, and brothers-in-arms to surprise Marty at his birthday bash, even if it’s just a nice card. The problem is, it was all a lie.

We as the reader find out Marty’s secrets through his narration, unbeknownst to Samantha who finds herself grappling with the realization that she may not know the man that she loves. This story set-up is more domestic thriller with touches of horror, the reader can only watch helplessly as the story progresses, making the book hard to put down. While I saw the ending coming I enjoyed the careful plotting of this story. Samantha was a well conceived character, frustrating in her naivete particularly near the end, but it wraps up nicely.

Surprise Party reminded me what a pleasure it is to read books written before the widespread use of the internet and mobile phones. In a story like this one that focuses heavily on investigation it’s crazy how differently a plot like this would be written in the present day after just 39 years.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buenísima lectura!!!
Me tuvo atenta de inicio a fin, fue muy bien llevada por el autor, que después de un excelente final, nos dejó un epílogo sorprendente...
Lo recomiendo ampliamente, es una de esas lecturas que no puedes soltar.

[Mili Vidal · Rating 3 out of 5]

No tan mal, el final no fue bueno de todos modos pero tampoco se trató de un desastre. Una vez concluido el epílogo se esclarecen algunos aspectos que no tenían respuesta inmediata pero a la vez crea una nueva trama, la cual era muy predecible.
También agregar que el detective me pareció muy insulso a pesar de ser Inglés y la protagonista si bien supo manejar la situación correctamente y hubo un momento en que celebré sus palabras, no tomo buenas decisiones al final.

[Karou Rincon · Rating 3 out of 5]

No fue para nada lo que pensaba me sorprendio en el buen sentido.

[Doha ABOULLAITE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bon thriller que j'ai pas pu lâcher. Facile à lire et plein de suspens jusqu'à sa fin.

[Tiredsapphic · Rating 3 out of 5]

pas très bien écrit mais l'intrigue était fun

[Stories. - Federica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blog Stories Review: http://storiesbooksandmovies.blogspot...


Samantha è una donna sicura e felice. È perfettamente soddisfatta della sua vita ma soprattutto del suo matrimonio con Martin Everett Shaw. Solamente un anno prima tutto era completamente diverso. Ma ora che ha al suo fianco Marty, il futuro non le fa paura. Tutto grazie al brillante e fedele marito che sta per compiere quarant'anni.

Per questa importante ricorrenza, Samantha vuole organizzare un evento indimenticabile: una festa a sorpresa con tutte le persone che sono care al marito. Ovviamente la preparazione è complicata ma il risultato può essere solo ottimo. La donna cerca, così, di mettersi in contatto con vecchi amici, compagni di studi e di lavoro di Marty.

Questa ricerca sembra, però, condurre sempre Samantha in un vicolo cieco, senza informazioni reali, o meglio, verificato. Tutto ciò che è legato al passato del marito è svanito del nulla a causa di forze maggiori. La donna non sa spiegarsi questo fatto e nemmeno alcuni strani comportamenti improvvisi di Martin.


Questo thriller riposava impolverato da troppo tempo nella biblioteca familiare. Il suo risveglio è stato un piacevole avvenimento per tutti.
Iniziata con l'intenzione di trascorrere un po' di tempo in perfetto relax, la lettura di questo romanzo di un semisconosciuto autore si è rivelata un'ottima scoperta. La storia è accattivante, cattura sin dal primo momento, ed è, inoltre, sorprendentemente 'quotidiana'. Sicuramente vi sarà capitato - o almeno avete pensato - di organizzare una festa di questo tipo. Samantha davanti a questa possibilissima situazione rimane sconvolta poichè realizza di non conoscere veramente l'uomo con cui condivide la sua vita. Chi è Martin veramente?

[Maiia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lei este libro por la corta sinopsis que tenia,ésta me llamo mucho la atencion...me intrigo saber que pasaba en la fiesta.Me lo debore en un dia,no quitaba los ojos del libro,apenas respiraba...Realmente no me esperaba eso,me imagine cosas pero nada cerca de eso.El final me ha gustado bastante,es completamente inesperado..te sorprende.
me gusto mucho el libro,es muy bueno...quizas le falto un poco de psicoanalisis,porque le falta profundidad al analisis de él.Pero en sí es un libro muy bueno,una agradable lectura.Recomendado al 100%

[Bonnie Lehman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific read! The ending was so unexpected!

[Lara Trusendi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love his books. Too bad he doesn't write much of them.
This was my first book of him. Highly recommended.

[Gillian Murr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, mindless, suspenseful read. The twist at the end got me!

[Reb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got hooked on this right from the start. The book had the right pace, good amount of details to set the scene, and a horrible twist at the end.

[Graham Buncombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant, could not put it down.

[HALIMA Elyoussoufi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une belle intrigue, j'ai beaucoup aimé la fin car elle donne la promesse d'une nouvelle intrigue plus époustouflante à mon avis.

[Céline Wattelet-Fairon · Rating 5 out of 5]

On est en haleine en permanence e ton ne s'attend pas du tout à ce qui va suivre...

[Filippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this read - it's perfect for a light vacation book!
The book in itself is easy to read and relatively short, so even if you're stuck in a bit of a 'dry spell' book-wise (like me), it's quick to get through.
The story was fascinating too - the bulk of the excitement was definitely in the last 40 pages, and in the end I was torn between wanting to put it down so I could take a breath of air and calm down, and not being able to take my eyes off the page.
I withheld a star for two reasons; firstly, I could've wished that Katz had waited a bit longer to reveal the full motive behind ya-know-who's acts - the backstory's told only a third into the book, so I found the bit after that a bit dull. I like a bit more suspense.
Secondly - I wish I hadn't read the epilogue, because it annoyed me severely. To me it seemed like an easy way to end the book. It's like the protagonist has gone through a string of trials and then, in the end credits, they get hit by a bus. *SPOILERS* If she was going to die, at least let her die by Frankie's hand - it's a bit absurd that there's suddenly a secret brother (by the way, why didn't Frankie include him in the planning?) who swoops in, marries Sam, and murders her. And sidenote - I KNEW there was something fishy about Tom!!!

Other than that, great book! Real page-turner!

[Ash Kim Arthur · Rating 2 out of 5]

It went pretty silly towards the end. It made me laugh how dumb it is.

The cops had this guy where every bit of evidence was pointing towards him as the murderer. They prepared to catch him in the act on the day where he usually do his killing. Then when he ended up falling asleep on the last minutes of the day, they just go, "welp, it's not our guy let's go home" right away.

Like... seriously? Couldn't they just wait at least half a day just to be safe? There's still the evidences, and are they really going to leave a pregnant woman alone with a suspected murderer? Of course the guy woke up half an hour later to kill his wife, and luckily one of the cops came back because of a hunch while logically they all shouldn't leave her there that night to begin with.

And then there's the plot twist in the epilogue that seems to me, unnecessary. Like it doesnt matter at all, it doesn't change anything, it doesn't made you go back to the story to look at things differently. It just... eh whatever.

[Aria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller molto semplice, prevedibile, eppure si legge volentieri, una pagina tira l’altra. Letto in due giorni. Lo stile dell’autore è molto scorrevole, dei personaggi sappiamo quel che serve in relazione alla trama. Lo consiglio se si ha voglia di qualcosa di poco impegnativo ma godibile.

*SPOILER*
Cose migliorabili: avrei voluto sapere di più su Frankie/Marty, come ha fatto a sfangarsela così per tutti quegli anni. E perché ha iniziato solo negli ultimi sei a fare ciò che ha fatto, boh?
Assurdo che i poliziotti a mezzanotte dicano “okay non è lui, andiamocene”, ma per cortesia! Con un investigatore che viene definito la “leggenda”, per giunta. Okay, l’autore l’ha fatto per tenere alta la suspense, però è davvero risibile.
Il finale col colpazzo di scena mi sembra un po’ forzato. Ma era da mo che mi chiedevo che fine avesse fatto il fratello minore, quindi okay, almeno non se l’è dimenticato per strada.

[Saumen · Rating 3 out of 5]

ভেল অফ টেলসের সৌজন্যে এই উপন্যাসের সাথে পরিচয়।  লেখনী বেশ ভাল। এটা দেখে বইয়ের লেখক উইলিয়াম কাটজ সম্পর্কে একটু ঘাঁটাঘাটি করলাম। এবং আমিও সারপ্রাইজড হয়ে গেলাম। ভদ্রলোকের বয়স ৮৪, জন্ম ১৯৪০। ১০-১২টা বই লিখেছেন। কিন্তু উইকিতে এনার কোন এন্ট্রি দেখলাম না। একটু ঘাটঁতে কিছু তথ্য বের হল, তেমন বেশি কিছু না।


 যেমনটি এই গল্পের নায়ক। মেধাবী সাংবাদিক, ভাল চাকরি, প্রতিষ্ঠিত। কিন্তু তার পাস্ট সব ফেক বা খুব খুঁজে কিছু তথ্য পাওয়া যায়, তবে তাকে ঠিক খোরাক মেটে না। ভুল তথ্য আর মিসলিড তো আছেই। তাহলে মার্টি, মানে সামান্থার বরের পাস্ট আসলে কি? কে তিনি আসলে? শেষের টুইস্টটাও দারুণ!


সাবলীল লেখনী, সাসপেন্স আছে। তবে একটু বেশি হলে ভাল হত৷ আর সাসপেন্স আর থ্রিলারের মধ্যে যে একটা মৌলিক পার্থক্য আছে, সেটা শুনতে শুনতে ভাবছিলাম। একশন, চেজিং এসব এই বইয়ে নেই৷ এবইয়ে খালি একব্যাক্তির সত্য পরিচয় খুঁজে বের করার সাসপেন্সটা আছে। নট ব্যাড।

[Tomás · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this while quarantined in a hotel after getting covid in a school trip. It gave me total Rosemary's Baby vibes (minus the whole cult thingy).
My biggest problem with Surprise Party is the fact that, for most of the book, you're just waiting for Samantha to catch up to you. From the very beginning we're let on Marty's true nature, not leaving much room for mystery. Not to mention you can see the twist ending coming from a mile away. But the book does a good job at hooking you right from the start, and contains some truly thrilling parts.
It's flawed, but looking back I really enjoyed reading this. A chill, old-fashioned hidden gem I would totally recommend to anyone seeking for a suspenseful good time.

[سمية · Rating 4 out of 5]

সুখী দাম্পত্য জীবন যাপন করা সামান্তা তার আদর্শবান স্বামী মার্টির ৪০ তম জন্মদিন উপলক্ষে অনেক উৎসাহ নিয়ে সারপ্রাইজ পার্টির প্ল্যান করছিল। কিন্তু এই পার্টির আয়োজন করতে গিয়েই আনএক্সপেক্টেড ট্রুথস তার সামনে প্রকাশ পেতে থাকে। মার্টির অতীত পুরোটাই মিথ্যে। তার জীবনের কাছের যেসব মানুষকে সামান্তা মার্টির বার্থডে পার্টিতে জড়ো করতে চেয়েছিল, দোজ পিপল ডোন্ট এক্সিট অন আর্থ! তার জীবনের সবচাইতে ভরসা আর নিরাপদ স্থান ধীরে ধীরে তার কাছে আতংকে পরিণত হচ্ছে। স্বামীকে এক সেরা জন্মদিনের উপহার দিয়ে চমকে দিতে গিয়ে সে নিজেই এক একটা চমকের স্বীকার হচ্ছে।

দ্বৈত ন্যারেটিভের এই গল্পে সামান্তার অংশটুকুর উদ্রেক, সন্দেহগুলো মার্টির অংশের কাছে হেরে যাচ্ছিল। লেখকের এই ওয়ে অব রাইটিংটা বেশ লেগেছে! 

[Lykke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a thrift store because it looked campy, and it sort of was, but mostly it was odd and very dull. The book reads like it was co-authored by an alien and a twelve year old. The dialogue makes no sense. The plot makes no sense. There is no suspense at all. The serial killer's motive and actions go from boring to ridiculous and back again. Obviously the author didn't have any preexisting knowledge of either serial killers, police work or women when writing this book.

[Augustine Jamet · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé ce livre !
Il y a énormement de suspens / de petits indices nous sont donnés par ci par là / le denouement ne se fait qu'a la toute dernière ligne.
Je n'ai d négatif à dire sur cette lecture.
Les personnages sont intéressants : l'un est plutôt intriguant et secret et l'autre très naïf.

[Jouja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je suis paniquée, figée. J’ai peur. Ce roman me donne des palpitations cardiaques depuis le début. J’hésite à l’entamer. J’ai PEUR! Mais comment de la fiction peut-elle suspendre quelqu’un de la sorte ? J’ai le cœur qui bat la chamade. C’est mon premier roman de William Katz et je peux assurer que j’ai été impressionné et saisie. Je suis toujours sous le choc.

[Ginger Loggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid distraction

Reads more 1960s than 1980s, but the 80’s were my teen years, so what do I know. The plot is solid and interesting. But, it is odd to hear how police shouting, “Stop! Police,” will freeze the most onerous suspect in his tracks (again, 80’s, freaky criminals are all men).

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samantha and Marty have been married for a little over a year. Sam is planning a party for Marty's 40th birthday and wants to surprise him by inviting comments from people from his past. When she starts calling the college and schools from his home town, no one has heard of him.

This one was quite a page turner for me. I thought this was a chilling and very good story.

[Jess | dapper.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nostalgia in this book is real for me! This was the first “grown up” book I’d ever read and had to give it another chance. It was definitely worth the reread. The one thing that really bothers me is the amount of typos. I mean goodness, let’s have an editor go over it before reprinting copies.

[Christine Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely dated when it comes to nationalities, but I loved this book. It was a real page-turner. While you know what is going on from the first third of the book, you are never quite sure how it is going to turn out. Very good!