The Last Party: The twisty thriller and instant Sunday Times bestseller (DC Morgan)

“A place like Cwm Coed needs four generations in the graveyard before you can call yourself local.”On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests for a party to end all parties. But not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.On New Year's Day, DC Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects - her neighbours, friends and family - and Ffion has her own secrets to protect. With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead . . . but who finally killed him.Clare Mackintosh’s newest psychological thriller is the first in a brand new crime series set in North Wales, lead by Detective Constable Ffion Morgan.The book opens with a murder and the characters are introduced as DC Ffion proceeds with the investigation. Meanwhile, the events leading up to the murder are built up in the past from the point of view of the locals and the Shore Residents.Even with multiple POVs, Mackintosh doesn’t loosen her grip on the pace. The story is plotted flawlessly and you quickly familiarise yourself with all the different characters as you weave through their understanding of how things happened.One of the reasons I love Clare Mackintosh’s books is because she leads you down multiple paths. She refuses to reveal the suspense until the last moment and even then, she might smack you with a twist so hard it will turn your interpretation of the book on its axis.Another Mackintosh classic with a relentlessly gripping mystery that leaves you gasping for breath. I can’t wait to read what Ffion Morgan does next.This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group, UK.For complete review, visit aquamarineflavours.wordpress.com

This is one of my favorite writers and she did not disappoint!! So much going on and never would have guessed so many things about the ending.I would even love to see her write a second book to continue with the characters!

Main Characters:--Ffion Morgan – Detective Constable in Wales, 30 years old, lives with her mother and sister in Cwm Coed since separating from her husband--Leo Brady – Detective Constable in England, 36 years old, lives alone since divorcing his wife, has a young son--Elen & Seren Morgan – Ffion’s mother and 16-year-old sister--Rhys & Yasmin Lloyd – Rhys is a famous singer originally from Cwm Coed, trying to rebuild his career and hopes to capitalize on his popularity to make The Shore an attractive investment for wealthy Londoners, Yasmin dabbles in interior design; parents to twin teenage daughters Tabby and Felicia--Jonty & Blythe Charlton – Jonty is an investor who typically matches investors to opportunities, but he is the primary investor in The Shore; he and his wife Blythe own one of the homes; parents to Woody and Hester--Bobby & Ashleigh Stafford – Bobby is a down-to-earth retired boxer also originally from Cwm Coed; after his retirement, he had a small part in a television show that pivoted to a recurring role; married to Ashley, a social media influencer who really just capitalizes on Bobby’s fame--Clemmie & Caleb Northcote – the seemingly least wealthy residents of The Shore, Clemmie moved with her teenage son Caleb from England to remove him from the troubling circle of friends he had--Dee Huxley – older owner of one of the vacation homes of The Shore, no one seems to know much about her, she lives alone, stays to herself--Huw Ellis – Ffion’s estranged husband, main contractor of The Shore--Mia Williams – one of Ffion’s friends (by default), they were two years apart in school and now go out drinking together; she is a housekeeper and has just started cleaning at The Shore--Ceri Jones – the postwoman of Cwm Coed…and too many more to mentionWow…just…wow!This was my first Clare Mackintosh novel, and it will not be my last. This felt like the mother of all whodunits, and I promise you that I will not give it away. Everyone loved Rhys Lloyd! Who would want to murder such a beloved star? But the more of the book you read, the more you wonder who wouldn’t want to murder him. Literally everyone is a suspect.The story begins on New Year’s Day, in the village of Cwm Coed (pronounced Coom Coyd), the morning of the New Year’s Day swim when Rhys Lloyd’s body washes up in Llyn Drych (Mirror Lake). A famous singer who grew up in Cwm Coyd, Rhys and his investor Jonty, had invited residents of Cwm Coed to a New Year’s Eve party at their vacation resort The Shore.There’s a lot of animosity between the not-so-wealthy residents of Cwm Coed and the wealthy owners of the vacation homes of The Shore. Rhys’s mother Glynis still lives in Cwm Coed, and the land used for The Shore had once been part of Wales and was left to Rhys by his father. The goal of the party was to show the people of Cwm Coed that residents of The Shore just want to be part of the village, one big happy family.Or not.A major component of this story is the conflict between the Welsh and the English. People speak Welsh to prevent the English from understanding. One of the residents from England tries to learn some Welsh phrases to fit in. And there are a number of annoyed references to mispronunciations of Welsh names.I was glad I read it on a Kindle to translate some of the phrases from Welsh because the author didn’t always define them and context clues weren’t all that helpful at times. But what seemed like a bit of a distraction at first really helped demonstrate the animosity…and turned a “whodunit” into a “no really, whodunit?”I loved the interactions between Ffion and Leo from the beginning. They demonstrate a ton of chemistry. Leo makes Ffion realize she doesn’t need to work alone (she calls herself The Lone Ranger), and Ffion makes Leo realize that he is capable of fighting back against his ex-wife. They are good investigators alone, but they are so much better together.The story alternates time frames in Part One with the investigation (Ffion and Leo chapters) working forward from New Year’s Day and the character reveals (all the other residents) working backward from New Year’s Eve. When we get to Part Two and really start to learn what’s going on, the investigation still continues forward, but the character reveals go back to June when The Shore opened and work their way up to the party.The buildup to the big reveal of who killed Rhys was incredibly satisfying, and I still gasped at the ending. You don’t want to miss this. This is a stand-alone, and I can’t wait to read how Ffion’s story continues.

The novel is superb, extremely well written, full of suspense, interlocking storylines, moving, enthralling, fascinating characters, one of the best page turners ever.

Brilliant plot, characters and ambiance!Loved it …. A book I will definitely remember!

Normally I don't like books which switch backwards and forwards between times and people but with this book It worked well.A good read which keeps you guessing