The Day After the Party by Nicole Trope

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Night After the Party by Nicole Trope
Published by Bookouture on 30 October 2023
Genres: Crime & Mystery, Domestic Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Thrillers & Suspense
Pages: 294
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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The perfect birthday or the perfect nightmare?

Katelyn smiles around at her husband and friends, gathered to celebrate her thirty-sixth birthday in their beautiful home decorated with fairy lights. But the next day Katelyn wakes up shaken and terrified in a hospital bed…

She doesn’t remember the sweet taste of birthday cake icing, or how angry her best friend was at midnight, or the terrible things her husband said. She doesn’t remember the party at all.

When she asks her husband what happened the night of the party he says ‘nothing’. But her blood runs cold at the way his voice lilts slightly. The way it always does when he is lying.

Did someone at the party harm her?
What is her husband hiding?
Or did Katelyn herself do something terrible?

Only one thing is certain. Nobody can be trusted. And if Katelyn’s memories of the party do come back, it will tear them all apart…

This totally addictive psychological thriller will have you gasping at the twists and turns and unable to sleep until you know the truth. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena and The Perfect Marriage .

The Day After the Party is a fast-moving story about family and redemption. It was highly suspenseful, and I was gripped until the end.

Parties are supposed to be fun, right? It’s full of drink, party food and good times – laughter and joy. But what happens when it all goes pear shaped? A memory lost of the entire night. A memory gone completely. Katelyn wakes up in a hospital bed after having an episode of Global Transient Amnesia. She has no recollection of the previous night at all and both her husband, Toby and her best friend, Leah are really worried about her. But luckily for us Nicole Trope turns an innocuous party into Katelyn’s worst nightmare.

Finding the right words to describe The Day After the Party is difficult and i want to do it justice. It’s tense, it’s taut, it has you on the edge of your seat, you get the wonderment of Australia and its sun kissed beaches, but you also get a story with heart and reconciliation. The author knows what she’s doing and transports you to the heart of the story – I need to make it a priority to read her other works, pronto. But there is so much more to the story.

Katelyn and Leah have been friends since they were six. Katelyn had a hard upbringing with her mother not being very present – she was an alcoholic who didn’t work and was often late to pick her up from school or not at all. Katelyn spent most of her life wishing she had a mother that was just there for her. Leah’s mother took her home on a day that Katelyn’s mother failed to pick her up and very quickly became part of the furniture. Throughout their years as friends there are many instances where Leah is insanely jealous at the things that Katelyn has – the attention of her mother, her ex-boyfriend, Tony, a beautiful daughter, a stunning home, and she feels that Katelyn appreciates none of it.

I wasn’t a fan of Leah; jealousy isn’t a nice colour on anyone, but Leah wore the immensely jealous friend like a second skin. I don’t know why people are like this, if you exude too much energy into concerning yourself with others lives yours is always going to be empty and meaningless.  

Katelyn wakes up and although her memory has returned, she begins questioning her reality. When she receives a weird text message from Leah’s ex-husband and a gift that was possibly from her party stowed away under her bed makes her question everything she knows. Can she piece the night of the party together before her family falls apart? The Day After the Party is shock after shock and I loved it.