REVIEW: The Final Party, A.A Chaudhuri - 5/5

Mystery books can sometimes be hit-and-miss, with the final twist not quite hitting home. However, A.A Chaudhuri's newest thriller, The Final Party, ticks all the right boxes - and then some.

The Final Party is a title I've been excited to read for quite some time, mainly due to Chaudhuri's two previous books, She's Mine and The Loyal Friend, being absolutely fantastic.

This title sees six friends take a trip to a stunning villa in Sorrento, Italy, to celebrate one of the group's 40th birthday. However, by the end of it all one of them will be dead, and the secrets they all hold may not be as secure as they thought...

What happened that fateful night in 2001? Did anyone ever find out? Will the truth come out?

Chaudhuri is by far one of my favourite authors, with She's Mine being one of my favourite crime/thriller books of all time. However, The Final Party may have just edged itself into the top spot.

The book begins at the end, with a body in the water and only five out of the six friends who arrived in Italy remaining. While some books do begin like this, no one does intrigue on this scale like Chaudhuri does.

I was immediately invested in the story and raced on through the pages to learn about the group and what their hidden truths may be.

The group consisted of three couples: Padma and Nick, Vanessa and Marcus, and Johnny and Lana. One of the best things about this title is the genius way Chaudhuri introduces each character, and with each introduction, comes a whole new wave of suspicion, lies, and mystery.

I was delighted that, after reading the first chapter that was dictated by Padma, Vanessa would then take over in the next. Having the book narrated by the entire group was absolutely brilliant, and worked miraculously well in creating a shroud of intrigue around the characters and their sordid pasts.

Chaudhuri is a genius to say the least, with each and every chapter having a distinct point to make, a significant bit of information to tell me, no matter how subtle. For the most part, the facts were told in such an elusive way, that it allowed for the story to flow so beautifully; even with the chapters that took place in the past.

I always feel it is a difficult thing for an author to get right, swapping from past to present. However, Chaudhuri's masterful way of slightly changing the language of whoever is narrating the chapter, to the way the environment changes with her skilful descriptions, makes it easy to follow and as intriguing as ever.

With each page came the addition of tension, and each character having their own version of events made for genuinely thrilling reading, as while Padma may believe one circumstance to be true, Johnny, or even Marcus may know the answers to her questions...

The plot is one of absolute brilliance, as Chaudhuri creates a web of lies, hatred and perhaps in a way, evil. The reunion of friends hides beneath the illusion of a celebration of Vanessa's 40th birthday, but the genuine joy of reading this book is knowing that every member knows something different, and as a reader, you know everything they know (for the most part).

I adored the story within The Final Party, as I read through six different people's lives, I was told shocking truths and horrible secrets, I found out who committed atrocious acts that were covered up, and I was privy to secrets unlike no others...

The Final Party is clever, intriguing, well-written, and has a plot like nothing else I've read. The twists and turns within these pages are a triumph, and I loved every single minute of it.

Each character had their own unique personality and looks (wonderfully described of course), as well as the surroundings for the group being in stunning Italy, a place Chaudhuri herself has visited.

Once again, Chaudhuri has delivered a phenomenal story for us all. I am honoured to not only get an ARC of this title, but to also be in the acknowledgements of one of Chaudhuri's novels for a second time.

This book made me sit up in my seat, verbally wonder what in the hell is going on, and read way into the night; it is definitely a must-read.

Well done Chaudhuri on creating another genuinely fantastic book; I cannot wait to see what else you come up with.

The Final Party is available now!