“It’s the event of the year – the company summer party. Mel can’t wait to let her hair down with her colleagues. Sun, sea, and her sights set on her work crush. One big happy family.
But as the champagne flows and the sun begins to set, cracks in the team start to appear. Secrets, lies, revenge. No one is as innocent as they seem.
But could one of them be guilty of murder? Mel soon realises someone is orchestrating a deadly plan. And she must uncover the truth if she’s going to get out alive . . .”

I was offered an advance review copy of The Summer Party by Kate Gray on Net Galley – and saw that it was recommended for fans of Lucy Foley – so I said ‘yes please!’.

The book is told primarily from the point of view of Mel – who works in HR at a PR company, Flavour. I have to say she reminded me quite a lot of Eleanor Oliphant – the eponymous heroine of a book published in 2017. She is one of the ‘lucky’ VIP members of staff to be picked randomly to stay overnight at an exclusive hotel set on a historic fort in the middle of the Solent. After all of the Flavour staff have finished their summer party – the lucky few will remain over night in the lap of luxury.

The weather is a scorching heat wave – and the oppressive heat as the party starts is written really well and you can really feel it. You know from near the start that something has happened to a previous colleague, Holly, who died after the Flavour Christmas party – and Mel in particular seems to be being reminded of her at every turn – even the bedroom smells of her perfume.

The party goes off reasonably smoothly – although with a drunken speech and lots of alcohol involved – and then most of the staff head back to the mainland. Things then get weird! It’s written really well and is incredibly evocative of the VIPs being totally stranded on an isolated fort with no way of getting off.

There’s murder and intrigue and you’re never quite sure who can and can’t be trusted. It had a great pace and made me want to keep reading to unravel what was happening!

Overall a great read for this summer.

A bit thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC. It’s out on July 4th – busy day for books – and voting!