Rebecca Heath

Lucy came to stay with her grandmother for the summer when she was 16. The Whitlams lived in the white mansion on the hill in a rural town on the Yorke Peninsular in South Australia. Lucy's grandmother's cottage was next door. Alongside the three Whitlam siblings Lucy was an unsophisticated teenager and she idolised them. Lucy's grandmother worked as a cleaner for the Whitlam family and she warned Lucy not to get too friendly with them.

At the end of the summer, on the last night Lucy was there, the mother, Brooke Whitlam, left home forever and Lucy witnessed something without really realising what she had seen.

Twenty years later Lucy's grandmother has died and Lucy comes back to clear out the cottage. A foot is washed up under the jetty on the Whitlam's property, and it is identified as Brooke's. Lucy renews her "friendship" with the Whitlam siblings, their father, and the local policeman.

This is Rebecca Heath's debut novel, and though her later novel THE DINNER PARTY is much better, THE SUMMER PARTY is very readable and the plot is well constructed.… (mehr)

There is so much to like about this novel, not just that it is by a South Australian author, or that it is right in the time frame of my own life.

The action begins in 1979 with the disappearance of a 4 month old baby while her parents are at a dinner party in a neighbouring house. 40 years later 'The Callaghan Baby Podcast' is investigating what is now a forty-year-old cold case, bringing together investigative evidence from when the disappearance happened, police reports, a coronial investigation, interviews with suspects, family and neighbours both then and now. The author combines that with other voices, particularly that of Billie, the adult daughter of baby Megan's sister.

This made the structure of the novel very complex, and quite challenging for the reader, but a staggering achievement. So much of the book rang true for me.

The family is marking the anniversary of Megan's disappearance with a family gathering when there is a knock at the door: a stranger is standing on the doorstep.

Little by little, elements of the mystery are revealed and the reader is asked to assess evidence.

Highly recommended.… (mehr)

Thank you to NetGalley, Rebecca Heath, and publisher Head of Zeus - an Aries book for the eARC of The Summer Party, out January 5th! This was a 4 star read, very intriguing and kept me guessing until the end.

When Lucy was a teenager, she spent one summer with her grandmother in a small Australian town. When the three rich Whitlam siblings invite her into their circle, she couldn't believe it. They all had the perfect lives; nice clothes, fancy house, anything they could dream of. Mae, the oldest, was regal and set to go off to college in the fall. Anabelle is a fashionista and Lucy's best friend. The only boy, Harry, is a charismatic artist who women flock to and Lucy melts every time he's near. They have one last party to end the summer, and Lucy is set to meet Harry in private for what she hopes is their first kiss. Plans go astray though, and she ends up partially overhearing an argument and what could have been a splash of water. It's now nineteen years later, and Lucy is back in Queen's Point, finding herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Does she hold the key to who the killer is?

All of the characters are relatively likeable, except for the one who ended up murdered. Lucy is again caught up in the Whitlam's lives, finding herself more on the outside now. Harry is a manipulative player who uses his looks to his advantage at every turn. Mae has become her mother, with her hands in everything in town, pretty much pulling everyone's strings. Anabelle is a married mother and seems to want to rekindle her friendship with Lucy. Officer Jake Parker is the quintessential good, small town cop. But they all have their secrets and everyone has a motive for killing. Can anyone figure it out before someone else ends up dead?

All in all, a fast, intriguing read told from multiple viewpoints and two different timelines. As the story unfolds, you think you know who had motive and opportunity, but things just keep getting twisted together. A gripping whodunit with a you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it ending. I definitely recommend this one for mystery and thriller fans!… (mehr)

When Lucy was a teenager, she spent one summer with her grandmother in a small Australian town. When the three rich Whitlam siblings invite her into their circle, she couldn't believe it. They all had the perfect lives; nice clothes, fancy house, anything they could dream of. Mae, the oldest, was regal and set to go off to college in the fall. Anabelle is a fashionista and Lucy's best friend. The only boy, Harry, is a charismatic artist who women flock to and Lucy melts every time he's near. They have one last party to end the summer, and Lucy is set to meet Harry in private for what she hopes is their first kiss. Plans go astray though, and she ends up partially overhearing an argument and what could have been a splash of water. It's now nineteen years later, and Lucy is back in Queen's Point, finding herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Does she hold the key to who the killer is?

All of the characters are relatively likeable, except for the one who ended up murdered. Lucy is again caught up in the Whitlam's lives, finding herself more on the outside now. Harry is a manipulative player who uses his looks to his advantage at every turn. Mae has become her mother, with her hands in everything in town, pretty much pulling everyone's strings. Anabelle is a married mother and seems to want to rekindle her friendship with Lucy. Officer Jake Parker is the quintessential good, small town cop. But they all have their secrets and everyone has a motive for killing. Can anyone figure it out before someone else ends up dead?

All in all, a fast, intriguing read told from multiple viewpoints and two different timelines. As the story unfolds, you think you know who had motive and opportunity, but things just keep getting twisted together. A gripping whodunit with a you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it ending. I definitely recommend this one for mystery and thriller fans!… (mehr)