Book Reviews

Book Blurb

When Jamie Roma and Derek Lee find their blossoming love affair interrupted by dual invitations to a house party from a mysterious unnamed host, they think, Sounds like fun. The next thing they know they are caught up in a game of cat and mouse that quickly starts racking up a lot of dead mice. Yikes,they think. Not so fun. 

 

Trapped inside a spooky old house in the middle of nowhere, with the body count rising among their fellow guests, they begin to wonder if they’ll escape with their lives. As a cataclysmic storm swoops in to batter the survivors, the horror mounts. 

 

Oddly enough, even in the midst of murder and mayhem, Jamie and Derek’s love continues to thrive. 

 

While the guest list thins, so does the list of suspects. Soon it’s only them and the killer. 

 

And then the battle really begins.

 

Book Review

“I’ve seen horror movies that start this way.” – Derek, A Party to Murder

“Because it’s an adventure! It’s a lark. It’s mysterious. It’s a weekend house party in the middle of nowhere, fifty miles out of the city, cut off from the world, and being hosted by someone we may or may not know for reasons we haven’t got a clue about.” – Jamie, A Party to Murder

Best friends who have recently become lovers, a mysterious invitation to a house party in what turns out to be a super creepy mansion, the thunderstorm from hell, a growing body count, and a dose of (occasional) humor blend together in this delightful parody of a murder/horror/thriller story. Usually I get interested in a book because of the blurb, but some books I pick up because of the title or the cover or the author – I have found that the latter three are generally more risky strategies for me. Murder mysteries are also not usually my thing – and by now you are probably wondering why the heck I read this book. In this case it was purely because I love John Inman’s work, and another mystery of his I have read previously (‘Spirit’) turned out to be a great mix of characters and humor. ‘A Party to Murder’, while a totally different story, had many of the same elements and I enjoyed reading it just as much.

Jamie and Derek have recently discovered that their friendship has a physical side, but while they explore what love means to them throughout, what gets them through the situation they find themselves in is their friendship. The fact that they have known each other for many years also helps when they begin to realize that the only people whom they can trust in this setup are each other.

From the beginning it was clear to me that Jamie and Derek are in over their heads. They have no idea who invited them and only went because they were promised “door prizes” and free booze. The weather is spectacularly bad with a thunderstorm and pretty much continuous rain. They arrive in the dark – after the bridge leading back to civilization dramatically collapses behind them. The house is super creepy, the other “guests” are strange, and there is no cell service (nor a landline). Basically they are cut off and on their own, and that is when they find the first two bodies.

The other characters are just as important as the setting. Ranging from strange to really weird, it is clear that one of them must be the murderer. Not that I found it easy to figure out who it was, but I’m never good at that. I found the atmosphere and the description of the various reactions to what happens almost as interesting as figuring out whodunit. As the suspense increased, I was swept up in the action and by the time “the real battle begins” (as stated in the blurb), I was thoroughly invested in the outcome.

If you are looking for a “serious” murder mystery or horror novel, this is not your book. If, on the other hand, you enjoy sarcasm and parodies, if you’re curious what a mix of Agatha Christie and a budding romance between two men who have been friends since they were kids looks like, and if you’re looking for a read that does not take itself too seriously while offering solid entertainment of the somewhat scary kind, then you will probably like this novel. I have to admit that I would not have liked it as much had it been a more traditional version of a dark mystery.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 207 pages/72782 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	26-March-2019
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/a-party-to-murder-by-john-inman-10330-b