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DI Bethany Smith #5
Death Is a Party
ENJOY THE FUN WHILE YOU CAN
With a serial killer on the loose, intent on murdering everyone in Le Huray Close, Bethany has a tough time working out who it is. It could be one of the residents, or maybe it’s a work colleague—or perhaps it’s just a randomer who’s trying his luck. Either way, the clues aren’t obvious, and she’s frustrated beyond belief.
Why is the killer using different methods with each person?
Do the summer parties play a part?
Who is enraged enough to kill each person so quickly—right under the noses of the police?
This killer is bold, deranged, and incensed by the activities in Le Huray prior to going on a murder spree. He can’t contain his rage any longer, and with a list of ten people, he’s got to get rid of them, fast, before Bethany finds him…
With a serial killer on the loose, intent on murdering everyone in Le Huray Close, Bethany has a tough time working out who it is. It could be one of the residents, or maybe it’s a work colleague—or perhaps it’s just a randomer who’s trying his luck. Either way, the clues aren’t obvious, and she’s frustrated beyond belief.
Why is the killer using different methods with each person?
Do the summer parties play a part?
Who is enraged enough to kill each person so quickly—right under the noses of the police?
This killer is bold, deranged, and incensed by the activities in Le Huray prior to going on a murder spree. He can’t contain his rage any longer, and with a list of ten people, he’s got to get rid of them, fast, before Bethany finds him…
- GenresMystery
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2019
258 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Emmy Ellis
138 books116 followersAuthor of these series:
• DI Tracy Collier
• DI Carol Wren
• DI Bethany Smith
• DI Helena Stratton
• The Cardigan Estate
• DI Morgan Yeoman
• Detective Anna James
• DI Tracy Collier
• DI Carol Wren
• DI Bethany Smith
• DI Helena Stratton
• The Cardigan Estate
• DI Morgan Yeoman
• Detective Anna James
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 16, 2023
God that was excruciatingly dull.
I obviously got a bit too overconfident after my having completed the previous 4 instalments in this series: thinking that I'd be able to plough through the last couple of books in a day or so. I hadn't reckoned on this one being even worse than all the rest, or that I'd find myself doing absolutely anything else I could think of, to avoid picking it back up again. But here we are. Eventually.
This instalment was a strange mix of parts I thought the author wanted us to take seriously, and others that sounded like she was trying to be funny. And we know by now that Emmy Ellis is unable to grasp the concept of humour; something these 5 books of hers have made abundantly clear. (I sometimes wonder if it's just humour she doesn't get, or if she has to wear a laminated lanyard permanently around her neck - a little "aide-mémoire" if you will - helpfully showing little emoji faces with a clear explanation of the emotions they represent printed underneath, to prevent everyone else from realising that she doesn't just lack the ability to read the room...she also can't read people at all. But I digress...)
Don't get me wrong, we all have our weird little responses to things that may or may not be funny to anyone else. (Although it can't just have been me and my 13 year old boy's childish mentality that found the name "Dee Groocock" amusing? Maybe I ought to stay away from 4chan for a bit?) But to kill someone by cramming some sandwiches and a Scotch egg into their mouth, whilst shoving cocktail sausages up their nose? That just sounds like some kind of parody skit, or the kind of silliness you'd have seen John Hannah investigating on that comedy murder show "Touching Cloth". But here we get this dumb little glimpse into Bethany and her big-brained powers of deduction:
"No, she hadn't bloody killed herself by deliberately choking, unless she really had stuffed whatever it was up her nose and crammed what Bethany thought was a scotch egg in her mouth. She flushed out the image of the cracked breadcrumb & sausage coating, the white of the egg showing through, lips stretched around it. It didn't make sense to commit suicide that way. Women tended to go for pills coupled with alcohol, or exsanguination - slitting the wrists to drain the blood. Men often opted for hanging and asphyxia - plastic bags over their heads. Bethany had never heard of anyone using food as the method, although women did tend to be more creative."
1/ It doesn't make sense to commit suicide that way? REALLY? Wow, that's some Sherlock Holmes levels of deduction there Bethany.
2/ Bethany had never heard of anyone using food as the method? Is that because IT'S AN UTTERLY RETARDED IDEA FOR EITHER SUICIDE OR HOMICIDE? I mean outside of the death-fat mukbangers who eat themselves to death, this entire idea is just stupid. So much so, it pulled me immediately away from the story (what little interest it had garnered in me anyway) so that I could read it aloud to my better half who just said "WTF?" before looking at me and asking was it supposed to be a joke? I told him that no, it might just have been unintentionally funny, because Emmy Ellis is a weird creature who doesn't get humour. I told him she likes to try and shock her readers with "inventive" forms of execution, because she lacks the skills required to make any other parts of her stories engaging. He is now wondering why I'm bothering to read through all these books in this series when they're just so utterly terrible. I didn't want to tell him that I'd been wondering that exact same thing throughout the entire series. *sigh*
3/ "Although women did tend to be more creative."
Yeah, whatever you say Ellis. I know you're a feminist nut-bag - and by extension, so too is your female protagonist - but you still couldn't resist this opportunity to try and make women seem smarter, funnier & more inventive, could you? Even if that judgement currently rests on whether or not a woman was murdered or committed suicide with the equivalent of one of those "Sainsbury's Meal Deals" that "frick & frack" seem so fond of eating.
So yeah, there was that piece of bizarro nonsense early on in the book to contend with, along with Bethany thinking that every breeze is the ghost of her dead husband, and making sure on 2 or 3 occasions that she really needs to pee. Why do I need to know about the main character's borderline incontinence? Is this Ellis trying to flesh out her character by making sure we're all aware of how weak her pelvic floor is? Because I can assure you that there are better ways to make your protagonist feel like a realistic, well-rounded human being. But hey, Ellis knows better. So it's death by Scotch egg and a timetable of toilet breaks, whether you like it or do not.
This book differed from the previous 4 instalments, in that the serial killer wasn't someone who had suffered abuse in childhood and was now enacting revenge on their abuser and those who failed to help intercede. Whilst that trope was beyond annoying - after 4 books featuring this as a motive all previously shared by every killer prior to this book - I almost wished (and I can't believe I'm saying this, lol) that we were back in that area of motive & motivation, because this book didn't even have THAT going on as a means of explaining the why's and wherefores behind the killer's reasons for chimping out on his neighbours. No, this guy was just annoyed with the noise they made during their regular weekend parties. This is not a spoiler because he tells you this right at the beginning of the book.
His inner monologues however sounded very similar to all the killers in this series so far. Entirely interchangeable with all the rest, this guy was so blithely sketched out, he thought exactly the same way as the previous 4 books' perps. I remember nothing of note about him other than the fact that he was a teacher. It's all just so dull. Just as it was in every other book leading up to this one, Ellis relies upon her weird and over the top methods she has her killer use to take down his victims, as a stand in for any decent plot or character development. The victims were poorly drawn sketches of characters (another hallmark of an Emmy Ellis book) and all the women in the friend group just blurred into one combined vague female avatar. Any time a woman spoke, did something or got killed, I was hard pressed to remember who she was supposed to be. I probably could have gone back through the book to find out, but I just didn't care enough. I just wanted it to be over.
I just about managed (after 5 freaking books) to commit to memory, the name of Isabelle the head SOCO. And the only reason I can even remember her name, is due to Ellis trying to get her to make funny remarks; only they aren't funny. These attempted jokes fail to land properly because - as always - Emmy. Ellis. Does. Not. Understand. Humour. And to punish me for finally being able to remember and recall one more recurring character, Ellis decided to add a new young police officer into the mix. Her name? I can't remember, lol. She's just one more female officer with no stand-out characteristics, in a squad which is way too female-heavy to be an adequate squad of officers.
Of course there's a place for women in the police (making cups of tea & sandwiches, maybe typing up case files) but when your town is overrun by a ridiculous amount of serial killers, violent crime and a housing estate full of druggies and thugs, you really need a squad made up largely of big, strong men to chase, restrain and arrest the suspect/POI. (You only have to look on YouTube to find endless videos of female police officers failing to use control & restraint techniques on a male perp/suspect, letting them get away - often from 2 or more fat, slow, female cops - so that they have to get back-up from male officers and a fur missile. But hey, "stronk wimmins" can do anything a man can do in #CurrentEra, right?)
Anyway, the book limped on to its inevitable conclusion with Bethany using her super-powers to get the killer to confess in about 15 minutes, because she's just so brilliant. Except for her inability to prevent more of the residents on the street in question from being murdered, despite having officers planted all around it, SOCO teams at up to 3 locations at a time, and it quickly becoming obvious that the killer was targeting residents all in the same street. Absolutely genius. I sincerely hope that the police where I live aren't anywhere near as incompetent as the squad Ellis has created.
So yeah. Worst book of the lot so far, but I only have one more to go and then normal programming will resume. I really want to give this book a 1 star rating because of just how bad it was, even when comparing it to just the previous instalments in this series. But I really need to reserve that lowest possible rating for books that are completely incoherent, filled with appalling grammar and probably self-published because it wouldn't have been taken up by any actual publishing company. So whilst it's going to receive a 2 star rating on here, just know that it's a 1.5 star rating in my heart.
And any of you people who have awarded this absolute travesty of a so-called thriller 4 stars or more, should be choked to death with a Scotch egg , while having 2 cocktail sausages rammed up your nose.
I obviously got a bit too overconfident after my having completed the previous 4 instalments in this series: thinking that I'd be able to plough through the last couple of books in a day or so. I hadn't reckoned on this one being even worse than all the rest, or that I'd find myself doing absolutely anything else I could think of, to avoid picking it back up again. But here we are. Eventually.
This instalment was a strange mix of parts I thought the author wanted us to take seriously, and others that sounded like she was trying to be funny. And we know by now that Emmy Ellis is unable to grasp the concept of humour; something these 5 books of hers have made abundantly clear. (I sometimes wonder if it's just humour she doesn't get, or if she has to wear a laminated lanyard permanently around her neck - a little "aide-mémoire" if you will - helpfully showing little emoji faces with a clear explanation of the emotions they represent printed underneath, to prevent everyone else from realising that she doesn't just lack the ability to read the room...she also can't read people at all. But I digress...)
Don't get me wrong, we all have our weird little responses to things that may or may not be funny to anyone else. (Although it can't just have been me and my 13 year old boy's childish mentality that found the name "Dee Groocock" amusing? Maybe I ought to stay away from 4chan for a bit?) But to kill someone by cramming some sandwiches and a Scotch egg into their mouth, whilst shoving cocktail sausages up their nose? That just sounds like some kind of parody skit, or the kind of silliness you'd have seen John Hannah investigating on that comedy murder show "Touching Cloth". But here we get this dumb little glimpse into Bethany and her big-brained powers of deduction:
"No, she hadn't bloody killed herself by deliberately choking, unless she really had stuffed whatever it was up her nose and crammed what Bethany thought was a scotch egg in her mouth. She flushed out the image of the cracked breadcrumb & sausage coating, the white of the egg showing through, lips stretched around it. It didn't make sense to commit suicide that way. Women tended to go for pills coupled with alcohol, or exsanguination - slitting the wrists to drain the blood. Men often opted for hanging and asphyxia - plastic bags over their heads. Bethany had never heard of anyone using food as the method, although women did tend to be more creative."
1/ It doesn't make sense to commit suicide that way? REALLY? Wow, that's some Sherlock Holmes levels of deduction there Bethany.
2/ Bethany had never heard of anyone using food as the method? Is that because IT'S AN UTTERLY RETARDED IDEA FOR EITHER SUICIDE OR HOMICIDE? I mean outside of the death-fat mukbangers who eat themselves to death, this entire idea is just stupid. So much so, it pulled me immediately away from the story (what little interest it had garnered in me anyway) so that I could read it aloud to my better half who just said "WTF?" before looking at me and asking was it supposed to be a joke? I told him that no, it might just have been unintentionally funny, because Emmy Ellis is a weird creature who doesn't get humour. I told him she likes to try and shock her readers with "inventive" forms of execution, because she lacks the skills required to make any other parts of her stories engaging. He is now wondering why I'm bothering to read through all these books in this series when they're just so utterly terrible. I didn't want to tell him that I'd been wondering that exact same thing throughout the entire series. *sigh*
3/ "Although women did tend to be more creative."
Yeah, whatever you say Ellis. I know you're a feminist nut-bag - and by extension, so too is your female protagonist - but you still couldn't resist this opportunity to try and make women seem smarter, funnier & more inventive, could you? Even if that judgement currently rests on whether or not a woman was murdered or committed suicide with the equivalent of one of those "Sainsbury's Meal Deals" that "frick & frack" seem so fond of eating.
So yeah, there was that piece of bizarro nonsense early on in the book to contend with, along with Bethany thinking that every breeze is the ghost of her dead husband, and making sure on 2 or 3 occasions that she really needs to pee. Why do I need to know about the main character's borderline incontinence? Is this Ellis trying to flesh out her character by making sure we're all aware of how weak her pelvic floor is? Because I can assure you that there are better ways to make your protagonist feel like a realistic, well-rounded human being. But hey, Ellis knows better. So it's death by Scotch egg and a timetable of toilet breaks, whether you like it or do not.
This book differed from the previous 4 instalments, in that the serial killer wasn't someone who had suffered abuse in childhood and was now enacting revenge on their abuser and those who failed to help intercede. Whilst that trope was beyond annoying - after 4 books featuring this as a motive all previously shared by every killer prior to this book - I almost wished (and I can't believe I'm saying this, lol) that we were back in that area of motive & motivation, because this book didn't even have THAT going on as a means of explaining the why's and wherefores behind the killer's reasons for chimping out on his neighbours. No, this guy was just annoyed with the noise they made during their regular weekend parties. This is not a spoiler because he tells you this right at the beginning of the book.
His inner monologues however sounded very similar to all the killers in this series so far. Entirely interchangeable with all the rest, this guy was so blithely sketched out, he thought exactly the same way as the previous 4 books' perps. I remember nothing of note about him other than the fact that he was a teacher. It's all just so dull. Just as it was in every other book leading up to this one, Ellis relies upon her weird and over the top methods she has her killer use to take down his victims, as a stand in for any decent plot or character development. The victims were poorly drawn sketches of characters (another hallmark of an Emmy Ellis book) and all the women in the friend group just blurred into one combined vague female avatar. Any time a woman spoke, did something or got killed, I was hard pressed to remember who she was supposed to be. I probably could have gone back through the book to find out, but I just didn't care enough. I just wanted it to be over.
I just about managed (after 5 freaking books) to commit to memory, the name of Isabelle the head SOCO. And the only reason I can even remember her name, is due to Ellis trying to get her to make funny remarks; only they aren't funny. These attempted jokes fail to land properly because - as always - Emmy. Ellis. Does. Not. Understand. Humour. And to punish me for finally being able to remember and recall one more recurring character, Ellis decided to add a new young police officer into the mix. Her name? I can't remember, lol. She's just one more female officer with no stand-out characteristics, in a squad which is way too female-heavy to be an adequate squad of officers.
Of course there's a place for women in the police (making cups of tea & sandwiches, maybe typing up case files) but when your town is overrun by a ridiculous amount of serial killers, violent crime and a housing estate full of druggies and thugs, you really need a squad made up largely of big, strong men to chase, restrain and arrest the suspect/POI. (You only have to look on YouTube to find endless videos of female police officers failing to use control & restraint techniques on a male perp/suspect, letting them get away - often from 2 or more fat, slow, female cops - so that they have to get back-up from male officers and a fur missile. But hey, "stronk wimmins" can do anything a man can do in #CurrentEra, right?)
Anyway, the book limped on to its inevitable conclusion with Bethany using her super-powers to get the killer to confess in about 15 minutes, because she's just so brilliant. Except for her inability to prevent more of the residents on the street in question from being murdered, despite having officers planted all around it, SOCO teams at up to 3 locations at a time, and it quickly becoming obvious that the killer was targeting residents all in the same street. Absolutely genius. I sincerely hope that the police where I live aren't anywhere near as incompetent as the squad Ellis has created.
So yeah. Worst book of the lot so far, but I only have one more to go and then normal programming will resume. I really want to give this book a 1 star rating because of just how bad it was, even when comparing it to just the previous instalments in this series. But I really need to reserve that lowest possible rating for books that are completely incoherent, filled with appalling grammar and probably self-published because it wouldn't have been taken up by any actual publishing company. So whilst it's going to receive a 2 star rating on here, just know that it's a 1.5 star rating in my heart.
And any of you people who have awarded this absolute travesty of a so-called thriller 4 stars or more, should be choked to death with a Scotch egg , while having 2 cocktail sausages rammed up your nose.
May 8, 2020
Another great book in the DI Bethany Smith series
November 15, 2019
I loved this book. I'm not sure whether a book that has murders at every turn should be this entertaining, but it is! The story revolves around the residents one street, and in particular a collection of friends who take over the summer nights with their loud parties. If you've ever had noisy neighbours, then I'm sure you've thought about interesting ways to shut them up. No? Well Emmy has. And she is very creative.
This is my second book of Emmy's, and I've come to enjoy the fast pace, and gritty details she splatters over the pages. I won't mention that I'm a character in here... oh wait, I just have.
Superb.
This is my second book of Emmy's, and I've come to enjoy the fast pace, and gritty details she splatters over the pages. I won't mention that I'm a character in here... oh wait, I just have.
Superb.
September 16, 2019
Death is a Party review.
This is the fifth book is this absolutely gripping thriller series. Love the main character and the banter she has with her partner, it adds a different level to the story.
Bethany Smith and her team are called to the murder scene of a woman killed in a close-knit community. the case is a perplexing one and escalates quickly with several more murders in the same community.
To say more would be deemed a spoiler. Needless to say, if you love fast-paced crime novels that keep you swiftly turning the pages, look no further than this excellent series.
This is the fifth book is this absolutely gripping thriller series. Love the main character and the banter she has with her partner, it adds a different level to the story.
Bethany Smith and her team are called to the murder scene of a woman killed in a close-knit community. the case is a perplexing one and escalates quickly with several more murders in the same community.
To say more would be deemed a spoiler. Needless to say, if you love fast-paced crime novels that keep you swiftly turning the pages, look no further than this excellent series.
April 23, 2022
Don’t like to know who has done the crime at the beginning
May 26, 2020
Death is a Party is the fifth book in the DI Bethany Smith series.
During the summer months in Le Huray Close, the residents have all night parties and have done ever since they all moved there.
Somebody has had enough of the parties and noise and starts killing off the residents. Can Bethany and the team find the killer before the whole close are murdered?
Obviously murder isn’t funny but I did find myself chuckling at some of the inventive ways the author finds to kill in the story. I like the relationship and banter that Bethany and Mike have, I’ve enjoyed watching their characters grow. An entertaining read, I always get lost in these stories.
It’s also quite strange to read about your own murder in a book!
During the summer months in Le Huray Close, the residents have all night parties and have done ever since they all moved there.
Somebody has had enough of the parties and noise and starts killing off the residents. Can Bethany and the team find the killer before the whole close are murdered?
Obviously murder isn’t funny but I did find myself chuckling at some of the inventive ways the author finds to kill in the story. I like the relationship and banter that Bethany and Mike have, I’ve enjoyed watching their characters grow. An entertaining read, I always get lost in these stories.
It’s also quite strange to read about your own murder in a book!
September 3, 2020
I’m persevering with this series because it is quite a long series and I do like the familiarity of characters you already know. Unfortunately this is not the best series. The stories are a bit silly, the killers practically have “weirdo serial killer with mommy issues” tattooed on their foreheads, the police detection work is non existent, the killers go from zero to slaying 4/5 people in a matter of days until they slip up and get caught practically in the act and none of the main characters get beyond one dimensional. That said they’re an easy read and this one was better than the previous 4 in the series.
March 14, 2022
Very interesting!
And it makes me wonder how I got through my teens and early 20's alive! This was another very original plot. And it made me wonder if someone could really be triggered that way. I am growing to like this series much more, and am glad I kept with it. I still don't know what has bothered me, but it may be knowing who the suspect is from the beginning. I'm still not used to that one. But ill carry on to the next book in the series now!
And it makes me wonder how I got through my teens and early 20's alive! This was another very original plot. And it made me wonder if someone could really be triggered that way. I am growing to like this series much more, and am glad I kept with it. I still don't know what has bothered me, but it may be knowing who the suspect is from the beginning. I'm still not used to that one. But ill carry on to the next book in the series now!
January 6, 2022
One street, multiple murders
This book was brilliant and the way Emmy Ellis wrote about how the murders were carried out was unique fitting in the way we as readers expect her twist.
We get to see again the difference of Tracy and Bethany.
This book was brilliant and the way Emmy Ellis wrote about how the murders were carried out was unique fitting in the way we as readers expect her twist.
We get to see again the difference of Tracy and Bethany.
April 7, 2022
Book number 5 in the DI Bethany Smith series and this author does not disappoint! Residents of a close are being picked off one by one at an alarming rate. Does the murderer live amongst them. Will Bethany and her team find the perpetrator? Really recommend this series!
April 23, 2024
Superb!
For me,this has to be the best DI Bethany Smith book yet.
It was like a rollercoaster from start to finish, I loved it!
What I didn't like was all the swearing, just wasn't needed.
Apart from that, I found it riveting, read it in less than 24 hrs.
For me,this has to be the best DI Bethany Smith book yet.
It was like a rollercoaster from start to finish, I loved it!
What I didn't like was all the swearing, just wasn't needed.
Apart from that, I found it riveting, read it in less than 24 hrs.
June 10, 2020
I love knowing who the guilty party is and watching the police work it out...
Also Emmy's imagination gets better and better!
Also Emmy's imagination gets better and better!
October 7, 2020
A really good set of war protectors would have been easier..m
November 27, 2023
Utterly compelling
A really good read,unfolds drawing you in keeping you guessing and making you turn the pages,great characters first-class plot,good read
A really good read,unfolds drawing you in keeping you guessing and making you turn the pages,great characters first-class plot,good read
June 1, 2024
How one person can come up with so many different ways to murder someone is beyond me, but every book I've read so far has been amazing, brilliant storylines and for once chilling really means chilling.
December 23, 2024
Slow going
Slow going. Took a while to keep reading. Not sure I'll follow author. Too many others I follow . .
Slow going. Took a while to keep reading. Not sure I'll follow author. Too many others I follow . .
November 4, 2019
Warning: Spoilers in this review.
SPOILERS
I enjoyed book #1 of the DI Bethany Smith series, so I picked up “Death is a Party” for a quick read. This well-paced book has a clever storyline which shows the discombobulated police six steps behind the serial murderer with a kill-list. This murderer manages to sneak through a heavily-policed neighborhood and execute spectacular kills—with unbelievable amounts of the devil’s own luck.
This book would normally be a 4 star read for me, but I prefer authors DON’T identify the murderer up front. I also prefer detectives to detect and puzzle out the murderer’s identity, instead of “lucking upon” finding her/him—in another example of the devil’s own luck.
I am open to reading another book in this series.
SPOILERS
I enjoyed book #1 of the DI Bethany Smith series, so I picked up “Death is a Party” for a quick read. This well-paced book has a clever storyline which shows the discombobulated police six steps behind the serial murderer with a kill-list. This murderer manages to sneak through a heavily-policed neighborhood and execute spectacular kills—with unbelievable amounts of the devil’s own luck.
This book would normally be a 4 star read for me, but I prefer authors DON’T identify the murderer up front. I also prefer detectives to detect and puzzle out the murderer’s identity, instead of “lucking upon” finding her/him—in another example of the devil’s own luck.
I am open to reading another book in this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2019
Another brilliant tale from this master of crime. A fully engaging
Account of someone pushed to the limit. Extreme measures needed to control the murderous instincts. So sad the perpetrator
Come couldn't manage it. He he
Account of someone pushed to the limit. Extreme measures needed to control the murderous instincts. So sad the perpetrator
Come couldn't manage it. He he
December 3, 2019
Another brilliant book by Emmy Ellis. I don't want to give much away. Emmy gives you a great insight to a murderer. As usual the killings are gruesome but add to the story. Roll on the to the next Bethany Smith story. Highly recommended
November 10, 2019
This series is becoming addictive, love Bethany and her team.
December 7, 2019
👍🏻
Enjoyed this. I like the writing style where you know whodunit from the start and then watch Smith figure it out too.
Enjoyed this. I like the writing style where you know whodunit from the start and then watch Smith figure it out too.
January 26, 2020
Love this series, author has a warped imagination coming up with so many ways to kill people.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews