The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh : Discussion Thread

[Trisha]

At midnight, one of them is dead.
By morning, all of them are suspects.

It's a party to end all parties, but not everyone is here to celebrate.

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.

But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year’s Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family—and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead…but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning.

[Trisha]

Please remember this is a discussion thread!

** Spoilers might be listed so read carefully
** Please use Spoiler Tags to hide spoiler comments!!

[Elsa]

Trisha, have you started reading this yet?
Do you have a start date?

[Trisha]

oh, starting today! Did you want me to wait? Is there a good start date for you?

[Elsa]

I'm 100 pgs from finishing , go ahead and start I will catch up.

[Elsa]

you probably be done by the time I start
LOL

[Trisha]

no no! I was waiting to hear from you!! I waited! I'm finishing another one today and then I'll start!

I broke the book out like this. what do you think coming back at these parts?

Ch 16 (stop at 17)
Ch 31 (stop at Part 2)
Ch 48 (stop at 49)
and then end?

I like breaking the book in to four sections. But you can come back anytime and I can figure it out! lol

[Elsa]

sounds good.
I'll catch you on chapter 16
hehe

[Elsa]

Ok
I’m starting tonight.

[Trisha]

16 chapters

this is interesting so far but lots of characters
(view spoiler)[ I love that the new year's one night stand has them now as partners! lol

But Leo is being pretty straight forward with the case
and Ffion is hiding everything! The more she hides, the shadier it's going to look. I wonder who she cut out over that missing hour. and I wonder if it was someone she knew.

no real guesses yet since we don't know all the players and their connections yet (hide spoiler)]

[Elsa]

Just made it to ch 16 but I’m on my phone and I got a lot to type so I’ll come back tomorrow and update with spoiler

[Trisha]

yay! I can't wait to see what you think!

[Elsa]

1-16 CHAPTERS
(view spoiler)[
Cabins:
1. Jonty & Blythe Charlton
2. Dirdre Huxley
3. Bobby & Ashleigh Stafford
4. Clemence & Son Caleb Northcote
5. Rhys & Yasmin Lloyd & twin girls Tabb & Felicia

Ffion (really want to say Fiona!) NorthWales Detective, married to Huw (separated)
Elen (mam), Seren (16yr old sister)

Leo Cheshire Detective 36 yrs old, Allie (Leo ex wife) & Harris (son 4?)

Mia (Ffion friend 2 yr older)
Ceri (postwoman)
Crouch (Leo boss)
Izzy - Pathologist
Malik - FFion boss
Dominic - Allie current husband
Glynis - Floyd mom
Steffan - boathouse owner
Eira - primary school teacher, with nose ring , talking to Bobby at party
Gruffydd- at party
Hari - at party
Sion - at party

Things of interest
-Village Cum Coed - sounds like, well you know what it sounds like, yuk
-Gosip bursts out of the girl like water from a dam.
Idon't give a monkey's if the queen of Sheep was there.
-FFion - "Rhys Lloyd is dead. Thank God for that" - Why does she say that?
- Allie - cheated on Leo with her best friends husband Domonic, which caused her marriage to end. (piece of work that one is)
Glynis - Rhys mother
-"Never dip your pen in company ink"
"We hardly need Miss Marple do we" - not sure what this quote means
- Ffion delete video!!! - why?!?! what is she hiding?
-She can just about keep her shit together when only Leo's involved, but a DI and a packed room, she simply can't risk it." (can't risk what?)
-"If there is grass on the wicket, times to play cricket" - (from pervert Jonty)
-Mysterious women in black - black leather leggings ; Ffion swipe photo to quick- What is that all about?
-Missing award/trophy - puzzle pc.
-"Who needs money when you've got love" (who says that?)
-After the party he is going to leave (with her, I take it) Mia?
- Dee is wearing black velvet trousers (like in the pic , could it be her)
-Seren is talking with someone next cabin balcony who is apologizing
-Huw is owed 30k by Rhys who spent it
-Mia tells Ffio- she's a cramp mate - Ffio internal voice says "She's not a crap mate, a crap mate wouldn't keep a secret, especially in the middle of a murder investigation"
-Rhys was a bully as a kid/teen
-Bullied Ceri about her sexuality so much she tried to commit suicide when she was in HS
-Ffion lied to Leo about her sister Seren not wanting to be fingerprinted
-Yasmin had been planning to divorce Rhys
-Yasmin felt betrayed - what did she find out, that he was cheating?
-They'll all want a nosy at the posies" - not sure what this means
-She only cares , as she has for most of her life, about herself. -Yasmin

Who has motive for the murder:
Ceri - was bullied
Huw - is owed $
Mia - was promised love
FFion - I believe was raped by him
Yasmin - cheated on her
Jonty - cabins not making the $ promised?
(hide spoiler)]

What do you think?

[Trisha]

oooh, nice wrap up of those chapters

I don't have any guesses yet at the 16 chapter point(view spoiler)[ although Ffion is not looking real innocent right now just because she is definitely telling lies and hindering the investigation

not giving access to Seren, deleting footage, not leaving when she was told she could get off the case. . .giving herself an alibi because she didn't have one. Yikes!! (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

okay, I changed our next stop point, because it was perfect JUST before to stop at Part 2! i hope that's okay!

[Trisha]

Part 1 (31 chapters)

(view spoiler)[wow, the suspects are just getting worse! lol

Ffion really looks guilty! Rhys being the father!! Yikes! I wonder if he knew or if Ffion was another source of his low funds. She is going to have to come clean with Leo about what's going on!

but I don't think Seren was there for Rhys! Now that we know she knew the son and hung out with him, now we know she had anothe rreason to be around there!

I feel bad for Leo. I hope he overcomes this threat with the ex.

The whole Shore group sounds awful! Jonty is really gross (as was Rhys!) Interesting how many locals hate them though. SO many suspects (hide spoiler)]

[Elsa]

Trisha wrote: "oooh, nice wrap up of those chapters

I don't have any guesses yet at the 16 chapter point although Ffion is not looking real innocent right now just because she is definitely telling lies and hind..."

Agree
But she could be covering for her friend Mia or Ceri

[Trisha]

Ch 48

(view spoiler)[oooh man, we learned A LOT in those chapters
I think it's Dee - that's my guess. I think she was tired of him getting away with being such a horrible person

I really hope Seren is okay. It's horrible how she found out
and that Rhys was making a move on her! ugh! I thought she was going there to see Caleb (at least I'd been hoping!)

I hope she and Leo have a drink or two after this is all over. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

and OMG I'm done!!

ooh the twists!! This one was So good

(view spoiler)[ I never would have guessed that poison really was used!
I love that her mom was ready to go down for it but she wasn't going to let the man that hurt her daughter come back like that

I loved the notes from the author at the end! What a fun addition!

I love Leo !! I wanted them to be together! I'm so glad she moved out of hubby's house. hopefully she's divorces him! Who says that about a rape victim - that crappy beer goggles comment! Ugh, I couldn't stay married to someone who thought rape was the woman's fault (not matter what she's wearing or WHEN she says no!)
(hide spoiler)]

I can't wait to see what you think!

[Elsa]

LOL
Your done
I'm still trying to get to section/ part 2

But I will post once I get to each section.

[Elsa]

Chapter 31

(view spoiler)[
"Ffion really looks guilty!"
Her and everyone else. I really can't put my finger on who done it!

"Rhys being the father!! Yikes!"
I figured something had happened to her as well and I was leaning toward rape, but never did I think she ended up pregnant, that whole sister thing, I believed it!!! However I did have questions, how was the father who had been sick with Cancer for over year could get the mother pregnant, but. I didn't give it any more thought to it.

"I feel bad for Leo."
I do too, he needs to grow a pair, with his boss and his ex!!

I think everyone dislikes Rhys because he was an asshole as a kid and an asshole as an adult! Some people see though all that poop he dishes out.
(hide spoiler)]

[Elsa]

I'm done

(view spoiler)[
I never would have guessed that poison really was used!
Me either, but loved the idea!! It leaves no trace. That would have been great if they would have used it prior to the party, in fact wasn't that part of Seren job?!!! Can you imagine if she was the one that got that envelope!!! Holy moly!!

"I love that her mom was ready to go down for it but she wasn't going to let the man that hurt her daughter come back like that"

I think is she would have known back then she would have killed him then and would have gone to prison. So revenge is best served cold is true in this case!

-I loved the notes from the author at the end! What a fun addition!
That would have been a great discussion with an actually get together book club!

-I love Leo !! I wanted them to be together! I'm so glad she moved out of hubby's house. hopefully she's divorces him! Who says that about a rape victim - that crappy beer goggles comment! Ugh, I couldn't stay married to someone who thought rape was the woman's fault (not matter what she's wearing or WHEN she says no!)

I thought Hue was a good guy until he said that!!! What a douch!

Never did I for once thought it was the mother. Of all people she never once came on my radar as the killer. Most of The Shore individuals didn't like him and were probably better off with him dead.

I thought for sure it would have been the owner of the club for doing that to her girl. I think she would have ruined him if he hadn't been killed at the party, if she had found out that he was messing with his own daughter Seren!!

I can't recall is the mother was found guilty and sent to prison or not. I remember that she was allowed to access her accounts and Hue was paid what he was owed. I felt sorry for her because she didn't want to see how bad her child was when her husband told her he was a bad seed. IF she would have done something then, he would have probably ended up in prison for life with no money but a lot of females would have been saved from his actions.

There was something the mother did that was a little confusing when there was a companion between Rhys and Steven when they were young and school? Do you remember?

Also do you think that the poison was enough to kill him?
and what would they have attributed the death if he had just died of poisoning?

(hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

yay!! so glad you liked it too!! I was surprised because I was ready to not like it! lol

your questions
(view spoiler)[ I don't remember a companion, dang it. I wish I could help.

Yes! I think the poison ultimately killed him because he "died of a heart attack" Not the injury or the water.

If he hadn't also been hit, I think they just would have assumed he died of a heart attack because the small papercut in his mouth was never even considered!! it was such a slick ugly murder! (hide spoiler)]

[Elsa]

SORRY
not companion, but competition