Dollycas's Thoughts
Welcome to Alton Road, an exclusive cul-de-sac that is hosting its annual block party.
Do they really know their neighbors as well as they think they do? When one of them is murdered they realize there are a ton of secrets being held by everyone.
We have to go back a year to see which scandal, betrayal, rivalry, and/or secret drove someone to murder.
____
As soon as I started reading this book I felt like I had landed on Wisteria Lane 2.0 (Desperate Housewives). Saying Jamie Day's characters have issues is a huge understatement. The book is mostly told from Alex's point of view. She is a divorce mediator who has a dangerous relationship with wine that she thinks she is hiding. Her 17-year-old daughter Lettie is doing whatever she can do personally to save the planet. She is also crushing on the son of their new neighbors. After a suspension for vandalism at the end of her junior year she just wants to graduate high school and go cross country to attend USC. Alex's husband is miserly when it comes to his daughter's education and is trying hard to get his wife to give up her vino.
The other residents of Alton Road include a widow who may have killed her husband with an interesting occupation, a teen that is having trouble coping with life especially when his girlfriend breaks up with him, a controlling husband, a wife hiding a connection to other residents on the road, a stalker, a drug addict, a cheating husband and more. All of these things come out over the course of the story. Because of my personal experience, I was very drawn to the troubled teen especially because I could feel what was in his future. I felt all of the characters were complex but needed more depth but with the large number of characters, it is hard to do that in one book.
The author fills the book with a lot of hot-button issues. Alcoholism, drug abuse, adultery, statutory rape, computer hacking, blackmail, stalking, revenge, and more. Not one house on the cul-de-sac escaped having problems, and many of those problems could destroy others. Truthfully, all the characters were unlikable but their situations kept the pages turning for me. Plus I needed to know who was murdered, who did it, and why.
I did enjoy the Facebook chat group talking and gossiping about what could be happening on Alton Road. I belong to similar groups for my hometown and the town where I currently live. Thankfully our moderators don't allow gossip but they are a great way to find out what is happening around town, like when you hear a ton of sirens and wonder what is going on or what is on fire or if there is a prison break which really could happen here.
The Block Party is filled with dysfunction and drama. So much drama. If you were a fan of Desperate Housewives you will enjoy this story but unlike the housewives, I have no desire to be friends with anyone on Alton Road but they will probably stick in my brain for a while.
This appears to be Jamie Day's first novel. She is an author to watch. I am open to reading more of her work.
Welcome to Alton Road, an exclusive cul-de-sac that is hosting its annual block party.
Do they really know their neighbors as well as they think they do? When one of them is murdered they realize there are a ton of secrets being held by everyone.
We have to go back a year to see which scandal, betrayal, rivalry, and/or secret drove someone to murder.
____
As soon as I started reading this book I felt like I had landed on Wisteria Lane 2.0 (Desperate Housewives). Saying Jamie Day's characters have issues is a huge understatement. The book is mostly told from Alex's point of view. She is a divorce mediator who has a dangerous relationship with wine that she thinks she is hiding. Her 17-year-old daughter Lettie is doing whatever she can do personally to save the planet. She is also crushing on the son of their new neighbors. After a suspension for vandalism at the end of her junior year she just wants to graduate high school and go cross country to attend USC. Alex's husband is miserly when it comes to his daughter's education and is trying hard to get his wife to give up her vino.
The other residents of Alton Road include a widow who may have killed her husband with an interesting occupation, a teen that is having trouble coping with life especially when his girlfriend breaks up with him, a controlling husband, a wife hiding a connection to other residents on the road, a stalker, a drug addict, a cheating husband and more. All of these things come out over the course of the story. Because of my personal experience, I was very drawn to the troubled teen especially because I could feel what was in his future. I felt all of the characters were complex but needed more depth but with the large number of characters, it is hard to do that in one book.
The author fills the book with a lot of hot-button issues. Alcoholism, drug abuse, adultery, statutory rape, computer hacking, blackmail, stalking, revenge, and more. Not one house on the cul-de-sac escaped having problems, and many of those problems could destroy others. Truthfully, all the characters were unlikable but their situations kept the pages turning for me. Plus I needed to know who was murdered, who did it, and why.
I did enjoy the Facebook chat group talking and gossiping about what could be happening on Alton Road. I belong to similar groups for my hometown and the town where I currently live. Thankfully our moderators don't allow gossip but they are a great way to find out what is happening around town, like when you hear a ton of sirens and wonder what is going on or what is on fire or if there is a prison break which really could happen here.
The Block Party is filled with dysfunction and drama. So much drama. If you were a fan of Desperate Housewives you will enjoy this story but unlike the housewives, I have no desire to be friends with anyone on Alton Road but they will probably stick in my brain for a while.
This appears to be Jamie Day's first novel. She is an author to watch. I am open to reading more of her work.
The residents of Alton Road are holding their annual Memorial Day Block party but the usually family friendly get together is about to take a sinister turn that ends in a homicide. The core families each have something to hide and as the novel unfolds we learn that even the most idyllic neighborhoods are not always as serene as they appear to an outsider.
The mystery is narrated from dual points of view and interspersed with the online chatter from other community members who like nothing better than to speculate about the residents of Alton Road. Alex Fox seems to have it all together; successful businesswoman, loving mother and devoted wife but she is also an alcoholic. Lettie Fox, her 17 year old daughter is entering her Senior year of high school on the heels of a two week suspension at the end of Junior year for vandalism to the school. She will be the first to admit that she doesn't fit in with her peers and wants nothing more than to graduate and move across country to attend USC.
The story starts off in present day with Alex drunk, and after landing on her butt in the kiddie pool and totally humiliating her husband Nick, she goes into the house to sleep it off. She's awakened by the sounds of sirens and staggers outside to see what is happening.
The author then takes us back a year and we get to know each of the families and the secrets they are hiding which ultimately will end in death for one of them, and completely destroy the lives of several others. An eerie tale filled with obsession, blackmail, infidelity and drug abuse that will have you binge reading an afternoon away. This is not my normal genre but am glad that I took the opportunity to spend a day with the residents of Alton Road.
The mystery is narrated from dual points of view and interspersed with the online chatter from other community members who like nothing better than to speculate about the residents of Alton Road. Alex Fox seems to have it all together; successful businesswoman, loving mother and devoted wife but she is also an alcoholic. Lettie Fox, her 17 year old daughter is entering her Senior year of high school on the heels of a two week suspension at the end of Junior year for vandalism to the school. She will be the first to admit that she doesn't fit in with her peers and wants nothing more than to graduate and move across country to attend USC.
The story starts off in present day with Alex drunk, and after landing on her butt in the kiddie pool and totally humiliating her husband Nick, she goes into the house to sleep it off. She's awakened by the sounds of sirens and staggers outside to see what is happening.
The author then takes us back a year and we get to know each of the families and the secrets they are hiding which ultimately will end in death for one of them, and completely destroy the lives of several others. An eerie tale filled with obsession, blackmail, infidelity and drug abuse that will have you binge reading an afternoon away. This is not my normal genre but am glad that I took the opportunity to spend a day with the residents of Alton Road.
You know...for a debut novel...this book has got it going on! This is not only salacious, but it's juicy and cunning, all wrapped up in one! Jamie Day is one author that you should keep tabs on, because she's got what it takes to become literary' s next greatest! If she can do what she did with her first book, just imagine how good they will get over time! Gosh...I have goosebumps!
This book was a quick read that you can easily devour in one sitting! And the neighborhood is one that everyone knows exactly what you're talking about...there's one in every town! But someone in town is a murderer, and there are plenty of people that could or should be suspects!
The characters to the story, to the secrets, to the twists all offer the perfect combination of a summer blockbuster hit! I could totally see this being turned into a movie!
The Block Party is narrated by Megan Tusing and Suzy Jackson. Megan Tusing is one of my favorite narrators, but both seemed to be an absolute perfect fit for this book, which makes a huge different in how a book comes across!
Overall, I am incredibly impressed with the likes of Jamie Day and The Block Party! You can't go wrong when choosing this for your next read!
I'd like to thank Jamie Day, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for providing me a copy of The Block Party which allowed me to contribute this honest and unbiased review!
This book was a quick read that you can easily devour in one sitting! And the neighborhood is one that everyone knows exactly what you're talking about...there's one in every town! But someone in town is a murderer, and there are plenty of people that could or should be suspects!
The characters to the story, to the secrets, to the twists all offer the perfect combination of a summer blockbuster hit! I could totally see this being turned into a movie!
The Block Party is narrated by Megan Tusing and Suzy Jackson. Megan Tusing is one of my favorite narrators, but both seemed to be an absolute perfect fit for this book, which makes a huge different in how a book comes across!
Overall, I am incredibly impressed with the likes of Jamie Day and The Block Party! You can't go wrong when choosing this for your next read!
I'd like to thank Jamie Day, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for providing me a copy of The Block Party which allowed me to contribute this honest and unbiased review!
