The Block Party: A Novel

My small little neighborhood has become very social media conscious these last couple of years. Almost everyone is on Nextdoor, sharing tales of tag sales, people not doing their lawns, or dogs doing business. Or they have a Nest doorbell sharing pictures of delivery people doing their jobs, to comments, dogs again doing their business, to comments, and kids riding bikes, to even more comments. Our business is not our own anymore, and there is a very large business making money off of stuff that a person used to whisper over a fence to another neighbor. Now they comment online to the whole community. Instead of bringing people together, this makes us want to be apart. A dog's business on a lawn is a chance to freak out, a kid on a bike touching a driveway, worth an angry letter. And slowly this pressure builds, till on a otherwise happy day, something happens, and suddenly things go dark fast. Welcome to The Block Party by Jamie Day, a story about a neighborhood full of snooty people, and wanabees, and the sudden act of violence that changes everything. Alton Road is THE cul-de-sac in the town of Meadowbrook, in an exclusive area of New England. The annual block is the biggest affair of the season, a chance for the neighbors to show how they are beating all the other Joneses with their success, travel plans, kitchen redos and more, while slowly hating themselves, their family, and in some cases barely hanging on. The odds are high that something will happen at the party, something always does, a drunken spat between spouses, a kiss in a bouncy house, a near drowning from a stoned child, or even more embarrassing. However this block party is the scene for the first murder in forty years. And it might not be the last. Talking too much about the book will give a lot away, and there are a lot of twists and turns in this book, and some surprising revelations, a final twist that is almost on the last page. Yes there is a certain amount of disbelief that has to be suspended, and frankly none of these people are worth living next to. The story is a slightly familiar one, being rich is burden and what it does to people, but Day does have a gift with characters and even when they are annoying one still wants to see where they are going, and what might be next. A very clever story, with a good use of satire to make the story come to life. Recommended for fans who like twists, turns and annoying characters sometimes getting their due. This is a perfect book for the beach, because one will think wow pleasant it is not to look out the window and see the neighbors who seem so similar to characters in the book. Just stay off your doorbell apps.

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 n...

Perfect blend of a beach read and thriller combined. Great character development and held my attention the entire book!

Jamie Day knows how to keep the suspense building to a satisfying conclusion. I liked the characters who felt real to me as I was reading.