the guilty party book review

• Kindle eBooks
• Literature & Fiction
• Women's Fiction

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Buy for others

Buying and sending kindle books to others.

• Select quantity
• Choose delivery method and buy Kindle Books
• Recipients can read on any device

These Kindle Books can only be redeemed by recipients in your country. Redemption links and Kindle Books cannot be resold.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

The Guilty Party: Dive into a dark, gripping and shocking psychological thriller from bestselling author Mel McGrath Kindle Edition

‘MASTERFUL’ Guardian ‘IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT’ Erin Kelly ‘UTTERLY COMPELLING’ Crime Monthly ‘5*’ Heat ’WELL-CRAFTED AND CHILLING’ Woman ‘MCGRATH IS A DIAMOND-HARD TALENT’ Financial Times

On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help.

Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realises that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands.

But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?

And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all?

Praise for mel mcgrath:.

‘This roller-coaster read will have you hooked ’ Closer

‘This well-crafted, chilling tale of guilt and innocence has a compelling moral anchor’ Woman

‘ Lots of twists and turns in this toxic thriller.’ Hello!

‘A dextrously written thriller and examination of guilt and innocence… [McGrath is] a diamond-hard talent ’ Financial Times

‘McGrath excels in creating believably flawed characters, and her masterful control of suspense and pacing make for a psychological thriller that is both perceptive and disturbing’ Guardian

‘Unsettling, disturbing and vital. 5* ’ Heat

‘Exploring guilt and innocence through several dark distinct perspectives, Cassie becomes a compelling moral anchor in this well-crafted and chilling tale’ Woman’s Own

‘ Easily the best [of the subgenre]…psychologically acute and deeply satisfying ’ Telegraph

‘ Perceptive …McGrath is a thoughtful writer’ Daily Mail

‘ Utterly compelling right from the start …a deeply unsettling look at modern sexual behaviour and bystander culture’ Crime Monthly

‘Chilling, fiendishly plotted and surprising, this stayed with me long after reading ’ Woman & Home

‘ Absorbing … McGrath asks: should it be a crime to witness a violent event, and say nothing?’ The Times

‘Brimming with trust issues and deceit, this will make you question whether we ever know who our friends really are ’ Prima

‘ A clever, nuanced exploration of toxic friendship and the ties that bind people together’ Red

‘ Dark, thrilling, impossible to predict ’ Erin Kelly, author of He Said She Said

‘A scorching , clever thriller’ Tammy Cohen, author of They All Fall Down

‘A dark and immersive journey into the heart of a toxic friendship group. I loved it .’ Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange

• Print length 384 pages
• Language English
• Publisher HQ
• Publication date 7 Mar. 2019
• File size 1351 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

Customers who read this book also read

From the Publisher

Product description

‘Chilling, fiendishly plotted and surprising, this stayed with me long after reading ’ Woman & Home

About the Author

Mel McGrath is an Essex girl, co-founder of Killer Women, and an award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction. As MJ McGrath she writes the acclaimed Edie Kiglatuk series of Arctic mysteries. As Melanie McGrath she wrote the critically acclaimed, bestselling memoir Silvertown . As Mel McGrath she is the author of the bestselling psychological thrillers Give Me the Child , The Guilty Party and Two Wrongs .

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07G97LGRC
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ (7 Mar. 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 1351 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0008217084
• 1,370 in Psychological Literary Fiction
• 2,255 in Women's Detective Fiction
• 2,719 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction

About the author

Mel mcgrath.

Melanie McGrath is an award-winning, bestselling writer of fiction and narrative nonfiction. She has written numerous works of narrative social history on topics as varied as the early internet, the Arctic and the East End of London and is the author of the Edie Kiglatuk series of Arctic mysteries and several stand alone psychological thrillers, including Two Wrongs, The Guilty Party and Give Me The Child. Mel has been shortlisted for the Historical Writers ‘Association Gold Crown, the Andre Simon Food Book Award, the Fortnum and Mason Food Book award, the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger and the James Tait Black Award for Biography. Her crime novels have been voted Best Crime Novel of the Year in The Guardian, The Times and The Financial Times. She is the recipient of the John Llewelyn Rhys Award for Best British and Commonwealth Writer under 35.

Her books are translated into 20 languages and have been bestsellers in the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Scandinavia and the UK. Additionally, she has written for The Wall Street Journal, The National Post, The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, Conde Nast Traveller and Aeon, among others. She was a presenter of Trailblazers, an adventure travel series for The Discovery Channel. Her Arctic mysteries are currently in development for TV in Canada/USA.

McGrath has lived in Germany, Nicaragua and the US and is currently based in London, where she is part way through her certification to qualify as an integrative psychotherapist.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 27% 27% 27% 13% 7% 27%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 27% 27% 27% 13% 7% 27%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 27% 27% 27% 13% 7% 27%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 27% 27% 27% 13% 7% 13%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 27% 27% 27% 13% 7% 7%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book enthralling, riveting, and thought-provoking. However, they describe the characters as unpleasant and dreadful. Opinions are mixed on the plot quality, readability, and writing style. Some find it interesting and well-concluded, while others say it's boring and unsatisfactory.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book immersive, riveting, and thought-provoking. They say it draws them in and shakes them up. Readers also appreciate the incredibly detailed writing.

"...Visually written and enthralling . I didn't see the plot development coming." Read more

"...What I really liked about it was how incredibly detailed the book was and how she fleshed out her main protagonists, the four members of the group...." Read more

"...Party via Audible while driving to Yorkshire and found it immersive & riveting ...." Read more

"... Draws you in and shakes you up. A good read." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the plot quality of the book. Some find it interesting, while others say it's boring and unsatisfactory.

"The Guilty Party is an utterly riveting psychological thriller with depth and substance and unlike a large proportion of the genre the question at..." Read more

"...Other than that, although the outcome was a little far fetched , it was still an enjoyable book and the characters were interesting." Read more

"...The plot was tightly controlled and woven , it might have had masses of typos but I still raced through it in a day...." Read more

"...This had a very complicated plot , but Mel McGrath’s writing is really readable...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the readability of the book. Some mention it's a good holiday read, while others say it's not worth their time.

"...although the outcome was a little far fetched, it was still an enjoyable book and the characters were interesting." Read more

"...the characters, even Cassie who is the central figure, are not intended to be likeable , although any reader who has experienced a sense of guilt..." Read more

"...This is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I’ve no doubt that it has sealed a place in my top ten...." Read more

"...A modern trend perhaps but deplorable nonetheless. Very disappointing ." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book. Some mention it's well-written, visually appealing, and complex. However, others say it's poorly written, wordy, and unnecessarily long-winded.

"...I loved ‘Give Me The Child’, and she also writes entertaining non-fiction on a wide range of topics...." Read more

"...However, I found that in some places it was very "wordy " and that I was skipping through paragraphs at a time without reading them as they were..." Read more

"...The dialogue is spot-on , superficial banter and in-jokes amongst the group and veiled threats as the escalating suspense and brisk pace heighten..." Read more

" Poorly written , but will stick with it to find out what happens" Read more

Customers find the characters unpleasant and dreadful.

"...The characters were all unpleasant and the format was confusing. The plot was hard to follow & there was little by way of real tension or jeopardy...." Read more

"Ok but I found the protagonist irritating and the writing unnecessarily long winded.- not really for me .... . ." Read more

"...little far fetched, it was still an enjoyable book and the characters were interesting ." Read more

"Utter rubbish. Nobody in this book is worth tuppence, all dreadful people . Wished someone would come along and dispose of them all...." Read more

Reviews with images

Didn’t enjoy

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

Report an issue.

• UK Modern Slavery Statement
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell on Amazon Handmade
• Associates Programme
• Fulfilment by Amazon
• Seller Fulfilled Prime
• Advertise Your Products
• Independently Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• The Amazon Barclaycard
• Credit Card
• Amazon Money Store
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Payment Methods Help
• Shop with Points
• Top Up Your Account
• Top Up Your Account in Store
• COVID-19 and Amazon
• Track Packages or View Orders
• Delivery Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Amazon Mobile App
• Customer Service
• Accessibility

• Conditions of Use & Sale
• Privacy Notice
• Cookies Notice
• Interest-Based Ads Notice

Mrs B's Book Reviews

Book reviews and recommendations from a self confessed book geek, beauty & lace book review: the guilty party by mel mcgrath.

Title:  The Guilty Party

Published:  March 18th 2019

Publisher:  HQ Fiction

Pages:  384

Genres:   Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller, Suspense

RRP:  $29.99

Rating:  3.5 stars

‘Dark, thrilling, impossible to predict’ Erin Kelly, author of He Said She Said You did nothing. That doesn’t mean you’re innocent. On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help.

Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realises that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands.

But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?

And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all?

‘I read somewhere that a body turns up every week in the Thames and if every one of the drowned appeared in the news there would be stories all the time. All the same, it hardly seems possible that a young woman can exit this twenty-first century world without leaving any virtual ghost of her former self.’

Toxic friendships, chances are we have been touched by these at some point in our lives. Mel McGrath’s psychological thriller, The Guilty Party takes on unfavourable friendships, moral complexities and the bystander effect. Combined with plenty of secrets from the past, along with some plot twists and turns, The Guilty Party is a book that will leave you reeling from the first to the final page.

Four friends who cemented their friendship during their university years make up  The Guilty Party . The friendship group are out one night together celebrating a birthday when they are separated and they witness an awful crime. A decision is made not to report the crime, or help the victim. Instead, the group decides to ignore what happened, hoping that it will go away. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go away, and before they know it, a body surfaces. The body is identified as the victim they all chose not to help that fateful night. The Guilty Party is a book that looks at social responsibility, our moral compass and it leads us to the question as to why all four of these people chose to stand back and let a woman lose her life.

The Guilty Party is the first book I have read by Mel McGrath, who is perhaps best known for her previous work, writing under the name of MJ McGrath. McGrath’s popular crime and mystery series featuring Edie Kiglatuk has seen her earn awards, television rights and worldwide recognition. The Guilty Party is a standalone psychological thriller that poses more questions than it answers. There are plenty of grey areas in this novel. There were also moments where McGrath made me consider quite deeply how I would feel if I was placed in the same shoes as the characters in the book. A situation that I wasn’t comfortable with at all! The Guilty Party was a difficult one to pin down, it did send me in a spin, it compelled me, but it also disappointed me that people could behave in the way the characters do in this novel.

The Guilty Party is one of those novels where I feel I cannot go into any great depth to discuss, otherwise I would ruin the experience for prospective readers. I will say it is carefully plotted, it contains some well observed characters and it offers a plethora of themes to consider. The writing is slick and filled with tension, but I did tend to dip in and out of this one attention wise. I think at the end of the day this boils down to my pure dislike and disgust at the actions of the characters. Even alternating the points of view of the protagonists did not work in their favour, I disliked them all!

McGrath is quite the master manipulator, her previous work as a crime and mystery based novelist definitely feeds into this novel. There were plenty of plot diversions and unexpected reactions, that all culminate into a thrilling conclusion that I wasn’t able to predict at all. So hats off to Mel McGrath for devising characters I detested, but ultimately I came to appreciate how the whole sordid plot untangled!

At the close of my reading of The Guilty Party , I immediately reached for Give Me the Child , last year’s psychological thriller release from Mel McGrath. I’m keen to get started on this novel after reading The Guilty Party !

The Guilty Party by Mel McGrath was published on 18th March 2019 by HQ Fiction. Details on how to purchase the book can be found  here .

To learn more about the author of The Guilty Party,  Mel McGrath, visit  here .

*Please note that a free copy of this book was provided to me for review purposes through Beauty & Lace and HQ Fiction. To read the original review on the Beauty & Lace website please visit  here .

Share this:

2 thoughts on “ beauty & lace book review: the guilty party by mel mcgrath ”.

My daughter and I met Mel McGrath at a local book event recently where she was talking about ‘The Guilty Party’. This isn’t my preferred genre of book but my daughter showed an interest in reading this, so we purchased it and it has been added to our rather large TBR pile.

Like Liked by 1 person

Wow, that is amazing that you got to meet Mel McGrath Cathy, what a lucky experience! Great to hear this one caught your interest, especially if it was outside your normal genre preferences.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

• Review Policy

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Scan barcode

'DARK, COMPELLING... IT'S A BRILLIANT READ' BA PARISOn a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help.Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames - and the group realises that ignoring the woman h...

Community Reviews

Content warnings.

Bookshop US

Bookshop UK Blackwell's

The StoryGraph is an affiliate of the featured links. We earn commission on any purchases made.

Browse similar books...

Start a readalong...

Start a buddy read...

View question bank...

Book Information

Report missing/incorrect information...

By using The StoryGraph, you agree to our use of cookies . We use a small number of cookies to provide you with a great experience.

Find out more

Jen Med's Book Reviews

Musings and Ramblings of a Disorganised Blogger

The Guilty Party by Mel McGrath @mcgrathmj @HQStories #review #blogtour #areyouguilty

Today it is my great pleasure to be joining the blog tour for The Guilty Party , the very latest psychological thriller from author Mel McGrath. Thank you to publisher HQ who provided the advance copy of the book for this review. Here is what the book is all about:

The Bookish Bits

You did nothing. That doesn’t mean you’re innocent. On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help. Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realises that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands. But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible? And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all? Available from: Amazon | Kobo | Playstore | Apple Books

My Thoughts

When I listened to Give Me the Child a little over a year ago, I fell in love with Mel McGrath’s writing style, the way in which she was able to develop characters who both fascinated and repulsed, and the way in which her she really drew me into the story, a complex and multi-layered tale in which you were never quite sure which was was up. So when I got the chance for an early read of this latest novel, The Guilty Party , I jumped at it, and boy am I glad I did. Now, I won’t lie. There are elements of this book that will leave you feeling very uncomfortable, and with a theme that examines the idea of control, both that lost through peer pressure and through more dubious means, you may well find, as I did, that you struggle to find any redeeming qualities amongst most, if not all, of the characters. But the story is one that is still important, addressing issues which are far too prevalent in current culture and forcing the reader to take a long hard look at themselves and ask the question – what would you do if you saw someone in trouble? Would you help them or would you walk away? And if you turned away, could you live with the guilt? Now turn away is exactly what this particular group of friends did, although we don’t know why, not for a long while. Cassie, Anna, Bo and Dex are four very complex characters, friends from University who seem to be held together by connections from the past, perhaps even habit, rather than a deep seated friendship. Yes, at one stage there were romantic entanglements and, despite how things have changed, they are hard to step away from, but the more you read, the more you realise how different they are, and how ill-fated their friendship seems to be. The story opens with Cassie setting the scene, describing the pivotal event that would be the beginning of the end. From here we are taken on a journey as the group decant to a cottage in Weymouth for a long weekend of celebration, one in which many secrets are revealed, along with the true nature of some of the group members. I don’t really want to say much more than that as I think the real beauty in this book is in reading it and peeling back all the layers for yourself. But what I will say is that this trip is about as far from the joyous party atmosphere the friends were hoping for as you could get, and for one or more of them it could well prove deadly. I love the way in which the atmosphere has been built in this book. From the tension ridden opening chapter that left me reeling and feeling almost sick to my stomach, we are taken to an almost quaint tranquil setting. But that which, at first, appears rustic, quaint even, is hiding a layer of rot, one which echoes the rot which has set into the friendship. The setting has been used to great effect, such stark imagery used to infuse the story with the bleak nature of the surroundings. It captures perfectly the sense of isolation that the characters feel, especially Cassie, in turn showing the readers the true essence of the story. From the very outset you are left with the idea of Cassie as the outsider, but just far the division extends is yet to be revealed. As I said before, there are some more disagreeable elements of the story that could well leave you reeling, perhaps even make you feel like walking away from the book. It would be a shame if you did as although the book contains difficult themes, none of them are handled in a gratuitous way. This is a complex character study, not trying to necessarily answer the question of why certain people act in the way that they do, but certainly highlighting the very different facets of human nature and forcing the characters to examine where they draw the line in terms of what is right and what is wrong. This is a really hard book to say that I loved, and enjoyed may even be the wrong way to describe it due to the very dark nature of the story. And yet I really did like this book, appreciated the beauty of the language, the way in which the narrative forced different emotional reactions from me, and the way in which a slowly evolving tension grew into a story which left me practically breathless in the end. It is rare to have a book where all of the characters are so unlikeable and yet you are so invested in what happens to them – good and bad – and yet that is exactly what is achieved here, and it’s a truly wonderful thing. Most definitely recommended.

About the Author

Melanie McGrath is an Essex girl, cofounder of Killer Women, and an award-winning writer of fiction and nonfiction. As MJ McGrath she writes the acclaimed Edie Kiglatuk series of Arctic mysteries, White Heat, The Boy in the Snow and The Boneseeker, twice longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and picked as Times and Financial Times thrillers of the year. As Melanie McGrath she wrote the critically acclaimed and bestselling family memoir Silvertown. As Mel McGrath she is the author of the psychological thriller Give Me The Child.

Author Links:  Twitter  |  Website

Follow the tour:

If you liked this please share the #booklove

5 thoughts on “ the guilty party by mel mcgrath @mcgrathmj @hqstories #review #blogtour #areyouguilty ”.

Fab review! This one sounds right up my alley.

Like Liked by 1 person

Thank you. It’s a brilliant story

• Pingback: Rewind, Recap: Weekly update w/e 03/03/19 – Jen Med's Book Reviews

I loved this book! The more i read the more questions i had! 😀

I know exactly what you mean. It worked perfectly didn’t it?

Comments are closed.

• 573,529 hits

Top Posts & Pages

• Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwell
• The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
• Blood Orange by Mark L Fowler
• The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart
• This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter
• Day One by Abigail Dean
• All The Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
• A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin
• The Killing Kind by Jane Casey
• The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter

Bookollective

Copyright © Jen Med's Book Reviews and jenmedsbookreviews.com, (2016-2024). All rights reserved.

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

• Literature & Fiction
• Genre Fiction

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video, download Flash Player

Follow the author

The Guilty Party Paperback – March 7 2019

Purchase options and add-ons.

On a night out, four friends lose each other in the crowd – and each witness a stranger in trouble.

One by one, they each decide to do nothing to help.

Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realises that ignoring the victim has left blood on their hands.

But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?

And is it possible the victim was not really a stranger at all?

• Print length 384 pages
• Language English
• Publisher HQ
• Publication date March 7 2019
• Dimensions 15.3 x 2.9 x 23.4 cm
• ISBN-10 0008217076
• ISBN-13 978-0008217075
• See all details

Product description

Praise for Give me the Child

‘Dark, clever, terrifying’ Paula Hawkins

‘You won’t want to eat, sleep or blink’ Tammy Cohen

‘A triumph. A mesmerisingly written examination of desperation and evil’ Financial Times

‘Taut and compelling’ Good Housekeeping

‘Gripping and moving’ Erin Kelly

'A beautifully written and very unsettling read.' Ann Cleeves

‘Hugely addictive and highly recommended’ Sarah Hilary

‘Completely unputdownable’ Lisa Hall

‘Utterly terrifying – it plays on every mother’s deepest fear’ Annabel Kantaria

‘Among my favourite books of the year. I loved it’ Mark Hill

‘Prepare to whizz through this addictive read… edge-of-your-seat stuff’ The Sun

‘A stimulating, powerful, entirely captivating and deliciously entertaining read’ Liz Robinson, Lovereading

‘I was totally blown away’ Crime Book Junkie

‘I actually thought within the first few chapters, that I had it sussed and knew exactly who did what and why – I was wrong’ A Cornish Mum

‘I was addicted’ Mumsnet

About the Author

Mel McGrath is an Essex girl, the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling family memoir Silvertown. She won the John Llewellyn-Rhys/Mil on Sunday award for Best Writer Under 35 for her first book, Motel Nirvana. She has published three Arctic mysteries featuring the Inuit detective Edie Kiglatuk under the name MJ McGrath, the first of which, The Boy in the Snow, was shortlisted for a CWA Gold Dagger.

In the last year she has been one of the founders and moving lights of the website Killer Women, which has rapidly established itself as one of the key forums for crime writing in the UK.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ (March 7 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008217076
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008217075
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 470 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.3 x 2.9 x 23.4 cm

About the author

Mel mcgrath.

Melanie McGrath is an award-winning, bestselling writer of fiction and narrative nonfiction. She has written numerous works of narrative social history on topics as varied as the early internet, the Arctic and the East End of London and is the author of the Edie Kiglatuk series of Arctic mysteries and several stand alone psychological thrillers, including Two Wrongs, The Guilty Party and Give Me The Child. Mel has been shortlisted for the Historical Writers ‘Association Gold Crown, the Andre Simon Food Book Award, the Fortnum and Mason Food Book award, the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger and the James Tait Black Award for Biography. Her crime novels have been voted Best Crime Novel of the Year in The Guardian, The Times and The Financial Times. She is the recipient of the John Llewelyn Rhys Award for Best British and Commonwealth Writer under 35.

Her books are translated into 20 languages and have been bestsellers in the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Scandinavia and the UK. Additionally, she has written for The Wall Street Journal, The National Post, The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, Conde Nast Traveller and Aeon, among others. She was a presenter of Trailblazers, an adventure travel series for The Discovery Channel. Her Arctic mysteries are currently in development for TV in Canada/USA.

McGrath has lived in Germany, Nicaragua and the US and is currently based in London, where she is part way through her certification to qualify as an integrative psychotherapist.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 25% 28% 27% 13% 7% 25%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 25% 28% 27% 13% 7% 28%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 25% 28% 27% 13% 7% 27%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 25% 28% 27% 13% 7% 13%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 25% 28% 27% 13% 7% 7%
• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from Canada

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon and Our Planet
• Modern Slavery Statement
• Investor Relations
• Press Releases
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Sell on Amazon Handmade
• Advertise Your Products
• Independently Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon Cash
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns Are Easy
• Manage your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Registry & Gift List
• Customer Service

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Interest-Based Ads
• Amazon.com.ca ULC | 40 King Street W 47th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5H 3Y2 |1-877-586-3230

• Email Subscribe

Miki's Hope

• Affiliate Sales (88)
• Around The Net (16)
• Blog Hops/Linkys (3)
• Books (2252)
• Charities (17)
• Diabetes Saga (21)
• Disclosure (2)
• Do You Bake (23)
• Eclipse Spa (18)
• Finished (1)
• Finished Giveaways (1357)
• Give Aways (1032)
• Guest Posts (94)
• Lilla Rose (2)
• Miscellaneous (880)
• Reviews (121)

Blog Archive

Miki's hope stats.

Miki's Stuff-Disclosures, Cookie Policy, GDPR Compliance

Book review-the guilty party (back room bookstore cozy mystery book 2)-susan harper, thursday, december 20, 2018.

1 comments :

Sounds like a cute story about two sisters!! Sisterhood can be an adventure all right!

Post a Comment

Grab My Button

Up Coming Hops

Places of interest.

• Acting Balanced
• DanvilleCandles
• Posh on a Budget
• Sammy Makes Six
• TinyURL.com - shorten that long URL into a tiny URL

Google Analytics

KRYSTA MACDONALD

Book Review: The Guilty Party

Happy book review day, everyone! Before I get going with today's review, I want to offer a bit of a warning: the book I am reviewing today involves sexual assault. While I will not be discussing this element in detail during my review, please be aware and warned of this subject matter.

Alright, here we go:

Did you have "wine ninjas" in your community during the pandemic shut down? In early summer/ late spring, it was in our community. If you haven't heard of wine-ninja-ing, the basic idea was local women put together baskets or bags (perhaps a bottle of wine, perhaps more), chose another local woman, and dropped off the surprise gift for them. It could be anonymous, and it could include whatever you wanted.

I was "ninja'd" a few times, and did a fair bit of "ninjaing" as well. I was so excited and thankful for the generous gifts I was given!

Among the kind gifts, I was gifted a couple books. One of them was The Guilty Party by Mel McGrath.

Right away I was intrigued by the concept. One summer night at the end of a music festival, four friends are separated in a crowd. They all witness a woman in trouble - what they are witnessing becomes clear quickly. And yet. one-by-one, they all turn away. They do nothing to help.

Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames. Cassie, the protagonist and our narrator, knows because they did nothing, blood is on their hands. Months later the friends meet up again for a weekend at a seaside cottage, and bit by bit the events of the fateful evening are revealed. And we find out why each one made the conscious decision to do nothing.

Alright, this was a tough one to review. So I'm going to break it up into facets.

Let's start with the structure. The plot flips back and forth between the "present" - the weekend on the coast - and the evening of the assault. The "flashbacks" go back in time piece by piece, from immediately following the assault to earlier that evening prior to the festival.

I love that non-linear structure. So let's start with that. It's like a picture being revealed one bit at a time, or a puzzle coming together piece by piece. I'm (almost) a fan of non-linear plot structures, and this was a clever way to do it.

Yes, I still knew what was going to happen, and the twists were, well, not terribly surprising to me (but maybe I'm a terribly cynical person) but I think the structure helped me stick with it a bit more than if it was more straightforward, where everything would have been really rather obvious.

Now, another warning... from here on out, thar be spoilers.

Okay... Well.

Let's look at the plot concept. Four friends witness a violent rape and do nothing. Why? For me, that's a very interesting concept, and I was intrigued by it. With all the bad stuff going on in the world, especially right now, I am so interested in WHY people don't help, WHY bad things happen that can be prevented.

I figured, what an interesting concept! Something terrible is witnessed (in this case, a rape), and otherwise good people, by doing nothing, move into the realm of "bad".

And herein was my big problem with this book.

They are not otherwise good people.

Before I move forward, let's look at the characters. The Group - what they have called themselves - have been friends since college. There are four of them, consisting of two former couples. There's Cassie, our narrator, the protagonist, and probably the most sympathetic character in the book, though...

Well, I'll get to that in a minute.

Dex is her former boyfriend, who broke up with her when he came out. He's now married, and his older, wealthy husband has been diagnosed with cancer. He is struggling with this, obviously... mostly. We think. Probably? Maybe?

Then there is Bo, a wealthy app-developer who was once interested in pre-history but decided he'd rather be very wealthy and have lots of sex with lots of women instead. Man, what an interesting conflict, right? How he must feel his passions don't fit with his lifestyle...

Well... not really conflicted it seems. So..not really. Huh.

Okay, then we have Anna, Bo's former girlfriend who, in case you were wondering, is beautiful. That is her defining characteristic. She does address the pressures of being beautiful; she even is jealous of the plainer-looking Cassie, who is free to eat in front of others, or talk about sex, or dance silly, or whatever she wants, because she isn't quite a beautiful as Anna. She is also manipulative, beautiful, obsessive, beautiful, in love with Bo, and, oh yeah, beautiful.

Anna has the most potential to be interesting.

And therein is the problem. They all have the outlines of being interesting, the potential (especially Anna!), and yet, they all fall short. They all are stereotypical, flat, static characters. They are just... bad.

A character does not need to be "good" to be interesting. There are some truly interesting "bad guys" throughout literature. But they need to be complex, compelling, interesting... And these characters are just... not.

Cassie is the only one who argues about coming forward with what they saw, but as a stereotypically-passive character, she is easily swayed by the other characters. Her being traditionally "good" (at least I am pretty sure she is supposed to be good) doesn't make her more interesting, and so...

So somehow a very interesting structure, with an interesting structure, with interesting character layouts is really... not interesting.

How is this possible?

It comes down to the characters. I tell my students, my friends when we chat about books, my former writing group... pretty much everyone... that if I do not care about characters, I don't care what happens to them.

And, in the great plot vs character debate, that's where I land. This book is a perfect example of why. You need BOTH, but if you don't have a compelling character, the rest doesn't matter.

There are a few other issues with this book: some editing, and the ending that was a little too "hit-you-over-the-head-with-the-point" for me.

But at the end of the day, because of the one-dimensional element of the characters, the premise, the plot itself, falls flat. They are NOT otherwise good people who do something not-good. This isn't a mistake they live through, are conflicted about, struggle with. They do not have interesting motivations, and are not sympathetic.

And so, an interesting premise becomes stereotypical, and I was left shrugging at the events as they unfolded. Because I didn't care about the characters. So I didn't care what happened to them.

I didn't hate reading it. It was a light, fun summer read, but I was hoping for more from the overall idea. Since the bad decision - not helping, not coming forward, and then a whole lot more bad - comes from bad characters (or at the very least, self-obsessed ones), it doesn't say anything new or interesting, and the overall message is that bad things happen because people are self-obsessed or weak or both.

And while I don't need a happy ending, the way this was handles was kind of disappointing.

Have you read a disappointing book this year? Something with excellent potential that just didn't live up to it? Share here, or feel free to contact me via my contact page, here . And don't forget to sign up to receive my (very occasional) newsletter.

• book review

Recent Posts

A Halloween Round-Up

Book Review: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Book Review: A Secret History of Witches

• Paired Texts
• Related Media
• Teacher Guide

For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your web browser.

• CommonLit is a nonprofit that has everything teachers and schools need for top-notch literacy instruction: a full-year ELA curriculum, benchmark assessments, and formative data. Browse Content Who We Are About

• ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

THE BLACK BOOK

by James Patterson & David Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2017

Most readers will be ahead of the twin investigators in identifying the guilty party. But the mystery is authentic, the...

Peerless networker Patterson ( Woman of God , 2016, etc.), who’s become as ubiquitous as Betty Crocker, latches on to a co-author who ups his game in several welcome ways.

Called to a crime scene, Detective Patti Harney of the Chicago PD finds her twin brother, Detective Billy Harney, shot and left for dead in the bedroom of assistant state’s attorney Amy Lentini’s condo. Amy is also present and even more dead. So is Billy’s partner, Detective Katherine Fenton. Working backward and forward from this opening tableau, the authors ask who shot whom and why. The answers are clearly rooted in a warrantless raid Billy led into an apartment building he’d become certain was operating as a sex club catering to Chicago’s finest, including the archbishop and the mayor—even though, as cautious percentage player Lt. Paul Wizniewski warned him, Billy was Homicide, not Vice. The blowback from the raid is predictably intense, entangling Billy, Kate Fenton, and Amy Lentini, who overcomes her initial animosity toward Billy sufficiently to take him to bed. The central mystery is the question of what’s become of the little black book in which Amy is certain Ramona Dillavou, the manager of the sex club, recorded the names and particulars of all her celebrity clients. She’s convinced that some bad cop pounced on it and spirited it away. But which bad cop? Billy, surviving the shooting that left his partner and his lover dead only to find himself accused of murder on the strength of forensic evidence, is helpless to defend himself because he’s lost all memory of what happened in that bedroom. Will he recover it in time to save himself and finger the perp?

Pub Date: March 27, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-316-27388-6

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: March 6, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017

SUSPENSE | THRILLER | SUSPENSE | CRIME & LEGAL THRILLER | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE

Share your opinion of this book

More by Michael Crichton

BOOK REVIEW

by Michael Crichton & James Patterson

by James Patterson & Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney

by James Patterson & Mark Seal

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

by Max Brooks ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020

A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z (2006).

A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.

Pub Date: June 16, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine

Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020

GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | SCIENCE FICTION

More by Max Brooks

by Max Brooks

More About This Book

BOOK TO SCREEN

A CONSPIRACY OF BONES

by Kathy Reichs ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020

Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.

A week after the night she chases but fails to catch a mysterious trespasser outside her town house, some unknown party texts Tempe four images of a corpse that looks as if it’s been chewed by wild hogs, because it has been. Showboat Medical Examiner Margot Heavner makes it clear that, breaking with her department’s earlier practice ( The Bone Collection , 2016, etc.), she has no intention of calling in Tempe as a consultant and promptly identifies the faceless body herself as that of a young Asian man. Nettled by several errors in Heavner’s analysis, and even more by her willingness to share the gory details at a press conference, Tempe launches her own investigation, which is not so much off the books as against the books. Heavner isn’t exactly mollified when Tempe, aided by retired police detective Skinny Slidell and a host of experts, puts a name to the dead man. But the hints of other crimes Tempe’s identification uncovers, particularly crimes against children, spur her on to redouble her efforts despite the new M.E.’s splenetic outbursts. Before he died, it seems, Felix Vodyanov was linked to a passenger ferry that sank in 1994, an even earlier U.S. government project to research biological agents that could control human behavior, the hinky spiritual retreat Sparkling Waters, the dark web site DeepUnder, and the disappearances of at least four schoolchildren, two of whom have also turned up dead. And why on earth was Vodyanov carrying Tempe’s own contact information? The mounting evidence of ever more and ever worse skulduggery will pull Tempe deeper and deeper down what even she sees as a rabbit hole before she confronts a ringleader implicated in “Drugs. Fraud. Breaking and entering. Arson. Kidnapping. How does attempted murder sound?”

Pub Date: March 17, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9821-3888-2

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | SUSPENSE | THRILLER | DETECTIVES & PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS | SUSPENSE | GENERAL & DOMESTIC THRILLER

More by Kathy Reichs

by Kathy Reichs

• Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
• News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
• Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
• Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
• Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
• More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
• About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

• Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Contact us: 1-800-316-9361 or email [email protected].

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

• Literature & Fiction
• Genre Fiction

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

The Guilty Party Hardcover – March 7, 2019

Additional details.

On a night out, four friends lose each other in the crowd – and, separately, they each witness a stranger in trouble.

One by one, they each decide to do nothing to help.

Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realises that ignoring the victim has left blood on their hands.

But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?

Is it possible the victim was not really a stranger at all?

• Print length 384 pages
• Language English
• Publisher HQ
• Publication date March 7, 2019
• Dimensions 6.26 x 1.34 x 9.45 inches
• ISBN-10 0008326169
• ISBN-13 978-0008326166
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ (March 7, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008326169
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008326166
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.32 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.26 x 1.34 x 9.45 inches

About the author

Mel mcgrath.

Melanie McGrath is an award-winning, bestselling writer of fiction and narrative nonfiction. She has written numerous works of narrative social history on topics as varied as the early internet, the Arctic and the East End of London and is the author of the Edie Kiglatuk series of Arctic mysteries and several stand alone psychological thrillers, including Two Wrongs, The Guilty Party and Give Me The Child. Mel has been shortlisted for the Historical Writers ‘Association Gold Crown, the Andre Simon Food Book Award, the Fortnum and Mason Food Book award, the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger and the James Tait Black Award for Biography. Her crime novels have been voted Best Crime Novel of the Year in The Guardian, The Times and The Financial Times. She is the recipient of the John Llewelyn Rhys Award for Best British and Commonwealth Writer under 35.

Her books are translated into 20 languages and have been bestsellers in the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Scandinavia and the UK. Additionally, she has written for The Wall Street Journal, The National Post, The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, Conde Nast Traveller and Aeon, among others. She was a presenter of Trailblazers, an adventure travel series for The Discovery Channel. Her Arctic mysteries are currently in development for TV in Canada/USA.

McGrath has lived in Germany, Nicaragua and the US and is currently based in London, where she is part way through her certification to qualify as an integrative psychotherapist.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 27% 29% 24% 12% 8% 27%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 27% 29% 24% 12% 8% 29%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 27% 29% 24% 12% 8% 24%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 27% 29% 24% 12% 8% 12%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 27% 29% 24% 12% 8% 8%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book interesting, excellent, and riveting. They also appreciate the good writing style.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book interesting, excellent, and riveting. They also appreciate Mel McGrath's writing.

"...All in all, I was intrigued and entertained , and found both the subject matter and writing style thought-provoking." Read more

" Good read , good price" Read more

"...The last 3 or 4 chapters are absolutely riveting , and Mel McGrath's writing is excellent. Highly recommend." Read more

"Four friends trying to hold onto the past. It is and interesting read , but disturbing...." Read more

Customers find the writing style good.

"...and entertained, and found both the subject matter and writing style thought-provoking ." Read more

"Shocking, sad, confusing . . . All that, but so well written !! Depth and constant unfolding of all the characters. It will keep you up late." Read more

"...The last 3 or 4 chapters are absolutely riveting, and Mel McGrath's writing is excellent . Highly recommend." Read more

"...Only redeeming quality is the writing style which is good " Read more

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices