After the Party

Written by Georgina Lees

Narrated by Polly Edsell

‘Compelling, heartbreaking and beautifully written. This superb thriller will stay in my mind for a very long time’ B P Walter, Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Dinner Guest on The Girl Upstairs

He should have chosen me.
I never should have chosen him.

Lizzie has been in love with her colleague Dean for three years but he’s never given her a second glance.

When a job offer in London promises to launch her art career she finally feels ready to upend her life in pursuit of her dream … until the night of the office Christmas party when Dean confesses his love for someone else – Rebecca, one of Lizzie’s closest friends.

A few days later, the police show up on her doorstep.

Rebecca is missing.

After the Party is another mesmerising thriller seething with secrets and lies from the bestselling author of The Girl Upstairs.

What readers are saying:

‘I keep losing half my beauty sleep because of Georgina Lees. Her writing is just too damn good… Unforgettable!’ Robin, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘Every time I set it down I found myself wondering WTF happened to Rebecca… Gahhhh, I was so invested!!’ Dita, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘Superb psychological thriller! One heck of a plot… I gasped aloud at the end. Georgina Lees is definitely one of my favourite authors’ Carol, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘Yeah, I was DEFINITELY not expecting that… I didn’t want to stop reading. It was so hard to put down… The writing was great. I could truly picture the settings, like a movie was playing as I read’ Amber, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘Wow just wow. Once I started reading I couldn’t stop… I was captivated from start to finish’ Jade, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘The slice of small town English life was vivid and palpable. Great fun in a tightly wound package’ Jaimee, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘Totally gripping’ Julie, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘A brilliant ending and one which I never would have guessed. Fantastic’ Lindsey, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘I was glued to my seat!’ Tiffiny, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘A one sit read’ Ruth, 5* NetGalley reader review

‘The ending was completely unexpected and exciting! A page turner’ Jemima, 5* NetGalley reader review

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Aug 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9780008557355

Georgina Lees

Georgina studied creative writing and film at university and has since pursued a career in videogames journalism, covering some of the most popular games in the world. Her psychological thrillers are inspired by her surroundings, from the congested London streets to the raw English countryside. She can be found playing games, writing stories, and reading anything from fantasy to crime fiction.

Reviews for After the Party

[shelleyraec · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dear Lisa,I’m sorry. Please know this, above all else. I am truly sorry to put this responsibility on you but I have been left with little choice.”After an exhausting morning hosting 32 kindergarten children for her daughter’s fifth birthday, Lisa Wheeldon is stunned to learn that one tiny guest won’t be collected any time soon. In amongst the gifts, is a heartfelt plea for Lisa to look after six year old Ellie for a few weeks while her mother, a complete stranger, deals with some unspecified crisis. Lisa knows she should notify the relevant authorities, but having experienced the perils of the foster system first hand, decides she will care for Ellie, at least temporarily, while making every effort to track down the absent mother.Child abandonment seems an unlikely theme in which to find humour, but Hamer somehow does as Lisa enlists the help of her sister, Jamie, and an odd selection of school mum’s she barely knows, in an effort to find Ellie’s missing mother. Lisa’s attempts are well intentioned, but she doesn’t have the cunning, or know how, to deal with the situation she finds herself in, so she does what she can do well, which is care for Ellie.As a mother, I could relate to several of Lisa’s experiences in the book - the chaos of children’s birthday parties, and the gossipy and competitive nature of primary school mum’s particularly, though Lisa’s naivety is a bit of a stretch. I think the story could included less of Jamie’s relationship troubles, they were a distraction. I think the plot would have been better served by focusing more on ‘Missy’, Ellie’s mum’s, past and present.I think Hamer just tried to include too much, not an unusual error in a debut novel, so the focus was split and in the end, the novel was a bit messy. However, I did enjoy the humour, and overall found After the Party to be a quick, easy read.