- Title: The New Year’s Party
- Author: Daniel Hurst
- Genre: Psychological Thriller
- Summary: Would you share your New Year’s resolution with a stranger? When Carrie and Andy attend a high-class New Year’s Eve Party, they’re looking forward to closing out the year in style. But then they meet Martin and Michaela, a couple who haven’t just come out for champagne and fireworks. They have a New Year’s resolution, and it’s very unusual. After sharing their own resolutions, Carrie and Andy receive a shocking but tempting offer, one that leaves them unsure of how to proceed. But whatever they decide to do, one thing is certain – this will be a New Year’s Eve they will never forget. A fast-paced short story full of twists and turns from the author of popular psychological thrillers Til Death Do Us Part, We Used To Live Here & The Couple In The Cabin.
- Publisher: Independently Published
- Publication Date: December 26, 2022
- Page Count: 73
General Review
- Description and Imagery: The author does great work in detailing events in such a way it seems like a real person is telling you about something that happened recently. The way the author describes the event and reveals information about the couples to imply their history truly brings the story to life.
- Relatability of MC: Each character is presented as a real person with quirks and personality traits. Even though the story is fiction, the characters act as real people and there’s at least one person each of these characters reminds us of.
- Pacing: The story ran as kind of a slow burn. The author did a fantastic job maintaining the suspense as each detail unfolded. When we found out about the character’s true motives and what actually happened on New Year’s, it was a shocker!
- Perspective: There are many ways to look at this story and the author provided several ways. The first half was from Carrie’s point of view while the second half consisted of everyone else involved in the exchange between couples. The shifting viewpoints played out similarly to a movie where not all was told at the initial event.
- Vibe Check: I actually thought of my girlfriend when I was reading this story as it was a psychological drama at its best. I even texted her the name when we last spoke and i think this story is for anyone that likes things reminiscent of office gossip or scandal.
Personal Review
Personally, I enjoyed how the author crafted the story with enough suspense to keep readers on their toes but not so much it made you want to skip to the big reveal. Each part of the story played out wonderfully and placed my under the spell of fiction all authors try so hard to craft for readers.
I also liked how a simple game became something so real and how the husband of the millionaire couple wrapped up the story in the end, which is a shocker. The funny part is that everyone thinks they won in how things transpired but only one person was truly innocent in the whole affair.
The story did leave some questions as not all stories are neatly told and wrapped up in one go. It left me wondering if Carrie told her husband beforehand about why they were going to the party in the first place because it didn’t seem like he knew about it.
All in all, this short story was an easy and enjoyable read with the perfect amount of suspense and characters that came off as real people. I would recommend this to anyone who likes psychological drama and low-key scandalous works.
Rating: 4/5 stars
About Daniel Hurst
Daniel Hurst is an Amazon #1 bestselling author of fast paced psychological thrillers. His most popular titles include Til Death Do Us Part, The Passenger and The Doctor’s Wife, the latter title reaching #1 on the Amazon UK Kindle store in February 2023. A regular KDP Select All Star since he became a full-time author in 2021, Daniel prides himself on writing fast, releasing stories often and engaging with his readers.
You can visit him at http://www.danielhurstbooks.com, where you can also download a copy of his FREE thriller ‘Just One Second.’
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