I’m a huge fan of SJI Holliday’s writing and would like to thank Susi for making sure I received an early proof of her latest book, The Party Season in return for an honest review. I also owe thanks to Kimberley Nyamhondera who subsequently sent me a surprise finished copy of The Party Season which I will be donating to my local library so that other readers get to enjoy it too.

Recently (and rather belatedly) I reviewed Susi’s The Lingering here.

I reviewed Susi’s Substitute here and The Last Resort here. You’ll also find my review of Willow Walk here, an interview with Susi to celebrate The Damsel Fly here and my review of her outstanding Violet here.

The Party Season is published in paperback by Hodder on 9th November and is available for purchase through the links here.

The Party Season

It’s the most deadly time of the year…

The festive season is in full swing – parties, mistletoe and Christmas crackers abound.

In a hotel bar, a woman approaches you. Her party dress glitters with sequins.

What you don’t know is that your life is now in her hands – and there’s only one thing that will determine whether you live or die.

Are you a good person? Are you really? . . .

My Review of The Party Season

Be careful who you chat to at the Christmas party bar! 

I thoroughly enjoyed The Party Season. It’s a bit like a spider’s web; each strand is connected and vibrates with meaning and menace but it isn’t until the final pages of the story that the reader finds if their guesses as to how it all is linked are correct. This makes for an immersive read.

The plot is fast paced and engaging and whilst there are characters that SJI Holliday has used before, The Party Season is a self-contained police thriller that can be read entirely independently. That said, I so enjoyed the police team dynamics that I’d love this to be a series developing Eddie and Becky’s lives further and I now want to go back and read The Deaths of December where they first appear.

Eddie and Becky are a super duo. There’s connection and understanding between them that makes them feel human, but SJI Holliday doesn’t force a more personal relationship so that they also feel realistic. I liked the pragmatism of how their work is carried out against a backdrop of cutbacks as this aspect made me consider real policing constraints more and gave The Party Season an authenticity and added realism.

However, it is the party girl herself who is the most interesting character. As she uses an arbitrary ‘naughty or nice’ selection process for the men she is about to murder, she should be anathema to the reader. But SJI Holliday explores the reasons for the party girl’s behaviour with humanity and compassion so that the reader is on her side whilst still being unnerved by her behaviour. This is such clever writing and manipulation of the reader.

Consequently, even as it entertains, The Party Season, considers bigger issues. Morality, revenge, #metoo, family and relationships, for example, give layers of consideration that add depth. At the same time, there’s a truly seasonal mention of Christmas songs that make the reader feel Christmassy even as the body count rises and which add a lightness to a disturbing series of murders.

The Party Season is well balanced between reality and traditional Christmas sentiment so that it’s the perfect antidote to saccharine Christmas schmaltz. Reading The Party Season may have entertained me brilliantly, but it may also have put me off Christmas parties for life! I really enjoyed it.

About Susi Holliday

Susi (S.J.I.) Holliday grew up in East Lothian, Scotland. A life-long fan of crime and horror, her short stories have been published in various places, and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham prize. She lives in London (except when she’s in Edinburgh) and she loves to travel the world.

Her serial killer thriller The Deaths of December, featuring Detective Sergeant Eddie Carmine and Detective Constable Becky Greene was a festive hit in 2017.

Writing as SJI Holliday, she also has three crime novels set in the fictional Scottish town of Banktoun, which are a mix of police procedural and psychological thriller. They are: Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly – all featuring the much loved character, Sergeant Davie Gray.

Also as SJI Holliday, her spooky mystery The Lingering was released in September 2018, followed by Violet – a psychological thriller set on the Trans-Siberian Express – in September 2019. Violet has been optioned for film.

You can find out more about Susi Holliday on her website and on Facebook or Instagram and by following her on Twitter/X @SJIHolliday.