Title:
Title: THE PARTY IN THE WOODS
Author: FIONA McPHILLIPS
ISBN: 9781787637351
Publisher: Transworld Publishing
Source: NetGalley
Annie Fagan, one of Ireland’s first female electronic DJs and producers, spent her early twenties hosting and playing illegal raves across Ireland. Part of a legendary free party crew, she was surrounded by loud music, beautiful people, and the alluring chaos of the dance floor. But after one of their huge parties in the woods, Annie’s friend Seán disappeared without a trace, and Annie gave up that part of herself for good.
Years later, when Seán’s body is discovered in the Dublin mountains and new information about his disappearance comes to light, Annie reunites with her old group of friends—led by Fran Baker, the man she once believed she was destined to end up with—and feels inexplicably drawn back into the scene. Annie—and the police—starts to realize that, far from a tragic accident or random misadventure, Seán’s death must have been caused by someone who was at their party. Someone who had a motive.
One of her friends.
As Annie investigates, her new and old worlds clash, another old friend is silenced, and she realizes that some people may not want the mystery of Seán’s death to be solved. In fact, they might do anything to stop her from discovering what happened that night, when the party truly ended.
Official Summary
24 August 2026
The publisher reached out to me to suggest this book, as I had previously enjoyed Fiona McPhillips’ writing, so I was interested to see what she had in store this time.
The Party in the Woods is a mystery centred around the friendship between a group of students from very different social backgrounds and how their lives change when one of them goes missing.
Initially, I struggled to get into this story. I enjoyed the setting and found the characters interesting, but the pacing felt quite slow in places, and it took me a while to become invested in the story.
Annie was probably the character I struggled with the most. She is constantly torn over where her loyalties should lie, which makes her a particularly unreliable narrator. I found it difficult to connect with her because she rarely seemed certain about her decisions and often changed her mind. At times, this made her feel a little flaky, and unfortunately, I found it difficult to sympathise with her.
The story also felt quite drawn out for me. There are plenty of twists and secrets along the way, but I didn’t always feel that they arrived naturally, and the pacing made some of the reveals feel less impactful than they could have been. By the time I reached the final reveal, I was hoping for a bigger payoff, and unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.
That said, I did appreciate the exploration of friendship, loyalty and the way our choices can follow us long after we have made them. The contrast between the characters’ different backgrounds also added an interesting layer to the story and gave me plenty to think about.
Unfortunately, this one just didn’t quite work for me in the way I had hoped. I struggled with the pacing and found it difficult to connect with the main character, which ultimately affected my enjoyment of the mystery.
It wasn’t a bad read, but it was simply an okay one for me, earning three stars.
Also By Fiona McPhillips
WHEN WE WERE SILENT
An outsider threatens to expose the secrets at an elite private school in this suspenseful debut novel.
Louise Manson is the newest student at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. Behind its granite walls are high-arched alcoves, an oak-lined library … and the dark, festering secret Lou has come to expose.
Lou’s working-class background marks her as an outsider until she is befriended by some of her beautiful and wealthy classmates. But her attempts to reveal the truth about Highfield are met with disaster – and a dead body.
Thirty years later, Lou gets a shocking phone call. A high-profile lawyer is bringing a case against the school, and he needs Lou to testify. Lou will have to confront her past and discover, for once and for all, what really happened at Highfield.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Fiona McPhillips is a journalist, author and screenwriter. Her debut novel, When We Were Silent, which was runner-up for the 2021 CWA Debut Dagger Award, was pre-empted by Transworld (Penguin) in the UK and Flatiron (Macmillan) in the US and will be published in May 2024.
Her prose has been published in The Manchester Review, Barren, Litro and elsewhere and her poetry has appeared in Atrium, Headstuff and The Galway Review. Her screenplay Windmills was a finalist at the 2020 New Renaissance Film Festival in London and the Waterford Film Festival. She is the recipient of a 2021 Arts Council literature bursary.
Fiona started her writing life in music, then jumped to sport. With children came a freelance career, and she wrote features for The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, The Herald, The Huffington Post and other publications. She’d always talked about writing a novel… one day. In 2019, it was time to piss or get off the pot and she did an MA in Creative Writing at DCU, graduating with first class honours. She is a reader for the wonderful Forge literary magazine. Fiona is represented by Rachel Neely at Mushens Entertainment.
Thank you for visiting the blog and reading my review. While this one was not a favourite read for me, I am sure many of you will find it an entertaining read – don’t just take my word for it, try it yourself. Until next time… Happy Reading!
