Mystery | Book Chatter

Friends and Liars
By Kit Frick
Atria, December 2, 2025, 272pp.

*No Spoilers*

The Short of It:

This was a fun, crazy, spin on a whodunit.

The Rest of It:

It’s been five years since heiress Clare Monroe tragically died on New Year’s Eve at her family’s opulent Italian palazzo. Since that time, her college friends have harbored a dark secret—their lies and betrayals led to Clare’s untimely death.

What happened that fateful night was a horrible accident, but Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David are guilty, nonetheless. And their desperate decision to conceal the truth destroyed their once-close bond.

Guilty? But of what? There are multiple secrets this group is hiding so when they receive an invitation to celebrate their long lost friend Clare, they don’t even know how to immediately react. Go? Certainly not. But an all expense paid trip to Italy? How can you turn that down?

So, they go. What they don’t understand is exactly WHO organized the trip and why they were all called to gather again. But soon, like on the first night, they begin to receive “gifts” in each of their rooms. All, have double meaning. As they come together for the strict itinerary they’ve been given, they begin to whisper to each other. Suddenly alarmed and confused.

Clare’s family is filthy rich and they flaunt it every chance they get. The accommodations are plush, the meals and drink, lavish, helicopters at the ready to fly them off to their next adventure. But in those in-between moments, they begin to panic.

Gifts turn into notes and detailed instructions and pretty soon, everyone is doubting everyone. They all miss Clare but they all had a role in what happened that fateful night and the guilt begins to eat at them, causing bickering and hurt feelings.

I was happily surprised by this story. It’s twisty but not in a “red herring” way. The twists were plausible. Set in a palatial home in Italy with the beautiful coast as their view? Good food and drink? I am so there for it.

I felt that this was a solid read. A real page-turner.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

The Wasp Trap
By Mark Edwards
Atria, September 16, 2025, 336pp.

The Short of It:

A dishy little read about old friends, some enemies and secrets.

The Rest of It:

A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else. ~the publisher

The Wasp Trap alternates between present day and 25 years in the past. These folks are techies working on a dating app but in doing so, they live together with the company’s owner in a rambling house. There, friendships are forged and relationships are built. But that’s not the only thing going on there.

Fast forward to 25 years later. They’ve been invited to a dinner party and the old gang is reunited but not everyone feels wonderful about the event. Grudges, hurt feelings and the fact that their hosts seem overly successful feels like a bit of show.

Theo and Georgina are married now with two teens. Money is clearly not a problem for them. As each of the guests arrive, they can’t help but notice the extravagance of the place. Theo and Georgina have their own issues though. One of their daughters went missing, and the other is sifting through secrets and trying to put clues together to find her missing sister.

This is a crazy read. I’m all for dinner party drama but the party quickly goes south, even before the food is served. Edwards wastes NO time introducing the threat which takes over the entire party. Someone has a secret and someone needs to spill it in order to survive.

Why? How does the secret play into the story? Who does it affect exactly? How can they get out of this when no one can be trusted? These are the questions that you’ll ask as you read this tightly wound story.

I’ll give you my take. I didn’t care for any of these characters. Some are vapid. Some seem to be accessories like a bangle on your wrist. Others are a bit more complex but we don’t spend enough time with those characters. The missing girl story is interesting but getting to it, the path to that plot thread was a little weak in my opinion.

Parts of the story are too convenient. I did enjoy picking it up to read but often I wondered where it was going. If you need a fast-paced closed door type of read, like for a plane, this would be good.

Otherwise, you might find yourself getting frustrated with the plot and the convenience of how it all wraps up.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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