The Christmas Party

Karen Swan

Oct 2019 · Pan Macmillan

About this ebook

The Christmas Party is a delicious, page-turning story full of twists and turns. At an elegant country house party, shocking secrets and unexpected romances hide just beneath the surface . . .

A must-read for the festive season by Karen Swan, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Christmas Secret and Christmas at Tiffany's.

When Declan Lorne, the last remaining knight in Ireland, dies suddenly, an ancient title passes with him. But his estate on Ireland’s rugged south-west coast is left to his three daughters. The two eldest, Ottie and Pip, inherit in line with expectations, but to everyone’s surprise – and dismay – it is the errant baby of the family, Willow, who gets the castle.

Why her? Something unknown – something terrible - made her turn her back on her family three years earlier, escaping to Dublin and vowing never to return. So when Willow quickly announces she is selling up, her revenge seems sweet and the once-close sisters are pushed to breaking point: in desperation, Pip risks everything to secure her own future, and Ottie makes a decision that will ruin lives. It’s each woman for herself.

Before moving in, Connor Shaye, the prospective new owner, negotiates throwing a lavish party at the castle just days before Christmas – his hello, their goodbye. But as their secrets begin to catch up with them, Ottie, Willow and Pip are forced to ask themselves which is harder: stepping into the future, or letting go of the past?

'A real treat to get absolutely lost in. Go on - spoil yourself!' - Veronica Henry, bestselling author of Christmas at the Beach Hut

What Karen's readers say . . .

'This is a perfect winter's day read, that will have you utterly absorbed...'
'Full of intrigue, secrets, heartbreak, love'
'Crammed with love, heartbreak and powerful secrets this Christmas story with substance is not to be missed!'
'The festive season can now commence!'

Ratings and reviews

This is my first Karen Swan book, and I loved it! The story is set around a castle in Ireland at Christmas and has plenty of family drama going on, a death, a near-death, affairs and family secrets, a real page-turner. The story is all about the Lorne family - there's Serena (Mother), Declan (very recently deceased Father) and the three daughters - Ottie (runs the campsite on the family land / having an affair with a married man), Pip (runs the stables / trekking tours, loves her horses) and Willow (baby of the family, left home to move to Dublin 3 years ago because of.... something, a big secret). When the will is read everyone is shocked, as although everyone was left part of the estate and land/business they dealt with, the majority went to Willow, along with the castle, and not to their Mother. Although that may seem like a great thing to be left, in actual fact they are barely scraping by, the castle needs lots of work doing to it, and there is no way they can survive by keeping it so need to sell. So Willow was left with the hardest task of all of them. The main story was set around the sisters and their lives, and they were all so different. Ottie, the oldest, having an affair with a married man, had her head in the sand about their relationship. He was obviously only interested in the excitement of it all, and I was surprised she didn't catch on earlier as she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. Pip, the middle sister, was definitely the more fiery, impulsive one of the trio, which got her into a few scrapes (and hospital at a few points). Willow was the one I liked the most, she obviously had family 'issues' (that we eventually found out about), but even though she was the youngest she was the one trying to sort everything out. There was lots going on to keep the story really interesting, along with a big party at the castle just before Christmas with the (possible) new owners, arranged with two weeks to spare, and major renovations and decoration in those two weeks to enable the party to happen. There were some great side characters - Tom Gilmore (injured runner), Connor Shaye (possible purchaser of the castle), and Taigh (previous crush of Pip's from school who she always treated really badly when she saw him). Although the story is set around the Christmas period, and has a gorgeous festive cover, it really could be read any time of the year and wasn't what I'd call a Christmas book, probably a 3 out of 5 for the 'Christmas feeling'. It's more centred on the family dramas and relationships. Really good book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

About the author

Karen Swan is the Sunday Times top three bestselling author of sixteen books and her novels sell all over the world. She writes two books each year – one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Previous winter titles include Christmas at Tiffany's, The Christmas Secret, The Christmas Lights, and for summer, The Rome Affair, The Greek Escape and The Spanish Promise.

Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisty plots, sometimes telling two stories in the same book.