The Party

'TERRIFYING, HILARIOUS' PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE

'A SMART, IRRESISTABLE ROMP' NEW YORK TIMES

A gripping story of betrayal, privilege and hypocrisy, set in the unassailable heart of the British establishment, from the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of Magpie and One of Us, Elizabeth Day.

Martin Gilmour and Ben Fitzmaurice have been best friends for 25 years, since their days together at Burtonbury School. They are an unlikely pair: the scholarship boy with the wrong accent and clothes, and the dazzlingly popular, wealthy young aristocrat. But Martin knows no one else can understand the bond they share – and no one else could have kept Ben’s secret for over two decades.

At Ben’s 40th birthday party, the cream of the British establishment gathers in a haze of champagne, drugs and glamour. Amid the politicians, the celebrities, the old money and the newly rich, Martin once again feels that pang of not-quite belonging. His wife, Lucy, has her reservations too. There is something unnerving in the air.

But Ben wouldn’t do anything to damage their friendship. Would he?

‘As unsettling as it is involving. You absolutely have to know how it turns out’ JOHN BOYNE