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There are times that we wish we could be a fly on the wall at a party or an event. We’d love to hear the discussions without having to be a part of them. In Sophie Kinsella’s latest novel, The Party Crasher, one woman ends up doing just that—but she doesn’t love what she hears.
The story finds twenty-something Londoner Effie Talbot facing a troubling change in her life. It wasn’t that long ago that everything seemed perfect for the Talbot family—but then Effie’s dad and stepmother split up. Now her dad’s much-younger girlfriend, Krista, seems set on tearing the family apart. To make matters worse, they’ve just sold Effie’s beloved childhood home, and Krista has decided to have a “house-cooling party”—without inviting Effie. Effie thinks it’s the perfect time to sneak into the house to retrieve some belongings, but she ends up trapped in various parts of the house, listening in on conversations.
As Effie bumbles her way through the party, you can’t help but laugh at the number of times—and the variety of places—where she ends up trapped, unable to escape. She finds herself hearing and witnessing things from behind shrubbery, from inside coat closets, and from under side tables. And as she does so, not only does she overhear people saying what they really think about her, but she also discovers troubling things about her family members—and she’s determined to fix everyone’s problems.
In the process of trying to find her beloved dolls and take care of her siblings’ issues, Effie’s encounters are sometimes wildly funny—but also sometimes heartbreaking. Not only is she still mourning the breakup of her family and the loss of her childhood home, but she’s also struggling with the fact that she’s lost the close relationship that she once had with her father—and he seems to have chosen his relationship with Krista over his children. Effie’s eavesdropping may not be the best way to deal with the situation, but it does offer her new insights into the lives of her family members. And, in her own awkward way, she eventually figures out how to love, support, and communicate with her family in a way that will help them all get through these challenging times.
With its mix of wacky antics and family drama—and a hint of romance, too—The Party Crasher is everything that readers have come to expect from Sophie Kinsella. It’s a light, fun novel that will leave readers feeling warm and cozy.
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