Robyn Harding’s domestic drama, hailed as “tense and riveting” by Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls, explores the aftermath of a sweet sixteen birthday party that goes horribly awry, as the members of a wealthy family in San Francisco find their picture-perfect life unraveling, their darkest secrets revealed, and their friends turned to enemies.

One invitation. A lifetime of regrets.
Sweet sixteen. It’s an exciting coming-of-age, a milestone, and a rite of passage. Jeff and Kim Sanders plan on throwing a party for their daughter, Hannah—a sweet girl with good grades and nice friends. Rather than an extravagant, indulgent affair, they invite four girls over for pizza, cake, movies, and a sleepover. What could possibly go wrong?
But things do go wrong, horrifically so, and Jeff and Kim’s flawless life in a wealthy San Francisco suburb suddenly begins to come apart. In the ugly aftermath, friends become enemies, dark secrets are revealed in the Sanders’ marriage, and the truth about their perfect daughter is exposed.
Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies, this is a white-knuckled and “riveting tale that is impossible to put down” (Bill Clegg, New York Times bestselling author of Did You Ever Have a Family).

"

Robyn Harding is the author of four successful novels including The Secret Desires of a Soccer Mom and Unravelled. Her first teen novel, My Parents are Sex Maniacs, will be published in 2009. She is a contributing editor at Granville Magazine, a lifestyle publication with a focus on sustainability. This is her first nonfiction book. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"

Robyn Harding's profile page

Everyone is flawed in this contemporary tale of mothers and daughters. Everyone behaves badly. And the story is a pure delight.

Lucy Ferriss, author of A Sister to Honor

"The intricate family dynamics that Harding teases out are complex and engaging.”

Publishers Weekly

"A tense and riveting story about one night gone horribly wrong, and the fallout within a family and a group of friends. Secrets, desires, choice and consequence, The Party reveals that what lies inside a family—and each person—is not always as it seems. I was hooked from the opening scene and could not look away until I reached the very last page."

Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls

"Domestic drama... done well."

Kirkus Reviews

“With teenagers worthy of Mean Girls, and a healthy dose of suspense, The Party reads like a cross between Megan Abbott and Jodi Picoult by way of James Patterson.”

Booklist

"Suspenseful and provocative, The Party is a story that will keep you reading and keep you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page. This is one party invitation you don’t want to turn down."

Barbara Taylor Sissel, bestselling author of CROOKED LITTLE LIES

"Robyn Harding spins a masterful tale of the disintegration of a seemingly perfect family in the aftermath of a disastrous sweet sixteen party. Engrossing and unflinching in its portrayal of the dark side of human nature, The Party takes the concept of 'mean girls' to a whole new level."
 

A. J. Banner, #1 bestselling author of The Good Neighbor and The Twilight Wife

"Fast-paced and tension-filled, The Party explodes the myth of the perfect family and is one invitation you can’t turn down."

Rebecca Drake, author of Only Ever You

"In this blistering fast read, self-obsessed soccer moms battle it out with their nasty teenagers who refuse to grow up. Why should they? Their parents never did…
A compulsive page-turner that mines the push-pull between basic impulses and doing the “right thing,” The Party is a domestic drama that spins off the rails with hellish consequences. Consider yourself warned."

Erica Ferencik, author of The River at Night

“Cleverly constructed and brilliantly paced, The Party is a raw telling of a family coming apart at the seams. Robyn Harding weaves a riveting tale that is impossible to put down.” 

Bill Clegg, New York Times bestselling author of Did You Ever Have a Family