The premise of The Final Party is so very alluring even with the prospect of unease and potential confrontation between friends culminating in witnessing a dead body. But the fabulous Italian scenery! The strong bonds of friendship! Fun in the sun! Cannot be that bad… Accidents happen. Plus, people die of natural causes. However, as it’s A. A. Chaudhuri who is creating this atmospheric setting ripe for painful honestly and conflict, you need to prepare yourself for the emotional rollercoaster of doubts and half-truths.

Six friends meet in a luxury villa set high on the hills above the sophisticated and glamorous Sorrento, in the stunning scenery of southern Italy. The landscapes, the sea views, the nature and the cultural aspects of the place are irresistible. The location is gloriously perfect for a relaxing holiday, a celebration of trust, loyalty and caring for each other, with excellent food, drink and some trappings of luxury. The group cannot believe their lucky stars to be there to celebrate Vanessa’s 40th birthday. Vanessa, or Ness, is a tough high-flying lawyer and the stay at the villa was a gesture of appreciation from one of her corporate clients. Her devoted adoring husband Marcus, stay-at home dad, has planned special perfect touches to make the birthday occasion glorious and unforgettable. Her best friend since childhood, banker Johnny, arrives with wife Lana, and the third couple to join the exclusive trip are Padma, Johnny’s ex-girlfriend, and Nick. They all have known one another since four of them had studied at Oxford, and kept in touch over the years. They had also kept secrets about a dark event nearly two decades ago which caused Padma to lose memory for a week, and subsequent trauma, and which might be connected to the disappearance of a new student Carys at the same time. So, the summer holiday is not just a lovely reunion, but an occasion to come clean about dramatic events that shattered Padma’s confidence and destroyed an opportunity to lead the life she has envisaged. 

Ness, weighted with shame and guilt, made a decision to confront the past and to talk about this with others. Johnny doesn’t want to relieve terrible aftermath of a hideous ‘female fresher hunt’ organised by the exclusive male drinking society and designed to catch the prettiest girls at university. But he starts to receive messages from someone who apparently knows everything and threatens to expose him. Lana is full of loathing and regret, and Nick seems to focus completely on his wife’s happiness. 

The intense story unravels both slowly and fast (is that even possible?) as told by all six characters who reflect on every tiny emotion and change of mood in the villa, and reactions shown by others, while still clearly affected by the past. They travel back in time to their university days to explain, analyse and understand what had happened. This is an extraordinary process which leads to exposing their deep-seated anxieties and insecurities, and questioning if they could have done anything different. With a firm hand and a repertoire of stylistic writing tools, A.A Chaudhuri leads the reader through the meanders of moral dilemmas which rose from childhood, upbringing, social standing. She paints a searing picture of the British class system and questions privilege at the famous eminent university. The Final Party’s dual timeline gives a terrific insight into the past. In a way every person has a chance to look back and atone for their involvement in a crime that was never officially acknowledged. However, you can also feel that these might be unreliable narrators when their memories come to the fore. 

Exquisite plotting, attention to the smallest details and the incredible characterisation of people whose lives intertwined over eighteen years in the dark twisty web of lies. Shattering secrets that have been waiting under the surface of well-established relationships and trust, or what have appeared like that to some of them. The Final Party (Bookshop.org) / The Final Party (amazon) is perfect in its finality of deception. And here is a link to The Doctor Will See You Now series as Dr Noir chats with A.A. Chaudhuri.