And then there’s Dean who was hardly the prize of the century. He really didn’t come across at all well in all of this and because of that I totally didn’t like the ending we arrived at here Lizzie should definitely have chosen differently.

Neither is remotely present in After the Party, a six-part drama debuting on TVNZ that explores the lingering, crazy-making aftermath of a boozy party, featuring characters all on a spectrum between fallible and broken. It’s so tightly wound it barely takes a moment to blink, much less wink. I’ve seen the first three episodes and have no idea where they’re heading with this thing – it’s gritty, wrenching and highly confronting.Zoë's interrogation is set to a deranged animation. In her story, Zoë's different inner selves attempt to be the more dominant personality. At one point, it is revealed that Jennifer 2 was the one sending Chelsea the anonymous texts. Meanwhile, Aniq and Yasper attempt to eavesdrop on her interrogation, but Yasper's phone is low on battery, so they try to find a charger that is not in use. In their search, they get trapped in a secret room. Culp catches them spying and tells Danner that the police captain has taken her off the case. Let me preface this by saying I've never read a novel by Georgina Lees before, so when I speak about her writing skills, it's only with this book in mind. This is a rare situation where I felt like Lees showed she can write her cheeks off, but the content itself was too on the safe side. GEORGINA IF YOU'RE LISTENING I, an irrelevant reader, would love to see you write a character-driven contemporary fiction with a lil side of mystery. You've got da skills girl, don't settle for mainstream thriller content. In addition, Christopher May and Miracle Laurie co-star as Mr. Shapiro and Quiet Heather, respectively, a science teacher and former student who, as a running gag during the first season, are caught having intimate relations in each of the stories. I actually really enjoyed the story overall but I feel like the ending could’ve been better and the sinister nature of some of the characters could’ve been explored further and I really with there would’ve been some character growth in Lizzie. You never hear much from her dad, her mum being the pivotal person in her life who seemingly acts irrationally several times throughout.

We wanted to make something where all the characters have rich stories and the drama itself has a complex impact on all their lives.” The ending wasn't as surprising as I'd hope, but overall I enjoyed the book. 3 1/2 stars for the story and 4 stars for the narration. I would try another from the author. The story alternates between 1938 and 1979, when Phyllis gets released from the prison and recounts events leading to her imprisonment. This book had way too much "Oh but I love him" and not enough actual suspense for me. Or maybe it had the right enough suspense but it was overpowered by the constant mooning of the main character about how much she loves a coworker. It felt like a middle school crush more than a grown up person having actual feelings. That is too bad because the actual mystery was good! It was really good! But it got overly bogged down by the weird pining and that made it extremely difficult to even try and like or sympathize with the characters. So, if you can handle a lot of that adolescent love talk (the word "love" was used 145 times) interrupting your murder and suspense, this is a great book for you! The adults are doing shots, but so are the teens, and one, Ollie, gets into a state of semi-comatose nausea, vomiting all over himself. Later, Penny sees something appalling, something that changes the course of every life in the house. Only, what did she see? “Whatever you saw, it wasn’t that,” says Penny’s mother, knifing her in front of a roomful of their friends. “You’re making a fool out of yourself.”Aniq and Zoë are celebrating one year together following last season's events. They attend the wedding of Zoë's sister, Grace, to an eccentric Silicon Valley businessman named Edgar. When Edgar and his pet lizard Roxana are found dead the following morning, Aniq calls Danner for help. Danner, who left the police to write a book about Xavier's murder, agrees. Over the phone, Aniq tells her his side of the story, with the same romcom tone of the testimony he gave a year prior. Aniq also tells Danner he did not want to call the police out of concern for Grace, whom he witnessed put something in Edgar's drink the night before. After the Party has an intriguing premise - your crush confesses their love for someone else and that person ends up missing. Unfortunately that's where the positivity ends. The novel was filled with detail after detail about what the main character, Lizzie, was doing, how she felt, what other people were doing. I was so bored. It also didn't help that everyone was awful! I hated Lizzie who couldn't make a decision and had to rely on others to think for her. It was a mystery that she was so invested in finding out what had happened with Rebecca, since their interactions showed that they didn't have a friendship or even really liked each other. Then there was Dean (Lizzie's crush). No idea why Lizzie had a crush on him. He had no redeeming qualities at all. It’s 1938 and returning to England from abroad, Phyllis gets involved with helping her sister, Nina, organise the summer camp Nina runs as part of her ‘peace work’ for a political movement. For quite a while the identity of the charismatic individual who heads the movement, referred to only as ‘the Leader’, is not revealed, although readers will probably have their suspicions given some of the unpalatable views espoused and the period in which the events take place. What the book does well is reflect the range of views that prevailed at the time. How many people were fearful of the prospect of war not so much because they were advocates of appeasement or supporters of the Nazi regime but because they feared the upheaval of war, remembering only too well the carnage wrought by the First World War. Lizzie is in love with Dean, but Dean is in love with Rebecca. And when Rebecca goes missing, Lizzie's love for Dean is tested.