About the Book:

It’s the party you’d KILL to be invited to…

As Evie and her friends – dubbed the ‘coterie’ in homage to her grandmother’s legendary group of artists – graduate from their elite private school, they prepare to host one last epic summer party at Evie’s family mansion, D’olobelle. The D’olobelle parties are notorious, with everyone desperate for an invite and a taste of the debauchery. And the Coterie are determined this year’s party will be the most scandalous yet.

But as the festivities unfold, a series of chilling ‘accidents’ begin to plague the group. And it seems that each of them has something to hide. Who is targeting them, and what dark secrets are lurking just beneath the surface?

And as eerie photos of the previous coterie emerge, it becomes clear that D’olobelle is not just a backdrop for their celebration – it holds secrets of its own.

Can the Coterie unravel what is going on – or will the last summer at D’olobelle be their last summer of all?

Find on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link).

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About the Author:

Kate Weston is a stand up comedian and the author of YA murder mysteries Murder on a School Night and Murder on a Summer Break, as well as adult thrillers You May Now Kill The Bride and How to Make a Killing and YA comedy series Diary of a Confused Feminist. Murder on a School Night was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2024. Kate has also been been a semi-finalist for Funny Women and New Comedian of the Year, longlisted for Comedy Women in Print and the Branford Boase, and nominated for the Carnegie Medal.

Kate lives in London with her partner and adorable cat Angus.

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Interview:

Pitch your book in 10 words!

Rich people in a mansion trying not to get unalived. 

Evie and the coterie are very self-absorbed and judgmental, performatively aware of their privilege but still revelling in it and judging those less fortunate than themselves. Why are vain, overtly judgmental characters such fun to read about?

There’s something very funny about someone who lacks self-awareness anyway, especially if they think that they’re covering it up really well. It provides an in-joke that the reader’s in on, but the character in the book is not. And because these characters aren’t very nice it’s satisfying to read that they’re getting their comeuppance in some way. I think in a world where we’re increasingly aware that bad people aren’t facing any sort of consequences for their awful actions, it’s good to feel like they’re at least facing them in a book. 

As with your previous books for teens and adults, you blend humour alongside death and lies. Why do you think humour is so effective in thrillers?

It lightens things up a bit and means that you can read a book with a mystery plot that’s silly too. I’m also probably an awful person, because I like the reader to feel safe and be laughing and then get taken unawares when another awful thing happens.  

All sorts of gruesome “accidents” occur to the coterie. Which was your favourite to write? What inspired these “accidents”?

I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there’s a thing with an eyeball and a gravy boat that I particularly enjoyed writing. The accidents came straight from my sick little brain. I promise I’m a nice person really. But then, I would say that wouldn’t I?

How well do you think you’d survive the summer trip?

I’d be the first to die. I’m really weak. I’m too trusting. If anything, I’d just lie down and accept my fate. 

As well as the present day, we see snippets of what happened in the past to another coterie. Did you always know you wanted to include them too? How much did these diary entries change through edits?

Oh yes! I always knew I wanted to include the old coterie, but they didn’t take quite such a prominent role in the first draft. So the diary entries really took shape in later drafts. I’m a real pantser and that means that sometimes my books change significantly during edits. 

COTERIE OF LIARS is a New Adult book. What made you want to write for an older age group with this story?

I wanted to include things that didn’t feel quite YA but aren’t adult either, because of the age of the characters and the things that they’re experiencing. Some of the behaviour and the accidents aren’t really suitable for a younger YA audience though, and I wanted some of the characters to be as nasty and twisted as possible. 

Please recommend a UKYA book you think readers will love.

PAINT ME LIKE YOUR DEAD GIRLS* by Cynthia Murphy

Thank you, Kate!

*Affiliate link