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Holiday party gone wrong

Cover of The After Party
A review of The After Party by A. C. Arthur

Three women, colleagues and the kind of sort-of work-friend you make at your job, find their darkest wishes have come true after the company Christmas party. That shocking event forces them to team up in order to avoid at the minimum, unemployment, and at a maximum, prison.

Venus McGee, Draya Carter, and Jackie Benson all work for the same firm and have all been victims (professionally or personally) of their sexist, blackmailing boss Rufus. When his behavior at a work party becomes too aggravating they retreat to Venus's apartment and imaginatively describe the ways in which they would murder Rufus if they had a chance. The problem is the next day Draya discovers Rufus's body. He's been murdered in his home and because she's the one who found him (plus that pesky wishing him dead thing) she's convinced that she'll be arrested and calls on the other two women to help her hide the crime. Their impulsive choices lead to more and more complications as they scramble to keep ahead of the investigation and stay out of trouble.

The murder in this novel acts not only as a mystery for the characters and readers to solve, but as a galvanizing force in the lives of the three women at the heart of the novel. In working together Venus, Jackie and Draya develop a friendship that goes beyond 9 to 5 and they are stronger together.

Dec 27, 2021