Seven of the most disastrous parties in fiction

Jeff Somers is the author of the Avery Cates series, The Ustari Cycle, Lifers, and Chum (among many other books) and numerous short stories.

At the B&N Reads blog he tagged seven parties in books among the worst ever thrown, including:

The Barbecue in Truly Madly Guilty, by Liane Moriarity

The central mystery that propels Moriarity’s fantastic novel concerns the events of a barbecue hosted by rich, boisterous Vid and Tiffany and attended by childhood friends Erika and Clementine, their husbands, and Clementine’s two children. Erika and Clementine’s friendship is a trusting one, their marriages are realistically complex, and everyone looks at the spontaneous party as a fun diversion. Then the story cuts to weeks later: everyone is angry, sad, and shaken. Moriarity flashes back to the barbecue as she unravels the mystery, and readers will be hooked from the get-go, eager to discover what exactly happened at the Worst Barbecue Ever.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue