Readers Guide for Party of Liars

Narrators in Party of Liars

Dani – the 27 year-old wife of Ethan and mother of baby Charlotte

Kim: Ethan’s ex-wife, has a drinking problem that destroyed her career

Mikayla: best friend of Sophie, Ethan and Kim’s sixteen year old daughter

Órlaith: Charlotte’s Irish nanny 

Who died in Party of Liars?

This was my main question. I should have remembered the Big Little Lies format. The victim was Ethan, Dani’s husband, Kim’s ex, and Sophie’s father.

Who was The Mother?

If it’s a Rebecca-inspired book, it has to have a ghost! “The Mother” was one of the original owners of the house. Young mother Ada Vogel had a breakdown after the death of her infant daughter. Dani is convinced that The Mother is coming for her own baby, Charlotte.

Who was harassing Dani?

Someone left a note on Dani’s doormat that said “You don’t deserve your perfect life, you crazy bitch” and then wrote “crazy bitch” in lipstick on Dani’s bedroom mirror during the party. The culprit was Dani’s step-daughter Sophie’s best friend Mikayla, who was in love with Ethan (more on that later).

What was the deal with nanny Órlaith?

I thought she was a great character. She’s an older woman from Ireland who goes around warning everyone about tragic things that might happen. I was convinced she was out for revenge against someone. She later reveals brought her family to America on a trip, and her daughter Katie fell in love with the place and vibed to return. And that Katie is dead. What happened to Katie?

What did you think of Órlaith? Leave a comment!

What’s going on with Dani?

It’s hard to tell for a while. She seems to be suffering from some sort of postpartum depression that is being exacerbated by the threatening notes that Mikayla is sending her. Her husband Ethan is a psychiatrist and his medical practice partner is treating Dani. I think she truly is struggling but that her environment is contributing to her condition.

What do you think? Tell me in comments.

What happened to Kim?

Kim was married to Ethan and supported him all through medical school and his residency. They were the ones who bought the Vogel mansion and started renovating it. But Ethan dumped her for twenty-three year old Dani (the book says that Sophie met Dani when she was twelve).

Ethan must be at least forty, as Kim says that his fiancee Katie died when he was twenty-one and another character (more below) claims that was around twenty years ago.

After the divorce, Kim struggled with alcohol abuse and was taken to the hospital for an overdose of a bottle of pills that she had prescribed for a “dog” (she was a vet) and taken herself. She lost her career and is still having a tough time.

How did Ethan die?

At the party, Ethan realizes that Mikalya was the one sending threatening messages to Dani. He tells Mikayla to stay away from his family. 

Later, when he and Dani are out on the balcony, Dani tells him she remembers the night she found him kissing and groping Mikayla in that same spot.

Órlaith sees them arguing and rushes out, slamming herself into Ethan. A hairline crack in the glass wall around the balcony (caused by a bird crashing into it recently) open up, the glass shatters, and Ethan falls.

Órlaith tells the police that he leaned against the banister, it cracked, and he fell.

What do you think? Did Órlaith intend to harm him, was she just protecting Dani?

What is the deal with Ethan and Mikayla?

Mikayla had a crush on Ethan, which he encouraged. She would sneak into Dani and Ethan’s house.

One night, Dani caught Mikayla and Ethan making out on the balcony. She freaked out and started screaming at him and he stabbed her with a needle. (We later learn that he probably injected her with midozolam, a medication that treats agitation and anxiety but also causes short term amnesia.)

Toward the end of the book, Dani finally remembers seeing Ethan and Mikayla on the balcony, kissing. She also suddenly realizes that he is always gaslighting and manipulating her.

Did Órlaith put something in Kim’s tea?

For a while, I was convinced that Kim was the one who killed Órlaith’s daughter (my theory was drunk driving.) But this is not the case. I think we are meant to think Órlaith is up to no good, but I think she just gave Kim strong sweet tea to sober her up.

What was Órlaith’s secret?

Her daughter Katie went to college in America. At age nineteen, Katie met a man who gaslit and manipulated her until she became psychological unstable.

One rainy night, Katie drove her car into a tree. Though this happened twenty years ago, Órlaith didn’t know that Katie’s relationship was toxic until her husband died and she found a letter that Katie had written to them detailing her misery.

I guess her husband hid that letter so Órlaith woudn’t feel guilty, but after she found it, she went to America to find Ethan.

Both Kim and Dani mention Katie in their chapters as his dead fiancee who suffered from mental health issues.

Party of Liars: The Ending Explained

Ethan’s body is taken away. A distraught Sophie has to be sedated.

Ethan’s death is ruled an accident after Órlaith tells the police that the glass around the balcony had been cracked by a bird strike, something she mentioned to multiple people. She doesn’t mention pushing him, just says that he leaned against the glass and it shattered. (Very Big Little Lies, right?)

One year later:

Kim has bought a farm with money she inherited from Ethan She has realized that Ethan gaslit and manipulated her during their marriage, and then turned their friends against her, contributing to her alcoholism and the loss of her vetinerary license.

Dani has opened up a bakery, which was her dream. She bonded with Órlaith, who is still Charlotte’s nanny. They have a shared secret, which was that Órlaith stepped in to protect Dani from Ethan.

Would he have killed her? It’s impossible to know. What do you think? Tell me in comments!