Q&A: Kelsey Cox, Author of ‘Party of Liars’

We chat with author Kelsey Cox about Party of Liars, which sees a lavish, Texas-sized Sweet Sixteen turns deadly in this twisty, pulse-pounding new novel ― serving up a fresh take on a classic locked-room whodunnit. Let the festivities begin…

Hi, Kelsey! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I write from the Texas Hill Country, where I live with my husband, our two little girls, and our scruffy rescue terrier. As a person, I love unseen people and am fascinated by magic tricks. Maybe that’s why ghosts often appear in my stories and why I crave that jolt of a great twist when reading. I like to think PARTY OF LIARS holds all of that, because at its core, it’s me — and the books I love.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I can’t remember a time I wasn’t reading or writing, to be honest. My parents read to me from the time I was young. I read to my little sisters before bed, brought books out onto the playground at recess. I remember once being so upset around the age of nine because I left my notebook of stories behind in a hotel room during a family road trip. I grew up a Navy brat, and we moved every two to three years. Stories brought me comfort and familiarity, a way to connect with people when I often felt like an outsider.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: The BFG by Roald Dahl, or The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary, oh, or any of the Goosebumps books by R. L. Stine
• The one that made you want to become an author: The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. The first novel I tried to write in middle school was just a rip-off of Homeward Bound (the movie adaptation).
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Any Tana French character. To me, they are living, breathing humans, who lived full lives before the book started and will continue to live beyond the page, so I’m always wondering what they are up to now.

Your debut novel, Party of Liars, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Ghosts, glass-houses, secrets, paranoia, and obsession.

What can readers expect?

It’s Sophie Matthews’ Sweet Sixteen, set in a life-sized dollhouse—a Texas mansion perched on a cliff. Inside, there’s a creepy nanny, an anxious new mother, a lovesick teen, and an ex with an ax to grind. They all have reasons to kill, and they’re all lying. Think a gothic game of Clue, but instead of Professor Plum, it’s a cast of complicated women.

Where did the inspiration for Party of Liars come from?

I was a new mom with two girls under two. Motherhood demands that you give so much of yourself, that I felt slightly erased and more than slightly burnt out. I had given up on my dream of being a published author. Then, on my hands and knees, cleaning up peas from my daughters’ lunch, the idea for PARTY OF LIARS hit me. I wrote to find myself again, but also to shed light on all the ways that women can feel erased and dismissed and unseen.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I love all my characters, and each of my four women were fun to spend time with for different reasons, but I had a particularly fun time writing Kim. Kim is very different from me. I’m a bit of a people-pleaser. I tend to be a little shy, quiet, and reserved. So it was fun to inhabit a character who was unapologetic in her anger, who was quick on her feet and didn’t quite have that filter between her thoughts and her words (even when she should).

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The main challenges were time and energy. I was working from home, teaching online composition courses for two different colleges while caring for two young children. My husband helped me carve out a schedule. So I left the dishes in the sink and the Legos on the floor and forced myself out of the house to coffee shops and the library to write for at least two hours a day. Every day. I just showed up and trusted the process.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

I’ve had the dream of being a published author since, at least, middle school. I imagined I’d be the youngest published author, even practicing my Jay Leno interview for when I made it big. Instead, I faced many years of rejection and rewrites and new projects. I finished my first novel in high school in about 2003. I started querying in 2011 after grad school, signed with my agent in 2018, and then finally got my book deal in 2024. It’s been a very long road, but all the hard work and setbacks make the accomplishment so much sweeter.

What’s next for you?

I am working on Book 2, another locked-room whodunnit set in the Texas Hill Country with lots of sequins, secrets, and at least one dead body.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

Oh gosh, I’ve read so many phenomenal books in the past year: None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell, Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra, Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, and The Push by Ashley Audrain are just a few.

Will you be picking up Party of Liars? Tell us in the comments below!