The Last One At The Wedding is an intriguing book full of secrets and mystery. It also explores the power of wealth and the controversies around rich, famous and powerful families. I was suspicious of many characters throughout and so many things just didn’t feel right, so the author did a great job of planting seeds and building the tension. Some people may start this book expecting something similar to Hidden Pictures - they are very different books, although both enjoyable.

Another great release from the author.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great thriller overall, I loved the characters and the twists and turns were exciting.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this eCopy to review

The Last One at the Wedding follows Frank as he receives a phone call from his estranged daughter, Maggie, inviting him to her wedding. However, everything seems ever do slightly off in the run up to the wedding. The Gardners, Maggie’s soon-to-be in-laws, were a wealthy and enigmatic family. Aidan, her fiancé, was particularly evasive, and Maggie seemed distant.

Upon arriving in the Hamptons the locals’ hostility towards the Gardners only added to Frank's growing suspicion that something was amiss.

What follows is a tangled web of secrets and lies. Whilst predictable in places Rekulak's writing blended suspense with emotional depth. The unexpected twists and eerie atmosphere were gripping. My favourite character was definitely, Frank's sister's foster daughter Abigail who added a different type of emotional relationship to the plot

Overall, The Last One at the Wedding is a decent psychological thriller exploring the themes of family, forgiveness, and the lengths a parent will go to protect their child.

Last One At The Wedding by Jason Rekulak
I give this book 4 stars

Frank Szatowski hasn't seen his daughter Maggie in years, then she calls to tell him that she's getting married and he's invited.
But as the wedding weekend gets underway, it becomes clear that although they have spared no expense, there's something strange about Maggie's fiancé and his family.And maybe Frank shouldn't be celebrating just yet...

A enjoyable slow burn suspense told entirely through Frank (the brides dad) POV. A story of darkness,families,big money and secrets with a cast of mostly unlikable characters. The writing style made me want to keep on reading and the storyline was interlaced with plenty of twists,although the ending fell a little flat for me personally. I really loved Hidden Pictures and I think my expectations were way too high going into this one, A solid domestic mystery.
With thanks to Netgalley,Jason Rekulak and Little Brown Book Group UK | Sphere
for my chance to read and review this book.

Not for wanted to stop reading but kept going and it just didn’t get any better. Such a shame as I absolutely loved Hidden Pictures but this one just bored me.

I had high hopes for this book and expected more of a thriller, but it read more as a family drama to me! It started off well but slowed down and not much really happened then until the last quarter of the book. It was a fine read, nothing exciting but kept my interest too.

This is a gripping read from the author of “Hidden Pictures” although this book is much different.

Frank receives a phone call from his estranged daughter Maggie to inform him she is getting married. After not talking for three years Frank is excited and dubious about the news and travels to meet up with Maggie for a long overdue visit.

The wedding is to be held over a long weekend at a summer camp at Osprey Cove owned by millionaire Errol Gardener, who is the father of the groom Aidan. Frank attends along with his sister Tammy and her foster daughter Abigail and it’s not long before Franks interest is piqued by multiple things not adding up about this whole set up.

This story twists and turns and definitely lots of secrets are uncovered, I really liked Franks character and would recommend this if you like a solid thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A gripping and twisty domestic thriller/mystery. I liked Frank and found him an interesting and likeable character. This book isn’t anything like Hidden Pictures, but I don’t think that warrants a lower rating, they’re just different stories and different vibes. You’ll love this book if you’re a psychological thriller fan, which I most definitely am! I think Rekulak’s writing is fantastic, and this’ll have you on the edge of your seat from the very first page.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Let me start by saying I absolutely LOVED Hidden Pictures 😍, it was 5 stars for me and it’s still one of my fave books of the year! I loved this book but it was very different, don’t go in thinking it’s like Hidden Pictures. The Last One at the Wedding serves in a slower, more suspenseful way. Both are thrilling and entertaining but very different.

Franks Character was just chefs kiss 😙🤌🏽 - I totally pictured him like Liam Neeson! (even heard his voice while reading 😂) And then next thing, they refer to Liam Neeson in the book!

Frank had strong morals & love for his daughter & family. To the point where it drove me a little crazy & I felt like he was being a pushover - I found myself yelling at the book “Noooo… why would you let that happen, say NO!” He felt very "real" and was such a likeable character. I loved that so many of the other characters were so UNlikeable!

“𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺.”

I loved the contrast between Frank being so honest & down to earth and the wealthy glamour & entitlement of the rich people.

Again Rekulak’s writing & storytelling was brilliant, it flowed & was easy to read. It was a little slow to get to the more thrilling parts, I wasn’t sure where it was going for a bit, but I enjoyed the read while it built up. I was VERY surprised by the twist, it was not what I was expecting!

This was a great mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat & not wanting to put it down.

Umm… and the spider situation! 🙈 OMG!

Thank you @littlebrownbookgroup_uk and Netgalley for this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review. 🙏🏽

Having read hidden pictures and absolutely adoring it this was an instant must read. Unfortunately I personally felt this one just didn’t live up to the previous book and fell a little flat for me.
I was after a more cohesive story and character development and I just wasn’t blown away by either.
I found the storyline to be mid level and found myself waiting for something extra that never came.

The Last One At The Wedding is a book no doubt many of us will be nervous about. Many of us loved Hidden Pictures, and a book known for its creepy drawings by kids will always leave its mark. So will the author's follow-up live up...?

The thing to go onto an open mind with here is that The Last One At The Wedding is not a dark book. There are no paranormal twists, no creepy children, and no hints of horror, so you have to level your expectations with that.

Instead, this is more a domestic suspense centred around family, business and money. "Succession meets The Guest List" is a great way to describe it as it has elements of brutal betrayals and a wedding-set mystery. I really liked the setting and how the story developed over this short period. And although the characters are unlikeable, the tension is built up well as you question who to trust.

The big surprise definitely came as a surprise, too, but I just expecting more. Which is why I'm preparing you not to compare this Hidden Pictures and to expect more of a domestic thriller because had this been the author's debut, I would definitely have been more impressed. So if this is your first book by Rekulak, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Unputdownable!

This is very different from Hidden Pictures but I enjoyed it just as much. A slow-burn suspense story focused on a father and daughter, you slowly understand the dynamics of their relationship and what makes them tick. I loved how this had so many tropes and while it had its fair share of twists, there were also hints of them before like a classic mystery should have.

It's well-written with some pretty great characterization. Definitely would recommend it to fans of domestic thrillers or suspense.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sphere for the e-book!

A thoroughly enjoyable read At first you think that this is going to be a straight forward family saga developing the relationship between Frank and his estranged daughter, Maggie. However,it becomes more and more intriguing as Frank delves into the dark side of her fiances family. Lots of twists and turns to keep you intrigued and guessing.. Great characters, particularly Frank, who is a down to earth UPS driver and completely overawed with the enormous wealth his daughter is marrying in to. Great humor is subtly expressed throughout. A fabulous read

Thanks to #NetGalley and #LittleBrownBookGroupUK for the book #TheLastOneAtTheWedding by #JasonRekulak. This book was crazy good and such a wild ride. Loved it! Franks daughter, Maggie calls out of the blue to say she is getting married. She and her father haven’t spoke in years. He is beyond excited but as the day gets near, he starts seeing red flags in regard to her finance. Something does not seem right. Is then something else going on behind the scenes?

Frank Szatowski is shocked to hear from estranged daughter, Maggie, especially when it is to invite him to her upcoming wedding. Frank wants to put things right and he arrives at a luxury resort, previously surprised to find she is marrying into a rich family. Only once there, things don’t seem right. Is he right to be worried?

I enjoyed Hidden Pictures so wanted to read this new offering by Jason Rekulak, and although fairly different to his previous novel, I found I really enjoyed it. I would actually say I preferred it to Hidden Pictures. Although there was a slightly slow start to help build up the story, I found I was invested straight away and really compelled to carry on reading. By the half way point I couldn’t put this down and stayed up way too late to finish it.

There are some really interesting characters and I think Frank is written incredibly well as I could really picture him, imaging him as a real person. You could really picture his dilemma and follow the family dynamics. Although some characters were unlikeable and did questionable things, they were entertaining.

The suspense builds up nicely and I enjoyed the atmosphere of the camp. There were some pretty good twists and turns also. I think this is another hit for this author and great for those who enjoy multi layered, intriguing mysteries. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an hornet review.

I did enjoy the book to begin with, but it became a bit convoluted and jumbled and I found I couldn't really concentrate and had to force myself to continue reading. I liked the characters and the story concept is good, the plot just felt like it was constantly jumping which made it hard to follow.

This was a good read with a twist. When Maggie calls her dad Frank after nor speaking to him for years, she wants to invite him to her wedding. She’s marrying a son of a wealthy business owner, but all is not as it seems. I liked this thriller, the characters are easy to read about and the location sounds brilliant. A 4 star read about a family and mystery’s.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

This thriller had me hooked from the start. The way it dove into the tension and secrets between the two families was so gripping. The complex relationships, all the hidden layers—it was the kind of drama that kept me guessing and wanting more with every chapter. I loved how it built up the suspense without ever feeling over the top.

The main character was definitely my favorite part. They felt so real—flawed but relatable, and I was completely invested in their journey. The audiobook made it even better because the narrator nailed it. The way they voiced the character’s emotions really added depth and made me feel like I was right there in the middle of everything.

If I had one gripe, it’s the ending. It went in a direction I wasn’t totally on board with, and it felt like maybe one twist too many. Still, that didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the ride. The story had me on edge the entire time, and even when I wasn’t sure where it was going, I was fully along for the journey.

Honestly, I’m glad I picked this up. It was intense, emotional, and the audio performance really made it stand out for me.

Wedding drama amongst the evil rich- but refreshing new from the pen of Hidden Pictures. Smart thriller for an October night.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. The illustrations are really good too. I liked the characters of Frank and Abigail; Tammy and Maggie not so much. Good twist