Although it was well written, unfortunately this didn't quite do it for me. I enjoyed the idea of the former celebrity pop band and the wedding, but found I didn't really care about the characters and what happened to them.
thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins for an advance copy of this book

Libby Steele was hoping to get a permanent job with the newspaper and the case she was covering was her big chance. It was even more important to her than the celebrity wedding she was to attend the following day with her ex-rock star boyfriend, Matthew. She was leaving her seven-year-old son, Patrick with her sister, Emma, and heading off to a grand manor house hotel in the North Yorkshire countryside. Daniel Acroyd, television presenter and former member of the rock band was marrying Vicky and Libby suspected that the wedding wasn't quite as high-profile as had been suggested as there was no ban on photos or phones.

Still, it was a chance to have a weekend away and to meet the other members of the band. Matthew had been made wealthy by pop music but he never had anything to say about the time that he, Simon, Amir and Daniel lived the life of pop musicians, travelling the world and taking advantage of all it had to offer. We're going to hear quite a bit about what happened, though - we get to read excerpts from Untold Story by Simon Greene. He warns us that he's an unreliable narrator - but he's the best we've got about that time.

Then, one of the wedding guests goes missing.

Despite his warnings, Simon gives us an excellent picture of exactly what it's like to be in a band. Don't believe that it's a good life, because what Simon tells us about the lifestyle is backed up by Matt's story too: there were times when he'd much rather have been back home in Huddersfield. He was only sixteen when the band was formed and just about to sit his A levels when they were signed by a record label. Sarah Linley brings the life - and the fears - off the page brilliantly. It should be compulsory reading for any teenager who thinks it's the life for them. You'll feel the pressures of showbusiness in the nineties: I understood the downsides of being a celebrity as never before.

The band, as you'll begin to understand, don't want Simon's book to be published. There's something which they're all hiding. Libby's confident that Matthew will tell her what it is once they're back home but then the cracks begin to show in their relationship, despite the eighteen months which they've spent together. She's hurt when he doesn't congratulate her on her first-ever front-page story and shocked when he displays his derision about her job.

I did enjoy the book. The characters came off the page exceptionally well. I so wanted Libby to succeed: she hasn't had the easiest start in life but she's made a great job of bringing Patrick up and has worked hard at her job. She loves Matthew but despite his insistence that he's a one-woman man and he wants Libby and Patrick to move into his seven-bedroom house with him, she needs her independence. As for marriage, she wants to be certain and money isn't going to sway her. She's perhaps just a little too keen to investigate when she thinks something is wrong - but then she is' a journalist.

This was my first Sarah Linley book but it won't be my last and I'd like to thank the publishers for making a review copy available to the Bookbag.

Great story. I found this really well written and enjoyed both the plot and the cleverly crafted characters. Really reccomend you give this one a go.

There is a Wedding and there are Murders, so no attempt to mislead the reader. Who’s getting married and who’s getting murdered are the questions to be answered. The first question is easy: Daniel, a former rock star who is now a TV personality, is marrying Vicky, who works in marketing, at a palatial hotel in Yorkshire. The rock group had been formed nearly thirty years ago by a bunch of sixteen year old schoolboys (Daniel, Simon, Amir and Matt) in Leeds and had gained traction when they added Alex, a slightly older girl with a phenomenal voice. After ten years the band had broken up acrimoniously and the wedding is the first time they have been together since then. Alex is the only missing member because she had died of an overdose six months after the break-up. Matt is accompanied by his newish girlfriend, Libby, a mid-twenties journalist, Amir is with his boyfriend, Peter, and Simon is on his own but his ex-wife, Natalya, is one of the bridesmaids. Simon is writing a book which will reveal all about the band’s history including secrets best left buried, and the others are trying to dissuade him. As to the murders, the story opens with Libby, covered in blood, stumbling through woodland in the dark. Why is she in this situation? Whose blood is it? What is the big secret that Simon must not reveal in his book? Are those last two questions linked or co-incidental?
The book is written from three main perspectives: Matt’s experiences during his time with the band, extracts from Simon’s angry book of drug addled memories, and Libby’s inquisitive search for the truth about Matt which carries all of the present day events and is the focus for the reader as the plot unwinds. On the whole Matt’s sections work best – convincing emotions and authoritative descriptions of the crazy world he lives in; Simon’s also work well, regretful but also cathartic; Libby’s actions are more than usually erratic. It is a common feature of thrillers that the hero(ine) has to venture where logic says they shouldn’t but she seems to be acting out of character. The denouement sequences are quite suspenseful, but I think they would have taken much longer in reality than the elapsed time allowed in the story. So an entertaining and easy read, without too much thinking required.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I think there's a lot of potential and I found the part set in 90s quite entertaining, the style of writing is quite good.
Unfortunately I didn't care for the mystery and the part set in our time seemed a bit confused.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

If you remember 1990s boy bands with fondness, don’t miss The Wedding Murders.

Secrets abound at the present-day wedding of a member of a 90s boy band. At its heart is the mystery of why the band broke up so many years ago. Then, the killings begin.

The Wedding Murders is a fun romp and a quick read. I particularly enjoyed the exciting conclusion. 4 stars!

Thanks to One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

A celebrity wedding in the 90s involving a cast of exquisitely drawn characters with lots of undisclosed secrets, undigested grudges,
superficial personalities
and some murderous shenanigans thrown in to thicken the plot....
A "nothing to write home about " thriller that slowly comes to an exciting finale, a highly entertaining but quickly forgotten read.

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for this fun ARC

This book is unpetdownable! I really wanted to see how the past and present combined and what secrets were being hidden. A little more revealed in every chapter and excerpts from Simon’s reveal all memoir. Definitely perfect for those who want a page turner where their jaw may just drop when they get to the end!

Perfect read for a wet and windy weekend and finished in record time as I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.

Set over a dual timeline this is the story of how events in the past can come back to haunt you. Libby and Matthew seem very happy and when he invites her to a wedding of a friend that he was in a successful band with in the 1990’s she is happy to go. In present day Matthew is a successful businessman and as Libby is younger than him she cannot remember him as part of the once famous group. At the hotel on the Eve of the wedding the band mates meet and tensions are high, making Libby wonder how and why things went so wrong. Back in the 90’s we see the tale unfold as mostly told by Matthew. His unrequited love for band mate Alex, their spiral into excess and her eventual death, which led to the band splitting up. Well that is the official story anyway.

Back in present day and Simon has decided to sell the story of the band, including the parts the others definitely want to forget. Then the murders start.

This is a great and fast paced book with good characters and a different and idea using the band and their global success to chart the direction of the story. I enjoyed the titbits that were dropped with each chapter and although I felt the ending was a little rushed I thought it was a good thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and will be recommending.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book more than I can say versus some of the other (not so)thrilling thrillers. I like the POV between Matt (then) and Libby (now) and the boy band subplot. Numerous people at this wedding have secrets, such as the real reason the boy band broke up. None of the members are talking about it. Who is really behind the disappearances and murder at the wedding?

I liked that this book kept me guessing and the ending (even though abrupt) was different than I thought it was going to be. Glad this was not predictable like some of the other thrillers I have been reading recently; which is always positive.

Definitely recommend this one and I am getting this at publishing date!

Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Linley and Harper Collins UK 1 More Chapter for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 2/11/22

First of all, I did not hate this book. I just didn't think it was well-written. And the ending was a bit abrupt. The mystery didn't really make sense to me. And the culprits are a bit ridiculous. Libby and Matt are invited to the wedding of Daniel and Vicky. It's a bit of a celebrity wedding because Daniel seems to be a sort-of British Ryan Seascrest. He and Matt were also in a band together in the 90s that had been quite a success. Until something mysterious happened and they all broke up.
I did like the way it went from Libby in the present day, explaining what was going on at the wedding to Matt in the 90s talking about the band's success (and excess) and Simon's unpublished memoir.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc.*

I loved this story of fame and secrets and a celebrity wedding that everyone wants an invite to. This is a dark story about a long buried secret and when people at the wedding start to go missing the truth looks like it’s about to come out.

I enjoyed this as an escapist read that deals with overpaid and overhyped celebrities and their desire for fame and status. The story is mostly narrated by Libby who is invited to a wedding with her boyfriend Matthew. The groom, Daniel is Matthew's bandmate. When the chief bridesmaid goes missing it's clear that there are lots of secrets to uncover and this wedding isn't going to go to plan. Easy read fun.

I received an E-ARC copy of ‘The Wedding Murders’ by Sarah Linley through a NetGalley widget from the publisher One More Chapter. The expected Publishing date is 11.02.22.

This book follows Libby, a journalist who is invited to a wedding as the partner of ex-popstar Matthew.

Matthew hasn’t seen his band mates in a long time, but on the first evening tensions start to show, as it is revealed that Simon has written a memoir which will expose a shocking secret.

It is the morning of the wedding and Libby takes a morning jog awkwardly bumping into one of the bridesmaids. On her return to the hotel, she hears a gun shot. Is she being paranoid, or has something devastating happened to the bridesmaid?

The journalist in Libby starts to investigate to try and find out where the missing bridesmaid has gone and to discover the secret the ex-band members are so keen to keep hidden.

Will she find out the secret before anyone else gets hurt?

This book is split between Libby at the wedding, the band’s journey, and Simon’s memoir. This gives a few different sides, and slowly leads up to the big reveal.

I enjoyed reading and it kept me guessing until the end, I didn’t know who could be trusted.

I did feel for Libby as she was put in an awkward situation, not only did she not know anyone but Matthew, but she was made to feel as if she was being paranoid. At least she followed her gut instinct and investigated even after being warned.

Overall, a slow building mystery exposing the secrets of a nineties pop band.

I really enjoyed this split narrative structure, learning about the characters through their past and present situations. It was wrapped up a little neatly and swiftly to be tense, but was a zippy read.

The wedding murders does what it says on the tin! A story of a journalist and the remaining members of a 90s band all find themselves at a wedding where murder is definitely the theme!

Told via dual timelines and through extracts from a yet to be published memoir, the book slowly uncovers the truth about the past, as well as revealing the murderer.

Good characters and a fast pace, the book definitely kept my interest and was a quick read.

I mainly really enjoyed this. List one point for a few bits of lazy writing. I’m sure it could’ have been just me but some bits were pretty trite and unbelievable even for fiction. But in the main I liked the back and forward story. 4/5.

The Wedding Murders is a fast paced , well plotted and suspenseful read.

This wedding is like no other wedding.

Thankfully.

The book is told from past and present, along with memoirs .

There are hidden secrets, dark ones at that and twists and turns.

Characters I loved to hiss at and those I loved.

What is happening to the guests at this wedding and why are they not running for their lives.

The pages turn very quickly, the lights stay on as you race to see who did it .

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for a great read.

The title ‘The Wedding Murders’ leaves absolutely no doubt of what this thriller will be about. The setting is a beautiful manor house where local newspaper journalist Libby and her boyfriend Matthew attend the wedding of Daniel, lead singer of Matthew’s former band. Constructed along a dual timeline, the novel switches between Libby’s recollections of the wedding and a bandmate’s memoirs of the late 1990s. The setting is an elegant manor house in the Yorkshire Dales, but any enjoyment that the characters could derive from such a beautiful setting is spoilt by their lack of human connections : the various band members have not seen each other for many years; and Matthew is quite obviously keeping secrets from Libby. When the chief bridesmaid disappears, Libby tries to investigate, although many of the conclusion she draws appear to lead nowhere. Occasionally, there is a little too much deliberation from Libby and the ending is delivered a bit too fast, but on the whole, this is a readable, fresh contemporary twist of the popular ‘whodunnit’ genre. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC I received in exchange for this honest and unbiased review.

The Wedding Murders by Sarah Linley is a quick and fun read! You’re going to enjoy this book especially if you enjoy closed settings with a cast of possible suspects, one of my very favorite trips in literature!

Go into this one not knowing how its going to unfold. Here is all you need to know:

A celebrity wedding in a grand manor house in the beautiful English countryside.

But then one guest goes missing.

And another almost dies.

Someone at this wedding will do anything to stop their dark secrets from being exposed.

You might not live to tell the tale…

You can read this book in a day or a weekend, depending on your reading speed! A solid suspense and a duel timeline with enough twists and turns to keep things interesting.

Out on 2/11