Carrie and Oliver are excited about their upcoming wedding and decide to plan a joint bachelor/bachelorette party at Stanley House, known to be haunted and where Stephen King wrote The Shining.

Lana, who works with Carrie, brings along her friend, Andi Castle. Andi is an FBI Agent who recently caught a serial killer and is in desperate need of some downtime.

The morning after the party, the groom to be is found dead in his room, and the bride to be is found hiding, nearly nude and covered in his blood.

Let the investigation begin. Andi is leading the investigation and enlists the help of others, including her dad who loves to go rogue. The banter between her and her dad was fun!

Lots of secrets, lies and twists and much that I didn't see coming.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun and quick mystery read that kept me guessing until the end and I enjoyed that final twist as well. It is told in multiple povs which I also enjoyed, I haven’t encountered that too much in murder mystery novels. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good mystery whodunit. Thank you so much to both Net Galley and Nerdy Girls collective for the ARC of this novel.

This book was an absolute page turner! I read it on Kindle so about 25% the book had me wanting to just keep reading until the end! There were so many turns and twists that it kept me engaged and I just couldn’t put it down! I love L.R. Jones and this book did not disappoint!!!

The Wedding Party by L. R. Jones is so full of intrigue!
This story had me on the edge of my seat and as the story went on things happened and the quicker I flipped.
There are a lot of twists and turns that left me guessing.
This brilliantly written thriller will keep you well and truly hooked.
The writing was very descriptive and I felt as if I was a part of the story.
There was not a dull moment, and I had to keep reading because I needed to know how it was going to end.
The Wedding Party by L. R. Jones is an entertaining book with characters who veer towards one-dimensional and a great ending.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The Wedding Party is an elaborate head scratcher of a mind game, full of smoke and mirrors that I was completely addicted to from the beginning. All the small details were pivotal to the truth and I loved getting to use my detective skills when it came to figuring out what the connection between these characters would be at the conclusion of this book and WOW, what a surprise it was!

I’m here to say that every puzzling moment is well worth the extraordinary conclusion. But that’s what I’ve come to both expect and need from this author.

“but the biggest rule of detective work is never assume.”

Just weeks before Carrie and Oliver’s big Wedding day, their wedding party and some friends and family are gathered at Colorado’s legendary Stanley Hotel to celebrate the bride to be and her fiancé with a bachelorette and bachelor party. But when they awake to a murder…no one is above suspicion. But will the FBI agent find the answer fast enough? Hold on to your seat it’s a wild and crazy ride!

This was such an incredibly intricate, thrilling story. I had no clue where the story was going to take me, but I was in for the ride!! And gah, the anticipation of what was to come with each chapter just hooked me into the story more and more. This book was a perfectly thrilling tale you do not want to miss!!

I received an early copy and this is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ARC of this book. I love a mystery thriller that keeps you guessing, thinking and trying to figure everything and every one out. It did keep me reading to the end.

At times the secrets and story are presented in a circular fashion, bringing the reader round and round, I believe this is intentional by the author to create that mystery thriller vibe. I enjoyed the main character and could see her in a series of books, which I would read to see what happens next.

Rated 3.5 ⭐️

Carrie and Oliver are heading to the alter. Before they get there, they celebrate their upcoming nuptials with a joint bachelor / bachelorette party at a haunted hotel. It's not only the historic ghosts that have people on their toes, especially when the Groom ends up murdered. Good thing FBI Agent Andi Castle attended the event, she starts her investigation right away.

This was a whodunit that will leave you trying to figure it out until the last chapters. Everyone has secrets and not willing to come clean right away. It's an alright storyline, but not my favorite. I really enjoyed Agent Andi Castle and could see her as a main character in a series.

Thank you to Netgalley, L. R. Jones, and the publishers for this free ebook. This review is 100% my own and honest opinion.

Should have DNF'd.

I think this book really suffered from a lack of editing. So much of the dialogue felt like those memes that say, "I forced a bot to watch 1,000 hours of [insert crime tv show]..." all very forced and cliché. Also the main character's whole personality was essentially that they were an FBI agent and their dad had a bad reputation.

So many unnecessary details were introduced throughout the book without any real payoff, not the least of which was the setting for the book, The Stanley Hotel from The Shining. This felt like pandering to a potential built-in audience, especially given the fact there was nothing paranormal about the story nor was it of any real importance to the plot. A generic, fictional hotel would have felt much less out of place here.

Carrie and Oliver are seemingly the perfect couple, counting down the days until they become husband and wife. That is, until Oliver is found dead on their joint bachelor-bachelorette weekend at the infamous Stanley Hotel. Thankfully, FBI agent Andi Castle accepted her friend's invitation to the getaway and is on hand to bring the killer to justice.

3.5 Stars

What I liked...
I didn't see the double twist at the end when the killer was revealed, and I always enjoy being surprised! The short, snappy chapters kept me turning the page for "Just one more". There are some fun little nods to the history of the hotel e.g. the character being named Carrie like Stephen King's famous protagonist. That being said, I thought the location would play a more important part in the story.

What I disliked...
The pacing was off for me. It seemed to take ages for the main event (Oliver's death) to actually happen. There was also an unnecessary amount of reference to Andi's renegade ex-cop father. I'm not sure if the author was trying to give an otherwise unimpressive character an edge of sorts, but it really began to grate on me.

Overall, an "okay" read that probably could do with more time with an editor. There's so much potential but it just fell a little short for me, Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC opportunity
.

I loved this book! Unexpected twist was fantastic. Another great book! Can’t wait for your next book!

I wanted to like this but it could really have used some editing which is a phrase I rarely use as someone who could use an editor. The writing was pretty pedantic and there were many inconsistencies from page to page - at one point a character said she owned a gun and two paragraphs later she said she didn't. The MC's career was constantly brought up to the point of nauseum. The overall mystery was good but ultimately I stopped caring who did it and just wanted the book to end.

A digital copy of this book was provided to me by L R Jones. The opinions are my own and freely given.

Oliver and Carrie are set to get married. They have a double bachelor/bachelorette party in a haunted hotel. Andi Castle, FBI agent currently on leave was invited by one of the party guests. But in the early hours of the morning, she is awoken with the news that the groom is dead, and the bride is missing, Andi jumps back into action.

This book had a lot of who did it, who's guilty and what is going on? (Not in a confusing way at all). I enjoyed this story. There wasn't that big AHA moment, because I sort of thought I knew what was going on, but it still kept me reading to the end.

This review is live on goodreads, the librarything and storygraph.
It will be posted on Instagram @kuhlread on 2/19/24

3.5⭐️ rounded up
Carrie and Oliver are due to get married, and they decide to host a joint bachelor/bachelorette party at the infamous Stanley Hotel. The men and women split into two separate parties at some point during the night. Soon, Oliver is found stabbed to death in his bedroom. After being invited as a plus one by a friend of the bride, FBI agent Andi Castle finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.

I found this one a little slow and, at times, pretty repetitive. I felt like the story kept going round and round in circles before things finally started to happen. I thought the ending, and the big reveal were a bit rushed. Almost as if the author had been coming to the end of writing and suddenly remembered that the case still needed to be solved.
However, having said all of that, I didn't love the book, but I certainly didn't hate it. And if this becomes a series, I wouldn't be opposed to reading the next book.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and LR Jones for providing me a free copy of this book.

Overall, I really wanted to like The Wedding Party. It’s got everything, a locked room mystery, an FBI profiler and a dead groom to be. But that’s all it had for me. The cons definitely outweighed the pros.

The pacing was really off, it was quite slow until the last 20% when suddenly everything happened. The main character, Andi, drones on and on about her father, but it’s the same thing over and over. It add to the story at all. And don’t get me started on the loose ends. There’s so many things that don’t get tied up and so many unrealistic coincidences that it really took me out of the story.

My first book by this author and it was wonderful. It was well written and definitely made you want to keep reading!!

This was fine, I am a thriller lover through and through so every trope and story premise has been done for me but sometimes I love to read a new author incase they have a new take on the genre.

This one was just a normal, not really gripping thriller which I read but didnt really have many thoughts or love for any of the characters.

I would still pick up from this author in future

3 stars

🚫 DNF 11% (the wedding still hasn't started)

I tried giving it a chance I really did I pushed through to reach at least 15% or the get to the wedding but none of the 3 POVs we've had so far are interesting the characters feel like shells of clichés for a murder mystery.

the conversations are kind of pointless and their behavior is so weird?? like the first woman who suspects her husband of cheating after he lies to her face and she just lets him distract her with sex?? she's aware of it but doesn't think about it more??? wtf? making the dumbest woman ever the first POV we get is not really enticing for the rest of the book.

unfortunately I couldn't go further than that it would just be a hate read

[review posted on goodreads]

This book was a fun twisty thriller, that made you think you had it all figured out when you probably didn’t! It was hard to put this one down. Would recommend.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

It's Always The Spouse...Or Is It?

Andi Castle is on leave following her latest case as an FBI profiler when her old college friend Lana invites her along to a bachelor/bachelorette party for her coworker Carrie Reynolds in Estes Park. In an attempt to further distance herself from her work, Andi agrees.
At first things go relatively smoothly, though many guests are eager to ask Andi questions about her recent high-profile cade involving a serial killer dubbed The Spider Man, but things take a turn when someone is killed at the party.
As Andi steps in to lead the small police force available in Estes Park, all the bridesmaids and groomsmen are questioned and backstories are revealed for party guests as well as Carrie and her groom-to-be Oliver Phoenix.
While the plot of this story and the genuinely complex mystery of this story were quite intriguing and had me scrambling to pick out who my top suspect choice would be, I'll admit that this story does get rather detailed beyond what the story requires. Backstories and detailed events are handy when questioning potential murder suspects but I also found myself wondering why even some characters that aren't directly involved in the mystery were given extensive story time, such as Andi's father Eddie Castle. Be prepared to beat over the head about Eddie's infamous history for violence during his career in law enforcement. You'll also be given a practical play by play of every meal Carrie and Andi eat for days both before but especially after the murder takes place.
Overall, the mystery is definitely an interesting one but you may need to trudge through a bit more detail than necessary to get to final reveal.