CARRIE and OLIVER are engaged to be married. As their wedding day draws near, they gather their bridal party at the same luxurious hotel where Stephen King wrote 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜. But then everything goes wrong! Someone is murdered, someone else becomes a suspect, and dreams are shattered.

ANDI, is an FBI agent who happens to be at the event as a plus one for one of her friends. Luckily, she doesn’t know how to pack without including her gun, badge, and a crime scene kit! She agrees to question hotel guests. However, it soon becomes clear that there are quite a few secrets!

This mystery kept me guessing and thoroughly engaged to the end, and the conclusion caught me by surprise (always a plus). However, I was puzzled by some of the writing. Andi starts out as a hesitant but fun guest at a bridal party; then she changes to a stereotypical police detective, with coarse behavior that didn’t quite match the character we first met. There were also constant, unnecessary (I felt) references to Andi’s father. But, the author provides lots of red herrings guaranteed to keep keep the reader guessing, and I liked that! I LOVE talking about books and I think this book would provide a fun read for a book club. There are interesting characters, solid motives, and lots of discussion points!

Thank you @LisaReneeJones @KateRockBookTours & @amazonpublishing for my complimentary eBook. My thoughts are my own.

This was rather disappointing. There were inaccuracies and errors in descriptions (an orange shirt became a red shirt etc). Much of the language was inappropriate and needed to be reworded (calling a woman a bimbo, talking about a woman having “pudding pads”, referring to a divorced woman as her life being over). And this all happened within the very beginning of the book. I couldn’t go on. Maybe if it gets edited (highly edited) I could give it another chance but I had to dnf.

My thanks to Thomas and Mercer, L.R. Jones and Netgalley.
Calling time of death @ 10:18 a.m. on December 27th, 2023. I managed to get to 45% then couldn't do it anymore. The feeb "F.B.I. and her Columbo routine was too much. Repetitive and mostly just ignorant writing. This is not an author that I would ever waste a minute on. Awful.

A bachelor/bachelorette celebration at a haunted hotel gone wrong.

The combined celebration turns into the murder of the groom-to-be.

But where is the bride-to-be?

She was found in the attic covered in blood.

Did she witness it all and become so scared she ran away - she's too sweet and probably couldn't handle it when she saw him.

Luckily an FBI agent was on the scene to start the investigation.

We follow the investigation as clues pop up, but the biggest mystery may be the box that was delivered to the groom-to-be before the party.

What was in that box?

Was that a hint of things to happen?

Was it the reason the groom-to-be was murdered?

THE WEDDING PARTY will have you blaming every guest and every person at the hotel except the bride-to-be, even though she was the main suspect….the spouse is always the first to be looked at.

Was the sweet bride-to-be the one who murdered her beloved fiancee or was she set up?

Find out who the killer is in this thriller that will keep you turning the pages.

It's a good one. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own

I enjoyed this and found it to be entertaining, but I don't know that this one will stick with me very long.

I love a good wedding thriller/mystery story, but this just felt sort of "already-done" to me.

This is a fun whodunnit set during a combo bachelor/bachelorette party at the Stanley Hotel. 👻 Before you get too excited my fellow spooky book lovers, there’s no ghosts involved! 🤪

But we do have quite a few unreliable characters! I did like the Andi character - I could definitely see a series based on that character! ❤️ What I didn’t like was how incredibly rushed the final twist/revelation was. I would explain that further but then we get into spoiler territory! 🙅🏼‍♀️

I’d still recommend it though for a fun little whodunnit read! 🤓

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was approached by the author on Instagram to read and review this book. This book was a very quick read even for me, and I am a slow reader. The pacing was good for the most part, with only a few sections that dragged. There was some fun humor and I liked the story. However, this book was VERY repetitive. The author mentioned Andi’s job as an FBI agent, Carrie’s job as a nurse, and Lana’s divorce so many times that it got very grating. The dialogue was not very realistic or natural at all. And this book contained a lot of different professionals including FBI agents, detectives, doctors, lawyers, and psychiatrists, and clearly the author did not do enough research on actual legal protocol because none of these professionals acted in any sort of realistic way whatsoever, and that was very distracting. This story had a lot of potential and was actually pretty compelling, but more editing and more research should have gone into this book. Thank you to L.R. Jones, Thomas & Mercer, and Netgalley for the complimentary Advance Copy of this book on exchange for my honest feedback!

This story had my mind bouncing around trying to figure it out and know what was happening L.R Jones did a fantastic job keeping you guessing the entire time and just when you think you have it figured out you are thrown loops to make you second guess what you thought. The multi P.O,V change was also great because it also had you thinking you knew those characters since you saw their thoughts but were even their thoughts truthful? I loved the characters, I loved the ending and can see myself re-reading it.

While i enjoyed the overall premise of this book and the writing was good, I found that it dragged and I kept putting the book down and picking it back up. For me at times there was so much going on with so many different people it was hard to keep it all straight. I personally would have enjoyed if some of the middle parts had been cut and there was a bit more at the end. I was shocked and then felt like the story ended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC to review.

The Wedding Party is a suspenseful thriller that keeps you guessing and turning the pages. I loved FBI Agent Andi Castle and hope for more books featuring her. Twist at the end I didn't expect. Enjoyed this story!

I loved the story, the setting, and the unreliability of the characters. My biggest negative was the writing. There were plot holes, and the character descriptions and personalities weren’t well fleshed out.

A combo bachelor/bachelorette party at the Stanley hotel, where Stephen King wrote The Shining, ends in a murder. I loved the idea of this hotel for a murder mystery. I wish it would’ve played more with the ghost aspect, but it did add a creepy factor to the plot.

Overall I recommend this for a fun, popcorn thriller. It’s far from perfect but still a good time.

3.5 stars

This had a lot of potential, but kind of missed the follow through.

A bachelor/bachelorette party held in a haunted hotel... and a murder. This should have been right up my alley, but I just couldn't make myself get invested.

I majorly disliked the groom, the way he spoke to his fiancee was awful in some parts. The way characters talked about things like divorce, desperation at being single, and body image were really off-putting. And that was all before we even got to the murder investigation.

I received this Arc via Netgalley, these are my thoughts

The Wedding Party follows Special Agent Andrea 'Andi' Castle as she tries to take a weekend off after catching a notorious serial killer. Andi is invited to a joint bachelor/bachelorette party by her friend, Lana, who is a coworker of the bride. At the same time, you also get the POV of the bride-to-be, Carrie. Unfortunately for all involved, the weekend doesn't go as planned, with the groom being murdered and the bride missing.

The premise was really good, and really had so much potential. I kept reading because the premise was so well done. Unfortunately, the story itself was inconsistent and lacking.

A couple examples of inconsistency:
1. Andi and Lana have drinks and lunch when Lana is trying to convince Andi to come to the party. They order drinks and the drinks are dropped off by the waiter at the table. Three paragraphs later, the same drinks are again being delivered, and this time handed directly to each woman.
2. When Andi is questioning Natalie, the groom's sister, she asks her if the groom owned a knife and then a gun. She says yes, that he owned a gun and that SHE does too. Very specifically, for protection. Maybe a page later, Andi asks another questions referencing weapons and Natalie yells "and before you ask, NO, I don't own a gun." DESPITE literally saying the exact opposite a page prior. Andi, supposed FBI extraordinaire, does not flag this in any way, shape, or form. It's just an inconsistency with the book itself.

I was also disappointed with the way women were portrayed in this book. Andi was emotionally unavailable, morally/legally grey, and self-deprecating. Carrie was a sociopath. Lana was a weird mix of sex positive and desperate. Natalie was unstable. Both mothers had deep, severe emotional issues. The lawyer, goodness gracious. Every single woman was a caricature of bad female stereotypes.

Also, I felt it missed an really good opportunity to explore nature vs. nurture with Oliver and Carrie both being adopted and who their birth parents/adopted parents were. This could have been really really good.

2.75 Stars

This is one wedding party I would not want to be at, although the venue would be interesting. This was a fast paced, page turner, with short chapters that left you needing more. I couldn’t help but keep reading into the night.

A joint bachelor/ bachelorette party at the infamous Stanley House. A haunted house and also where Stephen King wrote The Shining. FBI agent Andi Castle has just solved a major case and agrees to be a plus one just to get away. But it seems that murder follows her, as the morning after the big party, the from to be is found dead, and the bride to be is covered in his blood.

I loved the character of Andi, and her father, the rouge police officer. Their banter and humour gave the story a great twist.

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on February 20th

Thank you NetGalley and L.R Jones for the opportunity to ARC read The Wedding Party.

I was instantly hooked into this story. I love a modern day murder mystery, especially when there is a wedding involved (don't ask why, I don't know why). I enjoyed the setting in the Haunted Hotel for an extra spooky vibe and overall I had a really good time reading this.

I spent the entire time jotting down theory's, and although I didn't guess exactly what happened, I did guess who the killer was but also didn't find it TOO obvious. I will say the twist overall was a tad underwhelming, but the author did a great job at giving lots of red herrings in order to keep you guessing and theorizing.

The writing style was a bit repetitive and the dialogue was a tad cheesy, but those aren't factors that usually affect my enjoyment too much, and I had a really good time reading this story overall! I would recommend it to thriller lovers, and especially to people newly into the genre, as it's an easy read and an easy book to make theories about, which is a huge part of the fun. Overall I give this book 3.5 stars!

The Wedding Party by L. R. Jones
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When Oliver and Carrie are set to be married, they go all out and take all of their closest friends and wedding party to the Stanley Hotel (The Shining) for a combo bachelorette/bachelor party. When the groom turns up brutally murdered, the investigation begins.
A fun little psychological thriller that will have you wanting to read straight through to the end.

OK, the twists and turns in this? Definitely had me on the edge of my seat! It makes me never want to go on a bachelorette trip again, yet simultaneously would kill to be on this one. Ha! OK, not quite. But the characters were likable, and I was hooked after each chapter! There were parts that did feel a bit jumbled, and too fast paced? Left me wanting more. But overall, the plot definitely had me hooked!

Wow! This was a twisty, fun read. It was a book where I thought I had it all figured out and then there was another twist that sent me back to guessing. I enjoyed the short chapters, felt like the book flew by and I would finish a chapter and think "just one more, they are short." The dual point of view told the story from both main characters perspectives. and really enhanced the story.

Carrie and Oliver seem like the perfect couple, they are about to be married and are hosting a joint bachelor/bachelorette part at the historic and haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Co. But Oliver has seemed off and secretive since receiving a box wrapped with a red ribbon. Carrie is determined to figure out what was in the box and who sent it to him. Andi Castle does not know Carrie and Oliver but is attending the party as the plus one of a school friend that has just moved back to Colorado. Andi is an FBI agent that is looking forward to getting away and not working. Unfortunately Andi ends up on a case she never expected, the death of Oliver. What happened? And why is Carrie covered in blood and hiding? The more questions Andi asks the more complicated things become. What happened? How killed Oliver? What is the connection to the box?

First of all thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity for read this arc!

The concept of the book had a lot of potential but it was poorly executed. The characters were not very relatable or likable. The book was very repetitive and took a while to get anywhere halfway entertaining.

The book was kind of all over the place and contradicted itself several times. Unfortunately it was sloppy and boring in several parts. I read it pretty quickly just because I wanted to get to the end and move on.

Thank you to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read The Wedding Party by L. R. Jones. I've been craving a thriller and this book satisfied . that craving. The twist and turns were beautifully done.