Ellery is in the middle of a divorce from her husband of 20 years. She decides to take a trip to a very high-end resort in Big Sur, California that was supposed to be an anniversary getaway (rather than let her soon-to-be-ex husband enjoy the trip with his new partner). When she arrives, she discovers that a wedding is taking place at the resort that weekend and there are lots of wedding festivities going on around the property. One morning a storm rolls in and Ellery decides to take a dip in the heated infinity pool, where she unexpectedly comes across a body - the grooms body, to be exact - still dressed in his wedding tux. Unfortunately, the groom is dead and the storm has caused a huge landslide that has cut the resort off from all outside help, power, internet, and phone communication. As the days go one, Ellery and a couple of the resort guests become detectives, trying to investige the death of the groom (and a few other unexplained deaths and mysterious happenings).

This set up really caught my interest and it started off really strong - rich people, secluded resort, trapped with no way in or out, bodies piling up. It all sounded so good. But after the initial set up, it became a little muddled with so much going on - too many characters (some with similar names), too many side stories that were irrelevant, too much going on that I found myself skimming to get on with the story.

I assumed from the blurb that this was a thriller, but it was more like a cozy mystery instead of an action packed thriller. Overall it was enjoyable and if you like Agatha Christie or locked room style mysteries then you will enjoy this one.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Fun and unique. With a unique premise centered around a world where weddings are banned, the story follows two protagonists as they navigate their paths in search of authenticity and personal choice.

Just finished reading this book. I enjoyed the premise of it. A woman, newly divorced, going by herself to a resort that had been booked for a wedding anniversary probably months in advance. Not because she wants to, but because she will be damned if her ex takes his new girlfriend there instead. She discovers that a wedding is being planned to take place while she is there. However, this all changes when she discovers the groom's body in the pool one morning. She and several new friends are stranded at the resort when an extreme storm causes landslides and they are stuck at the resort for several days. During this time there is another murder, and so they all investigate. During this time, Ellery learns a lot about her life and herself and her friends really have her back as she explores the possibilities of life without her husband.

As I said, I liked the story, but it just seemed to take forever to get through it. Thanks for the chance to read it.

This was such a delight to read! I love her writing, and I was excited to see what her adult debut would be like. I had such a great time with this mystery, of a new divorcée going on a trip that they both were supposed to take, on their wedding anniversary, when a wedding that was supposed to take place falls through, and finding the body of the groom the next morning? Yeah, that was such an interesting set up!

Ellery is mourning the death of the life she thought she was going to live, with the divorce her husband wanted, and now that the first wedding anniversary since the divorce is upon her, well, this vacation that they were supposed to go on seemed like a good idea. But that was before the deaths, and before the mudslide, trapping them at the resort.

For some reason, I kept thinking that Ellery's accident that she kept thinking about, was going to connect to the accident that killed Ben's parents. Not how it turned out, but that was just my thought of why it kept popping up, besides the trauma that it caused her.

This cast of characters was pretty fantastic, I really enjoyed Nina and Ravi, they had an interesting dynamic and were so much fun to read about, watching as the 3 of them investigated what was going on. That it's a version of a locked room mystery, and all these pieces of information, from who was at the resort to details about the art and which one was stolen, I loved it! And that ending with that lightbulb moment, was brilliant! It was a thrilling end to the story!

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Allie Condie!

"A recent divorcee's exclusive Big Sur resort vacation unravels when she discovers a dead body on the day of a wedding." - from Goodreads.

I picked this one up because I was intrigued by the premise and am always excited about thrillers where there is an isolation element to them. I've said this before but give me all of the suspenseful reads with storms and isolated settings. It's my favorite! What made this book different from other similar reads is that Ellery is still dealing with her feelings on her recent divorce. She is struggling with it and trying to come to terms with the loss of the life that she had been living. This made her feel that much more real to me - I cared about her and everything that she had gone through. The mystery itself was solid and kept me guessing the entire time. I loved how because the mudslide had cut off the resort that added an extra layer of tension. And then there was this little bit of mystery about something that had happened in Ellery's past that was hinted at throughout the book that also added a bit more suspense. It all combined into one very soli read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Also, I legitimately teared up at one point during the end which I wasn't expecting at all.

Readers looking for a suspenseful mystery to get lost in should give this book a try. I'm really excited to see what this author comes up with next. 4.5 stars overall.

Ellery books a trip to a luxury resort for her and her husband's 20th anniversary but shortly after he asks for a divorce. She decides to stay at the resort by herself. She's having a hard time grieving her marriage and she misses her children, who are staying with their father. A wedding is taking place the same weekend as Ellery's stay. Just before the wedding, the groom calls off the wedding and the next morning Ellery finds him dead in the pool. Combined with a mudslide that leaves everyone trapped at the resort, the guests and staff are wondering if his death was accidental or if it was a murder. Not only was this a good mystery, I liked the friendships Ellery made during her stay.

I enjoyed this. The author didn't follow through with some of the threads, but it's a fun story with great atmosphere. We have our main character Ellery who's only at the resort in Big Sur because her husband breaks up with her right before their anniversary. There's a wedding on the island and Ellery is the one to find the groom.
A big storm wipes out the roads so everyone is stuck on the resort with a killer, which is one of my favorite kinds of setups. Who can you trust? Who's safe from the killer?
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Unclear on why this was picked for Reese’s bookclub. Despite a promising setup, the story was boring and slow, the main character had zero personality, and I had to force myself to finish it - even listening to the audio on 2.5x speed it dragged. I generally like to give second chances, but I don’t know that I’d read another book by this author.

Ally Condie’s adult debut, The Unwedding, sets a classic locked-room mystery against the picturesque backdrop of Big Sur. Ellery Wainwright, recently divorced and alone, goes to the luxurious Resort at Broken Point for what would have been her 20th wedding anniversary. Instead of peace, she finds chaos: she finds the groom at a wedding held there dead in the pool, and a sudden storm traps the guests with no hope of rescue. As bodies pile up, Ellery and two other guests, Ravi and Nina, step into the unlikely roles of amateur detectives.

While the setup is promising, the execution falls flat. The characters, including Ellery, don’t leave a lasting impact, making it hard to care about their fates. The calm reactions to the murders stretch believability, and the idea of vacationers stepping into detective roles feels implausible. Despite moments of intrigue and the unique addition of art throughout the resort, the story struggles with uneven character development and a resolution that doesn’t satisfy.

Condie’s exploration of grief and resilience adds some depth, but it’s overshadowed by plot issues and shallow characterization. For readers craving a stormy escape with a touch of mystery, The Unwedding might suffice, but it’s not the standout it could have been. A generous 3 stars.

** Thanks to the publisher for a comp in exchange for an honest review. The opinions are my own.

This author has a great fan base for her young adult series, so I was excited to read this adult thriller. The premise of The Unwedding is exactly what I love in a thriller--locked room, remote setting, and a murder to be solved. There is a strong sense of setting, and good character development with Ellery. Unfortunately, there were a lot of sideline stories that pulled from the main plot, which ended up leaving me more confused than intrigued. I will definitely read her next adult novel, but this one did not live up to the hype.

The Unwedding by Ally Condie was a mystery that revolved around guests at a remote luxury resort (many of whom were there for a wedding) who end up trapped due to a mudslide. While the guests are there, two people end up dead and one missing.

I liked the mystery premise, but there were a lot of characters to follow and the reader didn’t have enough information to get close to figuring things out (which is somewhat frustrating in this type of book). Overall, a quick read that would make a great movie or tv series!

“Something old, something new, something borrowed , something blue, someone lost, someone we’d, someone broke, someone dead!”

Exotic location ✅
Dead body ✅
So many possible suspects ✅
Locked room trope ✅
Funny and quirky characters ✅
Short chapters ✅
Fast paced ✅

I was excited to read this story about a women named Ellery, who goes on vacation to Big Sur in California, that was supposed to be her 20th wedding Anniversary trip, in spite of an impending divorce. She went at the request of her best friend by herself. Knowing she needed this solo trip to find herself again, but instead she finds a dead guy floating in the resort pool on her first day!

Ellery spends the rest of her time on this trip trying to figure out who killed the groom before anyone else dies. Does she succeed? You’ll have to read to find out.

With no shortage of quirky characters, some seemingly shady and some well, you just can’t be sure of. Ellery is not your typical murder sleuth. She’s a history teacher, but she’s good at listening and because she’s not part of the wedding party or a guest, she’s able to see things from a different perspective.

Also, something bad happened in Ellery’s past that is haunting her.

I loved the characters, although I wish the author had gone a little deeper into their backgrounds. I felt it kept me interested all the way through, short chapters were great, although the middle seemed to drag on just a bit for me, but the end of the story wrapped up nicely.

This is my first book by Allie Cindi, but I look forward to reading much more from her!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central publishing for this opportunity to read and review.
#theunwedding

Ally Condie's first adult novel had a pretty successful debut. if you liked the Glass Onion, you may be a fan of this whodunnit thriller. A divorcee's vacation fall apart when she finds a dead body in the pool. This happens to be at the scene of a wedding happening at the resort. What should be a couple's happy day quickly falls apart when it's discovered that it's the groom's corpse in the pool. When the police try to get to the resort, a mudslide leaves all of the guests and residents of the resort stranded. With a killer among them, another guest dies and everyone races to figure out who is murdering these people. It's easier said than done when everyone is hiding something.

Thank you to Grand Central and Netgalley for this gifted copy. I wanted more from this book. I was hoping for a great thriller, but it ended up being a really slow-paced whodunnit. I didn’t feel really connected to any of the characters and found that their back stories ended up being irrelevant to the plot. It was an easy read and well-written, just not really for me.

Although this was published in the summer, this would also make for a perfect fall read - a woman escaping the end of her marriage by going to a resort happens upon a murder at a wedding. Lots of twists and turns and I could not put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

I loved the premise and start of this thriller but it fell a little flat for me. I did love Condie's writing and will read whatever she writes next - the way she started each chapter was a really nice touch! - but the mystery got too convoluted and I could see the twists coming by the end.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the copy to review.

"The Unwedding" is a murder mystery with a very of-the-moment setting—a beautiful resort in Big Sur, patronized by the wealthy—but the feel of a classic cozy mystery. When Ellery goes on her twentieth anniversary trip alone, thanks to a recent divorce from her husband Luke, she's just trying to get through a couple days. What happens next is straight out of Agatha Christie—a wedding is mysteriously called off, Ellery finds the would-be groom's body floating in the pool, and a massive storm traps all the guests into the luxury resort for the foreseeable future. The resolution of the mystery comes suddenly at the the end, and the pacing is a bit uneven, but it's a pleasure to spend time in the world Condie makes nonetheless.

Sorry for the late review! I loved this book and was not surprised that it was a monthly pick for Reese.

I loved Ally Condies Matched series and was excited to read this novel. I was not let down!

Ellery and her husband are supposed to enjoying their anniversary and life in California but instead it is just Ellery. And to make matters worse there is a wedding at the resort and Ellery doesn’t want to deal with it. But then she finds the grooms men dead in pool and all hell breaks loose. Ellery gets pulled into family drama and with new friends starts trying to process the situation. And then a major storm hits and it gets worse. But how bad can things really get?

This was one of those books you can’t put down! It is a thrill from start to finish. I felt like I figured it out and then something else happened. I thought this was very well written and a fantastic book!