The Unwedding by Ally Condie is a gripping thriller set in California’s Big Sur scenic area. It’s an idyllic setting until the rain sets in and the bodies start being discovered. Fortunately, a few of the guests take matters into their own hands and eventually solve the murders and the rain finally clears. I love a good mystery! Kudos to Ally on her first adult fiction novel!

I really wanted to love this book. I know thrillers are very popular and stories with lots of twists and turns with a surprise ending are popular as well. This story has all of that, but many of the characters are not likable and the pace of the story is so slow!
If you really like murder mysteries you may enjoy this but I feel that the ending came out of nowhere.
Thank you Netgalley and Grand Central for the digital ARC.

The "Agatha Christie meets The White Lotus" publisher pitch makes total sense now! An absorbing take on the snowed-in trope and an assured adult debut from Condie.

The Unwedding finds recently divorced Ellery traveling alone to a beautiful cliffside resort in Big Sur on what should have been her 20th wedding anniversary. She quickly makes a few vacation friends and finds herself crashing the cocktail hour for a wedding being held on the property. Things soon take a dark turn when a fierce storm wipes out local roads, and Ellery comes upon the dead body of the intended groom.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. I felt invested in Ellery, her struggle to rebuild her life, and how she unexpectedly finds herself drawn into a murder mystery. There's an interesting cast of characters co-inhabiting the resort, and the backdrop of natural disaster casts uncertainty on the true nature of the multiple deaths that occur on the property. Unfortunately, this started to drag for me around the halfway mark as I was increasingly unsure where this was all headed. When the reveals do come, many feel completely out of the blue and as a result are unsatisfying.

I will note that this is the first book I have read by this author and did really enjoy their writing even if I found the mystery plot lacking. Thanks to and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was ARC from NetGalley and I was looking forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, it was a miss for me. The story was fine, the characters were fine, but that's just it for me, it was just fine. Really bummed.

Loved this vacation mystery! Yes, it gives White Lotus vibes-beautiful location, sinister people, and a hint of sarcasm and sass. I thought many of the side stories were quite interesting along with the main story. Thanks for the advance review copy.

This is my first Ally Condie book since the Matched series, and it's a pretty significant departure from that one. This is an adult murder mystery set at a beautiful resort in Big Sur. Main character Ellery is at the resort, alone, on what would have been her 20th wedding anniversary trip if she hadn't gotten divorced earlier that year. The trip was non-refundable, so she goes alone and actually seems to be having a pretty decent time overall until she discovers a dead body in the resort pool. The deceased is the would-be groom in the titular unwedding, who allegedly left his bride-to-be at the altar. Things quickly get worse when a strong series of storms causes mudslides that cut the resort off completely and leave the guests and staff with no cell service a limited power. Then another body shows up, and we've got a full-on locked room mystery (with the room being a pretty gigantic resort, but still). I feel like it's hard to pull off locked room mysteries in a modern setting because access to technology means it's hard to be totally cut off, but this was a great set up. Lots of twists and turns, and we get to know more about Ellery and her past. The wrap-up was pretty satisfying to me, though I did feel like Ellery suddenly had it all figured out kind of off the page, and I would have loved to see more of her thought process in the narrative, but I still liked the ending. This was a fast-paced, compelling, and solid mystery.

The Unwedding is a suspenseful novel set against the beautiful backdrop of Big Sur, California. Ally Condie’s writing keeps readers guessing until the final revelation. The complication of human relationships, trust, and hidden secrets are skillfully explored. While the book delivers suspense, it lacks the emotional depth I expected. All in all I found this to be an enjoyable solid three-star read. Thank you Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Ellery thought she would be spending her twentieth wedding anniversary at a lush resort in Big Sur with her husband until he told he he wanted a divorce. Since the trip was already paid for, he encouraged her to go by herself. At first reluctant to leave her three children, she finally agreed. To rub salt in her wounds, there is a wedding to take place at the resort. That is, until the groom calls it off and Ellery finds his dead body in the pool. As a storm rages, the resort is cut off from the rest of the world. There is no electricity, no cell service, and the road is blocked. Soon there is another death and it seems many of the guests, including Ellery, may be harboring secrets. She teams up with two other guests to try to solve the murders.

This book started out with a lot of possibilities, and the setting seemed perfect for a thriller, but the story seemed to get bogged down as went on. It just didn’t engage me and, to me, there seemed to be some disconnect in some of the plot lines. There are other readers who I’m sure will really like this story but it fell a bit flat for me. Kudos for the beautiful setting.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great mystery that made you want to keep turning the pages. It was bit slow for me in the beginning and as things were happening it still didn't pick up quite how I wanted to. You had some lovable, likable and some that you despised. I would have loved a little more character development just so I could get more of a connection. Funny enough the place where all of this takes place sounds like a dream and I hope to see something like that one day. Great character resolution and the book left you feeling sad and happy and I liked that. I enjoyed Ally's incorporation of herself into the main character and throughout the book. I honestly went in not knowing what to expect, especially because this is my first book by this author but I will see she did not disappoint. I look forward to reading more from her
Thank you to Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Ally Condie for this ARC

Ally Condie's first novel for adults! I had to grab this one off NetGalley as soon as I saw that tagline. This was a satisfying mystery, well-crafted and with interesting characters. Great fun!

This one is a bit of a slow burn. It definitely starts to pick up the later part of the book. The setting and locked room mystery were really enjoyable. I found it hard to connect with the main character and think I would have enjoyed the book more if I was more invested. Overall an enjoyable locked room slow burn thriller with a beautiful setting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The setting of this story was amazing, and I was very enticed by it, including the cover! But this story fell flat for me. I felt myself uninterested in how the dust settled and unable to connect longterm with any of the characters.

That sound? That's the sound of me shrieking over one of my old favorite YA authors releasing her first adult mystery novel. I was ecstatic to get my hands on this book, and I was immediately grabbed by the premise. Ellery, a recently divorced, thoroughly traumatized high school teacher, is spending her first solo vacation at a beautiful resort. She tries to enjoy her time, and she even manages to make a few friends, but any attempts at relaxing during this vacation are destroyed when Ellery finds a dead body during an early morning swim. And, as if that wasn't enough drama, the resort has been shut off from the world due to an extremely bad storm. Again, SHRIEK. There is simply nothing better than a good locked-room mystery. Nothing.

Once Ellery and her new friends Ravi and Nina realize that the authorities aren't getting to the island, they, of course, take it upon themselves to investigate the mysterious death and the body in the pool. While I won't spoil any of their investigations, I will say I love how Condie handles it. Ellery, Ravi and Nina all do their best to get to know other resort guests and hunt down clues, but they are truly limited by the fact that 1) they don't actually know anyone else on the island and 2) they don't have some superhuman ability to elude resort staff to look for clues. There are no huge moments of shocking reveals from guests, and there are no massive developments due to some new clue. It's a lot of conversation, conjecture, and suspicion. The investigation is slow, but I think that adds to the realism of the story, and the slow trickle of new information adds to the suspense of the mystery.

While I loved the characters (especially Ravi!), the atmosphere, and the premise, I will admit I was a little let down by the actual conclusion of the mystery. I can't speak to it too much without spoiling, but I just felt like it was missing some element of oomph. I felt similarly about Ellery's past - it felt a little drawn out and the impact it had on the story felt negligible. Despite those two things, I really did love this mystery, and I only wish I'd saved it for a rainy day, because I can't imagine how much that could have added to the atmosphere.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ally Condie, and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ellery was just trying to make the best of a bad situation. The trip to Broken Pointe resort in Big Sur California was booked and the deposit was nonrefundable so she might as well go and try to have a good time. It was supposed to be their twentieth anniversary splurge but Luke insisted on a quick divorce so he could live his true self with the woman who had replaced her and their kids. The scenery was wild and absolutely beautiful, especially at the cliffs over the ocean. This was luxury at its best-she knew she was in for exclusive pampering but she hated to be so alone. That was why, when the couple at the next table offered to have her sit with them at dinner, she happily accepted. Nina and Ravi proved to be very good company, and while Nina called it an early night, Ravi decided to crash the rehearsal cocktail hour given for the wedding party at the resort's art gallery. Ellery went with him and actually met the bride and had a nice talk with her as Ravi "borrowed" some cocktails and desserts. Tomorrow was to be their outdoor wedding day.
However the wedding was called off after Ben, the groom, sent a text to the wedding party that he couldn't go through with it and locked himself in his hotel room. The next morning, when Ellery decided to have an early swim despite the rain, she found a man's body floating in the pool,. in full wedding gear, with a head wound. It turned out to be Ben. Who murdered him? Who murdered the best man the next night? What was the missing piece of art? And when is this infernal rain going to stop-it has already washed out the road to the highway-the only way anyone can leave the resort.
This is a good locked room mystery, even though the room is an extensive resort complex. As Ellery meets the other hotel guests, she tries to figure out who she can trust and who might be a murderer, while the resort deteriorates in the incessant rain and the suspects have to cope with loss of power, heat, and food. Ellery is also hiding a secret-this is not the first time that she has had to cope with a disastrous situation, and this has haunted her for years-will she have another opportunity to get it right this time?
The beauty of Big Sur, amazing works of art, and a desperate search for a killer all tie in to make this novel a stand-out thriller.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for allowing to read this book for free in exchange for a free review. As a bride myself, I cannot imagine this happening to me. I couldn’t put this book down and will tell all my friends to read it when it publishes! Amazing!

A story about love, change, and growth set in a quick-paced murder mystery that will keep you guessing.

2.5 stars

I loved Ally Condie’s YA dystopian series, Matched, and was excited to read her adult debut. The premise was exactly the type of story I love - a locked-room setting with strangers and an MC working through her own issues. Unfortunately, this thriller didn’t work for me. The whole story was completely unoriginal and lackluster. Not at all what I’d expect from this author.

First off, the plot was extremely slow-paced. I can’t think of one instance, even during the gruesome discoveries and the final showdown, where I felt the action picked up. The characters were extremely hard to relate to in most cases, and some were just downright unlikeable, with little to no character development. Ravi and Grace were easily my favorites.

The distinction between the wedding party and all the other guests at the resort was off putting, and Ellery’s backstory was completely unimportant to the actual plot. If this was intended to provide some sort of character development, it failed miserably. I have issues with who the main culprit turned out to be (can’t say more without spoiling), and I have huge problems with thrillers that need to take a whole chunk of the end to explain how the protagonist suddenly knew who the murderer was. If you’re doing your job as a writer, no explanation should be needed.

I could go on with all the things that bothered me, but would rather stick to the highlights. I’m rounding my review up to three stars because I was engaged enough to see the story through to its end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book caught my eye because the cover is lovely but also the setting of Big Sur California one of my favorite places. I loved the writing of this book you get to know the characters and they become real to you. The resort that is described sounds wonderful and also somewhere you might like to visit. I love some of the little touches too. Each day a welcome card is left in each room and on it is a lovely quote, the weather for the day, and activities for that day. Ally Condie uses these at the beginning of her chapters and it is a lovely visual. Plus adding some little clues, For me I did find about 3/4 of the way through the book I was wondering if this was going to ever end. Would they get rescued? Would they find the killer? Well, I must say the end was not what I thought and I really enjoyed the last bit of the book and the finishing off of all the loose ends. A huge Thank you to Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Ally Condie for this ARC. This review is my honest thoughts.

I love picking books without knowing anything about them and being surprised. This one was full of them, and well written too. I love how believable the characters were, especially Ellery.