"The Plus One" by Lalli is a drama-filled mystery that will keep you hooked until the end with its classic whodunit elements. The story starts with the sudden deaths of the bride and groom, diving right into the intrigue. While it might take some time to get fully invested, the story wraps up nicely with surprising twists.

So much drama. The classic who-done-it keeps you hooked through suspecting until the end. Took me a while to get invested in this one, but the story wraps up nicely.

rating: 3.75

This is my second read by Lalli and it was VERY DIFFERENT - I’ve read “The Matchmaker’s List” and really enjoyed it. What pulled me in initially was that this was a mystery written by an Indian author and set within an Indian environment.
On the writing, the first chapter sets you up with the different kinds of mysteries, and the immediate notice that the bride and groom have died - I liked that we dove right into the deaths. I do think there should’ve been more suspects included - since it was a close knit group, they are only so many options. Overall, this was a good read but could’ve been shorter.

Radhika Singh and Raj Joshi are set to marry in Cabos, joining two wealthy Indian-American families. But on the wedding day, they're both found dead by gunshot wounds.

Shay, who is dating the groom's best friend, finds herself drawn into the thick of the murders, which are thought to be a hit by drug cartels.

Overall, it was an interesting story, although it did bog down a bit in the middle.

The Plus One tells the story of Shaylee “Shay” Kapoor tagging alone with her boyfriend Caleb to an extravagant wedding of wealthy influencer Radhika and her equally wealthy fiancée Raj at a luxurious resort in Cabo, Mexico. Unfortunately, the bride and groom are found murdered at the start of the lavish celebrations and it appears to be linked to a drug cartel. Shay begins to do some digging and finds herself down a rabbit hole of greed, elitism, racism, and mystery.
Almost every character was unlikeable and unreliable which makes for a wild ride of lies, deception, and just morally bankrupt people!
This was a 4*read and a fun twisty ride! Thank you to William Morrow for the E-Arc and the chance to review it!

A lush resort in Mexico; the wedding between 2 Indian-Americans merging 2 very wealthy families; the murders of the young couple prior to the wedding; and an outsider who would have been the “plus one” at the wedding, all set the up this fast paced story. The outsider/“ plus one”, Shay, delves into the families, their businesses and their interrelationships as she attempts to figure out who killed the young couple. Throw in the possibility of a drug cartel mixed up with the business of the groom’s family and the story becomes even more intriguing. The book easily transitions from past to present several times as Shay attempts to solve the murder mystery. With several twists and turns, the criminal is eventually uncovered after keeping the reader constantly guessing which of several possible characters could have committed the crime. There were a few surprises at the end as the case is solved and the killer was a surprise to me,
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read this ARC.

Shay arrives at what is expected to be the wedding of the century. A social media darling and heir to a beauty empire is set to wed a billionaire businessman in an Indian American multi-day extravaganza. Shay only scored an invite by being the best man’s girlfriend. Then, the night before the ceremony, both bride and groom are found murdered in their hotel room. As law enforcement swarms the scene, Shay believes her outsider status grants her the ability to see beneath the surface to solve the mystery. But, when every guest – including Shay – harbors secrets, will the truth ever be revealed? The luxury locale and juicy plot make this a perfect summer read

This book was okay. I felt like the author did not do a great job at making the characters likable is the big problem in this book. Otherwise, I thought the plot was okay.

Shaylee Kapoor's new boyfriend, Caleb Prescott, invites her as his plus one, to his best friend's wedding. The bride and groom are having a classic Indian wedding at the Blush Resort and Spa in Los Cabos., but the morning before the wedding, both are found dead. The police start to investigate, especially Shay, who is more than willing to stay on at Caleb's request, for she also has secrets and an agenda of her own.
An intriguing suspense mystery set in an exotic location in which only one of a handful of guests can be the murderer.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read "The Plus One".

A destination wedding interrupted by the murder of the bride and groom. Set in Cabo in a locked room/ resort mystery.

My favorites parts were the wedding details and the itinerary messages. This would have been a very glamorous event and made for a nice setting.

The characters had potential too. Influencers and evil corporate billionaires could have made good foils for our main character, a covert journalist and the best man’s plus one. The main problem is the main character is so unlikeable. She’s judgmental, hypocritical, egocentric and her motivation for hating the other characters did not sound reasonable. I found myself rooting for the killer.

Having said that, the mystery part was compelling and figuring out that part kept me interested. I suspected everyone.

I really liked how this started out but then very quickly it becomes a little hard to follow. Multiple story lines pop up and I think if a few of those had not been in the book it'd have been a much easier read. The main character, Shay, is likeable but you kind of lose it with her even halfway through.

This book has a quick pace and does its best to keep you engaged. The main character Shay is very unlikable and unreliable which is distracting and makes it a tough read at times. There are some major plot holes and the ending was enough to drop it down to two stars for me.

I feel like books like these work best if the main character is unreliable and unlikable, and this excels at that. I didn't care for Shay, didn't understand her reasonings and decisions, and found her firm moral stances on certain things and not so firm morals on others to be confusing. I also felt like Lalli attempted to cover a lot of ground with the social commentary, and while this wasn't at all annoying or misplaced, I would have preferred reading about them from a more likable main character. But that's what's fun about thrillers—you never have to like a single character in a book!

The Plus One is compared to The White Lotus, but I also found similarities between this and "You're Invited" by Amanda Jayatissa, another South Asian thriller author. This novel handles the "what happened to the lovely couple" intrigue part extremely well, and I enjoyed peeling back the layers of the relationship between (and to) Raj and Radhi. However, it was very obvious to me from the beginning who was guilty and what their motivation was. This was not completely a bad thing because Lalli clearly has fun squeezing every part of the story out little by little, and that is enjoyable in a thriller, but the sudden slowing down of the pacing was jarring.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

3 ⭐️s

🚨 Pub Date: 8/13/24

A book that unfolds ans has all the twists and turns. Definitely recommend it. Everyone lies and nothing is really what it seems... And that is this book exactly. Sometimes we sellout a little as a means to an end... Yep this book has that too.

I enjoyed this book overall, got involved right away and I appreciate that the author was trying to tackle some very complicated ethical issues. It worked as a story fairly well, but had to suspend belief a number of times, that the main character would be attempting to both solve these murders and take on the cartel. She was presented as a bit too naive both for the ethical issues and the high level of danger. This took me out of the story sometimes but again, overall it was a decent read. Liked her first book better

I liked the idea of the book but I didn’t buy Shay as a reporter. In the flashbacks we learn that she actually knew quite a bit about the people involved and how they felt about each other but in her internal thoughts in the current “wedding” sections it was like she didn’t know anything about anyone or how they felt about each other. Surely a reporter would be aware and remember things? There were also parts where the present time and past seemed to contradict themselves. In the flashbacks, we find out that Shay minored in economics but in the present time she can’t follow a simple conversation about shareholders and corporate structure.

I really enjoyed this one! It felt like this story had so many components that it made it seem like a long book
- in the best way - even though it was a pretty quick read (like you're really getting your moneys worth, if that makes any sense). I actually really liked that the suspects are narrowed down for you pretty early on so you know who to pay attention to, but I still guessed wrong so it's not like it made it predictable. The only thing I didn't really like about this book was some of the characters, but it felt like they were purposefully unlikable (unless that's really how rich people are - I wouldn't know lol). Definitely recommend checking this one out!

This was my first book by this author and while I thought the ending was a bit predictable, I did enjoy this book. This book follows the wedding of a heir to a hotel empire and a popular influencer in Cabo. Both characters are South Asian, which I found refreshing and relatable since I am also from an Indian background.

The plot of the story flows really well and keeps the reader constantly engaged. I finished this book within 24 hours because I just needed to know if my prediction was correct lol.

Overall, it was a quick, easy, thriller that was overall enjoyable.


Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc

This was such a fun book!! The setting was great. The characters were all great, and hateable (in the best ways, of course). It was like a locked beach setting - kind of. It was super fun trying to figure out who did and what would happen in the end. I was totally off and not right at all but this book really makes you go through all the emotions. I loved the family drama and the murder mystery of it all. I read this in one day, it had me hooked from the beginning! I will definitely be reading more of this author as their books comes out!

This review has been posted on my Goodreads and instagram

ARC Review- 3 Stars
Publishing Date- Aug 13,2024

What To Expect-
🌞Unreliable Narrator
🌞Luxurious Resort Vibes
🌞Drug Cartels
🌞Dual Timelines

My Thoughts-
A classic whodunnit thriller. This was a quick and easy read. I really enjoyed the juicy gossip. The murder mystery occurred at a luxurious resort in Cabo. The writing flows smoothly, transitioning between present scenes and past flashbacks. I didn’t guess who the killer was though I wasn’t surprised. Everyone was a suspect in my eyes. I think this book would have benefitted with multiple POV’s.

Overall- I would recommend this book to anyone that likes domestic thrillers.