i was really intrigued by the synopsis of this book while requesting it and i have to say it was exactly how i have imagined it. the plus one is a quick and suspensful read with great storytelling and mystery. while reading thrillers/mystery books i never tend to guess the big reveal so that i can always get pleasantly surprised and it happened here as well.

This was a fast-paced thriller filled with suspicious characters, can any of them be trusted? Shay is the plus one to her boyfriend Caleb's best friend's wedding. The day before the wedding the bride and groom are both found dead. Only a select few have access to the dead couple's villa. Was it the loving sster of the bride? The loyal brother of the groom? Or Shay's own boyfriend who's been hiding secrets from her? But Shay hasn't been honest either. Can she keep her cover and find the killer? Or will her secrets get her killed as well?

This thriller was suspenseful and kept me on my toes trying to figure out which character was the killer. All characters are morally gray and have something to hide. 4.5 stars.

I liked this book, but it was a little all over the place, and didn’t feel like a fair play mystery despite several allusions to Agatha Christie.

When the bride and groom are found murdered the day before their wedding, the hunt is on to find the killer. Shay, being lucky enough to be the plus one of the groom's best friend, is in the thick of things and decides to do her own little digging.

Even though I didn't like many of the characters, I found myself loving this story. The plot was unique, the twists were aplenty and there were so many juicy secrets being revealed throughout. I didn't manage to pick whodunit which made it even more exciting. Highly recommend!

The Plus One by S.C. Lalli had an interesting premise, but unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. While the storyline had potential, the pacing felt uneven, and the characters lacked depth. I struggled to connect with the protagonists, and the chemistry between them felt forced rather than natural. Some plot points felt predictable, and the dialogue was often stilted, making it hard to stay engaged. Though there were a few enjoyable moments, overall, the book fell short for me. It's a light read, but it just didn't hit the mark.

I appreciate NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for providing me with an eBook advance copy in exchange for my honest review. The official release date is 8/13/24!

S.C. Lalli has a distinctive voice. This book was much more complex than I was expecting. The characters were well developed though none of them were particularly likable, even the protagonist. The mystery kept me on my toes, I was very quite sure how the story was going end up. I would read more of this author’s work in the future.

This was okay! Not my favorite thriller, which read more as a mystery than a thriller - which is okay! However I felt like the book wasn’t cohesive with itself. I found it to be lacking a bit, overall this was okay okay read.

I love a summer thriller so when I got approved for this, I was so excited. A thriller that had to do with billionaires in Cabo sounded amazing. But after I read it, it literally just felt like the author wanted to write a murder mystery with billionaires in Cabo and had no idea what else to write about. I almost thought about not finishing the book because I was bored but then I really wanted to know the ending because I was hoping for some huge twist, but I was left disappointed. The whole book was basically us reading the FMC’s inner monologue and her just going in circles of who could’ve possibly done it. Maybe it would’ve been better if there were multiple POVs and less story lines. It almost felt like the author was trying to intertwine a thriller and a literary fiction book. Either way, this was so promising but ultimately turned out boring and not really thrilling at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 8/13/24!

To start my review, I will say that I don’t believe that I am the ideal reader for this novel. This book read to me more as a mystery than a thriller. I did struggle at times to get through scenes, as I found myself not relating (or in some cases even liking) the characters. Although the ending was satisfying, I did find the middle third of the book to be slower paced than the rest of the novel. That being said, I do believe that this novel would be a good beach read for someone who gravitates toward reading a traditional mystery than a thriller.

The plus one was an interesting read. Hooked from the start. Two wealthy families being united in marriage. A destination wedding to die for and a drug cartel. When a bride and groom are found dead before their wedding in an exclusive resort everyone becomes a suspect. Shay finds herself as a plus one to the wedding and then trying to discover who murdered the bride and groom.

After the success of Are You Sara?, S.C. Lalli’s second thriller The Plus One gives readers a taste of an extravagant Indian wedding, à la White Lotus. Shay Kapoor is invited as the best man’s plus one to THE wedding of the century: the children of two insanely wealthy Indian families are getting married. However, on the eve of the wedding, the bride and groom are murdered in cold blood, and due to the exclusiveness of the resort, there are only three possible suspects: the bride’s sister, the groom’s cousin, and Shay’s boyfriend.

This is a whodunit in the best way possible: there are red herrings galore, and so, so, many turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. Lalli weaves together intricate layers of intrigue throughout Shay’s investigation, and just when you think all the layers have been peeled back, Lalli reveals another one. In fact, if you’re like me and try to guess the ending by the end of the first chapter, this is the kind of story where you can be both right and wrong about the murderer’s reveal.

The plot keeps you up reading until 3 a.m., but it’s Lalli’s writing style that keeps the pages turning. Shay is an engrossing character–a bit sarcastic, a bit flawed, and 100% relatable. Add that to Lalli’s vivid descriptions of a posh Cabo resort that only caters to the rich and famous–of which Shay is neither–and you’ve got a hell of a good read. I powered through this book in a matter of hours!

When I saw White Lotus meets The Guest List I knew I would be in for a treat! What a ride it was. This was definitely a quick read and I liked the flashbacks and pacing. I did not guess the ending but still felt like something was missing to make it draw dropping. Would recommend if you like domestic thrillers!

3.5 stars rounded up. This had a lot of the elements that I love to see in a thriller - wedding, remote location, sketchy cast of characters. It won't go down as one of my favorite examples of those tropes, but it was still a pretty fun, entertaining book. I'd say it's perfect for a quick vacation read.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

The Plus One by S.C. Lalli is a suspenseful thriller set at a destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas. From the moment Shay Kapoor arrives at the opulent Blush resort in Cabo, something is off. Everyone is acting shady even before the bodies of the bride and groom are discovered—murdered in their villa the night before their wedding. As Shay begins to investigate, there are a number of reasons that Raj and Radhi could have been murdered—ties to the cartel, Radhi’s involvement with her family’s multimillion dollar beauty company, Raj’s family’s sketchy business dealings, or any other personal reasons. Shay knows she’ll be in danger if the family finds out she’s not who she says she is but Shay wants to take down Raj’s father and the whole family after finding out about his shady company business. Can Shay get the evidence she needs to take him down?

Good story, kept me guessing until the end!

I love me a good romance but I’m a mood reader, so I was seeking a bit of a mystery and thriller… and The Plus One by S.C Lalli did the trick!

To be honest, I have never watched The White Lótus or read The Guest List 👀 so I can’t really compare the two, but I really enjoyed how The Plus One brought in a little bit of everything- there was family drama, secrets, politics, social status, the other side of influencing, culture and a touch of romance. Oh and lots of revenge and vengeance!!! Put of all those topics together and add some beach vibes- you get yourself a perfect summer time mystery thriller that will leave you guessing until the last minute.

I also liked how S.C Lalli included past and snippets of what the wedding party would have been in the interludes. That was such a clever way to add to the plot and leave the readers wondering…. At one point I thought the whole thing was a set up and Raj and Rashida would just show up with a big “ta da!!!”

So my mama friends- if you want to take add some thrill to your file, make sure to put The Plus One on your TBR- or just grab yourself a copy which is now available at your favorite bookstores 🫶🏽.

A somewhat predictable murder mystery that dragged on with characters that were hard to relate to and weren’t very likable. Unfortunately this story wasn’t for me, but with a little more structure and depth it could really be something.

The Plus One was an entertaining read. Shay an undercover journalist has snuck her way into the private lives of the elite multi millionaire Joshi family by dating their best friend. She gained an invite as a plus one to the wedding of the year for the rich Raj Joshi and his bride famous influencer Rashi. On the morning of their wedding at Blush resort in Cabo, Raj and Rashi are found murdered. This makes Shays story even larger than she realized and even more dangerous than she expected. Throughout the book Shay is trying to uncover who is behind the murder to expand her career in journalism while also navigating her feelings for her cheating boyfriend. This book is a slow type of thriller. It isn’t too fast paced, and although there is a murder in it, it seems to focus more on capitalism and the drug cartel. Many of the situations the main character finds herself in are a bit convenient to the plot line but overall it was an interesting read.

At a high-class resort in Mexico, two members of Indian-American families are shot and killed days before their marriage. As the girlfriend of a groomsman, Shay is the one person invited who is not wealthy or influential. While the Mexican authorities focus on cartel involvement, Shay suspects someone in one of the two families. Both run powerful corporations, and one may have a criminal connection to the resort that was to host the wedding.
S.C. Lalli does a good job of dropping breadcrumbs and weaving suspicion in the story. The reveal of the killer is well done.
I struggled to maintain an interest in the mystery. The victims don’t get much introduction before their murder and don't draw sympathy. Neither do the suspects. For most of the book, Shay mulls over vague corporate crimes as the motive. The lavish festivities and the expected guests would have ramped up the excitement. Unfortunately, all this is canceled for drier musings about shareholders and money laundering.

This was a quick read. Interesting mystery about a "black hotel". Something I never heard of. It was timely as I had just recently gone to Cabo for the first time. No one is as they seem.

As a murder mystery and satire of the rich, this was fine, but the journalism descriptions here were quite laughable and unrealistic and that very much took me out of it.