3.5 stars rounded up
Shay Kapoor just arrived in Cabos San Lucas, Mexico for the biggest wedding of the year. Radhika Singh and Raj Joshi are getting married at a very lush resort. It’s a week long affair, with daily activities. Radhika is a famous influencer, and Raj is the son of a billionaire. Shay was invited by her boyfriend, Caleb, who is the best man. Shortly after Shay arrives, the engaged couple is found murdered in their villa. The only people with keys to the villa, aside from the couple and the wedding planner, are Caleb, Zara, sister of the bride, and Sean, cousin of the groom. Shay decides to stay and investigate on her own who might have murdered the couple. She’s hoping that she won’t find that she’s been sleeping with a murderer. This story pulled me in right away, and I flew through the first half. The pacing slowed slightly after the first half, and the ending seemed a bit flat. Overall, I still really enjoyed this book and will continue reading whatever this author writes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and S.C. Lalli for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Plus One coming out August 13, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoy psychological thrillers. This book suggested it’s a cross between The White Lotus and The Guest List. I’m obsessed with both. I could compare parts of the book, but there were some plot points I didn’t enjoy in the book. I don’t want to give anything away, but it included a trope I really don’t like reading about. I think parts of the book were exciting and contained a lot of action, but I lost a little interest in other parts. The bride and groom shock at the beginning was definitely edge of your seat entertainment. I also really enjoyed the Crazy Rich Indians. It felt like Bollywood. I would check out other books by this author!

This was one of those books that made me want to play hooky to finish 🤣. There were so many questions to be answered after the death of the almost married couple that I couldn’t wait to find out what happened! I felt like it was a little bit repetitive and overwhelming with tiny details I didn’t really need, but really enjoyed the storyline overall.

The Plus One is an excellent book. Shaylee is invited to be “the plus one” to attend a destination wedding with her boyfriend. Caleb and Shaylee are a cute couple and it was cute to see Caleb from Shaylee’s perspective. I really loved Shaylee’s character! I felt like I could relate to her, her inner workings and had envy at her career journey. Periodically we get the deets on what will happen each day or night for the wedding and it sounds absolutely beautiful and sometimes mysterious. Make sure to be suspicious of everyone as you never know who you can trust.

This book started off great and had me hooked immediately. A group of people attend a destination wedding and it appears they’re all hiding something when the bride and groom end up murdered. About halfway through however I felt like it started to kind of drag on and lose my interest. I feel like it could have been a little bit shorter or we could have had more clues as to the murderer vs the main character constantly saying “I’m certain about who it’s NOT… or am I?” Overall a worthwhile read but not anything groundbreaking.

I think this was a solid beach read. It’s nothing groundbreaking but it’s fast paced, melodramatic, and a quick read.

Great way to finish off a summer of great reads!

A posh resort hosts a wedding joining two super rich families and a young reporter manages to get invited as the best mans plus one! What a great weekend - but maybe not!

Well written, fast paced - loved the ending!

Such. A. GREAT. Book!! The perfect book to end your summer with!! I was so captivated by this book! It was wonderful. Loved the setting, the characters were so relatable, and the story was just so good. Highly recommend!

ARC Review-- 4 Stars

Pub Date: August 13 2024

The wedding of the season is set to occur- a fancy, highfalutin affair to be held at a luxury resort in Los Cabos Mexico. Two of the world's most wealthy couples are joining in marriage, Raj Joshi and Radhika Singh, however before they can say I do, they are tragically murdered. This quickly becomes a whodunnit, investigated and told by our narrator and "plus one", Shaylee (Shay) whom must figure out what happened to the bride and groom to be before her real agenda is found out.

This was a fast paced, quick read for me. It has summertime, vacation, and beach vibes. This would be a perfect book to take with you and read at your leisure this summer. I loved the dual timelines, switching between past and present as well as the twists and turns of the mystery into who murdered the happy couple and why.

I would happily recommend this book to anyone who loves a domestic thriller. Such a great time!

✨Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and William Morrow Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. ✨

Wow!!! This one had me hooked - it was a good quick read and so interesting. I was dying to know what happened next. I love this author too!

Fun, breezy summer read! Shay is the plus one to the wedding of the year only to be throw into the middle of a murder mystery when the bride and groom are found dead the day of the wedding. The characters were pretty silly at times and there were definitely some plot holes, but still a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

What a wonderful who dun it type of read. I was trying to figure things out the whole way through and was surprised at the ending. I have started another book and still find myself thinking of this one which makes it the best type of book.

This was an enjoyable summer thriller set at a wedding in Cabos gone wrong when the bride-and-groom-to-be end up murdered & "the plus one" launches her own investigation to get to the bottom of what went wrong.

The direction of the mystery spends a lot of time with the cartel theory as detailed in the synopsis which wasn't my favorite. Personally I enjoy more contained mysteries with our main cast of characters keeping secrets from one another (which was in this story, but was a bit overshadowed in my opinion). Overall a good time and I'd check out more from this author again in the future.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.

Kept me reading! I had to finish this book as soon as I started reading it! I liked the writing style and the characters were so well described. I was entertained the entire time and didn’t know who did it until the very end. I thought I had it figured out, but nope! Love these types of books!

Although I enjoyed this book, it was very repetitive and read like a typical detective show. The book majorly focuses on the present situation unfolding in Cabo, with some chapters going into the past to provide further context. However, the context from these flashbacks feels so irrelevant and doesn't actually have an impact until the very end when the killer is revealed. As an avid mystery/thriller reader, I like to "play along" with guessing who the suspect is. I could not do that with this book because the context from the past is so vague and mainly focuses on Shay's, the mc, emotions in regards to those interactions. Shay keeps jumping between suspects based on interactions rather than solid evidence, and she is so repetitive in her thinking. The number of times Shay thinks "This suspect has motive because of xyz" is far more than should be included in the book, hence the repetitiveness. With the lack of impactful information, I was a little surprised with the reveal at the end, but it still felt lackluster. The whole Cabo situation ends off on a "cliffhanger" of sort, and the final chapter after that reads like a Where Are They Now? Reunion. which was not satisfying.
I was provided with an uncorrected e-proof version, so I am giving this book the benefit of the doubt and hoping some of this is addressed before it goes to print. This could be a really good book, just needs some TLC!
Thank you to the author for sharing your story with me!

Wow!!!
Very fast paced and SC Lalli did it again! She knows how to draw the reader’s attentions and I love how she incorporates South Asian culture in this book. I am quite familiar with it but not too familiar. That is why I really appreciate that she took the time to really pur those terminologies in.
Honestly, this is a great summer read! I also like how the female main character isn’t dumb. She is very smart and assertive.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

The premise of this book is what drew me to request it (Thanks Scene of The Crime). I wanted to like this book more, but I thought it was way too repetitive on details and too long for what actually happened. I started skimming some parts in the middle and didn't miss a beat. The murderer was narrowed down to three people rather early on, and the main character Shay kept eliminating and reinstating each person as the story went on because of evidence she found, probably to throw the reader off. The ending felt too long, after the murderer reveal, and I definitely skimmed almost that entire section.

Thank you to Netgalley, and again, thank you to Scene of The Crime Early Readers Program, which is from William Morrow, for allowing me to read this ARC.

The Plus One by S. C.Lalli is a thriller set in Cabo, Mexico. It is mostly told in the first person perspective of Shay, as we follow along in the story line that has many twists and turns. Joining her boyfriend at a destination wedding, everything goes wrong from the moment Shay arrives. Although this was not one of my favorite reads of the year overall it was a decent read. I would still recommend it to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I love the location of this book. I haven't been on a vacation in years, so I always like reading about fun places (especially on someone else's dime). With that being said, it felt very...forced. The ending made up for the middle bit, but there was too much going on and some things overall just seemed too convenient.