Jason Rekulak's The Last One at the Wedding is a suspenseful, thrilling narrative that captures readers from the first page to the last. The story is brimming with intrigue and tension, all set against the backdrop of a seemingly joyous occasion—a wedding. The fleshed-out development of each character, each with his or her own secrets and motives, is a strength. The plot contains multiple layers, creating a complex mystery sure to keep readers guessing. It’s well-paced with a suspenseful atmosphere and an overall page turner. Fans of Rekulak will not be disappointed.

This is the second book I've read from Jason rekulak, I really enjoyed this, it was a slower paced thriller in my opinion. It was suspenseful and it kept you guessing what in the world was gonna happen. I would recommend.

Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak blends family drama with mystery, though not always seamlessly. The story follows Frank, who receives an unexpected chance at reconciliation when his estranged daughter Maggie invites him to her wedding. Accompanied by his sister and her foster daughter, Frank enters the wealthy world of his future son-in-law's family, only to find himself entangled in dark rumors about a young woman's death years ago.
While the novel attempts to juggle multiple elements - family reconciliation, class dynamics, and an unsolved mystery - it sometimes struggles to find its footing between these different threads. Despite these occasional missteps, Rekulak creates an engaging story that will appeal to readers who enjoy mysteries set among the wealthy elite and those who appreciate stories about complicated family relationships. I look forward to the next book from Jason Rekulak as I believe he is an author who will continue to grow and improve with each book.

When I first picked up The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak, I was immediately intrigued by the premise. Frank Szatowski is shocked when his estranged daughter, Maggie, calls him out of the blue, inviting him to her wedding after three years of silence. Determined to reconnect and repair their relationship, Frank heads to New Hampshire with high hopes. But from the moment he arrives at the secluded and lavish estate where the wedding is taking place, it’s clear there’s more going on than meets the eye.

Maggie’s fiancé, Aidan Gardner, is the son of a tech billionaire, and Frank quickly feels out of place among the luxury and the secrecy surrounding the Gardners. Aidan is distant, Maggie is too busy to spend time with her father, and the locals seem to harbor a strange hostility toward the family. As Frank tries to navigate these dynamics and uncover what’s really happening, Rekulak builds an unsettling, slow-burn tension that had me turning pages late into the night.

What I loved most about this book was how fully it pulled me in along the way. The atmosphere is so vividly drawn that I felt Frank’s discomfort and unease right alongside him. However, while I was completely absorbed in the buildup, I didn’t love where the story ultimately took us. The twists felt a bit forced, and the ending didn’t have the payoff I was hoping for after such a compelling setup.

Still, this is a book I’d recommend to fans of suspenseful, character-driven thrillers. The mix of family drama and creeping mystery kept me engaged and guessing until the very end. 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to Flatiron Books for my free review copy.

This book had a unique plot and was different as it was told from a male's perspective. The book had multiple plotlines going that kept me guessing along the way. The suspense and the fish out of water feeling from our main character Frank kept my attention. While I do think the book started getting slow I enjoyed how the story unfolded wrapped up. I am now very interested in reading Hidden Pictures, and future books he puts out.

After reading Jason Rekulak's sensation Hidden Pictures last year, I knew I had to read this one as well. Hidden Pictures had just the right about of "creep factor" to keep me reading, but ended up being a really great story.

The Last One at the Wedding follows Frank, whose daughter Maggie whom he has fallen out of touch with, is getting married to a wealthy CEO's son. She requests his presence at the wedding on the family compound--a campground nestled in a small town. Frank decides to attend the wedding with his sister Tammy and her last minute foster daughter, Abigail. The odd thing? Just before attending the wedding, Frank receives a picture of a young woman, Dawn, in the mail attached to a message that Aiden is responsible for her death. The entirety of the book is filled with the mystery of who Dawn is, whether or not Aiden is responsible for her death, if Maggie is safe in her marriage to Aiden, and how Frank, and the rest, fit into the entire puzzle.

I will say that The Last One at the Wedding really tests the limits of Rekulak's ability to tell an incredible story. It is fast paced and interesting and cleverly reveals twists throughout the story. At the same time, Rekulak never sacrifices his story and plot development for his development of character, which I really appreciate. While I certainly wouldn't classify The Last One at the Wedding as a character-driven novel, Rekulak as a way of creating characters that are multifaceted and likeable. It is his development of Frank, whose dry sense of humor had me chucking a few times throughout the novel, that I appreciated the most. Additionally, Frank's relationship with Abigail, Tammy's stepdaughter, helped put a unique spin on the story.

Overall, while I did enjoy Hidden Pictures more, I feel like this novel was better developed. I will continue to read the works that Jason Rekulak puts out and can't wait to see what his future as an author looks like!

Frank is a simple man who is happy with his lot. His daughter Maggie has always wanted more, and it seems that she's finally found it. She's marrying into the Gardner family, but there is a string of suspicious events around the family and Frank just can't help his ill feelings. Frank is a wonderfully drawn character who is not blinded by wealth. More people need to be Frank! This novel has a fast plot with a family relationship that is more tender, from the father's side, than most suspense novels. An ultimately likable and honest narrator who is surrounded by unlikable characters.

Boy, do I love a good domestic suspense novel, especially when it's full of family drama, and The Last One At The Wedding by @jasonrekulak definitely fits the bill. Told entirely from dad, Frank's, POV, this one follows him to his estranged daughter Maggie's wedding as she marries tech billionaire Aiden Gardner, and Frank's struggle to reconnect with his daughter. Frank's uneasiness towards the union grows as Aiden ends being evasive, the mother of the groom is seemingly missing from the festivities, and the locals are hostile to the family & anyone involved with them. Is Maggie marrying into a good family or is she in over her head, and can Frank stop it before it's too late?

I really really enjoyed this one, and read it in two sittings! Truth be told, I hadn't read Hidden Pictures until 3 days before this one, but the two works are entirely different and unique in their own ways.

Highly recommend picking this one up, if you enjoy:
- Family drama
- Unlikeable & suspicious characters
- Rich people problems
- Wedding settings

Huge thank you to @flatiron_books for providing ARCS to @thrillersbythebookclub.mke for our October pick.

So glad we got to read this one!

I absolutely devoured Rekulak’s HIDDEN PICTURES, so his next book was one of my most anticipated 2024 releases. I really love his ability to write SUCH different books and doesn’t stay in one specific lane.

I’ve certainly read books in a similar vein to THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING, but this would be one of my favorites. I appreciated the different spin he took on a wedding mystery/thriller. The father/daughter family dynamic isn’t one I see often in books, so I enjoyed that. The family dynamics in general were wild. Between Frank and his daughter Maggie, and Frank’s sister and her foster daughter…. You’re in for a treat with these characters. Each one is more unlikable than the next!

I really enjoyed this twisty mystery and the ending was well-done. I can’t wait to see what this author throws our way next!

I finished this book in one day. I couldn't stop listening as the narrator brought the story to life as a father who just wants to do right by his daughter. I was able to deduce some of the events, but one I was not able to (so obvious to me now!) that gave me the major ick. Overall, a great listen and read!

The Last One at the Wedding was such a good thriller, set at a fancy estate in New England involving rich people behaving terribly. I loved Jason Rekulak's latest and was kept guessing until the very end.

A page turner with a unique plot and interesting character profiles! I appreciated the pace of the plot and the gradual unfolding of the truth. I also liked that this was written from a male perspective as many of the books feature female protagonists. I would definitely check out more of this author's titles1

I was eager to get my hands on this, as "Hidden Pictures" was one of my favorite books last year. This one has to follow in the footsteps of a masterpiece. It does a great job, exploring the relationship between father and daughter. The suspense increases as the pages turn. This is definitely more of a drama and domestic suspense than the thriller/horror Rekulak gave us before. The ending is a little bit rushed and the characters aren't as fully fleshed out. The writing is still clear and crisp and direct. It makes for a quick read if you're looking for something engaging and lower stakes.

This book pulls off the "wedding thriller" vibe in a way that somehow made family drama feel life-threatening.

Frank Szatowski—just your average dad, showing up to his daughter’s wedding with hopes of a Hallmark-movie reunion—gets blindsided by a lot more than an awkward family photo. Maggie, his daughter who went radio silent for three years, suddenly calls him up and invites him to her big day, but she’s left out some tiny details. Like how the groom is a tech billionaire’s son, or how the entire event is hosted at the kind of estate that probably has hidden passageways and definitely has “dark secrets” written all over it.

Cue Frank, our fish-out-of-water dad, just trying to get to know his daughter's sketchy future in-laws without turning it into a full-blown interrogation. But with Maggie’s fiancé, Aidan, acting shadier than a low-budget soap opera villain, and the locals treating the Gardners like they’re hiding Area 51-level secrets, Frank finds himself wondering if he’s the only sane one in the room.

This book is suspenseful with a capital “S.” There’s just enough mystery to keep you guessing without completely hijacking the wedding vibes, although let’s be real—the aisle might as well have been littered with red flags. If you’re looking for a book that mixes father-daughter feels with a touch of “Get out!” intensity, this one’s for you. 

Only downside? I was so invested in Frank’s awkward father-in-law detective act that I wish we got a bit more clarity by the end. But hey, I’ll take the suspense hangover.

I really enjoyed The Last One at the Wedding even though all the characters were not good people. This was a different twist on the "everyone dies at the wedding" trope. I appreciated the father daughter perspective as well which is not common. Look forward to what the author does next as all his books have been different!

Thank you so much to the publishers for sending me this advanced reader copy. I absolutely loved this book. I could not have in a million years predicted the ending and that made me love it so much more. The characters were not very likable and everyone had their own agenda. Each page came with some tension and suspense and it was just so well done. Bravo.

The Last One At The Wedding is so different from other wedding trope books it is a must read. First of all the book is from the father's point of view and it is all from his perspective which I enjoyed. Frank has not talked to his daughter in three years when out of the blue she calls him to tell him she is getting married. Frank is determined to mend their relationship, but has a gut feeling that something with her fiancé's family is not quite right. The weekend of the wedding Frank tries so hard to be there for his daughter, but the secrets of this family keep Frank on high alert.

I enjoyed this book. It was a super quick read and engaging. It makes you think how far you would go for a loved one.

Thank you Jason Rekulak, Flatiron Books, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one was so Good! I absolutely loved Rekulak's debut "Hidden Pictures" and while this one wasn't as unique, it kept my interest from start to finish. I personally feel that thrillers are often told from the perspective of the mother, so this one was Different in that the POV was the father's. He was a very loveable character and you'll be rooting for him the entire time.

When Frank receives a call from his estranged daughter Maggie he is delighted. not only has she finally reached out but she calls to invite him to her wedding! Understandably Frank is delighted and cannot wait to make things right with Maggie. He has had some misgivings about how he handled their conflict in the past and wants to clear the air. It turns out that Maggie is marrying the son of a very famous and wealthy tech CEO, The wedding is taking place at his secluded New Hampshire estate. Upon Franks arrival he is immediately put on notice as some of the locals have some unkind things to say about the Gardner family. Frank wants to make sure that Maggie isn’t making a mistake but he also doesn’t want to overstep and lose having a relationship with his daughter again. As Frank gets to know the family and do a little research he is left making choices that could not only impact their tenuous relationship but their lives.

This was an unexpected, twisty thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. Frank’s situation was very relatable and I was hooked right from the beginning and it never slowed down. This is definitely a thriller not a horror title like his previous work but it delivered a solid story with some creepy elements and visuals that made my skin crawl. This was a great read and I cannot wait to see what is next by this talented author.



Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very unique and expected thriller. It was different to read from a Dads point of view. It was a quick read and kept me curious throughout. I really had no idea where this one was going!