TL;DR: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Jason Rekulak’s THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING. The follow-up to last year’s HIDDEN PICTURES, Rekulak’s latest is a twisty wedding weekend murder mystery told from the POV of a middle-class father who, in the midst of preparing to walk his daughter down the aisle, finds himself investigating the mysterious (and wildly wealthy) family she’s planning to marry into. It’s a lot of fun, and what I found most refreshing about this book is that it’s told from the POV of an unconventional main character. Frank is not the tropey gaslit damsel in distress, he’s a no-nonsense father who will do whatever it takes to protect his family, and I loved reading a thriller from a unique perspective. it’s a 4 out of 5 stars for me.

I struggled with this book because the main character was such a dope. It was hard to root for him. A twisty mystery with a lot of unbelievable twists. Just didn't quite work for me. Hidden Pictures was better!

[TW/CW: Language, drinking, toxic family relationships, cheating, death of spouse, misogyny, sexism, drug use]</b>

<b><big>*****SPOILERS*****</b></big>
<b>About the book:</b>
Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right.

He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate—very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.
<b>Release Date:</b> October 8th, 2024
<b>Genre:</b> Thriller
<b>Pages:</b> 352
<b>Rating:</b> ⭐

<b>What I Liked:</b>
1. Liked the idea of the plot
2. Cover of book

<b>What I Didn't Like:</b>
1. Author writes with too much political views that takes away from the story
2. All the UPS stuff - hilarious

<b>Overall Thoughts:</b>
<b><u>{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}</u></b>

What year are we living in that a man who drives for UPS and a woman working at Michael's were able to pay off a house, gave no debt, and have paid off vehicles. Ummm okay!

I can't stand Frank I'm going to be honest he has this like perfect life and everything just worked out perfectly for him. He was able to pay off his house have nice things able to give away $8,000, able to pay for all of Maggie's College. It's all just so perfect. It's absolutely frustrating. He even took her to Disney World.

Who the hell is Frank?? He's mad that Maggie didn't tell him that she had already go her period because he bought a special period book for her

Ah and tammy standing in the hill for Aiden saying he didn't murder Dawn is stupid. She's never even met this guy! She fosters children so she of all people should be able to see all the bad the world holds and know anyone is capable of hurting people.

What is Franks obsession with saying that everyone was his age or around there?? Everytime he meets someone he says the same line.

Weird that they would need to know who's family and who isn't. What does it matter when it comes to their cars in the middle of no where?

I am so hating Tammy. She brings along a foster child to a wedding with Frank who hasn't seen his daughter in 3 years and now because of the spiders she wants him to switch rooms with a child to give into what she wants. Tammy of course can't switch rooms because she is deathly scared of bugs but expects Frank to sleep on a bunk bed in a kids room. Don't worry Frank gives in and moves his stuff after Tammy says it's Franks fault for not switching rooms.

The author is really getting on my nerves he keeps putting in these little undecided comments. Frank is talking about UPS now hiring women more because of the me too movement and everything. The author paints it like women are just using this so they can get jobs.

Now the author gives a character named John "Speedy" Gonzalez. Are you kidding me?.... A cartoon mouse that gives Mexican stereotypes just because John's last name is Gonzalez.

Oh my God oh my God oh my God I am so over Tammy she is so effing annoying. He wants to go have a canoe ride with his daughter whom he hasn't seen in 3 years or spent much time with but she insists on him bringing Abigail with him. I am so annoyed at how privileged Tammy thinks she is to Frank's time. Why is he responsible for this Abigail person it's not his foster kid!

<s>Chapter 5 and I am wondering if it's a red herring that Maggie is the one that actually killed Dawn and Gwen. After Frank's conversation with Vicky she says;
<i><b>"It’s fine, Frank. I’ll tell you something I learned from hard experience: Every parent’s an unreliable narrator. We think we know our kids better than anyone. But none of us can see them objectively."</b></i>
Maybe Maggie killed the women and Aiden is covering for her.</s>

Okay so Aiden and Catherine are the ones that caused the death of Dawn when she was at the camp. Maggie was sleeping with ethol and for some reason she's blackmailing everyone into a fake marriage to get money and half assets. Frank makes a comment about going to the police and telling them everything but Maggie says he has no proof, but she didn't have proof either to blackmail them. Doesn't make sense.

This whole Ups thing is so ridiculous. And now the ceo of Ups showing up is hilarious.

Love that Frank was the only one to check Aiden's art studio. No one including Maggie thought to tell someone he might be there, but only Frank gets the idea to go there first.

Now Aiden has ended his life. Seriously...

Tammy dropping off Abigail despite Frank saying 5i not drop her off to him.

Frank is such a boomer

Abigail ends up having the map that Aiden Left Behind for Frank so Frank finds it valuable to give it to Maggie like some kind of Olive Branch. I am so annoyed. He ends up showing up at her apartment where Aiden's dad and everyone else is there and they burn the map that shows where Dawn is buried. He tells Maggie that he let her down the first time and he this was him making it up to her now. How did he let her down? She conspired with a man to burn down his business and all he did was tell the truth that's not letting her down that's being a good parent and not enabling your child. So now he's over here helping her and the family cover up a murder just so she can stay in this family and get money from them. What's even worse is that he was in a terrible accident and she didn't even come to see him.

Lovely now the family wants to maybe kill Abigail because she might know something.

<b>Final Thoughts:</b>
Get ready to read a book that makes you roll your eyes so much you'll get a headache.

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<b>Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron for the ebook & thanks to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this book as much as I loved Hidden Pictures, but sadly it fell flat for me. The main characters had no redeeming qualities, they felt stereotypical, and lacked depth. I'm sure this novel will do well with fans of the genre, but it wasn't my fave.

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.