Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. If you read Jason’s previous book Hidden Pictures, I would say this is a different genre than the previous one. Hidden Pictures is one of the creepiest books I have ever read and I loved it! I loved this as well, but it’s more of a thriller/mystery from a father’s point of view. Frank has had a rough relationship with his daughter, Maggie and she calls him to invite him to her wedding. Frank meets her fiancé and isn’t sure what to expect. Aiden is a little standoffish and Frank struggles to make a connection with him. As we get to the wedding weekend he haas many questions and is trying to get to the bottom of it. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would give it four out of five stars. I also highly recommend his previous book hidden pictures if you have not read it yet!

After reading Hidden Pictures, which was 5/5 stars for me, I had pretty high expectations. While I did like The Last One at The Wedding, I did not love it. I was expecting more twists and turns but it kept me interested enough. I gave it 3/5 stars and will recommend.

HmJadon Rekulak is back with a slow burn thriller that gives a sense of dread and unease throughout. I loved his ability to make me uneasy while reading, and true to the last book of his that I read, Rejulak's characters feel real, and bring a multi-faceted aspect to the story.

Maggie has found the love of her life, and calls her estranged father to invite him to the wedding. Frank feels off from the first time he meets Aidan- a billionaire's son, but things are so much worse than he could have imagined.

Readers of Hidden Pictured may come into this book expecting the same frenetic pace, but this is the exact opposite, in a most delicious way.

I really enjoyed this book. Everyone wants to see the good in the ones we love but maybe it can blind us to who they really are. I couldn’t put it down! I really loved Abigail and franks relationship. I love how it was built throughout the book. Maggie.. I hated her… always up to no good.

Great follow up to Hidden Pictures! I knew something crazy was going on but I didn’t quite expect the ending.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for granting me access to this ARC.

After loving Hidden Pictures so much, I was beyond excited for the author’s new upcoming book.

Sadly to say I was quite disappointed by The last one at the wedding. The premise was good, but I didn’t like the characters and the way the story took turn. It was unbelievable and totally ridiculous. My high expectations were crushed.

Fun and twisty and a definite departure from Rekulak's previous works, at least on the surface. This was a great ride!

I enjoyed this second novel by Jason Rekulak much better than Hidden Pictures. There were aspects I enjoyed about Hidden Pictures, particularly the illustrations, but the plot itself seemed unrealistic. This novel is about Frank Szatowski, a blue-collar working man who has been estranged from his daughter for around three years. One evening he receives a phone call from her saying that she is getting married and wants her father to walk her down the aisle. Needless to say, Frank is confused, however, he wants to reconcile with his daughter so he agrees to come to spend the weekend at her (very wealthy) fiancee's house for a weekend of festivities and marriage vows. Unfortunately, nothing is as it seems when Frank arrives with his sister and her foster kid in tow. Highly enjoyable and quick reading. I will be purchasing this for my library. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

4 stars!

This book was absolutely unputtdownable and I read it in one day because I was in shock by what was happening! I had read Jason Rekulak's Hidden Pictures in 2022, and was excited to return to his strong characters and compelling writing. I was so excited when I received this ARC, and I really didn't wait long to read this ARC because of how anticipated this book was for me.

What I Liked
- There were really strong characters. I really liked our main character, Frank, and although I didn't always understand his actions, I supported him. Also, I really felt like I knew who he was and he was super fleshed out.
- I really liked how the story was told. It was mostly present tense, but I enjoyed how sometimes ominously Frank would add in statements like "If I knew what I know now..." or "I wonder how things would've been different" and that kept me turning the pages
- This was extremely readable. As I said before I read this in one day and I had to know waht was going to happen.

What I Didn't Love
- This is definitely not much of a mystery, and more of a family drama, which is okay but I needed to adjust my expectations. I would say, however, it was thrilling.
- The ending was unfortunately a little disappointing, I didn't feel like it matched the high-octane drama we had set up.

Overall, I really liked this! I will definitely read more from Jason Rekulak in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cover art -LOVE. This was another new to me author and WOW! This book hooked me from the start. The book starts with Frank receiving a phone call from his estranged daughter inviting him to her wedding. I was invested right away and what a ride this book took me on. This book had me anxious and tense, I could not put it down. I would have liked a little more closure at the end but honestly the ending fit the characters. If you like suspenseful thrillers/mysteries -Add this one to your must read list!

I wanted so badly to love this book as I did Hidden Pictures. I was so excited! But it was a sizable disappointment. The beginning was great! I didn’t put it down until Frank went to get his haircut. I just don’t think it’s that well-written. Frank was especially poorly written. I thought it was so odd when he was describing his hairdresser’s station; how she had a picture of her deceased daughter on display. This isn’t a direct quote but it was something to the effect of “because she still meant a lot to her”. What a weird thing to write. Rekulak started losing me there and it just got worse and worse. I know he’s better than this because there were some good “thriller” moments, even up until the end. I just had to push myself to keep reading. Having said this, I won’t include any spoilers because it’s obvious people liked this book. Just know that you won’t be reading another book like Hidden Pictures when you read this one.

Book is classified as horror but definitely falls under thriller/suspense category.
Great characters and plot building but the ending falls short overall, because of this I'm rating it a 3/5.

The Last One at the Wedding was a quick read with interesting twists. The author shares enough details through the narrator's memories to keep the reader interested. Readers will come to enjoy the main character's wedding guests and root for them to figure out the main mystery of the novel. This novel would be a great vacation read.

Frank has been estranged from his daughter, Maggie for the last three years so when she suddenly calls and invites him to her wedding, he believes this is a chance to make amends and restore the cherished father/daughter relationship he remembers from when she was a child. The wedding is to Aidan, the son of a meg-wealthy tech tycoon and no matter how hard Frank tries to make a connection with his future son-in-law, he gets the feeling that Aidan isn't really interested in small town Frank aka the UPS driver. Arriving at the secluded wedding venue, Frank has grave misgivings about this wedding but every chance he gets to try to convince his daughter to not rush into this, Maggie finds another reason to rush off to avoid Frank's questions. Why hasn't the mother of the groom made an appearance? What is with all of the security measures and why did he receive a picture of Aidan with his arm around a girl who later is presumed dead just a few months before he met Maggie? Was there an investigation? Why won't anyone answer his questions about the missing girl?
Readers will be drawn into Frank's concerns for his daughter and wonder what secrets the Gardner family is keeping as well as what part his own daughter is playing in this wealth and power driven situation. Who can he believe? Repeatedly warned about digging into the Gardner's family affairs, Frank makes a rash decision which he believes will ultimately either save or condemn his daughter.
Hard to put this down, especially as the clock ticks closer and closer to the actual wedding and Frank gets dangerously close to the truth.

Jason never disappoints in his writing. This book was fantastic. I read it in a couple of days and it only took that long because I had to work and I have kids. The only thing I would have changed or made different is the last scene with Vicky. I would have made that explanation longer or more detailed. Easily a 5 star book!

This was unexpected! There was one scene about 60% through that made me pause and re-read it to ensure I had not misunderstood. Definitely a page turner, with a father who is trying to the right thing along the way, despite making mistakes along the way. I did not see the ending coming really, and Aidan was not who I thought he was. A solid thriller that I would recommend to fans of Megan Goldin, Alex Finlay, and Lucy Foley.

My Honest Review
The Last One At The Wedding
By Jason Rekulak

I love Rekulak writing style so much, his characters feel so real. However, I felt like all the characters (besides the main character Frank) was insufferable. This one grabs your attention from the beginning. Takes you along for the mystery. The ending felt undone and fell flat for me. All in all I like it still.

📚Expected Release October 8, 2024📚
Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Flatiron Books, NetGalley, & the brilliant author Jason Rekulak. I’m super appreciative for the opportunity.

I have finally read my first Jason book. Desperate to get my hands on this book after I read the synopsis because I love domestic suspense and that’s exactly what this was. The last one at the wedding really is about a father reconnecting with his daughter because she’s getting married, Like any dad, he wants to know who his daughter is marrying and what kind of family he comes from. He just has no idea what he’s walking into. I loved the theme of found family but more than anything, I loved Frank! He was a hardworking, honest, endearing man and from page one, I was attached to this guy. This story really brought to the forefront what a parent will do for their child and also what they shouldn’t do. I love books that make me wonder what I would do and this is one of those books.

A tangled web of a story that is intriguing and surprising. Just when you think you know what is happening and who is who a twist is revealed. A true psychological thriller that takes a look at family dynamics and social issues.

(will be posted on Goodreads and Storygraph)

Firstly, thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc!


I can confidently say I enjoyed this book more than Hidden Pictures. The cast of characters were much more interesting! Frank was a solid main character, and while he had (many) flaws, I still understood all of his motives. I liked that he was a UPS driver, I’ve never seen that as an occupation in a book before! Tammy was another solid character, and I thought the detail of her being a foster parent really added to the story- Abigail was another great character!!

Sadly, this wasn’t my favorite read of all time, though. I was expecting Maggie to be one of the “big bads” the second she made her presence known. I also knew Aiden wasn’t going to be involved. Though I cannot say I was expecting the BIG twist with the wedding (will leave that out bc it was so unexpected!)

Overall, this is a fun thriller and I’m definitely glad I read it! It was well thought out and written very well!!