The main character, Alex, is obsessed with a serial killer. So much so, that her bachelorette party is themed with the killer. I just got the ick from this book. I get liking true crime, but Alex just took it to a whole new level, and it was weird.

Knowing the bride’s preferences is key to throwing a memorable bachelorette party. A trip to Nashville or Las Vegas is perfect for an extrovert who loves to drink and dance. The quieter types might prefer a spa weekend filled with massages and makeovers. The adventurous types? Camping and rock climbing. But what of the true crime lovers?

In Sandra Block’s latest thriller, The Bachelorette Party, bride-to-be Alex is obsessed with the 666 serial killer. As an intern for a crime show, she’s actually interviewed the man imprisoned for the crime several times. He proclaims his innocence; if Alex can prove it, she’s guaranteed a job on the show. Alex is also engaged to a wealthy single dad, and her best friends from college want to throw her the perfect bachelorette party. They’ve rented out the mountain lodge where the 666 killer murdered his first victim. What could be more fun?

Then Alex wakes up after midnight to find the house covered in blood and her friends missing. In the middle of a blizzard, in this isolated lodge, Alex wonders if the real 666 killer has returned to finish what he started. Or could the killer be even closer than she thinks?

While I loved Block’s terrific premise, I found the execution a bit lacking. Other than Alex, the characters are somewhat one-dimensional, and Alex herself has issues that feel very convenient and cause her to doubt herself. Block moves back and forth between the action of the bachelorette party and the backstory of Alex’s interviews and internet discussions about the killer. This structure helps at creating tension, but occasionally gets confusing.

Still, I hung in there hoping for a big payoff, and I got one. Block nails the ending completely, adding twists on top of twists and paying off subtle setups. She ties up loose ends and closes on the right note. It makes up for the muddy middle.

For readers who love serial killer books, The Bachelorette Party is a good fit for their library. It would also make a fun gift idea for women attending a hen-do. For brides-to-be—even the ones who love true crime—I hope the idea remains in a book, and doesn’t become the start of a trend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sandra Block and Penzler Publishing for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was good! I really thought I knew what was going to happen and man was I wrong. This was a wild ride that was totally unexpected and fast paced. I really enjoyed it and flew through it.

I love true crime. Would I be able to use all that knowledge to solve a case? Probably not. Hopefully Alex is a better detective than I am. Such a fun ride with lots of twists.

I'll never turn away from a Bachelorette or wedding related thriller as a newly married woman.

Pacing was great with no lags and kept me going from start to finish. The vibe feels slightly Hitchcock-eqsue and that is why I loved it. Everyone is unreliable and it leads you to second guess yourself.

I was approved for this ARC a while ago and had it on my list to read closer to the publication date. Then I saw others’ reviews popping up (not great) and it made me start to dread reading it, so I kept pushing it off.

Finally came the time to just dive in. Once I started reading I couldn’t stop. I loved the pace of the book and past/present timelines. The present chapters had an eerie suspenseful feel. The past chapters provided more character building and context. The writing makes sense as the reader is only inside Alex’s mind, which makes it a true psychological thriller. While I can see the major twist as being frustrating to some, this was overall a bingeable fun read.

Alex works as an intern for Crimeline in NYC and is determined to present a great story that will allow her to move up in the company/her career. She’s chosen to deep dive into a murder from 10 years ago. Eric Myers was found guilty and is currently serving his sentence in prison for the gruesome 666 murder. Alex wants to dig deeper to determine if there is any possibility of Eric being innocent. Jump ahead to present day December and Alex’s best friends are surprising her with renting the actual cabin the murder took place for her bachelorette party. What starts as fun-spooky turns into a nightmare. Alex wakes up to a bloody cabin and her friends missing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Amazon.

Oh my. This was a rough read for me. Alex’s friends decide to take her to a murder house for her Bachelorette getaway??? Nice friends!
I found it so hard to connect to any of the characters. The timelines were a nightmare making this story difficult to follow at times.
Narrator was just fair. The ending was horrible.
Honestly it was just too ridiculous to enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one was very tough for me. Its extremely unrealistic. There is no world where I would ever be involved in a situation like this, or anyone I know, which made this hard to get into. Then you just dont care that your friends took you to an unknown location with a killer threatening you? ummmm

I'd pass on this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was alll over the place and very high energy! It’s fast paced and not too deep so it’s an easy beach read. But there’s so many disorganized parts and her friends are just the worst!! Don’t read this before your bachelorette party!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I also listened to the audio book version of this as well.
This was a wild ride of a book. A lot of surprises and unexpected moments, especially at the end.
I think I enjoyed the audiobook more than the printed version but all around good. The audiobook just made it come to life more.

“It’ll be an adventure,” they said. Alex wasn’t so sure and she had every right to be worried. But none of them could have predicted that the trip that was supposed to be a memorable moment in time would become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

This is a fun locked-room thriller/mystery that grabs your attention from the start. The story alternates between the now and six months ago. I enjoyed the “bonus” parts which include a podcast, Tweets, lists, other notes, and interviews. These always make a book much more intriguing.

Alex’s girlfriends have planned a killer bachelorette party for her. They’re going to spend the weekend at a haunted cabin where a famous murder dubbed the “666 Killings” happened. But things quickly take a turn for the worse when they’re trapped by a storm and Alex wakes up to find her friends missing and the place covered in blood.

This is a great mystery mixed with lots of thrills. It was supposed to be something fun but then it went all wrong. Let the games begin.

As a true crime enthusiast, I thought this would be a good read. The story follows Alex, a true crime show intern, who gets the opportunity to profile the anniversary of a decade-old crime if she can find new information about what happened. The convicted killer claims he’s innocent.

Simultaneously, Alex’s friends take her to the scene of the crime for her bachelorette party, and all hell breaks loose. This is a fast-paced, quick read, but once the truth started coming out, I had to roll my eyes. No spoilers, but this book ended up being utterly ridiculous.

I enjoyed Block’s Zoe Goldman series, but The Bachelorette Party is nothing like that.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own

Although I enjoyed the book, I found it hard to get really into it because I did not feel a connection to any of the characters.

The plot kept me ready though, as it is quite an entertaining thriller

This one was super unrealistic, but that is ok because it’s fiction, right? I wasn’t expecting what happened at the cabin to happen at all. I enjoyed the twists.

This was a 3.5 rounded up. Definitely had me at the edge of my seat each chapter. I didn't see that ending coming and can't say much as it would spoil the thrill. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my opinion.

This story was fast-paced, but it definitely felt like it needed a good edit. I'm hoping that since this was an ARC, those errors will have been caught before final publishing. The plot was also just a bit messy--I was really confused by the characters, their characterization and their choices. I questioned the motives of the killer... It all didn't add up for me. I also was not a fan of the ending... Thank you net galley and the publisher for my advance copy in exchange of my honest review!

nvestigator news journalist intern, Alex, is obsessed with the famous 666 killer. In an attempt to re-open the case and feature on the show, Alex reviews the case files and conducts endless interviews, not convinced that the accused and criminally charged killer - is the killer after all.

While Alex investigates the case of the 666 killer, her friends plan her bachelorette party. Alex also starts to get threats — that she will be the next 666 victim. During Alex’s bachelorette party, one of her friends goes missing. Has the 666 killer come back for revenge? Will Alex and her friends survive through this terrifying night?

☁️☁️☁️ɱყ ɬɧơųɠɧɬʂ☁️☁️☁️

TWISTY, fast-paced and exciting read! I loved all of the tidbit surprises and the TRIPLE TWIST ending was surreal! Highly recommend to anyone that loved ‘Listen To The Lie’ and fans of Lucy Foley!

Hers will be a bachelorette party to die for.

Alex Conley has always been fascinated with true crime stories, likely in part because of a tragedy in her family’s past, so working as an intern for the Crimeline tv series is an incredible opportunity. She doesn’t want to stay an intern forever, though, and has been looking into a ten-year old crime hoping to find something that will open the case up….and launch her into a reporter’s job. The case is that of the 666 Killer; Eric Myers, the man whom everyone believes brutally stabbed Nicole White to death and almost killed another young woman in the same fashion, was tried and convicted years earlier. He maintains his innocence and has agreed to let Alex interview him, hoping that she will unearth evidence that puts his guilt in doubt. Toby, Alex’s supervisor at Crimeline, gave her six months to investigate, and that time is almost up ….and she has nothing substantial to show for it. Alex is also in the midst of plans for her wedding to her wealthy Australian boyfriend Jay after a whirlwind courtship (on the heels of her breakup with Chris, a controlling and abusive man against whom she ended up needing to file a restraining order). Alex has also been exhibiting violent behavior while she sleeps, likely stress induced…in short, there’s a lot going on in her life. Her best friends from college, aspiring actress Melody and WNBA player Lainey, have decided that what Alex needs is a bachelorette party whether she wants one or not. The three head out of NYC towards the unknown-to-Alex destination, which turns out to be the cabin in the Catskills where Nicole White was killed. They drive into blizzard conditions, and barely make it to the cabin in one piece. After a bit too much celebration, Alex wakes up into a nightmare scenario, with her friends missing and blood everywhere. Did she commit acts of violence in her sleep? Or is there someone else crashing this party?
I’ve been known to go down a true crime rabbit hole or two in my time, having a Helter Skelter period and a periodic obsession with Jack the Ripper. But let me go on the record….it will never, ever be a goal of mine to spend any time (not to mention celebrate a joyful occasion) at the scene of a brutal murder. Given Alex’s apparent fascination with the 666 Killer case, however, apparently her two best friends think its an amazing idea (and heck, the cabin was available on VRBO), and even her loving fiancé tacitly approves. So, our protagonist who is already suffering from a stress-induced sleep disorder finds herself in a shabby cabin in the middle of nowhere during a major blizzard with her two best friends, drinking too much wine and smoking weed with a brutal serial killer case on her mind. What could possibly go wrong? The reader is definitely kept guessing about the identity of the killer….was the right person tried and convicted, or was there a rush to judgement and, just possibly, the unknown assistance of someone who wanted to frame him? With chapters going back and forth from the present day situation, as Alex tries to remember what happened before she woke up alone with blood covered hand and find her missing friends, to the preceding months as Alex interviewed and investigated, looking for a break in the case. Plenty of red herrings and potential alternate killers….the victim’s boyfriend, her virtue-obsessed stepfather, even the jealous girlfriend of one of the other suspects, alongside the possibility that the right killer really is in prison already. The characters were fairly basic, and I had a hard time feeling too much empathy for Alex…for a true crime fanatic, she makes a lot of rookie errors that expose her to some bad outcomes. But the plot moved along quickly, and there were major twists at the end of the novel that made for an unexpected conclusion…I rate it at 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Readers of Hank Phillippi Ryan, Stacy Willingham and Ashley Tate might want to give this a try. Caution: probably not a good idea to read this when stuck in a rustic cabin during a blizzard without cell phone reception. My thanks to NetGalley and Scarlet/Penzler Publishers for allowing me early access to a copy of this true crime themed thriller.

I gave this book 4 stars. This was a very entertaining read. I did not want to put it down once I started! I love thrillers about true crime fans and amateur investigators. This one lived up to the hype and you will not regret reading!

This book was a little fast-paced and things happened quickly, but it wasn't super thrilling or twisty. It felt like it was missing something for me. Just kinda fell short