A slow but good story. I wished for a little more action but that’s just me. Still a good read if you don’t like gruesome thrillers.

This book started off strong, but got to be very slow in the middle. I really had to push myself to return to this one. I felt like some of the characters could have been a bit more developed - there were just so many characters packed in there. Not a winner for me, but the story itself was interesting. Thanks to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook.

⛧The Unwedding by Ally Condie - This was pretty good. The ex-husband needed to get his face punched in. I liked the characters and enjoyed all of the twists. The whole 'trapped at a resort due to bad weather' trope is definitely a favorite of mine.

This audiobook is narrated by Christine Lakin

•Thank you to @hachetteaudio & @grandcentralpub

Omg, what a wild and crazy story!

It’s a fast-paced whodunit that you won’t be able to put down; fantastic writting, well developed characters, loved the isolated setting, it was addictive.

Thank you Grand Central Pub for this gifted copy.

A fantastic locked-room mystery set at a destination spa, on a cliff, in a storm. Lots of small mysteries to follow along with the main murder, tons of great detail and characters, and full of heart. This book is full of grief, fear, self-loathing- all sorts of emotions that affect how we see and take in the world around us. Spectacular job! Great narration, the voice actor does a fantastic job of keeping us in the moment and conveying the moods of the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for my advance copy of this audiobook

This was a fun adult fiction debut from Condie! We get an atmospheric locked room mystery and whodunit at a luxury and remote island resort.

Although the premise and setting were utterly captivating, I found the pacing a bit sluggish, resulting in the story feeling prolonged.

However, I read this one mostly as an audiobook and I thought Lakin did a fabulous job. Her narration was very engaging and she really exceeded in bringing the characters to life.

Read it you like:
🏝️Remote Island Setting
🌴Luxury Resorts
🗝️Locked Room Mysteries
🍿Popcorn Thrillers
📖Short Chapters
📚Agatha Christie Homages
👯‍♀️Large casts

3.5 rounded to 4 for Goodreads

Years ago I tagged along on a quick roadtrip through beautiful Big Sur so I was really excited to go back via The Unwedding's setting. While I did enjoy the atmosphere, the characters and plot were a miss. All of the characters, including the main were pretty two=dimensional. The beginning of the plot was intriguing with a murder right away but the middle felt really drawn out so by the end I wasn't really interested in the resolution. The blurb stated, "White Lotus meets Agatha Christie" - I've yet to start the White Lotus series but this was far from Agatha Christie.

I listened to the audiobook and I really enjoyed the narrator. So if you choose to try this one, I can definitely recommend the audio route.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing for providing me an ALC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Murphy's rule was following this poor woman into her post divorce vacation that she should have taken with her husband. She was in an accident with her HS kids from a track event and she had to watch her team die in front of her. Now, she ended up in this hotel where there was a wedding. Was it the only slap in her face? NOPE.

Ellery met two friends who liked to travel together. They found Ellery interesting and invited to a dinner. When they were talking about themselves and their vacations from before, one of them bought up unusual points about shadow celebrities and such. Next day, these friends found themselves in the middle of a tragedy. Groom was dead, and no one knew what happened. As if this wasn't bad enough, Murphy struck again. The resort was not stranded because of the weather. Neither police nor emergency services could reach the hotel. It was up to people already in there to figure out what had happened

It definitely gave Christie's And There Were None vibes. With everyone hiding one thing or the other from each other, everyone was the culprit and everyone was the victim.

Having read Condie's YA titles, I was excited to see this adult release ready for review. It fell a bit flat, and felt like a YA or youth novel that happened to have adult characters. I got about halfway through - this was a DNF for me, so I will not review it on other sites.

Ellery's marriage has just fallen apart, but she decides to go on their already-planned 20th-anniversary trip solo. She's alone at an isolated resort that experiences severe weather, leaving all of the guests trapped after a mudslide. Ellery then finds the body of a man floating in the pool and realizes it's the groom of a wedding party that was happening at the resort that weekend. Suddenly everyone is trapped, the police can't access the resort, and another body turns up.

This whodunit has a very slow build. I found myself bored and waiting for something to happen to hook me for nearly the entire first half of the building. The pace and intrigue did pick up after that, and I found myself curious to find out what was happening. Ellery was a likeable character and I enjoyed some of the side characters as well. My biggest complaint was about the ending, but I will keep this review spoiler free. The audiobook narrator was great.

Give this book to fans of Condie, as well as to readers who enjoy locked room mysteries.

The Unwedding, a Reese's Book Club Pick (A Novel) by Ally Condie and narrated by Christine Lakin was a suspenseful, fast listen. Christine Lakin is a very talented narrator, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her voice as I enjoyed this face-paced summer novel.

Ellery's life is not what she expected. On her 20th wedding anniversary, Ellery, newly divorced, finds herself alone at a romantic Big Sur resort on a trip she planned with her then-husband, Luke.

Ellery quickly befriends fellow travelers, however, feels alone, as she is the only "party of one." Her singledom comes in handy later, as she is able to see the people in a different perspective.

On Ellery's loneliest weekend, a young, beautiful couple is about to tie the knot. Late in the afternoon, Ellery is shocked to learn that the groom called off the wedding just before the start of the wedding.

And then the groom is found face down in the pool.

Quickly, a game of whodunnit begins. Fingers are pointed. People are shady. Everyone has a secret.

Are the influencers to be believed? What about the best man? The mother of the bride never loved her future son-in-law, right? Who could it be?

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Hachette Audio for gifting me an audio copy of the adult debut mystery by Ally Condie, and perfectly narrated by Christine Lakin. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars! This is Reese's June 2024 Book Club Pick.

Ellery and her husband, Luke, had planned on celebrating their 20th anniversary at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur. But that didn't quite work out, so Ellery is at the resort on her own. A wedding is set to take place at the resort, and Ellery discovers the groom's body floating in the pool. Then a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, along with cell service, leaving the guests trapped. Then another guest dies.

I always love a locked room mystery, this one in a beautiful setting that becomes anything but when a storm comes through. Plus, everyone has secrets, so everyone is a suspect. Ellery's dealing with not only the loss of her marriage but a past trauma, the story of which spools out slowly. Grief runs through these pages and Ellery is definitely someone you will be rooting for. The narration was perfect; there was a large cast of characters and I thought she voice them all well. I'll definitely be looking for more from this new-to-me author!

THE UNWEDDING is a locked room mystery set at a romantic Big Sur resort, full of found family, second chances, late-in-life coming of age and — oh yeah — murder.

Premise - a middle aged woman who is lost after her husband leaves her (midlife crisis following a family tragedy) goes on the anniversary trip she’d planned to Big Sur solo… mostly so her husband won’t take his girlfriend. While there she comes upon a wedding where the groom left the bride at the altar -- and then the bodies start dropping, all while there’s no way out of the resort thanks to the bridge washing out in a big storm.

I listened to the audiobook and the performers did an absolutely beautiful job with the reading - every character was distinct and enjoyable, so I never got lost about who was speaking. The voices were comforting and engaging at the same time. This got me through a wretched first day of the stomach flu and I’m so grateful for the distraction. 🙏🏽

Thanks, NetGalley and Hachette Audio, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twisty and direct--recommend for fans of Lucy Foley's The Guest List and People to Follow by Olivia Worley.

This suspenseful book kept me hooked from the first page. The narrator did a great job!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader audio copy of this book.

I thought Christine Lakin did an excellent job narrating this book. She expertly navigated my biggest pet peeve which is when a single female narrator overcompensates trying to sound like a male character. There was none of that here, but she still managed to differentiate the characters enough that I had no issue following along.

This book was a "locked room" thriller where a group of people are trapped at a resort on an island after a storm that washes out the access. As they wait for help to arrive, members of a wedding party start turning up dead. Our main character, Ellery is there on what was supposed to be her anniversary. She went alone after her husband left her, solely because she didn't want him to have the trip with his new girlfriend (love her for that). Home girl Ellery and her new friends decide they are going to take matters into their hands and investigate the deaths because there might be a murderer in their midst.

I enjoyed Ellery's character, but there were a lot of other characters that I didn't feel that connected to because I didn't know enough about them, and they just weren't that likeable.

Overall, I thought the book was solid and good choice for locked room thriller lovers.

This was an interesting book. To me it had Agatha Christy vibes with the murders at a wedding, and the mystery surrounding it. I enjoyed the premise and the structure of the story.
I had read four of Ally Condie’s previous books and really enjoyed them. This was the first adult novel, and I liked it. I look forward to more adult novels from Ms. Condie.
The audio version of this book was well done. The narrator did a great job.

oh this was amazing. this is how mysteries should be done, especially audiobook mysteries. It was the perfect pace and each character had a great role. The MC was well rounded and human. Highly recommend this!

A solid read, but then the ending . . . mystery writers really need to step away from the 'multiple coincidences' ending.

Review copy provided by publisher.

This was my first read from the Modern Mrs Darcy Summer Reading Guide. This is one bookish event I look forward to all year long and having received the permission to listen to this audiobook before its official release date seemed like destiny. I would say it lives to its reputation of a cross between Agatha Christie and The White Lotus. The cast of characters was impressive, the plot twisty, and the reflections on art plentiful. Perfect summer fare for the artsy bookworm. Colour me intrigued, Ally Condie, I'll keep reading future books.