I'm not going to lie, this one was pretty disappointing (for me). I might have come into it with too high of hopes, as Hidden Pictures was a favorite book of mine last year. To start, this book was nothing like Hidden Pictures (no spooky atmosphere/paranormal activity). It was more like a domestic suspense/thriller? And domestic suspense books are very hit or miss for me, so take that in mind with this review.

Our main character has an estranged daughter, who he hasn't heard from in three years when she out of the blue invites him to her wedding. She's getting married to a mega rich guy, and her blue collar-working Dad is super suspicious that something weird is going on.

It had a great setup, everything just fell flat for me. For starters, I thought the main character was SO annoying. He lives a very middle class life, so the lives of the rich and famous are very foreign to him - this alone is not a flaw, of course, but every time he came across something that was different than what he was used to, he made a big deal about it and chalked it up as evidence that something nefarious was going on. I hateeee when characters just assume because someone lives differently than they do, it's "weird" or "nobody does this." In some instances, okay fine - but he makes a big deal that they've hired valets to park cars?? He thinks it's weird they have to keep the keys? And chalks that up as evidence that they're trying to keep him from leaving the premises? Sir have you really never heard of valet parking before??? That was just a small tidbit that irked me. He was downright mean to a foster kid his sister took with her to the wedding, and had serious blinders on when it came to his daughter and her actions. Even the big "twist" fell flat. I remember texting a friend that "I feel like everything that was going to happen has happened, but I still have 20% left, so maybe something crazy is about to happen?" Spoiler: nothing crazy happened.

All in all, I think I give this maybe three stars? 2.5 rounded up?

This was a fantastic audiobook. The narrator really gripped me the entire time.

I loved the drama thriller drama throughout the book. Though some plot twists were predictable, I really enjoyed how this story all played out.

Only thing was some pacing issues!

Wow, just wow. Another amazing book from Jason Rekulak. This one was soooo great. Listened to this as an audio book and the narrator was absolutely amazing.

Frank has been estranged from his daughter for some time, but out of the blue gets a call from his daughter inviting him to her wedding. Frank was ecstatic and thinking this was his way back into his daughters life, and he couldn't be more excited about it. To start, Frank was meeting with his daughter Maggie and her fiance for dinner at their place. But he ends up leaving with some weird vibes after the dinner. I would say thats when it all starts.

Frank, his sister Tammy, and Tammy's foster child Abagail all head to the wedding together. Frank is invested in understanding what about Maggie and Aidan just isn't quite right. And boy does he find out!

This was such a great read! There’s lots of family drama and secrets. The extreme wealth makes for lots of interesting scenarios and possibilities. My favorite part of the book were probably the sweet family scenes and Abigail - Frank’s sister’s foster child. The audiobook narrator really brought Frank to life - his voice was great for this book!

I did see the twist coming, but I wasn’t sure how everything would turn out in the end. Overall, I really liked many of the characters and found the book and plot engaging and fast paced!

I’d highly recommend for thriller or suspense readers!

This book was quite different than the author's last book, and I went in expecting more of a thriller/horror than it was. However, I still enjoyed it. I really loved Frank, the main character and how much of a dad he was trying to be. I thought that the narration was perfection, and at times, I just felt so bad for him.

The story was a little bit slow moving, but overall, I enjoyed it.

This is my first book by this author, and it is a slow mover for about the first half. Much of the first half is spent on the background of Frank and Maggie's father/daughter relationship, and it is used to contrast with that of the ultra-wealthy Gardners. Initially, I didn't think I'd like this one, but once I hit the 50% mark, I felt compelled to keep going because I was invested. I had enough clues to keep me guessing-- where was the future mother-in-law, why is the groom so standoffish, why does Maggie not seem super concerned about the lack of time with her father, and so on. Frank is an enjoyable character and because he is so devoted to his daughter, we do not see how blind he is to her faults. She has many! But, I appreciated this perspective because it did keep the story interesting. The narrator di a great job really bringing Frank to life.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

This book was so amazing! I love how the ending totally came together (with the toilet bowl) and it had a sweet heartwarming ending with the adoption. I was shocked that Aiden was the only good one after all, something I did not expect, and how the main character did the right thing and turned the biological daughter in to protect his adopted daughter. I love how he ended up with the hair dresser and has a happy ending. So much to say about this book it was so good, highly recommend!!!!!! Also, the “breaking the fourth wall” narration was 10/10

3.5 stars. The end redeems the book for me. I honestly wanted to give up but since I was listening, I just knuckled down and tried to get into the story.
Frank Szatowski's daughter Maggie calls him out of the blue after not speaking to him for 3 years, to relay that she is getting married to Aidan Gardner, son of an extremely wealthy tech billionaire. Anyway, right away Frank feels like something is definitely off with Aidan and the feeling only gets worse with time. However, you're not really on Frank's side because he comes off as stubborn, annoying and way too gruff. This is conveyed in his dealings with his sister's foster daughter.
Maggie is also terrible. In fact, besides the foster kid, there are no likeable characters in this novel. And honestly, Maggie is the worst sort of sociopath which we don't really find out until the novel is about 75% in.
However, like I said, the ending redeemed this for me.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

In The Last One At The Wedding, Frank Szatowski’s attempt to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Maggie, at her opulent New Hampshire wedding spirals into a tense exploration of family, status, and hidden truths. While the premise offers rich emotional potential, Frank’s character often feels off-putting, making it challenging to empathize with his journey. His desperation to fit into Maggie's new world clashes with the story’s unsettling undertones about privilege and secrecy, leaving readers with a sense of discomfort rather than resolution. Ultimately, while the setting and stakes are intriguing, the story falters, making it a mixed experience overall.

Thank you to #NetGalley and McMillion Publishing for the advanced audio version of The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak. The narrator was wonderful, delivering the story in a tone that perfectly captures your attention throughout the entire novel.

The story kicks off when Frank receives a call from his estranged daughter, announcing that she’s getting married and wants him to walk her down the aisle. Fast forward to the wedding, held at an ultra-exclusive family compound, where a new secret seems to lurk behind every closed door. The novel unfolds with multiple murders and plot twists that keep you guessing.

While I enjoyed both the narrator and the book overall, I found the ending somewhat confusing, which affected my final rating. For that reason, I’m giving it 3 stars. These are my own opinions.

This one was hard for me to rate. I liked it but didn't love it. I will say I was intrigued throughout and wanting to know information just as much as the main character. I guess when I did find out it fell a little flat for me. It wasn't a huge twist or oh wow! I guess not all books need a big twist or wow moment but for me the best way to explain this book was just a straight line. No huge ups and downs or anything like that. It wasn't slow but wasn't fast. I did want to keep listening to know more so it kept me interested and wanting to finish to know what was going to happen. I guess I just had higher hopes for this book. Over all it was a 3 stars because I did like it and it kept me interested throughout but just did wow me.

The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
Overall Grade: B
Narration: B
Plot: B+
Characters: B+
Pacing: B
Setting: B
Writing: B
Best Aspect: Engaging audiobook with an interesting story.
Worst Aspect: Not nearly as captivating as Hidden Pictures and therefore fell flat for me.
Recommend: Yes.

I was so excited to listen to The Last One at the Wedding! This author is local to my area, and a friend recommended his last book (Hidden Pictures) to me, which has become a favorite. Although this book does not have the horror elements that captivated me about Hidden Pictures, I equally loved how The Last One at the Wedding was full of suspense, twists, and family drama.

Frank is surprised when his estranged daughter, Maggie, calls to invite him to her wedding. They haven’t spoken in three years and Frank has been anxious to repair their relationship. She is marrying the son of a tech billionaire at an exclusive and remote family resort. While Frank has been going out of his way to forge relationships with the family his daughter is marrying into, they are acting aloof and something is making him feel uneasy. Additionally, the locals in the town of their family resort have been saying unsettling things about her fiancé and his family. Now, Frank wants to figure out what is going on so he can help Maggie.

I love a book that can surprise me and there are a ton of shocking plot twists in this book. I love the way the author built suspense throughout the story. I was constantly trying to figure out what was going on while I read. It was really fun to figure out who could be trusted and what each character’s motivation was. The last third of the book moved especially quickly and so much happens. There were just so many secrets.

The story was narrated by John Pirhalla and I think he did a really good job portraying Frank as well as the other characters. Frank went though a lot emotionally and his performance helped us feel all the feelings with the characters.

I really can’t wait to see what this author decides to write next!
4.5/5

In this, we follow Frank, a straight and narrow father who hasn’t heard from his daughter in 3 years, until the day he gets a call from her inviting him to her wedding to a mystery man she won’t give any clues about. Frank is excited to see her, and get to know her new fiancé. He is quickly thrust into this world of rich and powerful people who can do whatever they please, no matter who gets hurt in the process and realizes there’s a lot more to the story than Maggie let on.

This was definitely a slow burn; I did find myself getting a bit restless for the first 40-50%. I wouldn’t categorize it as a thriller, more of a suspenseful story. While I wouldn’t pick this up for twisty read, it was definitely intriguing. It really started to pick up about halfway through and I found myself thinking about the story at various points of my days, wanting to get back to it to find out what happens.

I did find the ending a little disappointing; I wanted a bit more out of it after everything that had happened. But overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend the audio version.

I was a huge fan of Jason Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures, so when I was offered an audio arc of his upcoming novel, The Last One at the Wedding, I was thrilled.

The book centers around Frank, a curmudgeonly middle aged UPS driver. He is unexpectedly contacted by his estranged daughter, Maggie with an invitation to her upcoming nuptials. Much to Frank’s surprise this isn’t just a regular wedding. Maggie is marrying the son of a billionaire tech CEO at their gigantic and private summer camp. Where this thriller goes from there is surprising and riveting.

This book is very different from Hidden Pictures. There are no supernatural elements, this is a straight up thriller and a really good one at that. The suspense is palpable from the opening pages and only continues to increase.

I really enjoyed the character of Frank and his fish out of water persona as he is forced to mingle with the strange and ultra wealthy family his daughter is marrying into. He felt real and the narrator was excellent and really brought him to life.

This book hooked me from the beginning. Like any good thriller, this one is filled with lots of twists and turns and I was delightfully kept off balance as I waited to see where it would go to next. My only quibble is with the ending. It was a bit abrupt and I would have liked a little more follow through. Overall, I thought this was a fun book and I can’t wait to see what Rekulak does next. Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this audio arc.

3.5 stars
📖 The Last One at the Wedding
𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛: Jason Rekulak
𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 10/08/24
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological thriller
𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝: Audiobook (11h and 13m)
𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and the author for this gifted ALC in exchange for my honest review.

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𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜: Okay, so I have a lot to unpack here. First of all, please don't go into this book thinking it is a 𝘏𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 2.0, because it isn't, and that's okay.

Our main character, Frank Szatowski has had no-contact with his daughter, Maggie, for three years. So it comes with a huge surprise when Maggie calls out of the blue inviting him to her wedding. Her husband-to-be is not just any man though, he is Aidan Gardner, son of a famous tech billionaire.

Frank spends time with Aidan and his father, trying to get to know them better. Frank isn't too sure on how to feel about Aidan because while he is trying to know him at a deeper level, Aidan's head seems to be elsewhere and is not sharing much or asking questions back.

On a random day, Frank receives an anonymous package to his his home suggesting that Aidan was involved somehow with the disappearance of a young woman named Dawn Taggart. From that point on, things begin to unravel.

So, for me, this book reads more like a domestic thriller. I feel like the only thing that got me through the incredibly slow beginning was the narrator, John Pirhalla, who did an fantastic job. I found this book to be way longer than necessary and it managed to lose my attention bits at a time.

As I kept listening, I still had no idea where this story was headed, which I guess is what managed to keep me engaged. Toward the middle, it definitely picked up and I was excited to finally be getting to whatever deep, dark secret was about to be revealed to us but it just didn't quite deliver for me. Although the ending was fair, it was not an ending justifiable enough for all that build-up that was done for 8+ hours on audio.

I debated between a 3 or 3.5 but the suspense of "what's next" and the middle/ending really kept me going. I truly don't know if I would've been able to pull through on this one if it weren't for the audiobook.

No hate at all to the author; I love his previous work and will pick up anything he publishes next. I may not have loved this one but maybe you will.

This one was just okay for me. I was really liking it for a long time (despite the fact that a lot of the characters were pretty unlikable) and there were some good twists but the ending just fell flat for me. It was a bit boring and felt unfinished. The narrator was good though.

Last week I listened to the audiobook of The Last One at the Wedding. I rated this 3.75 🌟🌟🌟✨ and would recommend to anyone who likes family thrillers, strained father/daughter relationships, and cold cases!

We follow Frank, who has not spoken to his daughter, Maggie, in three years. He gets a call from her randomly and she tells Frank that she’s getting married and he is invited to the wedding! Unbeknownst to Frank, a UPS driver, the groom is rich (like super rich), and seems to be hiding something.

This book was a fun, twisty thriller with great atmosphere. The wedding takes place at on a private estate in New Hampshire where everything is not what it seems and the family and staff all have their secrets. 🩸💀

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for an advanced copy!

This did not deliver as a "breathtaking work of suspense" as the publisher pitches, nor was it an "edge of your seat thriller" like they promised. If I had gone into this as a mystery around rich people problems and family secrets, I may have enjoyed it more. I did enjoy the audio production - the narrator does a fantastic job in representing Frank. I was rolling my eyes at many of the plot twists because they seemed too-far fetched and unrealistic.

The beginning grabbed my attention right away but I found the middle to drag, with Frank rambling on and on about his sister and his experience of raising his daughter. Then the end got weird and it was just not what I was expecting, but not in a good way. I would like to give Rekulak a chance so I will read Hidden Pictures since it sounds wonderful and has high reviews, so hopefully he can do it again after this disappointment.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 10/8
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Let me start this review with - if you are expecting Hidden Pictures, just let it go, because this is an entirely new and fresh experience from Rekulak.
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The Last One at the Wedding is about Frank, a man who has been estranged from his daughter, Maggie, for a few years, who gets an invitation to his daughter's wedding to billionaire Aiden Gardner. Once he gets to the wedding festivities, the math isn't mathing and Frank begins to do his own investigation into the Gardners, the bodies that seem to be piling up and this wedding.
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I absolutely loved the family drama in this story. I found myself drawn to it and I really loved how Rekulak incorporated the family drama and Frank and Maggie's past into the mystery surrounding the deaths and also the whole wedding situation. This is more of a slow burn but I feel like the story is gripping enough that it is one that you wont want to put down. There are some absolutely wild twists thrown in there and I am not going to lie, did not see that ending coming at all, but I definitely appreciated it very very much.
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There are a decent number of characters in this one, but they are all easily distinguishable. There is the perfect mix of likeable vs unlikeable vs shady characters thrown in there. I had no trouble deciphering who was who and I listened to this one via audiobook.
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I listened to this one thanks to MacMillan Audio. John Pirhalla was the perfect narrator for this story. He absolutely transported me to the woodlands of New Hampshire, and I was right next to Frank trying to figure out why everything just seemed to weird. I highly recommend the audio for anyone thinking of picking this one up.
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Huge thank you to Jason Rekulak, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.