This book is quite different from the last I read by this author, and I enjoyed it so much more. I was hooked right from the start. This is more a delicate story of suspense, not a thriller per say. The pacing is still fast, and the tension is high, it just felt different than what I expect from a straight thriller, and it wasn’t a bad thing. The setting was great, and I feel that this author does a fabulous job of creating a creepy atmosphere. I remember this from their previous works as well, so I would consider them a master at creating unsettling vibes. The plot was great, and I was engaged the entire time. This plot is delicately layered and slowly builds, which is fine because it doesn’t feel slow due to the pacing, we just nicely get pieces of the puzzle along the way, and it worked for me. The twists were fantastic, and I loved them as they unfolded.

I listened to this one via an ALC copy, and it really made the book that much more unsettling. The narrator did a fantastic job creating the tension and atmosphere that I think the author was going for. It was fabulous.

This book was so much more than I was expecting!

Frank Szatkowski is a lovable, and at times infuriating, overprotective father. He wants nothing more than to mend his relationship with his estranged daughter, so when she calls out of the blue after three years of silence, he is thrilled to be invited to her wedding. However, as the date creeps closer Frank can’t seem to shake the feeling that something seems… off. Wanting only what’s best for his daughter, Frank does a little digging to put his worries to rest, but discovers too late that he may not like all of the answers that he finds.

Jason Rekulak knows how to write a page turner! Truly a whirlwind of a story with gripping characters that all have their part to play. I flew through this novel and at times felt so frustrated with this dad and daughter duo that I wasn’t sure if I would finish. BUT I AM SO GLAD THAT I DID 🙌

Thank you @netgalley and @flatiron_books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! @jasonrekulak is quickly becoming one of my ‘preorder authors.’

To start, I’d like to say I really enjoyed “Hidden Pictures” by this author so I wanted to read another book from him. But this book was confusing. I’ve read a lot of thrillers and I feel like this one just threw in a bunch of random things to throw you off and make you think different things were happening but in a weird way that looking back on it, is even more confusing every time I go through it all. 😭 I feel like the title had nothing to do with the storyline of the book and didn’t even make sense also. And the story kept seeming like something big was gonna happen but in the end there was barely a big reveal and then the last chapter was also just…. Anticlimactic and of course confusing again. 😣

The Last One at the Wedding
Jason Rekulak

Having enjoyed Hidden Pictures, I was glad to receive this audiobook for review. Quite different from his debut, this is more suspense/thriller, rather than horror. Frank, the narrator, is invited by his estranged daughter to her wedding.

The summer camp setting in New Hampshire brings the same vibes as “God of the Woods,” one of my favorite releases of the summer. Similarly, it involves family secrets, as Frank tries to get to know the family her daughter is marrying into. The similarity ends there, sadly.

I found this to be a slow burn, thankfully resuscitated by the excellent narration. The plot is quite predictable. The first POV narration tends to get longwinded and blabby. Interesting read, but this is one that you speed up just to get to the end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio.

2.5 stars rounded up.

I absolutely could not put this book down!! I started the audio the same day I got approved for the ALC and definitely finished it all in the same day 😂 I just needed more and more and more so I kept going. I needed to know the whole story! This story is full of family secrets and plot twists. A few times I was thinking to myself man am I the crazy one?? Who do I believe?? Who do I trust!? This was a wild ride!!

The narrator was phenomenal! He definitely made the audio version more interesting. This is a slow burn thriller, but really the narrator made this. This is nothing like Jason’s first book, but I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to Macmillan audio for the ALC. I have been trying to get a copy of this because I loved Hidden Pictures by this author. I will start that the audio was done wonderfully and was engaged with the narrator the whole time.
It was well written, with unlikeable characters but was not scary like their first novel. It was a great domestic thriller. There are many layers to this story and I would definitely recommend.
4/5

Thank you to Macmillan Audio/NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook early! I was really excited to listen to The Last One at the Wedding because of the raving reviews for Hidden Pictures, which I have not listened to yet but it's on my TBR list! I enjoyed the narrator for this book, he's great! I was hoping for a big twist in the story and there were some smaller twists that I didn't see coming but I never felt like there was a huge "wow" moment. Overall I did enjoy the story and I do recommend giving it a read!

I snagged this off Netgalley, because I had read a previous book by this author.
This time I took this journey in the audo form, and loved the narrator.
Sometimes a voice makes or breaks a audiobook, at least for me.

Be warned this is a slow burn, in every sense of the word, do not go into this thinking it's gonna be break neck or a thrill from the second it's in your hand.
This is good however, as the burn pays off.

I preferred this over Hidden Pictures, this was well written and had me invested in Frank from the start.

What would you do to protect your child?

The narrator was exceptional! He really gave life to the main character, Frank. I liked reading this story from Frank's perspective, and I enjoyed the slow burn of the first 70 percent.
It seemed like everything fell apart and got very far-fetched towards the end, and I'm not even sure what happened on the last page. It was confusing.

Frank Szatowski is a kind, widowed UPS driver, with an immense fatherly love for his daughter, Maggie. After a loooong period of not talking to her father, Maggie surprises him with an announcement of her upcoming wedding to one of the most eligible bachelors in the country. Is this a dream come true for all? Author Jason Rekulak does an excellent job with character building in this mystery suspense novel. There's humor, especially with daddy long legs, and heartbreak for how much love Frank has to offer from beginning to end. I would highly recommend this novel.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance audio.

I love this authors writing and it’s quirky and different then most thrillers but when you finish listening it all clicks together! 10/10 recommend listening it makes the story so much better!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ALC. This was such a quick listen. Kept me hooked the whole time and I finished in a few days.

Well done for an audiobook, but this was a miss for me. I liked the narrator; very easy to follow and keep track of the characters/events. This set up of this sounded like it was going to be good, however, it ended up dragging and fell completely short for a thriller. I really enjoyed HIDDEN PICTURES so I’ll still pick up this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an early audiobook edition of “The Last One at the Wedding” by Jason Rekulak, narrated by John Pirhalla for an honest review.

What will you do for your child to protect them from bad decisions? This book will make you ask yourself that question.

After three years of not talking to his daughter Maggie, Frank Szatowski gets a phone call inviting him to her wedding. He wouldn’t miss it for the world! But when he meets his future son-in-law, Aiden Gardner for the first time, he is not impressed by the man. He is impressed that his daughter is marrying an extremely wealthy businessman's son. When he arrives at the Gardner’s summer estate in New Hampshire, he knows he’s out of his league, but he tries to make the best of it. However, it seems Aiden is nowhere to be found just days before his wedding, his daughter doesn’t have time to talk to him, and the mother of the groom does not leave her room. Something isn’t right.

The story unfolds with Frank unraveling the mystery of the strange behavior and trying to protect his daughter. Some twists will throw you off and throughout the book, you will ask yourself – “What would I do for my child to protect them?”

The characters were well developed. I found the story a little slow and I was not eager to get through it, other projects attracted me away from reading. It was just an Ok story for me. The narrator did a decent job of narrating the story.

If you are expecting creepy pictures and spooky atmospheric read, this is not it. Not a thriller, this is a story about Frank that gets a call from his estranged daughter about her upcoming nuptials to a son of a wealthy tech company.

Frank's dry humor kept me entertained and I liked how the story unravel with not everything as it seems. The addition of Frank's sister and foster kid added additional humor to the story.

The writing kept me interested to see what Frank finds.

John Pirhalla did a great job with the narration and bringing Frank to life.

Thank you @flatiron_books @macmillan.audio @netgalley for a copy of this ALC.

3.5 stars

I have been anticipating this book for MONTHS after loving Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures. This book has a completely different vibe but the twists are equally as shocking. A middle class father, three years estranged from his daughter receives an invitation to her wedding. As the story unfolds, father, Frank Szatowski continuously learns more and more about not only the very wealthy family his daughter is marrying into but also how much she has changed since she was his little girl. I loved the single POV and the convoluted pieces of the puzzle that finally all came together in the end. Excellent storytelling.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced reader audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved Hidden Pictures, so I was excited and ready to read the second book by Jason Rekulak. The narration was exceptional, one of the reasons I was hooked and listened to this audiobook in a matter of days BUT, and a big one, I loathe ambiguous endings. The last line left me so confused I had to go back and re-listen to the last chapter because I felt sure I missed something.

Overall, the story was curious, the characters were easy enough to follow… some likable and some
not along with some shocking moments. Don’t expect paranormal activity again or a high plot turning thriller, but overall a good story until the end when I felt like there were WAY too many loose ends. I would’ve loved to see those resolved better in order to rate this novel higher.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my
honest review.

I went into this thinking it was a murder mystery type of read and by the end of it was utterly confused.

The beginning got me hooked easily but once the wedding was over it fell flat for me and I was bored.

I felt like there were a few plot holes that maybe was used as filler content that didn't make any sense and didn't have relevance to the story.

What was even the point? I feel like there was a lot of information, a lot of words, for very little to actually happen. I loved Hidden Pictures and had high hopes for this book. Sadly, it was a let down