Imagine not seeing your daughter for three years and one day you get a call from her. She is getting married and wants you at the wedding. This is what happens to Frank Szatowski. He is finally reuniting with his daughter. The trouble is, at the wedding retreat Frank sees some concerning things about the family his daughter will be marrying into, including a suspicious death….

I loved the voice of the main character, Frank. I thought the literal voice of the audiobook was great and also it was refreshing reading a book through the eyes of a caring father. It was a fun read and I love an ending I don’t expect.

I want to start with the fact that I LOVED Hidden Pictures. That story had the perfect amount of paranormal thriller and gothic creepiness. I was hoping for the same, but just didn’t find it in this plot. Overall the story was good, it held my attention, but I found Frank to be insufferable as the MC. Honestly, we all want to believe the very best in our children but he was beyond a “mangenue” and kind of a dufus.

Frank is excited to be invited to his daughter’s wedding and has high hopes for this being what fixes their recently estranged relationship. He takes all the right steps, employs help from friends, and attempts to ingratiate himself on the groom’s family. However, something nefarious seems afoot. The Gardners are not just rich, but incredibly wealthy with a checkered business past. Upon reaching their secluded home, Frank is faced with immediately signing an NDA. Then there was that girl Aidan may or may not have been seeing not long ago that mysteriously disappeared. If Frank cannot put the pieces together in time he may lose Maggie forever.

A fun, but VERY different story from Jason Rekulak!

I LOVED Hidden Pictures, so when I got this audiobook to review I was super pumped!! My biggest takeaway - don't go into this one expecting something like Hidden Pictures. It's just different, but not in a bad way!!

Also - this narrator fit our main character SO WELL. This audio was so good and I felt very immersed and like he was talking directly to me! Right off the bat, we meet Frank who has been estranged from his daughter, Maggie. He gets a phone call from her one day, very surprised and overjoyed to be invited to her wedding. He's very inquisitive about her fiancé Aiden and can't wait to meet him and learn more about him. He travels to the wedding with is sister and her foster daughter - against his better judgement.

After meeting everyone, he's very uneasy. There's so many questions, so many things that don't add up and he is determined to get to the end of it all in order to protect his daughter. These feelings grow when he learns that Aiden's ex-girlfriend is missing. As he tries to unveil the truth, he learns that there is so much more than meets the eye!

This slow burn family drama was a good addition to my spooky season TBR! I wanted just a little more drama and build up but overall it was well done and I am so excited to read more from Rekulak!!

A big thanks to Macmillan Audio, Netgalley and Jason Rekulak for this ARC!

Let me address this upfront: I haven’t read Hidden Pictures yet, but I’m already deeply impressed by Rekulak’s masterful storytelling!

This domestic suspense featured an incredibly layered, intriguing plot that had my head truly spinning. Clear your schedules because you’ll want to binge this one! I love a good “love to hate” character, and these unlikeable ones had me so hooked that I had to see where the story would go.

Rich people behaving badly is my ultimate guilty pleasure. Although I anticipated some jaw-dropping twists and felt a bit underwhelmed by the so-called “shocking” revelations, I couldn’t help but turn the pages furiously.

While it leans more toward family drama than thriller, I was thoroughly engrossed and captivated from start to finish!

I didn’t love but I also liked hidden pictures so this one intrigued me. It is different than his other writing and gives cultish vibes. Overall it was a good, quick and easy read.

I absolutely loved Hidden Pictures so I was excited to pick up Jason Rekulak’s newest book. While this story is very different than his prior book I was intrigued. It definitely gave culty vibes. I listened to this in two days because I had to see where the story was going. I was surprised by the ending. Overall I enjoyed this domestic suspense novel.

This is a far different type of story from Hidden Pictures. This is more domestic thriller with a slower pace. Keep that in mind when deciding to read this. Now, given those differences, this story was still captivating and bit more polished than Hidden. The audio book was easy to listen too and I thoroughly enjoyed the overall story and intrigue.

I was so excited to receive this arc for Jason Rekulak’s latest novel. I got swept up in Hidden Pictures recently and was anxious to read more from him. Before reading, it is important to note that this one is very different. Instead of paranormal, this one is all domestic thriller. Once again, however, I was swept away in his story telling. Tense, picturesque, and completely unputdownable. I highly recommend to all thriller lovers! The narration was fantastic as well.

This book had me hooked from the beginning! I thought the story was fantastic with plot twists I never saw coming.

Thank you @NetGalley and @Macmillan Audio for the ARC. This is my first Jason Rekulak book that I have read/listened to and will not be my last. The suspense in this book kept me guessing till the end. The turmoil we feel to protect our children from others and mostly from themselves. The flow of this book kept me up all night to finish. A must read.

Readers who enjoyed "Hidden Pictures" will find "The Last One at the Wedding" quite different from their previous experience. The pacing is slower, the thrill less edgy, but in many ways, the writing is more sophisticated.

Frank Szatowski has been estranged from his daughter Maggie, so he's both surprised and overjoyed to receive an invitiation to her wedding. Eager to reunite, he travels to the wedding with his sister and begrudgingly allows her to bring along her foster daughter as well. Meeting his new in-laws, and especially Maggie's fiance Aidan, puts Frank at unease. He's certain there's something wrong, and this feeling expands as he learns about Aidan's previous girlfriend, who went missing. As he tries to dig up the truth, his concern for his daughter's welfare grows.

This is a slow-burn, low-thrills family drama, but it wasn't without some tension or bad guys. It might be a flop for those who are hoping for a similar style to "Hidden Pictures," but I enjoyed it in its own right. The title of the book is quite apt, and I love the ominous mood of the cover. I also appreciated the book's compassion for and spotlight on foster care. The audiobook narration by John Pirhalla felt convincing and well done.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Jason Rekulak for an advance copy of the book for honest review.

Wow, I loved this book! A middle class dad fighting the .001% on behalf of his daughter + murder + drama - how can you go wrong?! I've been in such a rut with thrillers lately, and this one really gave me hope there are still great thrillers out there. Loved all of the twists and surprises. And I adored the family component that really blossomed at the end. My only complaint is that the last sentence was a little jarring of an end. It needed like one more sentence or something. But overall still a fabulous read! Highly recommend! 4.5 stars!!!

3/5 stars.
I listened to the audiobook version.

I have put off writing my review because I was a little disappointed in this one. I have no complaints on the quality of writing. Jason Rekulak knows how to tell a story! It’s just that Rekulak’s “Hidden Pictures” was so shocking in the plot twist that I had high expectations for this one.

From the start, you know that Maggie is a shit person through and through. If Rekulak’s reason for the story was to depict the selfless, devout love of a father to the point of ignorance and delusion, then he nailed it. This book had me feeling for Frank: sadness, pity and frustration! Frank is trying to win a losing battle as he discovers the mysteries of his daughter’s mysterious engagement and shady past.

While listening, I felt like there were multiple climaxes. Like the story was going to wrap up and then a whole new section came. The timeline seemed to drag on. Maybe my opinion is relying too much on the expectations I put on the book prior to reading.

All that said, I'm still excited to read more from Rekulak.

I listen to this book rather quickly, and while it wasn’t awful, I found it to be pretty predictable. A thriller/mysteries/suspense book has to leave me wanting more, on my toes and guessing until the very end.

This one just didn’t do that for me. Overall, I enjoyed the plot and the storyline, but unfortunately, the characters and the plot were pretty predictable.

I was patiently waiting for Jason Rekulak’s new thriller. I was expecting it to be paranormal just like Hidden Pictures. It was not and I could not be happier. I usually do not ready any paranormal books but I was intrigued and ended up loving it. And now I am loving The Last One At The Wedding even more. Another masterpiece by Jason Rekulak. I can’t wait for his next book!

Every now and then you come across a narrator that fits the character so well you get so immersed thinking it’s the actual character talking to you.

I have no way of determining whether or not I would have enjoyed reading this on its own, especially seeing such mixed reviews, but I do know I LOVED listening to it being narrated as an audiobook. I was captivated for the start. Something about the way he told the story felt so right and kept my attention. I really felt like I was listening to the father tell his story.

The story itself was pretty good. I felt it was a little predictable and somewhat slow at times, but since it was told from his POV, it fit so well. I would absolutely recommend the audiobook.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Okay okay this was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed the story and couldn't wait to read more, however the ending was a little lackluster. I wanted more!

Frank is invited to his estranged daughter’s wedding. He thought he would never hear from her again. And for three years, that was true. Until she invited him to her special day.

Frank arrives at a private estate. His daughter never told him who she was marrying….a tech billionaire. Frank wants to have a relationship with his daughter again and wants to find out more about the family she is marrying into. The more he pushes, the more trouble arises though.

At its core, this is a book about a family mystery. I thought it was beautifully written with genuine characters.

I did receive an ARC of the audio version and loved it!

Hidden Pictures was one of my favorite books last year, so I was excited to get approved for an ARC. Unfortunately this did not move me like that one did. I found this to be rather long and slow and had a hard time keeping focused. The character development was very good, maybe a little too much. The father was funny at times so that helped. I just kept waiting to be blown away with some crazy twist but it never really came. While I did kind of get the point of at least some of this story it wasn't really thrilling. This wasn't terrible but certainly not my favorite as far as thrillers go.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Jason Rekulak for allowing me to listen to an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The last one at the wedding by Jason Rekulak

Frank can’t believe his daughter has reached out to him after 3 years and she is getting married. Something feels off when he meets her husband-to-be and even more things don’t add up on the run up to the wedding. Why was his face all smashed up? What’s hidden in the toilet tank and what really happened to his ex-girlfriend….

It wasn’t what I was expecting at all and I lurved every dang second of it. The story was so far out of left field I didn’t see any of it coming. Not one lick! I tell ya this author has a talent for running your whole world in circles and hitting you with the most insane ending you will never see coming. The characters were well written and the plot was out of control! The audiobook had me just a buzzing! Best thriller I've read in ages.

5 stars