After really enjoying Hidden Pictures I had slightly high expectations for a good twist. There is a twist but was a little predictable and not shocking.

This was more a contemporary story on how messed up and immoral the super rich family and associates are. It felt close to half way in before there was any focus on the missing girl and it seemed for most of the book that was a back burner story to the wedding events.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an advanced audiobook for review.

This novel tells the engaging story of a middle-aged UPS worker who turns sleuth when his estranged daughter is set to marry one of the wealthiest heirs in the county. The book was a fantastic read, with a narrative that flowed smoothly and consistently held my attention.

John Pirhalla's narration was a standout, enhancing the experience with clear and compelling delivery, making it easy to follow the plot. The story was packed with unexpected twists that kept me on my toes, and it wrapped up in a satisfying way without leaving any loose ends. This book was a complete and enthralling journey from start to finish.

…What even was this book? Let me tell you, after the wildly creative and engaging Hidden Pictures, The Last One at the Wedding was not the book I expected from Jason Rekulak.

In this book, a blue collar father named Frank tries to rescue his estranged daughter from the clutches of her fiancé’s powerful, wealthy family. I wasn’t immediately drawn in based on that description, because I feel like I’ve read that book or seen that movie before, but I still wanted to give it a shot based on Hidden Pictures’ merits. But not only did Rekulak not surprise me in the least with how everything played out, he peopled the book with the most unsympathetic, unlikeable group of characters I think I’ve ever encountered in one novel.

Maggie is bad enough (what little character development there is just paints her as a narcissistic sociopath), and Frank’s sister Tammy is annoyingly upbeat and oblivious – but Frank is the worst. We’re in Frank’s first-person point-of-view for the entire book, and believe me when I tell you that he is the very definition of a mediocre middle-aged white man. He’s unreasonable and antagonistic and complains about everything – and worst of all, he’s incredibly mean to a ten-year-old foster child for seemingly no other reason than that her mere presence in his life annoys him. Never mind the fact that she’s been through so much trauma in her young life; she dares to behave like a child around him and he’s completely disgusted with her. Rekulak does try to redeem his character at the end of the book, but it was too little too late for me. The attempt at a heartwarming ending just didn’t fit with everything that came before.

The writing is fine, other than some uncharitable descriptions of women and their bodies that didn’t sit right with me. (Do we really need more than one description of a woman’s dress riding up to reveal her thong? Do we even need one description of that?) The audiobook performance by John Pirhalla, however, is outstanding. He is the perfect voice for Frank and kept me engaged in what would otherwise have been a DNF.

This review got a little rantier than I intended it to be, so I encourage you to read other reviews to see if you think you’d enjoy The Last One at the Wedding. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the early listening opportunity.

I was hooked in the first few minutes of this audiobooks I think the narrator did a fantastic job on this story! This was an easy book to listen to and I found myself picking it up any free chance I had to see what was going to happen. Frank was a brilliant main character as he continued to uphold his values while also supporting his daughter and expressed his concerns as they arose. I’m rating it 4 stars regarding how the book ended.

**Thank you again Net Galley for an ARC copy of this book, make sure to add this one to your tbr for the October 8th release date.**

When Frank finally hears from his daughter after a three-year estrangement, he's thrilled to hear that it's because she's getting married. He is less thrilled to learn that she is marrying into an extremely wealthy family that bit of a nefarious reputation. Arriving at the family's private resort in the mountains with his sister and her foster daughter in tow, Frank learns more and more about the family and his fears only grow.

At first, I loved this book. Beginning with Frank getting the call from his daughter out of nowhere made me feel like it jumped right into the action. I liked Frank and what we learned about Frank initially. I also loved his sister, Tammy. Unfortunately I truly hated her foster daughter. I seem to be in the minority in that respect, but one of the first things you learn is that she has lice and is still going to go to a sleep away wedding situation and Tammy is just like yeah so what she has lice let's take her to be around a ton of other people including a BRIDE on her WEDDING day. I love my family and I am a chill person but if someone had brought a brand-new foster child with lice to my wedding I would lose my mind. It was just such a bizarre, unnecessary detail that if left out would have made Tammy & the foster kid such great characters because they're generally pretty endearing but ewwwwwww. It just seemed like a stupid detail that made the characters less likable for absolutely no reason. I kept waiting for there to be a reason for it (idk what that would be, but I digress) but it never came. I would have just left them out and let them be likable.

Lice aside, I generally enjoyed the book. I loved the lake side wedding setting and this clearly working-class guy and his working-class sister showing up and mingling with all these uber rich people. I liked how they had different opinions of the situation despite coming from the same background. I like the fiancée's story line and you definitely wonder immediately what his deal is which adds to the nefarious nature of the situation. I thought the author did a really great job of painting a super vivid picture of the whole thing, from his description of the apartment at the beginning to the wedding it was all very clear and I pictured it being a Netflix miniseries or something. I feel like they would really nail the creepy vibe. I did like Frank less and less as the book went on, and did sometimes feel like it was taking a long time to get where it was going, but it picked back up at the end and brought it all together. Would definitely recommend it, I would just caution people that they need to not assume it's similar to 'Hidden Pictures' because it's a completely different thing and I think going into it as a fan of Hidden Pictures is part of what made it hard to live up to the hype.

thank you publisher and NetGalley for the ALC!

I throughly enjoyed THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING! I enjoyed the characters, the plot, and most of the reveals were interesting rather than shocking or twisty. Overall, a fun read...I am a little confused by the very end of the book. I don't know what it meant. This book differed completely from HIDDEN PICTURES, so just know that going in.

The narrator of this audiobook was outstanding! I recognized his voice immediately from IF SOMETHING HAPPPENS TO ME by Alex Finlay (which I enjoyed).

3.5 maybe 4 stars!

I was very disappointed with this one. Hidden Pictures is one of my thrillers and this did not hold up to that. There were few moments in here where I was actually entertained and interested in the story. The characters were terrible and I didn't want to root for any of them. The story itself was boring and not thrilling. There was one revelation that had me a little shocked but other than that I was just bored the entire time. I don't give half stars but if I did this would be 2.5 stars. I listened to this on audio thanks to @macmillan.audio and I was not a fan of the narrator. The audio was ok but not my favorite.

Reminder that books are subjective and just because I didn't like it doesn't mean you should not give it a shot.

Again thank you @macmillan.audio for the ALC.

Frank hasn't heard from his daughter Maggie in years. He is over the moon when she calls to tell him she is getting married and invites him to the wedding. But Frank slowly starts to uncover things about the family she is marrying into. Should he tell Maggie and if he does, will he lose her again?

I was so excited to hear Jason Rekulak had a new book coming out as I loved Hidden Pictures. The audiobook for this one was absolutely fantastic. I was so engrossed and binged through the second half because I found it hard to put down. What a story! What an ending! The shocks that came with the twists were amazing. Do make sure you get yourself a copy of this book. You can thank me later.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 (𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲) 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥! 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐤𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐤 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭, 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝.

𝐈𝐧 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, “𝐈 𝐝𝐨.”

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒥𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝑅𝑒𝓀𝓊𝓁𝒶𝓀, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

I really enjoyed Hidden Pictures and I really hoped that I was going to enjoy this one too. Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

The mystery itself was mediocre. There were a lot of things that the author could have done to make it more appealing or interesting. But the thing that really killed this read for me was that there wasn't a single likable character in this whole thing except for the little kid. The main character whose POV we get was such a miserable jerk and he was utterly inept. At every move he made the wrong choice and everything he did was irritating.

The actual murders in this book were so skimmed over to make room for all the shitty characters and their shitty personalities. This was really disappointing.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Stressful. Nerve racking. Some parts were predictable. But some were sooooo shocking I had no idea where it came from.

Having recently read and LOVED "Hidden Pictures" I just knew that I had to give this new thriller by Jason Rekulak a go! Listed to the audiobook and it was fabulous! Very different from "Hidden Pictures" but still another very well done book.

The story is definitely a slow burn but the ending was super creepy (in a real life, people are awful type of way). Frank drove me absolutely crazy but grew on me towards the end. I think he would have been more tolerable if I were reading the book instead of listening to the audio.

Narration of the audiobook was great, definitely a solid listen. The narrator was a little slow for my tastes so I sped up to 1.25 and it was perfect.

After three years of estrangement, Frank gets a call from his daughter. She’s getting married, and she would like him to be there for her at the wedding. Frank is thrilled to get his relationship with his daughter back. But there’s rumours around town about the family she’s marrying into, and Frank can’t let it go until he knows the truth.

I enjoyed the character of Frank, even though I’m sure most people would have just let the rumours go and trusted what their daughter was saying, instead of sleuthing to find the truth. I found the story to be somewhat atmospheric at the camp where the wedding takes place, with a hint of unease in the air. However, it was a little slow going and quite long. Revelations are made and we see it through, basically to the bitter end.

If you’re looking for paranormal or scary like his other novel, keep looking. This is a domestic thriller. I enjoyed the writing and I enjoyed the narrator.

This was such a good read. This book leaves you in suspense the entire book. Following a father who has been estranged from his daughter for many years, he is invited to her abrupt wedding. When he arrives before the wedding, he is shocked to learn to what family she is marrying into.
Secrets, lies, murder, found family, and a fathers fight between his love for his daughter and doing what is right. This book has it all. I was thoroughly engrossed in this story and finding out the ending.

Frank is suprised when his daugher, Maggie, whom he hasn't spoken with in 3 years, calls him to invite him to her wadding to a renowed bilionnaire. Something feels off when he meets Maggie's fiancé, Aiden, but he decides to keep his concerns for himself, having faith in his daughter's good judgement. Maybe he shouldn't have...
This is a classic story about rich people behaving badly and getting away with it because they are rich... I didn't connect with any of the characters, who were all unlikeable. The story in itself was kind of boring, nothing much happened and I don't understand how there was supposed to be suspense. Safe to say this book wasn't for me, which is very disappointing because I loved Hidden Pictures (which I highly recommend). The narrator in the audio book did a great job though.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I don't really have anything bad to say but I don't really have a lot to talk about with it either. 3 stars still good but I won't remember it.

The premise was great I just found the talking dragged on. And the sister peed me off making frank give up stuff for Abigail.. it was annoying and rude and it made me really not care for her charter at all.

Great book that kept me wondering! The ending gets a little long with not a lot of explanation, which is the only reason I took one star off. It is still well worth the read/listen. I really enjoy this narrator and have heard his work before.

After reading Hidden Pictures, I was SO EXCITED to score an ARC of The Last One at the Wedding, and it did not disappoint. I will preface this by saying Hidden Pictures and TLOATW are nothing alike, so keep that in mind.

I zoomed through this audiobook, because I just had to know what was going to happen next. Not everything was a complete surprise, but there were definitely twists and turns sprinkled throughout. I think parents specifically will enjoy this book as they will be able to relate to Frank & the way his love knows no bounds for his daughter.

This was a great thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The narrator was great! I listened at 2x and it was the perfect speed for me.

Jason Rekulak's The Last One at the Wedding is a captivating thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.

After a three-year estrangement, Frank Szatowski receives a surprising invitation to his daughter Maggie's wedding in New Hampshire. As he navigates the estate and his unfamiliar surroundings, Frank soon realizes that something sinister lurks beneath the surface. The distant groom, the hostile locals, and the secrets of the Gardner family all contribute to a growing sense of unease.

The authors writing style is reminiscent of author Riley Sager, creating a suspenseful atmosphere that draws the reader in. The unique perspective of Frank, a UPS driver, adds a refreshing layer to the story. With its engaging plot and well-developed characters, The Last One at the Wedding is a must-read for fans of mystery and thriller fiction.

The narrator, John Pirhalla, expertly embodied the voice and persona of the Father.
Publication date is October 8, 2024

After reading Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak, I was eagerly anticipating his next novel! While not on the same level as his previous book, The Last One at the Wedding is still a page-turning story that I wanted to keep reading all night - I finished this book within 2 days because I needed to know how it ended!

Frank is a UPS driver and widower who has been estranged from his only daughter Maggie. When Maggie calls him out of the blue and asks him to attend her upcoming nuptials, Frank is more than happy to reconnect with his daughter. As Frank meets Maggie's fiancee and his family, he begins to feel there is something not quite right with the whole situation, though he cannot put his finger on it. When he receives a photo of the fiancee with a woman who is now missing, Frank finds there are too many red flags to ignore, and wants answers from his daughter. As more concerns come up, Frank starts to wonder if Maggie may be in danger...or if there is more to this marriage than Maggie is letting on.

The audiobook version of this book was fantastic - the narrator did a wonderful job of making the dialogue engaging throughout with so many characters. The pacing and quality was good, and I found it to be a pleasurable audiobook (sometimes I find thrillers are harder to listen to, but this one was fine!).

If you're looking for this book to be Hidden Pictures, this book is definitely not that. Instead, Rekulak gives us a family drama mystery full of twists and turns up until the ending, but I felt it was lacking in suspense, more of a slow burn. Not in a bad way, just different. Rekulak's writing made this story still be a book that I enjoyed listening to. My only other critique was, beyond Frank and Abigail, it was very hard to connect or even like any of the other characters, but that also may have been on purpose as Frank is attending a wedding in the corporate world where everyone seemed to have their own agenda.

I would definitely recommend fans of Rekulak read this book, and those who enjoy family mysteries will definitely also enjoy! For those who have read Hidden Pictures, just don't compare it to that one and you will be able to appreciate the story more!

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this novel!