Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of "The Last One at the Wedding." I enjoyed this book, but not as much as his first book. I was thankful for the ARC on Kindle,but I know it would be a beautiful hardcover book! Worth buying.

A destination wedding at a private luxury estate. What could go wrong?
A domestic suspense, full of family drama, twisty, messy and a bit of humor.
I didn’t like the characters, but that’s what made the story work, all perfectly flawed, unreliable, all hiding something.
The audio kept me engaged from start to finish.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this complimentary audiobook.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 by Jason Rekulak released October 8, 2024.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I just keep hearing so many great things about his previous book. I really enjoyed this one! I'll have to go read his others. I really I liked the main character. I really appreciate characters that are rigid in their beliefs about right and wrong. I appreciated the ending as well because it was consistent with the characters personality and beliefs. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio.

So this one was vastly different than Hidden Pictures. I am not saying this is a bad thing but I wanted spooky and got a domestic thriller. I also was not the biggest fan of the narrator. The entire story just sort of dragged for me. And all of the characters were incredibly hateable. Except the little one with her lice and sweet soul.

This was a slow burning thriller. The first half of the story is spent laying down the back story required to make the second half make sense. I thought I had it all figured out a couple of times and each time it turned out I was wrong. I was not expecting the reveal or the ending. I will definitely be reading more of Jason Rekulak's work in the future.

This isn't the first audiobook I have listened to that was narrated by John Pirhalla and it won't be the last. I enjoy listening to thrillers and mysteries narrated by John; he does a great job of keeping you engaged in the story.

Finished this audiobook yesterday while I was baking and chopping veggies for Thanksgiving. It’s a mystery centered on an estranged father and daughter coming back together for the daughter’s wedding. She’s marrying the son of an uber-wealthy family at a former summer camp they’ve converted to a luxe family estate.

The estranged dad is a Gulf War veteran and UPS driver, so there are big differences between the two families, even before the secrets start coming out. While suspenseful, the twists were not very surprising or twisty, and the ending fell flat. I did like how the author explored family dynamics and how far a parent will go for their child.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the copy of this book!

I went into this one blind, thinking it would be similar to 'Hidden Pictures'. This was nothing like his previous novel, but I actually think I liked it more. I listened to the audiobook, and it held my attention from start to finish, and was told in such a way that I felt like I was seeing the story. I know many would disagree; but I loved the ending. I did figure the ending out pretty early on, but didn't feel it took away from the ending.

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING [thank you to Flatiron Books and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

Title: The Last One At the Wedding
Author: Jason Rekulak
Genre: Mystery + Suspense
Format: Audio
Star Rating: ★★★☆☆

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
After a father is unexpectedly invited to his daughter’s wedding, everything goes from weird to worse as nothing is what it seems.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
First and foremost: writing reviews about thrillers is difficult because you can’t say too much without giving it away.

I will say that if you go into this book expecting Hidden Pictures, you’ll be disappointed. This is a whole other weird ballgame.

I will also say that if I hadn’t been reading this for book club, I probably would have DNF’d. The action was slow, the characters were horrific, and it was weird disturbing?

If you’re a thriller reader, you’ll probably like it. If you’re a romance reader who dabbles in thrillers, maybe pick a different one?

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Terrible Human Beings
Red Herrings
Old Fashioned Men
Deluded & Unobservant People

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 3.67 ⭐️
# of Pages: 352
Pub Date: October 8, 2024

A fractured father daughter relationship, a rushed wedding, and a lot of money makes this an intriguing scenario. Yet it's the twisting psychological aspects of this that make it such a riveting read. From the sister and her foster wedding tagalong to the daughter and her odd groom, "The Last One at the Wedding" was an astounding read.

This was so different than Hidden Pictures but I was still riveted to the story. The father was a bit annoying at times and I felt like I still had questions at the end but overall enjoyed the narration. 3.5⭐️

Had high hopes for this book and I can honestly say it let me down just a little. My main issue was the pacing of the book. I feel like it took its time getting going but after the halfway point the ball gets rolling and never stops. Impressed with Jason Rekulak's ability to follow up Hidden Pictures with such a solid novel. Now the narration by John Pirhalla was absolutely fantastic. He conveyed the emotion and attitude of every character perfectly, giving me the ability to picture the entire book from beginning to end in my head. This novels ending was gut wrenching and left me speechless. I kept saying please don't let it end like this and of course Jason delivered a punch that I had to re-listen to multiple times. Overall, it was a great book with twists galore and allowed me to immerse myself. Unfortunately it was a little too slow for my taste and that will not allow me to give it a 5 star rating. As always though, I will be looking forward to his next novel!

Thank you to netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest rate and review.

3.75 stars

I absolutely can't wait to read Jason Rekulak's next book. His engaging writing style combined with John Pirhalla's expert narration was a complete winner for me. The narrator captured the MC's personality perfectly and brought this story to life.

From the get-go, I was hooked and eager to know what was going to happen and how it would end. This domestic mystery/suspense was riveting.

When Frank's estranged daughter Maggie contacts him after three years of silence and announces that she's getting married and wants him to be there, he is eager to do whatever it takes to be a part of her life. His wife died many years ago, which resulted in him raising their daughter alone with the help of his sister, a nurse, and foster parent. However, when Frank, his sister, and her fosterchild get to the wedding location and he realizes that his daughter is marrying Aiden, the son of a powerful tech billionaire, he can't believe it. He comes from humble yet proud roots as a UPS driver for the past thirty years. Then, he starts noticing strange things and hearing bits of conversation that don't make sense. And there's the missing woman Dawn, who was last known to be dating the groom-to- be. As his suspicions grow that this family is hiding secrets, he becomes convinced that Maggie is in danger and needs to be saved before it's too late.

Sadly, I guessed the major twist early on, so it wasn't explosive for me. I also thought the ending was abrupt and didn't quite understand what it all meant. However, it was a definite winner for me, and I definitely recommend to others looking for old-school suspense.

Thank you, #NetGalley, and #MacmillanAudio for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
#TheLastOneAtTheWedding

I had high hopes for this one, and while I enjoyed it overall, it didn't hit the mark as much as Rekulak's debut. This one seemed to move a little too slow, I basically hated every character, and the continual mention of spiders and lice made me feel like my skin was crawling. I'll still pick up his next book though.

I am absolutely obsessed with Rekulak's first novel, Hidden Pictures. This one, unfortunately fell short. Frank has been estranged from his daughter for years. But when she calls and says she's engaged, he jumps at the opportunity to be involved again. When they arrive at the wedding weekend, it's clear that his daughter's family is not quite like theirs. There was a pretty substantial twist at the half way mark but it didn't do it for me. The narrator was great and I enjoyed the audio, but the plot fell short.

So I feel like I missed something with this one. I wanted to love it as much as Hidden Pictures but was sadly disappointed. I kept waiting for that gasping twist that never happened. Instead it was filled with unlikable characters that got on my nerves and made dumb decisions. I missed something, right? (Scratching my head) The narrator was pleasant and was good at portraying the characters. My thanks to McMillan Audio for providing the audiobook for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Don't mind the average ratings- this was a good one! Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures was smash hit that rode the line between suspense and horror. The Last One at the Wedding is a thriller, through and through. If you go in expecting this book to be something its not, that is not the book’s fault lmao

Its not often that I read a book written by a male author, with a male MC., and rarer still that I really click with that MC, but Frank in this book was the quintessential middle-class dad archetype and it worked to keep the reader engaged and in the first POV camp. Aside from Frank, most other characters fall into a “rich people behaving badly” theme with a culty vibe. It was very entertaining! Some parts in this book had my jaw on the floor. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day.

I wholly recommend this book to thriller readers and give it 4.5 stars. Thank you MacMillan Audio for the ALC of The Last One at the Wedding, which is available now.

After not speaking for years, Frank’s daughter, Maggie, calls him to tell him that she’s getting married. Initially, she is hesitant to tell her father much about her fiancé, who is part of a very, very wealthy family. But once he meets his future son in law, Aiden Gardner, Frank is happy for Maggie and hopeful that this exciting event will help them to mend their previously broken relationship. Frank wants to make sure Maggie is making the right decision by learning more about the Gardner family, but it turns out that they have unimaginable secrets.

Seemingly an unpopular opinion, but I loved this book! This audiobook was fantastic and I couldn’t stop listening! John Pirhalla was an absolutely phenomenal narrator and really brought our main character, Frank, to life.

I went in blind, so didn’t know what to expect. I’ve seen reviews saying that other readers didn’t like any of the characters, but I think that was kind of the point! Frank is an average, blue collar guy- nothing specifically memorable or special about him. But he finds himself in this bizarre situation where his daughter is suddenly marrying into a very wealthy family. I loved reading the story through Frank’s perspective and how innocent he was (ex- offering to pay for the alcohol for the wedding and vastly underestimating how much it would really cost). To me, he was really relatable as a normal person and that kept me invested in the story.

PS- There was one overly descriptive scene that I wish I could block out of my mind…

I enjoyed this one, but his first book is still my favorite. I really did love that he dove into how you can think you know someone, but you never really door or how you can somehow push back those things that you know to be true about the person. This one was shocking and really sad to think that people can be so horrible. I did not see the twist coming. You know something isn't quite right with this wedding, but this kept me guessing.

Overall: 4/5
Audio: 3/5 I had to listen on 1.5-2

What would a dad do for the love of his daughter? I appreciated how the reader was introduced to Frank as a dad estranged from his daughter. When she contact his out of the blue, we are rooting for him to rekindle his relationship. We see Maggie through his adoring eyes. As the story goes on and more details are revealed, we begin to see what Frank has overlooked about his duaghter and the type of person she really is.
There were a few eye opening revelations and the story started to make a lot more sense. But was it better when Frank and the reader only knew surface information? How far would you go to protect the one you loved, even if they don't want to be helped?
This one definitely tugged at the heart strings of any single parent thinking they did all that they could to raise their child to make good choices. <i>The Last One at the Wedding</i> is a great psychological family drama that has short chapters, leading to a quick read. You will have a hard time putting it down because you want to know what is going to be revealed next. And in the same way, the audiobook was very easy to listen to and hard to pause.

I just finished the audio version of The Last One at the Wedding. It was a good mystery that kept you guessing most of the way through it. I liked the main character and also liked the narrator. The book is about a father that tries to be a good man and still wants to help his troubled daughter. He has a hard time when he thinks of compromising his morals to help his daughter. His daughter is a woman with real issues. She has no moral compass and the father finally learns this and has to decide what to do. This book was a fun, mystery read that I would love to read on the beach! I figured out the "villain" before the end but it kept me guessing throughout most of the book. I recommend this book!