Frank is a 50-year old widow and father of Maggie, a 20-something year old young woman who, after 3 years of being absent from her father's life, reaches out to him and drops the news that she is getting married, and she wants Frank to attend to a 3-day wedding celebration which will take place at the secluded mansion estate her soon-to-be-husband's family owns.
Frank is content with his steady job and lonely life, but he's always missed, and regretted not, having his daughter in his life, so he immediately accepts the invitation and is eager to meet his son-in-law and all his family. He's willing to do anything to get Maggie back into his life.
By the time the wedding week approaches, Frank learns that Maggie's fiancé family is not only ridiculously wealthy but also eerie, mysterious and everyone seems to be hiding secrets, including her daughter Maggie.
While Frank is at that secluded estate wedding venue, as each day goes by, he learns dark and horrific secrets everyone had been keeping from him, and the weekend ends in chaos and murder.

Let me start by saying something that I believe is essential to be said, whether or not you've read Hidden Pictures and enjoyed it or not: The Last One at the Wedding is NOTHING ALIKE Hidden Pictures. Do not expect to go into this book and get similar vibes or characters or crazy plot twists as the author provided us with Hidden Pictures. Nope. These are 2 completely different books. I'd even dare say these 2 books could have been written by different authors...!
The Last One at the Wedding is a mystery/thriller (much more of a mystery, really), told in one single POV, about a father desperately trying to re-connect with his estranged daughter, while having to deal with her daughter's troubling past and shady present. It's about super rich people full of dark (and some deadly) secrets, too.

Overall, it's a mix of a character-driven story focused on Frank - in my opinion, a very interesting and realistic character (even in the moments he can be really annoying haha I mean, aren't we all flawed human beings?) -, and a plot-driven story about all the mysteries concerning that wealthy family dynamics. I personally really enjoyed the ambience, the setting at the secluded estate in the middle of the woods, with strange rules applied to its residents and guests. I thought it was atmospheric enough for me to feel immersed into the plot. Also, there is a nice contrast behaviour between the characters from the rich family and from Frank's family (his sister also attends to the wedding).

My only issue with this book concerns the ending, the conclusion: I liked the overall pacing of this story, but the last 15% felt rushed and the abrupt ending made me read the last chapter twice, so that I was sure I wasn't missing anything.
What's more, to more experienced and 'hardcore' mystery/thriller readers, like me, the second half of this book might be quite predictable, so I never got truly surprised or shocked by the twists and revelations.

Yet, I do believe this is an easy, enjoyable and a fun-time read. I can easily recommend this book to everyone who likes mysteries set in the woods about dark rich people. But, again, if you've read Hidden Pictures and loved it, be careful with your expectations going for this one. Be well aware that this is a very different book from that one. And if you've read and disliked Hidden Pictures, consider giving this book a go. You might like it better.
As for myself, I liked this one a lot, but I loved Hidden Pictures.

I listened to the audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio - the audiobook narrator, by the way, does a great job voicing all the different characters and giving a special treatment to the main character.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

<b>The narrator really made this book!</b>

After a three-year estrangement, widower Frank is delighted when his only child, daughter Maggie, calls him out of the blue - and puzzled when she announces she is about to get married. When he meets the happy couple before the wedding, he is even more baffled to realize that Aidan Gardner, the groom-to-be, is the son of a tech billionaire. But once Frank makes his way to the estate where the wedding will take place, he gets an uneasy feeling. The locals warn him about the Gardner family. There are rumors Maggie's fiancé was involved in the disappearance of a local woman. "Privacy documents" abound. And the longer Frank spends at the Gardner estate, the more convinced he is that he needs to stop his daughter from going through with the wedding.

Wow, narrator John Pirhalla did an absolutely outstanding job voicing Frank, an imperfect but profoundly decent father wanting the best for his daughter. I was hooked, and I'm sure his rendition had a lot to do with it - this is a case where I think the audiobook may be even better than the book itself!

The story of "The Last One at the Wedding" was not completely surprising, but took some original turns and kept me on my toes. I found the book to be well-written and really liked the character of Frank, though the side characters, Maggie and Aidan in particular, were not equally well fleshed out. I also greatly enjoyed the ending, though I personally would have hoped for Frank to make a different decision.

This was a fast-paced and enjoyable late summer read.

TW: suicide, drug use.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Last One at the Wedding" is slated to be released on October 8, 2024.</i>

Frank is a UPS driver (With over 25 years accident free!). He’s also a loving, single father to an adult daughter (Maggie) who hasn’t spoken to him in a few years. When Maggie gives him a call out of the blue, Frank is ecstatic. Not only that, she tells him she’s getting married!

Once Frank meets her fiancé and his family, things start to get very strange.

This book was such a fun domestic suspense, I couldn’t put it down!

I also loved the narrator! I completely envisioned him being the middle aged father of the bride, who works at UPS.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and MacMillan Audio for letting me indulge in this audiobook early.

I was drawn to this book because I had really enjoyed Hidden Pictures, by the same author. I was able to listen to the audiobook version of the book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I finished it in 2 days because I kept wanting to listen to more. The narrator was really good, he handled the different voices well and made the book even more interesting. The book definitely had some twists and turns that I was not expecting. The main character, Frank Szatowski was really such an enjoyable character. Throughout the entire story he just wants to do what is best for his daughter, even as he starts to uncover secrets. Another character I enjoyed a lot was the little foster girl, Abigail, who is the complete opposite of Frank’s soon to be in-laws to his daughter. This book is very different from Hidden Pictures, which is a good thing. I enjoyed listening to it and I really enjoyed those jaw dropping moments.

Thank you NetGalley and McMillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book prior to publication.

I received this title as an ARC audiobook via NetGalley. I was a huge fan of Hidden Pictures when I read it earlier this year and gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is different from Hidden Pictures as there is no supernatural or horror. However, this earned another 5 stars from me! This book was super binge worthy and I finished it within a 24 hour period. I honestly was surprised by the twist and didn’t expect it! I can’t wait to see what Jason puts out next. He has easily become one of my favorite authors.

Narrator did a great job. I felt he was a perfect fit for Frank. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review! I was so excited to receive this one!

Excellent story, characters and narration! The audiobook is narrated by John Pirhalla, who did a great job with tone, inflection and emotion. The story itself is unlike the many others I have read or listened to. I wasn’t able to predict the direction this ended up going, and there were characters that you could identify with, some that were hard to decide about and went back and forth whether they were likable or not, and some I absolutely hated. Overall, I loved listening to this story, and it went super fast!

“You already got eggs in your hair so let’s not overreact.” 🤣😂🤣

“The internet never forgets.”

The relationship between Frank and his Sister Tammy was heartwarming and funny. Sure let’s bring the Abigail (her foster child) with head lice and crooked yellow teeth to the super fancy uppity wedding, just grab a jar of mayonnaise 😂🤣😂.

I loved following this messy cast of characters. I felt so bad for Frank as he’s the dad everyone probably wants to have but there’s this tension between him and Maggie, ahem…MARGARET.

I was totally invested in this book and loved it so much. Unfortunately I was incredibly disappointed by the ending. All of this build up and exceptional storytelling, smooth and natural and then…the ending rolled up and was like a car with a flat. Such a disappointment and it left me thinking I missed something. I went through other reviews to try to find some sort of explanation to the ending but it seems a bunch of other readers felt the same way.

Thus, my anticipated infinity rating for this one drops to a womp womp 4 star review (I know 4 stars is still good but this one could’ve been BOTY material). This REALLY should have an infinity star. Pains me to ding it a whole star but that darn ending just killed me. Smh. Don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed it but I am just THAT upset we didn’t get more in the end.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for this ARC
Set to publish 10/8/24
This wasn’t like hidden pictures but I enjoyed it a lot!
I recommend this if you like books about the rich& famous or drama &weddings!
I loved frank and Abigail’s relationship 🤍
I couldn’t stand most all the other characters but that means they were well written and playing their part well.
I liked how this book ended and I’ll definitely read Jason’s next book!!

The characters were great in this book, I knew the little girl would be important. I'm glad I discovered this author, so good!

I could not stop listening to this! Finished in a day. I did find most of the characters unlikeable but sometimes that makes the story better! The suspense kept building and lots of twists and turns.

Short synopsis: Frank receives a call from his estranged daughter announcing she’s marrying the son of a tech billionaire. Shortly after the announcement he gets a letter in the mail regarding the woman who went missing on the private estate the wedding will be held at.

My thoughts: After reading and loving Hidden Pictures I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this authors next book. I’ll tell you right away, they are very different books. This is more a domestic suspense with lots of rich people drama.

I loved hearing this story from the perspective of the father, he drove the story forward so wonderfully as we slowly unravel what happened to make tear him and his daughter apart. I liked watching him fight to repair the relationship with his daughter and trying connect with her soon to be in-laws, despite his reservations. I also really loved the humor and love Abigail brought to the story, she was a bright spot for sure!

I will say, there were moments that were complicated unexpected. I think I screamed out loud at one point, IYKYK…

Read if you love:
- Family suspense
- Remote weddings
- Lifestyle of the rich and famous

I think this one will be better reviewed in two separate ways: the audio narration vs the book…

The narrator: impeccable. His voice was creepy, suspenseful and well trained for audiobooks. I’ don’t know his name but I’ve heard it before and I think he’s the perfect narrator for the suspense or thriller genre.

The book: HUGE fan of the author. 5 stars from his last book Hidden Pictures. It was completely atmospheric and creepy. Loved every minute of that one.

For this one, I felt the same atmosphere read but the ending made me do a little bit of. Wtf? lol. 😂
I also don’t get the reason why Maggie didn’t talk to him for 3 yrs???? The reason given didn’t justify a 3 yr ignore.

I’m gonna need to talk about this with someone because I need to digest.

Narrator: 5/5
Book: 3.75/5

3.5⭐
Genre ~ domestic drama
Setting ~ Pennsylvania & New Hampshire
Publication date ~ October 8, 2024
Publisher ~ Macmillan Audio
Est Page Count ~ 352 (50 chapters)
Audio length ~ 11 hours 14 minutes
Narrator ~ John Pirhalla
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ 5 parts, murder, suicide, unlikable characters galore

Frank and daughter, Maggie, had a falling out and haven’t spoken in 3 years. Now she’s getting married to a man named Aiden and wants Frank there. He jumps at the chance to see his baby girl again. With his sister, Tammy, and her foster daughter, Abigail, who gets on his nerves more often than not, in tow they’re off to New Hampshire for a 3 day affair.

Once they get to the lavish estate of The Gardners he’s eager to reconnect with Maggie and get to know everything about the family she is marrying into. But he soon discovers this family has secrets. And then there is a murder, and don’t forget the missing girl that Aiden was involved with before he met Maggie.

Overall, I did not find it to be the edge of the seat thriller the blurb promises. I was hardly gripped as Frank was yapping away nonstop. He did provide some comic relief once in a while, so that was nice. There are a bunch of daddy long legs to give you a little creep factor. I didn't hate it, it was just so slow moving for me because I kept waiting for a twist or something. Not sure what’s up with that ending either.

“I showed her the basics of self defense. Taught her how to make a fist and throw a punch. I made sure she knew the devastating power of kicking a man in his coin purse.” 🤣 Definitely good info.

Narration notes:
He did a fabulous job.

Maggie has been out of touch with her dad for three years. Suddenly she calls him that she’s engaged. The dad (Frank) meets the fiance and the fiance is strange and weird. The couple is just very secretive overall. Frank is hesitant about the relationship, the fact that the fiance is filthy rich, and the lifestyle Maggie is leading. But he has to just let it go and go along with it for Maggie’s sake and for the wedding.

For about 75% I was HOOKED and would give this a solid 4. I had to know what would happen next. The characters felt very real. The secrets were interesting and the investigation frank was leading felt plausible.

But then the ending fell very flat. I kept waiting for something to be resolved?! For a jumpscare?! Haha. But nothing really did. Was this supposed to touch on the reality of the wealthy vs the working class??

So the ending kinda killed the rating for me to about 3.5.

However if you’re in the mood for a less jumpy thriller and more of a bleak view of life, this would still be a good book. The narrator did a fantastic job with all the voices.

“The Last One at the Wedding" by Jason Rekulak is a captivating and unpredictable audiobook that defies easy categorization. While it may not be a traditional "feel-good" story, there are surprising moments of warmth and tenderness that add depth and heart to this genre-bending tale.

Narrator John Pirhalla delivers a standout performance, bringing protagonist Frank to life with charisma and nuance. Frank's relatable thoughts and humorous observations make him an engaging character to follow, even as the plot takes unexpected turns.

Frank's dynamic with Abigail is another highlight of the book, providing both banter and heartwarming moments that add levity to the story's darker elements. While I was expecting a more traditional thriller with paranormal elements, this audiobook subverts expectations with its focus on character development and emotional resonance.

If you're looking for a thriller that defies easy categorization and offers surprising moments of warmth amidst the darkness, "The Last One at the Wedding" is definitely worth a listen.

Thank you to Jason Rekulka, John Pirhalla, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for sending me the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to get this one after reading and loving Hidden Pictures, and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. The plot twists kept me hooked, and the story kept me engaged. The only critique I have is that I really wanted more from the ending.

A special shoutout to the audiobook's narrator John Pirhalla.

Throughout the entire book, I was absolutely, positively transfixed by John Pirhalla's expert narration.

John Pirhalla mastered the voice and persona of the book's protagonist, a widowed, devoted, and emotionally scarred dad and career UPS driver.

Quite frankly, narrator John Pierhalla made author Jason Rekulak's deeply flawed protagonist larger than life.

I always adore books showcasing despicable people and this book had no shortage of unlikeable characters.

I am a New Englander and especially enjoyed the book's New England setting.

WHY NOT 5 STARS?
The book's ending was vague and unresolved.

TW:
Suicide

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Going with the audiobook is highly recommended.

4.5 stars

As a HUGE fan of Hidden Pictures (Rekulak's debut), I was so excited to listen to his next one- The Last One at the Wedding.

Frank has not talked to his daughter, Maggie, in three years. So when she calls him and asks him to attend her wedding to tech billionaire Aiden he can't help but jump at the opportunity. Looks can be deceiving though, as he learns who Aiden's family truly is starting with needing to sign an NDA to get onto the family estate/resort. Hearing from townspeople that a beloved daughter was last seen a year ago with Aiden at the estate just adds to the mystery.. who actually is the Gardner family? And why does Frank get a mysterious feeling that not everything is as it should be?

John PIrhalla brought the mysterious element that immediately had me HOOKED and binge listening to. I needed to know where the missing girl went and the mystery behind Aiden's family. While I couldn't stop listening, I didn't find "Wedding" to be as shocking as I had hoped and ultimately wanted some twists to occur that weren't actually there. I felt the ending was a little rushed with some plot holes being quickly tied up to get to the last chapter. However; fans of mysteries and Rekluak's debut may enjoy, just know it's a different genre/type of book than his first.

*Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ALC in exchange for my honest review*

I could not put this book down, I was IN from the get-go. I did think it was going to be a horror novel, but it definitely leans toward a mystery or thriller. We're quickly sequestered up at a summer camp in New Hampshire for a wedding, but the math ain't mathing. Frank slowly uncovers mystery after mystery that unravels into a whole freaking conspiracy! Here the pacing got a bit funky, namely started going SO fast that I felt like some important details were omitted. But I was hooked, so I just wrote down my questions and suspended all disbelief. John Pirhalla did a great job as Frank, toeing the line between curiosity and paranoia. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy the rich behaving badly or conspiracy theories.

I have been singing the praises of Jason Rekulak, local legend, since reading and loving Hidden Pictures. This was not it. This was an interesting follow-up. I enjoyed the pace and the short chapters. The story kept getting crazier and crazier and became almost unreal at the end...which I guess now that I am thinking about it is how Hidden Pictures went...

I love wedding mystery/thriller stories like this. There were some twists that I did not see coming in this story that I felt were well written. The down side for me is that I feel like we did not really get a chance to know these characters and a lot of them were unlikeable which made it hard for me to care what happened to them.

Anyway, it was a good and fast read. I did not really enjoy the narrator and it's possible I would have liked the story better if I would have read it as opposed to listening to it as the narrator grated on me at times and I felt he was a bit over the top.