Thank you to NetGalley, Jason Rekulak, and the publisher for this audio ARC! I might have actually squealed when I got approved for this book—it’s one of my most anticipated reads of 2024!

And wow, it absolutely lived up to the hype. As an audiobook, the narration was outstanding. Whether it was the strength of the material or the narrator’s cadence, I was fully immersed in the story from start to finish.

The main character, Frank Szatowski, was so likable, as were his sister, Tammy, and her foster child, Abigail. Without giving too much away, I really appreciated how the story unfolded naturally, revealing the complexities of parenting in a thoughtful way.

I’m thrilled to have had the chance to read this early. It’s a must-read! 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

Frank Szatowski is living a quiet life as a deliveryman when out of the blue he gets a call from his daughter, Maggie. The two fell out a few years prior and Frank believed that was the end of his relationship with her. Maggie is calling to invite Frank to his wedding. Frank finds out that his daughter is engaged to Aidan Gardner, the son of a tech billionaire. Frank travels to an expansive estate for the prestigious wedding with his sister and her precocious foster child in tow. But in the days leading up to the wedding he begins learning about local hostilities to the Gardner family, odd family members, and everyone pretending everything is fine despite worrisome and dangerous events continuing to happen. Its left to Frank to figure out what is going on and whether his daughter is actually safe marrying into the family.

I loved Hidden Pictures and thankfully The Last One at the Wedding shows Jason Rekulak is really good at building a suspense thriller full of twists. The first act of the book is somewhat slow, but well crafted and engaging as the Szatowski and Gardner families are established. The book examines the class conflict between the two families and the Gardners with the surrounding community and builds off of the classic fish out of water at a wedding trope. Frank made for a very compelling protagonist as someone who is trying to repair a relationship and understand why it was broken in the first place. And the twists and reversals in the book made it much more compelling for me and it created a very exciting final sequence. Another wonderful thriller from Rekulak.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of The Last One at the Wedding in exchange for an honest review.

This was pretty twisted and I liked it!

What I liked:
- Frank is a great character. He's such a dad! Very believable.
- I liked the fancy wedding setting.
- The twists and turns as this story unfolded were intriguing and kept me interested.

What I didn't like:
- nothing

Well damn. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year since I absolutely loved Hidden Pictures. However, many of the 2024 “thriller” releases have not been hitting unfortunately. Either they’re getting worse, or I’m getting pickier (could be both). I put thriller in quotation marks because maybe one part in this entire book was thrilling. It was a slow burn with no real payoff. I was just kind of listening passively. I even skipped a small portion of the book just to get to the end. I didn’t feel like I missed anything either.

The plot of this book was not original in the slightest with no new commentary. Just “rich ppl bad” and “screens bad.” No likable characters either except the foster kid. The main character was insufferable. I can do unlikable characters, but the MC was just a whiny dad complaining the entire time.

I see other people praising the narrator, but I didn’t think he was that great TBH. Maybe it was because I was listening at 2x speed, but his voice for the female characters was straight up bad.

The Last One at the Wedding is out now. Thank you to 2024 Macmillan Audio Influencer Program and Netgalley for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jason Rekulak, and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to a copy of the audiobook version of The Last One at the Wedding in the return of an honest review. I received an advanced copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I having a feeling that if I had read this as a book, instead of listening to the audiobook, it would have been a "did not finish" for me. The pace was agonizingly slow. Sure, there was a twist in it, but it took what felt like forever to get there. I no longer cared how the story wrapped up. Each character was more unlikable than the next. The only reason I am giving this one three stars is because of the narration. That was the only thing that kept me interested. Not sure if it was how the character was written or how the narrator chose to voice him, but when the main character, Frank, was featured all I could visualize was Judd Hirsch.

I loved this book as I knew I would. Audiobook was also well done! Can’t wait for more books from this author.

Thank you for allowing me the chance to review this book. I thought it was well-written and it kept me on my toes, although it wasn’t as suspenseful as I was hoping. I didn’t care for any of the characters and thought they were all pretty unlikable, which was probably the point but it made it challenging to read.

What a ride!!! Hidden Pictures was one of my favorite reads this year, so I was mega stoked to get access to this audiobook! The narrator was fantastic. I’ve never been a reader of books with older male characters as the MC and I was pleasantly surprised by this narrator!! He was engaging, mysterious, and I felt connected to all of the characters via his different impressions.

The storyline was such a roller coaster - I love when you go into the second half of the book totally confused at who done it. Frank and Maggie’s relationship was so surprising and entertaining. I literally had no clue what was going to happen!

My favorite character was Abigail, hands down. Her innocence and love for everyone was a light in this story. I also loved watching Frank’s character development throughout this story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for this ARC audiobook!

I read Hidden Pictures and absolutely fell in love with Jason Rekulak and wasn't able to put that book down. This book was different. I am not sure i it's because I listened to it on audiobook or what, but I couldn't get into this book as much as I did his first book. While I did finish it, it took me a lot longer than I expected to get through it.

Can I say I liked this book in parts? Frank Szatowski is a genuine, salt-of-the-earth kinda guy who has an estranged daughter, Maggie. Her wedding to the son of a super-rich businesman brings them close again, but when Frank arrives at the wedding, he suspects that nothing is what it appears to be. The entire family just seems a bit off. The premise was interesting and the references to some popular Philly spots delighted me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Are you looking for an epic mystery-thriller that will keep you invested until the last page? Jason Rekulak’s newest novel DELIVERED.

Frank has not spoken to his daughter, Maggie, in three years and is shocked when she calls to invite him to her wedding. When he arrives at the private estate where the wedding will take place with his sister and her foster child, Frank discovers Maggie is marrying billionaire heir, Aiden Gardner.

The family is not friendly, Maggie has no time for him, and Frank gets suspicious when he releases that Aiden is suspected of having something to do with a missing woman. When a fellow wedding guest winds up dead, Frank goes on the hunt to figure out what secrets are being kept from him in a bid to save his daughter.

Why Kirsten loves it
Frank is an everyman way over his head with the antics of the 1%. While he strives to help his daughter in a bid to repair their relationship, he is met with a myriad of scenarios he can’t wrap his head around as he is thwarted at every turn. His outsider looking in perspective was an exceptional narrative tool and as he uncovered each secret, I was every bit as shocked as he was. At the 70% mark my mind literally looked like this – 🤯. I DEVOURED it and you will too.

I requested this title because I really enjoyed Hidden Pictures. This turned out to be nothing like Hidden Pictures, really, but I think I actually liked this one far more!
I loved how throughout the story, readers realize that their first impressions of pretty much all the characters have been wrong. Maggie is not a sweet daughter who hasn't had time for her father, and Adian is not an aloof snob. As one reads, one has to reconsider the events that happened earlier in the story and look at them in a different light. I also really enjoyed Frank as a narrator! He is certainly flawed, but overall a very likeable and relatable character.
The setting is also excellent! I love a locked door mystery, and this was more of a locked complex in the woods mystery, but same idea.
I'm really looking forward to recommending this to the many readers who ask me for a good new mystery each day. I also loved the reader for the audiobook version! I couldn't stop listening once I started it.

This mystery was phenomenal! I love this author and how his writing style gets a grip on you! He makes you feel so much for the characters while on a thrill ride! It had me guessing through the entire book and the atmosphere was spot on!!!

Did not finish.
Despite an interesting setup, I found this book slow and irritating. I found the narrator very punchable. I was not happy with how foster children were represented as dirty, annoying, lice-infested, and probably not traumatized.

From the bestselling author of Hidden Pictures comes a breathtaking work of suspense about a father trying to save his daughter from a life-altering decision. The Last One at the Wedding is a work of brilliant suspense that delves deep into the heart of one family, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The novel explores themes of family, love, and money, taking the reader on a twisty journey of how far one will go to help their kids and do the right thing. The Last One at the Wedding is a marvellous blend of mystery, family drama, class tension, horror, humour, and heart. It's a wedding you won't want to miss!

This just didn't hit for me.
I really hated the dad and the aunt.
I hated how the dad referred to foster kids. Stop singling her out!!
I also found the story to be boring. :(

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!