Member Reviews

A bachelorette party on a remote island, what could go wrong?? Well a lot if the island is the spot where 10 years earlier 4 friends mysteriously died and it was never solved.

This book had the twists and turns oh my. It was very fast paced and easy to read. Good luck guessing the ending cause i didn't see it coming!!!


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this ARC!

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⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Bachelorette Party.

This review contains spoilers…..

What I liked:
The changing timeline and opposing perspectives
The plot twist of who the killer really was in both timelines
The setting and description of the setting

What I wasn’t crazy about:
A few plot points seemed thin to me- why Irene went through all that trouble and waited that long to seek her revenge was a stretch for me. I also didn’t see why she would involve the others if it was truly about her sister.
Secondly, there was a buildup to the big bad thing that Tessa had done. When it was finally revealed, it kind of gave me a feeling of “that’s it??”
Lastly, I didn’t think there was enough character development to round out the idea that Carl would kill the Nacka Four.

Overall, a good quick read that kept me turning the pages! I would read another book by this author.

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The Bachelorette Party follows two different groups of women and what happens on a small island out in the Baltic Sea off of Sweden. Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina are friends that have gone on a once a year girls trip ever since they were young. One year they go missing and are never found again.

A decade later, Tessa comes to the same island on a Bachelorette trip for her old friend Annelise. She’s been obsessed with the story of four friends that disappeared for as long as she can remember and the lore in her own mind of what happened to them. While she is still reeling from a personal trauma related to her true crime podcast, she thinks she may be able to solve the mystery of the missing women.

Part slasher, part locked room mystery, this is a fun summer read for any thriller lovers. I got through this pretty fast and it kept my attention. The ending fell kind of flat for me and another reader mentioned that certain elements of the story didn’t end up making sense and I agree. While this was a fun read, it’s not as strong of a story as some other isolation trope mysteries that I’ve read.

Overall would rate this 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4.

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Let me just say that I hope my bachelorette party is this exciting and thrilling but for very, very, different reasons! This was my first book by Camilla Sten, and I have to say I will definitely be checking out some more! This was a very entertaining, locked-room (island) thriller/murder mystery with a bachelorette theme, that I have to say was engaging and page-turning for me.

We follow Tessa, a true crime podcaster who seems to be down on her luck, as she attends her oldest friend's bachelorette party. I think there were some predictable twists and turns, and I was able to figure out the murderer pretty quickly, the plot and writing were great that it was still engaging and entertaining. Camilla Sten created a dual timeline with past and present that culminated perfectly and it gave us a good view of what happened "before" and what led to Tessa searching for the answers during her friends bachelorette party

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Camilla Sten for the eARC of The Bachelorette Party in exchange for an honest review. Publication date for The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten is set for 10 June 2025 (around the time of mine, I hope! Oh boy!)

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Great read albeit someone predictable twist. I do enjoy me an island thriller though and this fit the bill. Good characters, good plot, well written. Overall a very good read

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Totally entertaining locked-room mystery that deserves a spot in everyone’s beach bag on publication day! It has those 1990s horror movie vibes. I loved all the twists and did not see the end coming!

Thanks for the opportunity to read! I’ll be recommending this closer to pub day!

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Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the plot… I mean who doesn’t love a classic “locked room” murder mystery coupled with a bachelorette party?!

The story follows Tessa, a true crime podcaster who has hit rock bottom, on a one-woman mission to revive her career. Once she realizes the destination of her childhood friend’s bachelorette party, Tessa makes it her mission to do everything in her power to bring justice, to her career, and to a ten-year-old unsolved case of four women who seemingly disappeared off the Swedish archipelago coast.

Although I detected the real murderer, literally immediately after the character was introduced, Sten expertly crafts a dual timeline that beautifully connects the past to present day. I enjoyed the past timeline because it gave you a glimpse into the lives of the four missing women, which, if you didn’t detect the murderer before, will leave your head spinning and pages turning!

If you enjoy the aesthetic scenery of a remote island, murder, revenge, and locked room mysteries, take this book to the beach for a wild ride!

3.75/5!! (rounded up)

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I thought this was a thrilling, albeit somewhat predictable, fast-paced read. The connections between all of the characters that set the plot in motion seem a little too convenient and I found the antagonist ready to predict. However, I found the climax of the storyline to be action-packed and suspenseful. It is a much more enjoyable book if you don't overthink it and just enjoy the ride.

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This book was really good. I enjoyed the 2 timelines and wish I would have gotten more on the past time line. A group of friends, a remote island, and a murder.. what more can you ask for. This was a suspenseful story that had my heart racing from the beginning. I will definitely read more by this author!

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First I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review.

The Bachelorette Party is a fast-paced thriller set on a remote island spa, where a group of friends gathers for a bachelorette trip—only for their getaway to intertwine with a decade-old unsolved mystery. The eerie island setting creates a great atmosphere, and the book is an easy, quick read. However, while it keeps the pages turning, it lacks truly shocking twists, making some plot points feel predictable. The dual timelines and multiple characters can be overwhelming at times, and the friend group dynamic often feels more antagonistic than authentic. Additionally, the protagonist’s backstory, tied to her defunct podcast, takes up a lot of space without adding much to the central mystery. While it doesn’t reinvent the genre, fans of locked-room and girls’ trip thrillers may still enjoy the suspense.

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I loved the suspense and thrilling moments! I would read her other books. If you like Lisa Jewell you’ll enjoy this one

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I had high hopes for this book, as I love the premise, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. The shifting timelines and all the characters made things hard to follow.

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Im a big fan of the mystery/suspense/thriller genres and love a good page turner, so I wanted to give The Bachelorette Party a shot after reading the description. This book follows a group of friends who are on a bach trip at a remote island spa, drawing parallels with a decade-old unsolved mystery that one of the main characters has had interest in from her defunct-podcast. I could see this becoming a slasher film in the future and doing well in that space. It wasn’t my thing but I see the appeal to others.

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This was a decent quick thriller. I flew through it. The book lacked strong twists, nothing was shocking. But it still held me captive and read easily. The island creepy vibe was pretty cool. The side story of the main character felt less like a red herring, and more like a slight waste of time. It gave her a good backstory, but took up too much time and didn’t need to be a big mystery. Overall I enjoyed the book.

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Unfortunately I did not like this book as much as I thought it would. I will say, however, that I was invested in finding out what happened to the original 4 girls who went missing. It starts out a little slow but offers good character development. It finishes with so much action that it felt a little forced. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters but the ending was satisfying. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

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Wow I loved this so much. Mystery, thrill, atmospheric setting, drama, intrigue --- all the things that make an absolute page turner. Highly recommend!!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC gifted in exchange for my honest review.

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This book *could* have been a fun ride—honestly, it hooked me right from the start. A remote island? Check. A mysterious disappearance? Check. And the promise of a locked-room style murder mystery? Yep, I was all in. But, unfortunately, it’s like a roller coaster that starts out strong and then gets stuck at the top, only to awkwardly fizzle out on the way down. **Sigh.**

If you're a fan of *Scream*, like I am, then the comparison to that franchise might have you expecting some wild, slasher-like twists. But this book misses the mark. While it does deliver some suspense, it doesn’t follow that tight “locked-door” formula that makes *Scream* so thrilling. Instead, it feels like it’s trying to be a mystery but sort of just… meanders.

Now, don’t get me wrong—the author does a great job capturing the fear and unease of the characters. The fear is palpable, and I really did feel the dread of being on an isolated island with your friends, especially when *everyone* starts acting a little *too* suspicious. The problem? When it comes to the antagonist... let's just say, I was *highly* disappointed. It felt like a lot of build-up for a rather underwhelming payoff. I wanted more. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the twisty, heart-pounding finales, but this one left me shrugging instead of gasping.

But, on the flip side, this book *could* be a fun, quick read for newcomers to the genre or for anyone looking for something light for a beach day. You know, if you don't mind a mystery that gives you more "mildly intrigued" than "on the edge of your seat." It's one of those books that works better if you're not trying to analyze it too much.

So, if you’re new to thrillers or just need something to pass the time in a hammock while sipping sangria, this might be a good pick. But if you're looking for something to rival *Scream* or any other top-tier suspense thriller, this one doesn’t quite hit the mark.

In short, a fun setup, but a bit of a letdown in the execution. Maybe it's a *beach read* kind of book after all. 🌊🍹

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First book by Sten. Intriguing mystery thriller . Dual time lines set 10 years apart. I'd rate it 3.5 starts, but rounded up to 4.

Review is not posted yet, but is scheduled, will come back to update link when its published.

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Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the ARC of this book.

Another super scary horror from one of the best - Camilla Sten. Her book, The Lost Village, was one of the scariest things I had read in a long time. The Bachelorette Party is sure to creep you out from the very beginning all the way to the twisted end. A group of young women take their annual trip to a remote island, but this year, there's something different. This year, they never return. When True Crime Podcaster, Tessa, is invited to that same island ten years later, is there any doubt she's going to dig into what happened?

For some of us, there's nothing scarier than a bachelorette party. I think Sten tapped into that discomfort and awkwardness then turned the dial up to eleven. First there is the dread of having to spend a weekend with people you haven't seen in years and maybe don't even like very much. Add to that the feeling of being trapped on an island with no easy way back to the main land. Finally, discover there's an unknown killer in the mix. It's a recipe for making the little hairs on the back of your neck raise and for thinking you can read just one more chapter only to end up finishing the book.

Fast paced, suspenseful, lots of "what would I do in that situation" thoughts and a backstory that hooks you in and keeps you all the way to the end, The Bachelorette Party is definitely creepy fun.

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First I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an ARC for my honest review.
I wanted to love this book so much, I was excited when I saw the comparison between it and 'The Guest List by Lucy Foley' unfortunately it fell flat. The bachelorette party read as many other locked room / girls trip thrillers which made it predictable and generic. The group of "friends" did not seem like friends at all. It was more of them all against Tessa, which became repetitive and bland. I started to loose interest, especially because of how many characters there were along with the dual time-lines. The Bachelorette Party was an okay read, it did not stand out to me but It was not one of the worst thrillers I have ever read.

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