I love a duel timeline book. This one is a thriller that has a bachelorette party in the present and then in the past there was a gathering a decade ago. I enjoyed all the twists and the remote island made it feel extra creepy. I liked the writing and the characters. This was a fun and entertaining thriller and I would pick up the author's next book for sure.

The Bachelorette Party combines so many elements that I love — years-old unsolved mysteries, locked-door plots, and a podcast — but the execution didn't work for me. There are so many characters introduced early on and they weren't that distinguishable, so I had to keep reminding myself who was who. The prologue was so long and, in general, I don't love dual timelines, so I wish the book focused on the present rather than jumping around.

I love a good mystery, but something about this felt too tangled. It was hard to put down and I wanted to keep reading and know how everything worked out, but I sort of ended up hate-reading it. I left feeling frustrated and sad.

This is a dual timeline thriller centered around two different gatherings of friends, separated by a decade. The novel weaves suspense between the present and the past, revealing the chilling connections that bind them together.

In the present, the focus is on a bachelorette party, specially arranged at an exclusive hotel resort that has not yet opened to the public. Four friends gather to celebrate Annaliese's upcoming wedding. Among them is Tessa, who is reluctantly attending after her recent fall from grace as a once-popular podcaster. Tessa secretly hopes to learn more about the tragic gathering from ten years ago—a gathering that led to the deaths of everyone involved and remains an unsolved mystery to this day.

As the bachelorette party unfolds, the group begins to unravel, and friends mysteriously start to disappear. With each disappearance, we are treated to a firsthand account of what happened during that ill-fated gathering a decade earlier. These haunting flashbacks add a chilling depth to the story, slowly revealing the truth behind both events. The dual narrative structure keeps the reader guessing, connecting the dots between the past tragedy and the current tension.

Camilla Sten does an excellent job of keeping the story taut and full of suspense. The characters are complex, their secrets tangled in the eerie atmosphere of the secluded hotel. The narrative seamlessly shifts between the present-day party and the tragic past, making for an engaging and thrilling experience. The ending delivers an unexpected yet satisfying twist that ties both timelines together.

This is a captivating mystery that not only provides edge-of-your-seat thrills but also sheds light on aspects of Swedish culture, adding a unique layer to the story. Sten has crafted a truly enjoyable and gripping thriller that will keep readers hooked until the very last page.

#stmartinspress #thebacheloretteparty #camillasten

This thriller really pulls you in from the get-go with its dark, suspenseful vibes. What makes it so gripping is the way it weaves together the unsettling mystery of four missing friends and a chilling present-day bachelorette party that mirrors the tragic events of the past. The remote island setting is perfectly eerie, and you can feel the tension building as secrets from the past start resurfacing. The main character, Tessa, adds a layer of obsession and determination that makes her journey both fascinating and fraught with danger. The mix of old wounds and new opportunities for revenge makes for a thrilling narrative full of twists, and by the time everything unravels, you’ll be glued to the pages. If you love thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat with unexpected turns, this is definitely a must-read.

Four childhood friends vanish without a trace during their annual retreat to a remote Baltic Sea island—a night filled with bonfires, secrets, and celebration. Ten years later, disgraced true crime podcaster Tessa, who once obsessively followed the case, finds herself invited to a bachelorette party on a what is more than likely the same remote island. Determined to reclaim her reputation, she sees this off-the-grid, vegan retreat—complete with sunrise yoga and endless cava—as a chance to uncover new clues. But as the weekend unfolds, the eerie parallels between past and present grow impossible to ignore, and Tessa realizes the island may hold more than just answers.

Although there is some back and forth from past to present it wasn’t difficult to keep it straight. I found the timeline to be well weaved together and the end was fast paced. I was counting down the hours at work so I could get home to find out how this mystery ended.

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. If you’re looking for a twisty, atmospheric thriller, this one is for you!

This was a fun thriller and I enjoyed the writing and story telling! Some twists and tropes were predictable, but I loved the characters and the suspense. 100% recommend!

3.4
This feels like a 70 something percent effort. Like, it all could have worked, if maybe the reader put in the effort to make up for where the author got a little bored and kind of...made some stuff happen...ish.

Very entertaining book! I enjoyed it and found myself eager to find out what the heck was going to happen next!

2.75 stars

Thank you Netgalley, Camilla Sten, and Minotaur Books for the #ARC in return for an honest review!

This was not for me, sadly. It was okay. I was so excited to read this after The Lost Village but it missed a few things for me.

What I enjoyed/what to expect?
👍🏻short chapters
👍🏻social commentary aka how in todays world, the scope of a story and fame in regards to true crime can really hurt people...
👍🏻true crime elements
👍🏻friendship drama
👍🏻locked room mystery
👍🏻psychological aspects
👍🏻gore + unreliable narrators

What did not work?
👎🏼the timeline was confusing at times and I had to double check exactly what time frame I was in.
👎🏼I feel like the suspense and drama and plot didnt kick in until the last 30% of the book. Pure whiplash and everything was suddenly solved. I just think the suspense could have been built up half way through with the way it was going. I dont know, it just left me feeling meh.

Thank you NetGally and publisher for this book!

Wow! WOW! Wow!! Boy was this book a great one! I enjoyed this writing style. All of the twist and turns. This thriller was definitely one I had a hard time putting down. I guessed wrong every time!! I will be picking up more books by this author ASAP!!

What an absolutely wild ride. While it starts slow, it picks up rather quickly. Tessa is a disgraced podcaster, who sees her chance to return to the top by covering the case of 4 missing women who disappeared from the same island she happens to be going to for a bachelorette trip. I loved how this kept me guessing even up to the final big reveal! It was quite detailed re gory when describing some things which gave me the ick, but overall excellent story.

The Bachelorette Party – A group of women head to a remote island where a crime occurred a decade earlier for a bachelorette party, what could possibly go wrong? The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten (expected publication: June 10, 2025) is an enthralling “locked room” mystery with some loveable characters and many suspicious ones.

2012: On a remote island off the coast of Sweden, four friends gather annually to drink beer, dance by the water, and escape. But, this year, one night of reckless fun turns sour. Ten years later, 2022: Tessa Nilsson, famous true crime podcaster, is invited to her best friend, Anneliese’s, bachelorette party on an island that eerily mirrors the circumstances of the past. Now, the island destination is a yoga retreat lead by Irene, who has a connection to one of those four women that mysteriously went missing 10 years earlier. Tessa knows this is her opportunity to find out what really happened to the group of women in 2012, but someone else is seeking revenge.

I thought the plot for the book was great; a locked room thriller on a remote island is always a winning plot in my book. The main characters were likeable, which was a positive. I didn’t think they were the most dynamic characters, which is typical of a book that follows so many main characters as this one. I did appreciate that it was not at all difficult to keep track of who was who for me, which can often be a struggle. The book switches between present day (2022) and the past (2012) giving the point of view for two women in particular – Tessa and Tilly. I thought each was a great narrative voice for the story.

I really enjoyed this book and think it’s a great thriller for summer and would definitely recommend this book. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really love the way that Camilla Sten writes, but I do feel as though this book was a little more predictable than her others, which I was not a fan of.

A bachelorette weekend but hold it on a remote island. What could go wrong? Well in this case, a lot!
10 years ago, four friends vanished. The police decided they had too much to drink and drowned. End of story. Not to Tessa. Fate brings her to this island for a fun time with her friends. But her life has blown apart and her once thriving true crime podcast is no more. If Tessa can figure out what happened to those four friends, she might have another chance at reviving her career.
She also seems to be the only one who feels the wrongness of this place. Finding the truth may lead to another four people lost………
Told mostly in the present with chapters from the past detailing what happened to Tilly and her friends. I had a guess but could not put my finger on the why.
Publication is in June, and this is exactly the kind of page flipper that screams beach read. Not as creepy as the author’s last book, but still a very enjoyable read.

This was twisty and a bit gory. I enjoyed it after I realized there would be a bit scarier than I would ordinarily gravitate toward. I liked the familial aspect. It wrapped up fairly quickly so that felt a bit rushed. I thought it was a great mystery/thriller/study in how people feel about unsolved mysteries and what they will do for a news story.

Tessa Nilsson, host of the true crime podcast The Witching Hour, is ambivalent about being invited to her friend Annaliese's bachelorette party. On the one hand, she's happy to reconnect with her school friends for such a happy occasion. On the other, she's recently suffered a very public professional disaster and wants nothing more than to hide out as long as possible. Her sister, Lena, who is also invited to the event, finally convinces her to go. Tessa has an ulterior motive for agreeing to go. She's hoping to look into the unsolved disappearance of four young women 10 years previously. The disappearances happened on the same island where the party is being held: Isle Blind. At the time the four young women disappeared, the island was just a small, uninhabited island. Now a resort is being built there, but it hasn't officially opened. The five guests are joined by Irene, who is running the hotel and hosting the weekend. Irene's sister Matilda is one of the women who disappeared a decade ago, so Tessa plans to question her as soon as she can. Of course, on an isolated island, everyone is forced to give up their cell phones on arrival, so you just know that's going to become a problem . . .

There is one man on the island, the chef Adam. Tessa gets a bad feeling about him, but begins to wonder if it's just her imagination. Then one of the women suddenly is gone and their one way off the island, a small dingy, is cut loose from its mooring and begins to drift out to sea. Can Tessa survive long enough to solve the earlier mystery?

I enjoyed the isolated location of the events as well as the old and new mysteries to be solved. Why Tessa is facing public scorn and possible financial ruin is also eventually revealed. An exciting, fast-paced thrill ride!

In 2012, 4 friends went on their annual summer trip to an island off the coast of Sweden. They disappeared in what appeared to be a boating accident. 10 years later, a yoga retreat has been built on the island, and Tessa is part of a bachelorette party weekend attending the retreat. Tessa is a true crime podcaster, hoping to actually find out what happened in 2012 without anyone knowing. I really enjoyed Sten’s “The Lost Village”, and while this one wasn’t nearly as frightening, I still enjoyed it. A good weekend read. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.