Reviews

The Wedding Party by Tammy Cohen

thesouterbookshelf's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

estherb's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cheryl59's review

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4.0

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I read this book pretty much in one sitting there were lots of twists and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it.

mickysbookworm's review against another edition

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4.0

What a thrilling read.

So many twists and turns - there were some characters I didn’t enjoy like Vivian.

But then there were others that I started out disliking but then it turned through the story.

Such an intricate story with lots of different threads to it.

I also enjoyed Nina’s part - she seemed such a strong and confident women by the end.

Excellent story very well written.

nadialyons's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

cosiedupwithabook's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.25

peacockbookreviews's review

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3.0

The Wedding Party by Tammy Cohen
Pub Date 19 August 2021
Till death do us part . . .
Lucy has dreamt of her wedding day for as long as she can remember.
And now the day is almost here. Her nearest and dearest are gathered on an idyllic Greek island and she just knows it's going to be perfect. It has to be.
But even the best-laid plans can go horribly wrong. Why are her parents behaving so strangely? Why won't the rather odd lady from the airport stop hanging around? Who is the silent stranger her sister brought as a plus-1?
And then they find the body.
It's going to be a day to remember.

Tammy Cohen sets practically everyone up as a clifftop murderer, and all though you know a body has been found on the beach, you won't know who has been killed until the final chapters of the story. While trying to figure out who the perpetrator of the crime is, you unavoidably try to figure out who the victim is.
The story centres around a dysfunctional family and is told from the perspectives of each member.
This is a very cleverly written mystery.
I am happy to recommend this all-embracing book.
I want to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Black Swan and author Tammy Cohen for a pre-publication copy to review.

readingwithbuddy's review

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5.0

Well this was such a page turner. It was gripping and I really needed to find out what happened next. The first ten pages or so did not grab me then it got really interesting and really wanted to know how all the secrets unravelled.

I found it really interesting and intriguing that I did not know who the victim was - I kept flip flopping in my guess.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

javierfp82's review against another edition

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4.0

Review published in: https://diagnosisbookaholic.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-wedding-party.html

3,5 ⭐️

Dear reader, you are cordially invited to celebrate the marriage of Lucy and Jason. The ceremony will be held on the island of Kefalonia on the afternoon of the 15th of June 2019. This will be followed by dinner and…MURDER!

At least that’s what it looks like when a body at the bottom of a cliff is being guarded by the police in the fist few pages.

The wedding party follows the current trend in the domestic suspense genre where we know from page one that someone dies but we don’t know who it is till the very last pages, with the story focusing on the events leading to this death and not its investigation. Although it has been done before I still was entertained by it.

Most of the characters are pretty unlikeable so I wouldn’t have minded more than one of them being the deceased. Interspersed extracts of police interviews allow the reader to go discarding candidates as the story progresses. Lucy is your typical bridezilla obsessed with everything being perfect on her wedding day cause she deserves it (her words); her friend Shelly gives really clingy vibes; her sister Jess is a free agent and doesn’t care much about her sister wishes, bringing to the wedding a virtual stranger that may not be who he says he is; her parents are hiding some secret from their daughters and from each other; her fiancé seems to have a not so healthy relationship with his mum, and to top it off an old lady on the resort seems to be weirdly interested in the wedding party. This was recipe for disaster!

I liked how all their secrets were slowly unraveled but, imo, halfway through the story stalled a little bit until it picked up again once the wedding day arrived. For such a huge build up I felt some of the secrets they were hiding were a bit of a let down.

The changing POVs and short chapters made of The wedding party a fast and twisty read and it will have you guessing till the end not for the killer but for the killed one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

missmesmerized's review

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5.0

All her life Lucy has dreamt of the perfect wedding. It took her 18 months to plan everything to detail so that her nuptials to Jason would be the most spectacular moment. The wedding party arrives on the beautiful Greek island of Kefalonia already a couple of days prior to enjoy themselves and to prepare for the big day. Yet, from the start, things do not run as smoothly as expected. Lucy’s sister Jess appears with a stranger in tow, her parents behave strangely and her wedding planner Nina is asking repeatedly for the pay of the last bill which Lucy simply couldn’t settle as she has been overspending and is totally broke. It is only her best friend Shelly who supports her unconditionally. But this is only the beginning, with the strange woman Vivian, a doomy omen seems to have arrived at their luxurious hotel threatening not only to destroy the best day of her life but her whole family.

I have been a huge fan of Tammy Cohen for years and thus was looking forward to reading her latest novel. Again, she did not disappoint me but created a gripping plot which had me struggle to put the book down once I had started. Brilliantly crafted, suspense is high from the beginning as you know that something absolutely terrible is going to happen, yet, the big question is: what?

Lucy just wants her wedding to be perfect, not necessarily for herself, but much more for her Instagram followers and colleagues. She seems to be doing everything right except for spending money she does not have and not telling her husband-to-be about it. Her sister, on the contrary, is more on the rebel side of life not caring too much about outer appearances and following her own ideals. That she might spoil her sister’s wedding by bringing a total stranger does not really occur to her, it is just her way of having a bit of fun. Their parents, too, seem to have fallen apart, even though the girls do not have a clue why this might be. Just for the sake of the wedding, they all try at least to play their assigned role for a couple of days longer.

Even though it could be a carefree week under the sun, smaller and bigger secrets surface one after the other leading to an increasingly dense atmosphere among the party and opening up all doors for speculation about what might happen. From the police interviews interjected, you can only guess so much, but this is this theorising that makes reading the novel great fun.

Wonderfully depicted characters who all have their flaws and shortcomings mixed with a lot of drama and suspense – a perfect summer read.