A review by me_alley
The Wedding Party: An addictive psychological thriller full of twists and turns set on a sweltering Australian beach by Rebecca Heath

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book goes back-and-forth between a three day time period leading up to Adele and Jason‘s wedding, and 12 years ago when Adele‘s former boyfriend died. The story centers around how and why Ollie died, his sister Sophie, his mother, Melanie. Sophie and Melanie are both involved in the wedding, Along with Jason and Adele‘s parents. This very much read like a soap opera, if you like a lot of melodrama, this book might be a good one for you. I found a lot of it to be a little unbelievable and at times dragged on and then other times rushed, I really just didn’t like the pacing. There were few likable characters in this novel. That said, it doesn’t take a lot of thought process, and could be good if you need something that is a story to escape into. I would’ve liked to have heard more about the island in Australia, the setting. Again, I don’t want to give away any of the plot points, but there was what I would consider to be an awful lot of extreme drama.  

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria Books for the arc. Book to be released January 23, 2025.