Ellery Wainwright was not supposed to be at The Resort at Broken Point alone. After reading about it on a list of 50 Places to Visit Before You Die, her husband Luke had suggested that they book a room at the luxury Big Sur resort for their twentieth wedding anniversary. That, of course, had been before he pulled the plug on their marriage, blindsiding her with his uncompromising desire to leave her.

Still, he’d suggested during their divorce mediation that she go ahead and take the vacation anyway, as the deposit was non-refundable. Going by herself felt wrong, but she knew she’d have felt even worse had Luke gone with the girlfriend he acquired only a month after their split was finalized. So here she is now at the child-free resort, surrounded by couples and other adult family groups, many involved in a wedding set to take place there over the weekend. She can't help but feel self-conscious about her status as a recent and unwilling divorcee, as if she's the worst kind of interloper in paradise, a blot of solo grief on what should be a picture of communal merriment.

Fortunately, she soon makes the acquaintance of Ravi and Nina, a pair of friends who vacation together annually and make it a habit of cultivating interesting new people. School teacher Ellery, with her likable, unobtrusive manner, fits their bill. Despite her sorrow, Ellery finds herself warming not only to the unusual pair but to the friendly faces who cross her path as her stay continues.

Paradise starts feeling a little less perfect when the wedding is suddenly called off. When Ellery later finds the groom’s body floating dead in the infinity pool, things take an abrupt turn for the worse. As disasters – natural or otherwise – continue to pile on the resort, Ellery, Ravi and Nina begin to wonder if something far more intentional than accidental is going on. But Ellery still can’t help second-guessing herself when asked her opinion on what’s wrong:

QUOTE
She hadn’t trusted her gut in so long. After the divorce, when she’d expressed concerns about the children and how they were handling things, Luke had said dismissively, “Kids are resilient. And I don’t have to manage your anxiety anymore, Ellery.” The words had hit her in the face like a slap. She hadn’t even thought she was being unusually angsty. She’d thought she was parenting. It was your job to pay attention. Wasn’t it?

Ellery took a deep breath. “I mean, everything’s wrong. We’re trapped here. The roads are out. I can’t get home to my kids.”

“You know what I mean,” Ravi said. “Is anything wrong, like murder?”
END QUOTE

Trapped on the premises as the body count ticks upwards, the three friends will not only conclude that murder is afoot but also attempt to figure out whodunnit, if only to protect themselves from the killer. Could the murders have anything to do with the valuable works of art going missing from all over the resort? Are all of the guests really who they claim to be? In her desperation to get home safely to her kids, what will Ellery risk, even as a murderer waits in the shadows, watching for their next opportunity to strike?

Ally Condie’s adult mystery debut features a clever set of interlocking puzzles that will have readers flipping back and forth through the pages, as I did, to reexamine all the clues. But it’s really the way she writes about grief that will resonate with any reader who’s known the pain of heartbreak. Ellery’s sorrow is at once unique and entirely relatable, as she reflects on what she’s overcome to reach this point:

QUOTE
Sometimes she wondered if she were grateful for the lessons learned after the accident had happened just over two years ago–were they what had made it possible to survive Luke’s leaving? Other times she felt that that was not the case at all–that the accident, followed by the divorce, was such cruel timing, so many things piling on top of the other, that there was no way she could possibly be all right.

We’ve been through worse, [her best friend] Abby had said. And she was right. Death was the worst thing, wasn’t it?

Even asking the question was a luxury only afforded to the living.
END QUOTE

A survivor through and through, Ellery is our everywoman guide through an unimaginable time. Everyone should be as lucky to have a best friend like hers, though I do wish she’d realized that her ex-husband really is a jerk. Most importantly, she learns that her unhappiness does not define her, and that she can use her unique combination of skills and outsider status to do good and bring a murderer to justice, while also coming to terms with her past and finding the strength to move wholly forward into her future.

I thought the premise of The Unwedding had great promise. A closed room mystery at a luxurious resort and a suddenly canceled wedding? Sounds like a fun and suspenseful read. Unfortunately, the book didn't quite deliver, at least for me. I think the novel had a bit of difficulty figuring out what it was, and there ended up being too many competing plot lines (and backstories) in addition to the murders. Thus, it was hard to get momentum going and I never got hooked by the mystery. The setting was interesting and there were aspects of the characters' stories that I enjoyed, but it just never came together for me.

I have read Ally Condie’s YA dystopian series, Matched, and was excited to receive an ARC of her first adult novel, The Unwedding.

Ellery arrives at a luxury resort in Big Sur for a trip by herself. She had planned the trip with her husband but divorced before they went and decided not to let the paid trip go to waste. I was excited to read a book set in Big Sur as I traveled there last year. Once at the resort, Ellery meets some other individuals traveling and also finds out there is a wedding that weekend. There are a lot of characters in this book, I did find it kind of hard to keep track of who was who. Ellery finds herself face to face with the bride to be and intertwines herself into the lives of the wedding party.

This is a locked door mystery with similar vibes to the popular Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Ellery finds a dead body in the pool and then everything starts sliding away... literally. The middle of the book was kind of slow to me but I stuck with it to find out who did it and if everyone would get out safe

Thank you to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and the author for an ARC of The Unwedding by Ally Condit for an honest review.

This was a solid mystery in the vein of Lucy Foley or Ruth Ware, with a locked room type of setting and a group of strangers. Condie did a good job with the characterizations - it was easy to keep them separate in my mind, while still needing to know more about them in order to form an opinion. The only thing that kept me from loving it was the ending. The wrap of the mystery was a little out of left field and and a little too incredulous. I liked it, and I think she is a good writer for adults. In my former life as a middle school librarian, her books were never checked in because the students loved them so much. I forsee that for her future writing for adults.

A trip meant to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary is instead taken alone…and as terrible as that is, it’s not the worst part.

The Resort at Broken Pines is a luxurious retreat along the coast in Big Sur, a terribly expensive bucket list sort of place. Ellery Wainwright and her husband Luke booked a weekend there to celebrate twenty years of marriage, but that was before Luke decided that the marriage was over. He wasn't happy in the marriage or in his career, hadn't been happy in a long while, and wasn’t interested in trying to fix it….he just wanted out. He quickly added to the cliché by getting a younger girlfriend, leaving Ellery stunned and unmoored and their three children to deal with the change. The trip to the resort is non-refundable, so Ellery’s best friend and fellow high school social studies teacher Abby tells her to just go. She reluctantly does so, fearing that it will incredibly awkward to go somewhere like this by herself, and she finds out that she is correct. Not only does it seem like every person there is part of a couple or group, but one of those groups is hosting a wedding while she’s there. Just what a broken-hearted divorcée needs! Fortunately she is soon taken under the wing of two travelling friends, Ravi and Nina, who are glamorous and a bit mischievous. Ellery thinks that in between unplanned bouts of grief, with their support she might just survive the week. But then the wedding party implodes, with the groom leaving the bride standing at the alter, and to further complicate things a major storm blows in with heavy rains. Ellery discovers a dead body in the pool, another person turns up dead and others start to go missing. What is going on? Who can be trusted? With the resort guests and staff stranded by collapsed roadways and lacking any means to communicate with the authorities, this dream vacation is anything but the trip of a lifetime.
Both a twisty, compelling thriller and a deft portrayal of a woman coming to terms with the grief of an ended marriage and an unanticipated need to start her life over, The Unwedding starts off a bit slow but then grabs the reader’s attention and holds it right up until the end. Ellery is a fascinating character, struggling with what has happened to the life she thought she had as well as an (initially) unexplained traumatic event that she lived through a few short years ago. It seems like the other guests at the resort…..her two new friends, the bride and groom, the bride’s mother and the rest of the bridal party, the young social influencer couple, a father and daughter traveling together…..each seems to be holding something back from the group at large. Are those untold secrets the harmless sort that most people have, or could they shed light on the deaths and disappearances that start happening? As someone alone and apart, Ellery notices things that others who are involved with their friends or partners miss, and those observations help her as she tries to make sense of what is happening around her. There are twists and red herrings, with missing works of art and unexplained alliances, that will keep a reader guessing. I enjoyed trying to identify who-done-it as well as why-they-done-it, because if you don’t suss out the latter you’ve only solved half the mystery. A thoroughly enjoyable read, perfect for fans of Chris Bohjalian, Sally Hepworth and Megan Miranda….many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me early access to this addictive read.

I've been a fan of Ally Condie since reading her Matched Series in middle school (5 out of 5 stars by the way). In changing to a new genre, she did not disappoint.

The Unwedding, an adult thriller, follows Ellery - a recently divorced mother - to a spa center in the middle of the woods. As she tries to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, she inadvertently stumbles upon the body of another guest. As a storm rages outside, trapping the guests in together, can Ellery figure out who the murderer is before she herself gets hurt?

Once I picked up this book, I was hooked. I may or may not have binged read it in one day. It's so niche, but I love thrillers that are set in the woods or in retreat centers and this hit both the marks. The cast of characters was funny and quirky, each had their own personalities. I can honestly say I couldn't see the ending coming at all and there were so many shocking twists.

Overall, I 100% recommend to anyone who enjoys a fun summer thriller, especially fans of Liane Moriarty, Mary Kubica, and Lisa Jewell.

The Unwedding is an entertaining summer mystery novel. Ellery was supposed to be going on a trip with her husband to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, but instead she's newly divorced and staying at a remote resort by herself. The resort is also populated by guests of a wedding, which only makes Ellery's processing of her grief more difficult. The night of the wedding, however, the groom leaves the bride at the altar and turns up dead in the pool. Guests at the resort begin dropping like flies and it only gets worse when the bridge is washed out so no one can enter or leave the resort. The setting for this book was quite enjoyable; it had a strong sense of place. The dialogue could be confusing at times and seemed to be meandering or repetitive. There were also some cases of over-explaining what was going on with multiple people saying basically the same thing right after each other. Suspicion was thrown around but there didn't always seem to be a reason for it, it just seemed like paranoia. Still, it was a fun summer mystery novel, would definitely consider it a beach read.

I've known about Ally Condie since 2010s YA, so I was excited that she, like so many YA authors, is trying an adult book.

The Unwedding had a lot going for it: a gripping concept, a really well-developed setting, and a fun locked room amateur detective plot.

For me, it lost momentum in the middle and fell apart a little at the end, with an overly complicated info-dump. But I do think Condie has a very engaging adult writing style and I will definitely read her next adult book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this egalley in exchange for an honest review!
I am always excited to read a debut, and this was a great homage to Agatha Christie and I was intrigued that it was also compared to White Lotus. I really enjoyed the ties to art and was guessing who the killer was until the end. I would ready more by Ally Condie.

This was an interesting book. To me it had Agatha Christy vibes with the murders at a wedding, and the mystery surrounding it. I enjoyed the premise and the structure of the story.
I had read four of Ally Condie’s previous books and really enjoyed them. This was the first adult novel, and I liked it. I look forward to more adult novels from Ms. Condie.

The Unwedding by Ally Condie is a novel that tries to blend mystery, suspense, and a touch of emotional introspection, but ends up feeling uneven and slow-paced.

The story follows Ellery Wainwright, who finds herself alone at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California, instead of celebrating her twentieth wedding anniversary with her now-estranged husband, Luke. To make matters worse, there’s a wedding at the resort during her stay, which only heightens her feelings of loneliness and nostalgia.

Things take a dark turn when Ellery discovers the groom’s body floating in the pool. Before the police can arrive, a mudslide isolates the resort, trapping all the guests. As another guest dies, it becomes clear that the resort is hiding dangerous secrets, and everyone—including Ellery—has something to hide.

The premise is intriguing, but the execution falls short. The pacing is inconsistent, with the first half dragging due to excessive descriptions and backstory. While Condie paints a vivid picture of the resort and its surroundings, it takes too long to get to the main plot. The death of the groom, which should have been a turning point, happens too late and doesn’t bring the expected suspense.

Ellery, as the protagonist, is hard to connect with. Her constant ruminations about her failed marriage and children feel repetitive and slow down the narrative. The other characters, who could have added depth and intrigue, are underdeveloped and don’t get enough time to shine.

The mystery itself is disappointing. The build-up doesn’t lead to a satisfying payoff, with the final reveal feeling rushed and underwhelming. Key elements are introduced abruptly towards the end, making the conclusion feel forced and confusing.

Despite these flaws, the novel does have its strengths. Condie’s descriptions of the landscape and the resort are beautifully written, creating an atmospheric setting. The idea of a group of strangers trapped together with secrets is compelling, even if it’s not fully realized.

Overall, The Unwedding is a decent read if you enjoy slow-burn mysteries with a strong sense of place. However, it lacks the tension and character development needed to make it truly memorable.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

I select which book I’m going to read for different reasons. I am big on settings and atmosphere and that is often the reason I will pick up a book. That was the case with The Unwedding. So when I saw the setting for this mystery was Big Sur I couldn’t pick it up fast enough.
I am sad to say this book could have been set on any rocky coast anywhere in the world. There was so little of a descriptive and atmospheric element that I wondered why it even specified a place. It took me forever to finish this book. In addition to my disappointment with the setting, it had too many characters and became confusing. It also had dual storylines and the one set in the past and not in California was the more interesting and had nothing much to do with the mystery. It would have been a better book on its own.
Might my expectations have been too high? Probably. But if you go to the trouble of setting a book in one of the most magical places in the world, you need to deliver.
Thank you to @netgalley for an arc of this book.

THE UNWEDDING captured me from the start. I like stories that hold my attention and keep me in suspense like this one did. Highly recommend.


Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for my gifted copy.

Books set on a remote island always peak my interest quick, so when I started reading I had expected to be hooked immediately. Unfortunately the pacing was a little slow for my liking and it was due to how many characters were in the book.

Author Ally Condie is best known for her young adult novels but The Unwedding is now her first attempt at adult fiction. The Unwedding is a locked room mystery of sorts with it being set at a remote luxury resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California with a contained cast of characters.

Ellery Wainwright was about to be celebrating her twentieth wedding anniversary with a trip planned to Big Sur when her husband, Luke, decided he’d rather get a divorce. It was Luke who then suggested that Ellery go ahead and take the time and the trip to herself to digest this huge bomb in her life.

After arriving at Broken Point though Ellery finds the one thing she really wouldn’t have wanted at all, a wedding taking place while she mourns her own marriage. Trying to make the best of it all though Ellery continues her solo trip doing her best to avoid the wedding until the night Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool and finds a mudslide has cut off any chance of help arriving to find the murderer.

As much young adult I do read even now into my adult years Ally Condie’s popular Matched series is one that has continued to remain on my TBR so I had no experience with her work going into The Unwedding. The story did seem to be a solid effort at an adult novel with having an intriguing plot to follow. It did seem there were a lot of characters to follow along with which kind of made the pacing seem a little slow getting to know them all. When finished with this story I would rate this first adult effort at three and a half stars overall and definitely give this author another go into he future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

#1 New York Times bestselling author of YA novels returns with her dazzling adult debut, THE UNWEDDING —a blend of White Lotus and Agatha Christie, a twisty whodunit escapist mystery thriller with a gorgeous, dangerous Big Sur backdrop.

About...

A newly divorced woman whose solo vacation at an exclusive resort unravels when she discovers a dead body on the wedding day, and she may be the only one who can find the killer. While confronting her loss, she is trying to survive a deadly story and solve not one, but two murders.

Ellery Wainwright finds herself on a solo trip after she and her husband were to spend their 20th wedding anniversary at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point, in Big Sur, California. She is lost. They are no longer celebrating. A divorce, before their oldest child's senior year. Three children: Kate, Ethan, and Maddie.

The deposit was non-refundable, and she decided what could be worse than being at one of the most beautiful places on earth for a getaway—from the stunning ocean vistas, spa, luxury accommodations, fine dining, eclectic art collections, and gallery, in addition to the beautiful views, yoga, nature walks, trails, and more.

After all, she did not want Luke to bring his new girlfriend, Imogen, whom he had obtained within a month of the divorce. (five years younger).

She had not counted on a wedding to be held at the resort during her stay and soon finds this place unsettling and eerie. She discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, and then before the cops can arrive (due to a mudslide taking out the only road to the resort), leaving everyone trapped with a murderer.

Everyone has a secret at Broken Point, including Ellery!

Something old, something new.
Something borrowed, something blue.
Someone lost, someone wed.
Someone broken, someone dead.

Ellery meets two other guests, Ravi and Nina, who take her under their wings. She also meets the bride-to-be, Olivia (to marry Ben), and the group for the wedding when the only worry is rain. That would be the least of the problems. No one could guess there would be a disaster the day of the wedding and what comes after!

My thoughts...

THE UNWEDDING draws you in immediately with the creative resort maps and illustrations as the novel begins on Friday through Thursday and continues through the days leading up to the murder. Each chapter cleverly opens with the happenings for the day at the resort, a quote, the weather, and the featured art.

I enjoyed the characters of Ellery, Ravi, and Nina and their amateur sleuthing. Not only is there a murder, but a horrible storm bears down on Big Sur, washing out bridges and roads and leaving the guests trapped in this clever locked-room mystery thriller.

The author's writing is lyrical and beautiful, drawing you into her characters, their fears, traumas from the past, loss, pain, death, grief, forgiveness, and the road to healing infused with art. I look forward to seeing what comes next from this author.

Recs...

THE UNWEDDING is for fans of the author and those of Ruth Ware, Sarah Pearse, Alice Feeney, Amber Cowie, Megan Miranda, Shari Lapena, Carol Goodman, and Lisa Jewell.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a gifted digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: June 4, 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars
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I wanted this to be a 5 star,. It wasn’t quite there but I still really enjoyed it. The setting was perfect and I love a locked door mystery like this, especially bringing together a bunch of strangers. It dragged a bit toward the end and over complicated, but otherwise good.

Ally Condie's transition to adult fiction is seamless with The Unwedding. It's a nicely paced mystery with an interesting, and secretive, collection of characters that all make great suspects, and reveals about them that are often surprising. An enjoyable summer read!

The first 3/4 of this book were really good -- perfect setting, perfect mystery and really well developed characters. And then the mystery started to unfold and it was like everything was oddly connected in one chapter and none of it made sense. I didn't like it. So aside from the ending, I would say this was good and maybe the forced nature of exposing it just didn't work for me? You may have better luck and I still enjoyed a large part of this book.

The Unwedding comes out next week on June 4, 2024 and you can purchase HERE.

"Hey." Ravi had lowered his voice. "Speaking of problems t solve. Mysteries to unravel. Did you know there's a shadov celebrity staying here? We've got to figure out who it is."

Ellery wasn't sure what he was talking about. "A what?" Sh darted a glance at Nina.

"Someone who's sneaky famous," Ravi said. "Who can go unrecognized among the masses, but who wields tremendous power. Like the head of a movie studio who prefers not to be known. Or the founder of LikeMe. Or the person who invented a cryptocurrency that funds an entire nation."

"Oh," Ellery said, a small thrill running through her. "How can you tell that someone like that is here?"

"Don't listen to him," Nina said. "He's always making things up. And the worst part is, he believes them."

"People are not always what they seem." Ravi's eyes searched Ellery's. "Don't you agree?"

"I do," she said. "Everyone has a shadow." Even the waiters with their bright eyes and cheerful voices, even the people across from her, even her best friend, her own husband, herself.

I read Condie’s YA MATCHED series years ago so I was excited to see her move into adult thrillers. I loved the setup of this one and totally could see myself trying to solve mysterious deaths while on vacation. Ellery was a bit annoying with her moping around for her ex-husbands - he seemed like a jerk so I have no idea why she was so hung up! Other than that, I like how the side characters involved themselves as a little scooby band. This feels more cozy mysterty than a thriller but it was still an enjoyable read!