At first I had a hard time keeping all the hen party attendees sorted out. I am used to that happening at the beginning of books with many characters, but I'm not sure why these were harder than normal. Who's a friend? a bridesmaid? a sister? a soon to be in-law? etc. I also wish we had gotten a little more time with the murder victim before they died. Nevertheless, when it became a police investigation, I finally started enjoying the story. I did figure out what I thought probably happened early on, so I enjoyed the unfolding of how it happened at the end. I wonder if it would have been fun to see things play out even farther, but I respect the author's choice to und it where she did.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #Bookouture for my ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the chance to re-read this book. The old title should have been kept as the story is about a hen party not a bridal party. It takes place in Doublin after the bride-to-be Caitlin is in remission from cancer. There are nine others in the group and not all of them are happy about the upcoming wedding. When Caitlin is found dead in her bed the police enter the story. There are police interviews with everyone which comprise most of the story. Eventually two people are arrested and that's a huge twist as well as a surprise. Then the book ends with the biggest twist of all and it just shows how good a storyteller Maria Frankland is. I enjoyed rereading it again.

I can’t believe how fast I read this book, it’s my first one from Maria Frankland and I actually love her writing style.

Even though I figured out the plot, I can say that I was genuinely surprised by who did it… It wasn’t the person I had in mind at all. Told in different POVs (which I’m a fan of) this fast paced thriller gives every character a motive for killing Caitlyn as their secrets are exposed but the plot twist at the end is shocking.

A quick read I highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC copy.

#TheBridalParty #NetGalley

I actually found the blurb on this one to be incredibly misleading and it doesn't do The Bridal Party justice. The synopsis gives the impression that someone hates Caitlyn so much that when the wine starts flowing and the secrets start spilling, there is a murder rampage where no one knows who will be next.

In reality, poor Caitlyn is off to Dublin on the hen party of nightmares. Most women have been on that awkward hen do where you only know the bride but in Caitlyn's, most of the people who came not only don't know each other but most seem to dislike her. People get drunk, get angry and argue. With dramatic results. Almost all seem to have motive for smothering her in her sleep so when the guarda are called in, the question is....who dunnit (do you see what I did there?)

I really enjoyed the different perspectives in The Bridal Party as we get a look behind the curtain into the minds of all 9 women who were in the apartment when Caitlyn was killed as they are interviewed by the police. A quick and easy read that is well written and by the end of the book, you can't help but feel sorry for Caitlyn and the way she was treated by the people that were supposed to love her.

This is my second read by Maria Frankland. The first, although I enjoyed it, was more of a slow burn. This book, The Bridal Party, however had me hooked from the beginning! A classic "whodunnit", had me pointing fingers at almost every character at some stage along the way! But, the twist...I can certainly say I did not see that coming. Highly recommend this one, 5 stars!

Great book that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Loved the main character and how well the book was laid out.

I quite enjoyed this book! It combined two of my favourite genres - mystery and weddings!
I found it a little confusing to keep up with all the characters at first and at times found it a little repetitive/dragged at to get to the twist but once there it picked up and I really enjoyed it!

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. You go into it knowing the Bride is going to be murdered, and the prologue shows exactly how. I feel like the prologue was unnecessary. It didn’t really line up with the feelings and actions of the person who actually did it so it almost felt like it had been written by someone who hadn’t yet read the book. Or maybe I just colored it that way because I went into this book knowing that whoever killed the bride really really hated her.

A lot of this book was the women’s thoughts delving off the interrogation questions so we get a better view of how flawed they all are in their relationships with the Bride. Honestly if any of these women came on my Bachelorette I’d rather not have friends, most of them are terribly self-centered. Like her old friend from school who thought she should’ve been the MOH even though she hadn’t really been in the brides life much for the last few years and confronted Caitlyn at the Hen-Do about how she wasn’t getting enough attention at a party that was neither for or about her while Caitlyn is dealing with her future in-laws coming (who all have been very vocal about not wanting her around).

In the end I wouldn’t consider the “whodunnit” to be that surprising. Once we got a key piece of evidence from Caitlyn’s bag it was clear - at least in part - as to what happened. I kept telling myself it wasn’t possible logistically, but on that part I at least got proven wrong.

Primarily I wasn’t a fan of the writing of this book. Admittedly I am not from Britain so I don’t know/understand all of the common phrases that in the US made no grammatical sense so I can’t say if it was a grammar issue not corrected by the publisher, or just how people talk. It wasn’t for me, but I think it could be for people who like short, fairly easy to read Mystery books.

I’ve reread the description of the book and the first sentence mentions a “bride-to-be” sash that didn’t exist in the book and for some reason that stands out to me. Additionally, the name of the book has changed since receiving this book for review which - while the change made sense - did make it hard to find on Goodreads to review as I was looking up a book that didn’t exist.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an early copy of The Bridal Party. The cover was AWESOME! Maria Frankland is in the same category as Daniel Hurst and Frieda McFadden, I get sooo excited when I see a new book out from her. I will admit this was a bit repetitive with all the questioning, way too long BUT then the twist happened and it was a good one!!! Took me by total surprise which I love. I felt like I was at the hen party, I could picture all the characters and everything that was happening. The last twist was PHENOMENAL, LIKE WOWWWWWWW!!! You will never guess, that’s what makes the book FABULOUS. Thank you again.

It's Caitlyns hen party, and 9 others are invited. The grooms mother and sister are there, the brides 2 sisters, along with some old friends and colleagues of Caitlyn. The first night we find out not everyone is happy for the bride and groom to be.
The next morning, Caitlyns body is found, and the police suspect murder. But who would've wanted her dead?

This book was a fun, quick read. The amount of characters makes it seem hard to keep up with who is who, but we get a POV of each character where we find out lots of secrets. I didn't see the ending coming at all, and although originally quite underwhelmed when coming to the end, the final chapters and revelation left me satisfied. Another classic thriller by Maria Frankland.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The author is able to describe each character perfectly while also changing writing styles between chapters. As I read a chapter of Lucy, I was impressed that the language and style felt like I was in the brain of a seventeen year old girl. It takes a lot of talent to be able to switch up dialogue like that. I did not see the ending coming! Any book that I cannot see the ending coming is always a win. I’m constantly trying to predict books. I do wish the ending had gone on a little longer so as to see the reactions of the characters as everything unfolded. I’ve already recommended this book to others when the publish date arrives.

A compelling, exhilarating suspenseful read. Engaging story with well developed characters and the ending was executed brilliantly

I finished this book but it was a slog. The characters should have been engaging and I found myself unable to care at all.

While I think the plot had promise you can only do so much with characters that aren’t in any sense fully developed.

3.5 Stars

Huge thank you to Netgalley for the review copy of The Bridal Party. This was my first novel from this author. I enjoyed the writing style and the alternating POV's. This book takes place during the first 24 hours of a Bachelorette party. Tensions are high, the guests don't vibe much with each other, and the bride to be turns up dead the next morning. 90% of the book is the detective interview with the 9 Bachelorette guests. This was a real "who done it" with some intriguing twists and turns.

I will say, some of the terms used in the book threw me off. I suppose it's because of the author being Australian. Like a hen party, not a term we use here. We would call it a Bachelorette party. Using the word "solicitor" meaning a lawyer or legal representation. Just something to think about for finished copies.

This was good, but it was just too predictable for my liking. It is very similar to previous books that I have read and I like to have something new when reading thrillers because it will lose the shock factor.

Many thanks to netgalley, the author and bookouture for approving my request to read this book.

This story opens with the bride to be Caitlyn arriving in Dublin for her hen party which results in her untimely demise. The story is told from different characters viewpoints and I enjoyed how it all led up to the big reveal at the end, some of the characters I definitely loved to hate-some are the absolute worst!

I love a classic who done it and this one was no exception with brilliantly written characters, a pacy plot and a few twists along the way, I will most definitely be recommending this to others!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. This is my first book by Maria Frankland and it did not disappoint. A bride and her bridal party head on vacation a few weeks before the wedding. The bride confides in her one friend that the relationship is not as good as it seems. After playing games and drinking, everyone heads to bed. When they wake up, the bride is dead. Who killed her? This one kept me on edge the whole time, following clues and conversations, trying to solve the crime. The big twist at the end is amazing!! Can't wait to read more of her books!

No. This book had the possibility of being good but was such a let down. With all the interviews of the hen party, you're reading about the same night about 10 times and it's soooo boring. The twist at the end was not expect however, made no sense.

I almost DNF’d this around the 60% mark but I’m glad I kept reading. From then on the story got very interesting and the ending took me by surprise! I thought the final twist was great.

I struggled with the large number of characters and multiple POVs, some seemed unnecessary. I really struggled with some of the terminology and names of the Irish setting, being Irish, I feel like more research should have been done on what we call things and how we speak.

Overall it was quite enjoyable just power through the first 2/3 to get to the good part.

FANTASTIC!
This book has me completely grippes right from the prologue!
And just when I thought I had the story worked out a twist came and blew it to pieces!
Highly recommend