Hidden Pictures was a 5 star read for me but I enjoyed this book even more. The characters were all memorable and the relationship between father and daughter was complex and thought provoking. If you like books written by Riley Sager then you will love this. One of my tops reads of the year. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an arc audiobook copy of this title.

🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆 ⁣
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Last One At The Wedding
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Jason Rekulak
⁣𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 10/08/24

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⇥ I don't know how else to say it, but I literally ate up the first 80% like a starving woman. Frank is a hilarious and relatable main character and such a typical dad.
⇥ AUDIOBOOK WAS FANTASTIC. Choose audio if you have the chance. John Pirhalla did an excellent job with the female and child voices; some narrators really struggle with that and annoy the crap out of me. But not here!
⇥ That cover is freaking amazing.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⇥ Ooooof, that ending was a huge letdown. I had to go back and see if I missed something—it definitely knocked off a whole star for me.
⇥ Definitely the slowest of slow burns. But it's still so entertaining if that makes sense.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
★★★★☆
I feel like Jason set the perfect trap with an intriguing plot but struggled with the execution. Don't get me wrong, this was entertaining as hell and I really did love Frank, Tammy, and Abigail. But something was definitely missing to make this already great story really stand out. Maybe if you go in with lower expectations? Despite my desire for a stronger ending, I laughed and was entertained throughout.

If you’re new to Jason Rekulak, his previous book, Hidden Pictures, is absolutely amazing—definitely pick that one up ASAP!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 @netgalley 𝘢𝘯𝘥 @macaudio 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Frank Szatowski hears from his estranged daughter of three years to hear she is getting married! He’s overcome with joy at hearing from his daughter and that she’s getting married. When Frank first meets the in-laws, it’s very odd and he feels something is not quite right. As the story unfolds, his instincts are correct. I enjoyed this book very much and found myself sneaking a listen at any moment I could. The narrator was so good and engaging. He kept the story interesting. My only complaint was that I felt a few things were left open ended but that will only make me ponder the book more. Overall, another great one from Rekulak. Thank you for the advanced audio copy!

Name of Book: The Last One at the Wedding
Author: Jason Rekulak
Narrator: John Pirhalla
Format: 🎧
Publisher: Macmillan Audio and FlatIron Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: October 8, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pages 368

Frank Szatowski is a fifty year old UPS driver, widow with one adult daughter Maggie.
He is surprised - actually a bit shocked when after three years of not hearing anything from Maggie (who now is Margaret), contacts him. She announces she is getting married and wants him to attend as father of the bride. He tells her yes but would love to see her and meet his future son-in-law. She hesitates and says Aidan is an artist and also teaches at U Mass so is very busy but asks if he can come for dinner at their Boston apartment in the Beacon Towers. . He drives the 3 hours to her apartment and is shocked when he sees that she lives in a penthouse- she never mention that Aidan is the son of a tech billionaire Errol Gardner the founder of ‘Capaciti’ the manufacturer of EV batteries, . Frank, of course is totally impressed although Aidan is very nervous about meeting him.

As the wedding weekend approaches, Frank has invited his older sister Tammy to attend with him. When he picks up Tammy he also finds out that her ten year-old foster child Abigail will be attending as well. Frank isn’t happy - states it is a bad idea- but the three of them head off to the New Hampshire wedding. They arrive at the Gardner's private estate to find a beautiful secluded, luxurious estate.
As the weekend proceeds, Frank gets to know the family and senses something is way off.
Mrs. Gardner hasn’t been seen as they say she is ill and Aidan is mysteriously missing from the many pre-wedding activities.
To add a bit more mystery, Frank gets a photo in the mail of Aidan and a beautiful girl with a note asking- Where is Dawn Taggart?

Things get very interesting and Frank is correct – ‘things are indeed way off’!

[Book: Hidden Pictures] is still one of my favorite reads, I was anxious to read this however was sure it wouldn’t be another story like it but was sure it would be good!
I was wrong – it was GREAT!!

I honestly could not put it down.

Narrator John Pirhalla is awesome at performing all the characters. I love a good audiobook but have found many men are not all that great in performing women- they usually make the women sound very elderly. Mr. Pirhalla’s performance of fifty-something Tammy, Twenty-five year old Maggie as well as ten-year old Abigail were all convincingly done - I mention these three because of the age differences.

I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this GREAT audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 8, 2024.

JASON DID IT AGAIN!

The plot is great! The wedding sounds BEAUTIFUL. Literally picture perfect! But wait until you hear what happens! My jaw hit the floor! I listen to this audiobook TWICE! That’s how much i loved it. Frank is my favorite character. You will see why once you read it!

Thank you for the ARC Audio! It was a pleasure!!

This is the definition of a slow burn thriller. One where you won’t like or trust ANYONE.

Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right.
He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate―very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.

Like I said, this is SLOW. But it’s got a great dark atmospheric feel, and twists a plenty, it’s chilling and at times gory but a really good read for spooky season. I actually Dnf my physical copy but the audio was fantastic and you could really feeeel the sketchiness that are these characters. My only problem was the ending seem to wrap up really quickly and I felt super icky at times with some of the characters decisions.
Overall a good easy listen

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for this ALC (my first)! I have heard amazing things about Hidden Pictures, which I have not read yet, and I am happy to say this author will move up on my TBR priority due to how much I enjoyed this book. Cannot wait for more!

Disclaimer: I listen to audiobooks on 2x speed; therefore, I can only comment about my feelings regarding the narrator from this perspective. I found the narrator’s voice to be unique, adding to the mysterious vibes of the book. It was a good fit.

At no point did I guess what was going on! I was glad the author did spoon feed some tidbits towards the middle, when we are hit with the first major plot twist. Thinking back, there was ample foreshadowing. The twists were enough to make me say WOW without thinking it unbelievable. One of my favorite quotes was something to the effect of parents being an unreliable narrator of their children. This was a great central plot point throughout the story.

Also, anytime a books title is mentioned in the story is so fun! In this “chicken or the egg” situation, I wonder if the author knew they wanted this line in the title worked in from the beginning or decided to make this the title after writing that certain section of the book.

So this was a physiological thriller no supernatural it is following a couple families that all have secrets that gradually unfold. It was good but I felt missing something. I loved the narrator I think I’ve listened to books by him before, he keeps you hooked in. I felt a little hanging at the end but maybe that’s open for a sequel. More of a mystery than thriller I think.

The atmosphere was suspenseful but definitely not an edge of your seat thriller. Frank was a caring father that wanted the best for his daughter yet he was so blind at times. The Gardners are the perfect example of rich delusional people. They believe that money and threats solves everything. I disliked EVERY character. The characters were super annoying, their actions and choices were irritating. The overall plot was good and kept me listening to the audiobook. The narrator did an amazing job. The ending fell flat for me, it felt so abrupt. I was expecting a lot more from the ending. John Pirhalla did a phenomenal narrating this book!

Frank receives a call that he has been waiting for for a very long time. He has not seen his only daughter since their fall out years ago, but all of that is about to change as she tells her father of some very big news: she is getting married. But she isn’t marrying just anyone. She is marrying the son of one of the richest men in the country. The wedding festivities take place at a sprawling camp owned by the wealthy family that has been turned into a wonderful getaway. Frank, along with his sister and her foster child, move into the camp for the week, and it soon becomes apparent that things are not what they should be.

Thank you Jason Rekulak and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. All thoughts expressed here are mine and mine alone.

I greatly enjoyed this book. It is twisted and slightly disturbing, but in a very realistic way. There were never any freaky occurrences or jump scares (except for the daddy long legs - eek!) and I really liked that about this book. I was 100% engaged for the entirety of the book. Some people may criticize this book’s lack of creepiness, but I liked that I could root for certain characters and root for the downfall of other characters. Some books gain popularity in all of the characters being disturbed and unlikeable, but this one actually has quality characters. Don’t get me wrong though; this book had its fair share of twists and turns that will leave you shocked.

Another element of this reading experience that made it more enjoyable was that I got to enjoy the audiobook version of the book. I really liked the narrator and his use of vocal differences for the different characters. I could always follow who was speaking even though there was only one narrator.

I highly recommend you add this audiobook to your fall TBR. It is an engaging story and gives the perfect slightly creepy fall vibes!

I loved Hidden Pictires by Jason Rekulak, so was very excited to get this ARC. This book is nothing like hidden pictures, but still great.
We meet Frank, a UPS driver of 26 years that has had a strained relationship with his daughter Maggie. Out of the blue Maggie calls and says she's getting married and wants Frank at the wedding.
Frank attends the secluded, very ritzy wedding venue and attempts to mend the relationship with Maggie, while also getting to know Aidens family.
Events start to unfold and Frank starts investigating to find the truth. The book took a few different turns than what I was expecting, making it more enjoyable. Overall very well written and kept me guessing.
Thank you, Netgalley and Macmillian audio, for the opportunity to listen to this ARC!

I was super stressed until the end! Great book! I'll have to read more of this author!

Publisher's summary
Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right.
He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate—very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.
An edge-of-your-seat thriller that delves deep into the heart of one family, The Last One at the Wedding is a work of brilliant suspense from a true modern master.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this book!

The Last One at the Wedding
A Novel
By: Jason Rekulak
Narrated by: John Pirhalla
Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 10-08-24
Language: English
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the eARC.

Like many others, I was a huge fan of Rekulak's debut novel. And like many others, went into this one wondering if he'd repeat a similar trope. He did not, but that was okay for me. I really think this one would be better read than listened to, but that may be my own thing. I visualize better when reading a book and think this one deserves visualization.

I think this explored the parent/child relationship in an interesting way and I did enjoy the mystery, even if it felt rushed

3/5.

The Last One at the Wedding was good. Not great. Not poor. Would I read it again? No, not likely. But that's all on me. It's more a 3.5 stars, but Goodreads prevents that choice so I'm rounding up to 4 since ties go to the author.

I requested this audiobook from Netgalley based only on the author and the cover. Having read, AND LOVED, Jason Rekulak's Hidden Pictures (def go get that one), I assumed by the title and art similar to Pictures that this would be a spooky thriller book. It was not. After the fact I checked the listing and it's clearly called a mystery. So, again, my mistake. I seriously spent the first half of the book perplexed and waiting for "the thing", the spook, the underworld.....something.

Instead, it was a good mystery set in an isolated woods owned by a Bill Gates level rich man, centered around a wedding, and a dad trying to save his adult daughter. The characters were good, however, a few like the aunt were so stinking naive it grated. I felt the ending to be flat and left me unsatisfied.

My genre is more thriller than mystery, so if you go into this one knowing that nothing from another dimension is coming, you'll enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Wow. This was a crazy book. And I loved it. So many different surprises with Maggie and her very interesting and twisted life.
Lots of oh wow moments in this book. Great narration. Great book. Loved it!

Frank is a 50-year old widow and father of Maggie, a 20-something year old young woman who, after 3 years of being absent from her father's life, reaches out to him and drops the news that she is getting married, and she wants Frank to attend to a 3-day wedding celebration which will take place at the secluded mansion estate her soon-to-be-husband's family owns.
Frank is content with his steady job and lonely life, but he's always missed, and regretted not, having his daughter in his life, so he immediately accepts the invitation and is eager to meet his son-in-law and all his family. He's willing to do anything to get Maggie back into his life.
By the time the wedding week approaches, Frank learns that Maggie's fiancé family is not only ridiculously wealthy but also eerie, mysterious and everyone seems to be hiding secrets, including her daughter Maggie.
While Frank is at that secluded estate wedding venue, as each day goes by, he learns dark and horrific secrets everyone had been keeping from him, and the weekend ends in chaos and murder.

Let me start by saying something that I believe is essential to be said, whether or not you've read Hidden Pictures and enjoyed it or not: The Last One at the Wedding is NOTHING ALIKE Hidden Pictures. Do not expect to go into this book and get similar vibes or characters or crazy plot twists as the author provided us with Hidden Pictures. Nope. These are 2 completely different books. I'd even dare say these 2 books could have been written by different authors...!
The Last One at the Wedding is a mystery/thriller (much more of a mystery, really), told in one single POV, about a father desperately trying to re-connect with his estranged daughter, while having to deal with her daughter's troubling past and shady present. It's about super rich people full of dark (and some deadly) secrets, too.

Overall, it's a mix of a character-driven story focused on Frank - in my opinion, a very interesting and realistic character (even in the moments he can be really annoying haha I mean, aren't we all flawed human beings?) -, and a plot-driven story about all the mysteries concerning that wealthy family dynamics. I personally really enjoyed the ambience, the setting at the secluded estate in the middle of the woods, with strange rules applied to its residents and guests. I thought it was atmospheric enough for me to feel immersed into the plot. Also, there is a nice contrast behaviour between the characters from the rich family and from Frank's family (his sister also attends to the wedding).

My only issue with this book concerns the ending, the conclusion: I liked the overall pacing of this story, but the last 15% felt rushed and the abrupt ending made me read the last chapter twice, so that I was sure I wasn't missing anything.
What's more, to more experienced and 'hardcore' mystery/thriller readers, like me, the second half of this book might be quite predictable, so I never got truly surprised or shocked by the twists and revelations.

Yet, I do believe this is an easy, enjoyable and a fun-time read. I can easily recommend this book to everyone who likes mysteries set in the woods about dark rich people. But, again, if you've read Hidden Pictures and loved it, be careful with your expectations going for this one. Be well aware that this is a very different book from that one. And if you've read and disliked Hidden Pictures, consider giving this book a go. You might like it better.
As for myself, I liked this one a lot, but I loved Hidden Pictures.

I listened to the audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio - the audiobook narrator, by the way, does a great job voicing all the different characters and giving a special treatment to the main character.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

<b>The narrator really made this book!</b>

After a three-year estrangement, widower Frank is delighted when his only child, daughter Maggie, calls him out of the blue - and puzzled when she announces she is about to get married. When he meets the happy couple before the wedding, he is even more baffled to realize that Aidan Gardner, the groom-to-be, is the son of a tech billionaire. But once Frank makes his way to the estate where the wedding will take place, he gets an uneasy feeling. The locals warn him about the Gardner family. There are rumors Maggie's fiancé was involved in the disappearance of a local woman. "Privacy documents" abound. And the longer Frank spends at the Gardner estate, the more convinced he is that he needs to stop his daughter from going through with the wedding.

Wow, narrator John Pirhalla did an absolutely outstanding job voicing Frank, an imperfect but profoundly decent father wanting the best for his daughter. I was hooked, and I'm sure his rendition had a lot to do with it - this is a case where I think the audiobook may be even better than the book itself!

The story of "The Last One at the Wedding" was not completely surprising, but took some original turns and kept me on my toes. I found the book to be well-written and really liked the character of Frank, though the side characters, Maggie and Aidan in particular, were not equally well fleshed out. I also greatly enjoyed the ending, though I personally would have hoped for Frank to make a different decision.

This was a fast-paced and enjoyable late summer read.

TW: suicide, drug use.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Last One at the Wedding" is slated to be released on October 8, 2024.</i>

Frank is a UPS driver (With over 25 years accident free!). He’s also a loving, single father to an adult daughter (Maggie) who hasn’t spoken to him in a few years. When Maggie gives him a call out of the blue, Frank is ecstatic. Not only that, she tells him she’s getting married!

Once Frank meets her fiancé and his family, things start to get very strange.

This book was such a fun domestic suspense, I couldn’t put it down!

I also loved the narrator! I completely envisioned him being the middle aged father of the bride, who works at UPS.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and MacMillan Audio for letting me indulge in this audiobook early.

I was drawn to this book because I had really enjoyed Hidden Pictures, by the same author. I was able to listen to the audiobook version of the book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I finished it in 2 days because I kept wanting to listen to more. The narrator was really good, he handled the different voices well and made the book even more interesting. The book definitely had some twists and turns that I was not expecting. The main character, Frank Szatowski was really such an enjoyable character. Throughout the entire story he just wants to do what is best for his daughter, even as he starts to uncover secrets. Another character I enjoyed a lot was the little foster girl, Abigail, who is the complete opposite of Frank’s soon to be in-laws to his daughter. This book is very different from Hidden Pictures, which is a good thing. I enjoyed listening to it and I really enjoyed those jaw dropping moments.

Thank you NetGalley and McMillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book prior to publication.

I received this title as an ARC audiobook via NetGalley. I was a huge fan of Hidden Pictures when I read it earlier this year and gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is different from Hidden Pictures as there is no supernatural or horror. However, this earned another 5 stars from me! This book was super binge worthy and I finished it within a 24 hour period. I honestly was surprised by the twist and didn’t expect it! I can’t wait to see what Jason puts out next. He has easily become one of my favorite authors.

Narrator did a great job. I felt he was a perfect fit for Frank. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review! I was so excited to receive this one!