When I first started listening to this novel, I was dubious about enjoying a middle-aged man narrator. That said, I really enjoyed listening to John Pirhalla and was pretty quickly drawn in to Rekulak's storyline. He kept me guessing, and I enjoyed the read, but I couldn't get past the side plot with the Frank's sister and her foster daughter. The whole relationship kept taking me out of the story because i found it implausible. Otherwise, a highly entertaining read!

Frank Szatowski‘s daughter Maggie is getting married. After a three year estrangement she called to tell him the big news and invite him to the wedding. Frank, a traditional, middle-class American is expecting to get to know his only daughter’s in-laws. What he finds instead is that Maggie is marrying in to a world of wealth and privilege. And what secrets are the Gardner’s burying with their privilege. As the wedding weekend commences and the hour for the vows draws near, Frank learns more and more what Maggie is getting in to. Will he be able to protect her or risk their rocky relationship?
This is an enjoyable, easy listening suspenseful novel. The narrator gives Frank an authentic voice and it’s easy to feel sympathetic towards him and put yourself in his position. What would you do if you loved your daughter but questioned her choices yet still desperately want to support her?

The cover and the premise was the things that drew me to this book. This one wasn't as spooky and creepy as I was hoping it was book. Overall, decent domestic thriller. Looking forward to the next Rekulak novel!

I finished this book in one day. I couldn't stop listening as the narrator brought the story to life as a father who just wants to do right by his daughter. I was able to deduce some of the events, but one I was not able to (so obvious to me now!) that gave me the major ick. Overall, a great listen and read!

This was a domestic thriller with lots of drama and a plethora of unlikeable characters. The characters are all well developed, but I definitely disliked a bunch of them. I was very intrigued and locked into what was happening, as I found the plot to be different. I was engrossed as twist after twist occurred. I love that the author did something very different from Hidden Pictures while still staying true to his writing style. I enjoyed this book just as much as Hidden Pictures.

Though starting off low, the second half more than made up for the slower start. I was completely immersed in this story and the antagonistic characters. Being a mix of a thriller and of a domestic suspense, I enjoyed the way things wrapped up at the end.

The narration by John Pirhalla was great! I usually stay away from books with only a male narrator, but i really enjoyed the way Pirhalla handled all the characters in this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of "The Last One at the Wedding." I enjoyed this book, but not as much as his first book. I was thankful for the ARC on Kindle,but I know it would be a beautiful hardcover book! Worth buying.

A destination wedding at a private luxury estate. What could go wrong?
A domestic suspense, full of family drama, twisty, messy and a bit of humor.
I didn’t like the characters, but that’s what made the story work, all perfectly flawed, unreliable, all hiding something.
The audio kept me engaged from start to finish.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this complimentary audiobook.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 by Jason Rekulak released October 8, 2024.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I just keep hearing so many great things about his previous book. I really enjoyed this one! I'll have to go read his others. I really I liked the main character. I really appreciate characters that are rigid in their beliefs about right and wrong. I appreciated the ending as well because it was consistent with the characters personality and beliefs. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio.

So this one was vastly different than Hidden Pictures. I am not saying this is a bad thing but I wanted spooky and got a domestic thriller. I also was not the biggest fan of the narrator. The entire story just sort of dragged for me. And all of the characters were incredibly hateable. Except the little one with her lice and sweet soul.

This was a slow burning thriller. The first half of the story is spent laying down the back story required to make the second half make sense. I thought I had it all figured out a couple of times and each time it turned out I was wrong. I was not expecting the reveal or the ending. I will definitely be reading more of Jason Rekulak's work in the future.

This isn't the first audiobook I have listened to that was narrated by John Pirhalla and it won't be the last. I enjoy listening to thrillers and mysteries narrated by John; he does a great job of keeping you engaged in the story.

Finished this audiobook yesterday while I was baking and chopping veggies for Thanksgiving. It’s a mystery centered on an estranged father and daughter coming back together for the daughter’s wedding. She’s marrying the son of an uber-wealthy family at a former summer camp they’ve converted to a luxe family estate.

The estranged dad is a Gulf War veteran and UPS driver, so there are big differences between the two families, even before the secrets start coming out. While suspenseful, the twists were not very surprising or twisty, and the ending fell flat. I did like how the author explored family dynamics and how far a parent will go for their child.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the copy of this book!

I went into this one blind, thinking it would be similar to 'Hidden Pictures'. This was nothing like his previous novel, but I actually think I liked it more. I listened to the audiobook, and it held my attention from start to finish, and was told in such a way that I felt like I was seeing the story. I know many would disagree; but I loved the ending. I did figure the ending out pretty early on, but didn't feel it took away from the ending.

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING [thank you to Flatiron Books and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

Title: The Last One At the Wedding
Author: Jason Rekulak
Genre: Mystery + Suspense
Format: Audio
Star Rating: ★★★☆☆

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
After a father is unexpectedly invited to his daughter’s wedding, everything goes from weird to worse as nothing is what it seems.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
First and foremost: writing reviews about thrillers is difficult because you can’t say too much without giving it away.

I will say that if you go into this book expecting Hidden Pictures, you’ll be disappointed. This is a whole other weird ballgame.

I will also say that if I hadn’t been reading this for book club, I probably would have DNF’d. The action was slow, the characters were horrific, and it was weird disturbing?

If you’re a thriller reader, you’ll probably like it. If you’re a romance reader who dabbles in thrillers, maybe pick a different one?

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Terrible Human Beings
Red Herrings
Old Fashioned Men
Deluded & Unobservant People

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 3.67 ⭐️
# of Pages: 352
Pub Date: October 8, 2024

A fractured father daughter relationship, a rushed wedding, and a lot of money makes this an intriguing scenario. Yet it's the twisting psychological aspects of this that make it such a riveting read. From the sister and her foster wedding tagalong to the daughter and her odd groom, "The Last One at the Wedding" was an astounding read.

This was so different than Hidden Pictures but I was still riveted to the story. The father was a bit annoying at times and I felt like I still had questions at the end but overall enjoyed the narration. 3.5⭐️

Had high hopes for this book and I can honestly say it let me down just a little. My main issue was the pacing of the book. I feel like it took its time getting going but after the halfway point the ball gets rolling and never stops. Impressed with Jason Rekulak's ability to follow up Hidden Pictures with such a solid novel. Now the narration by John Pirhalla was absolutely fantastic. He conveyed the emotion and attitude of every character perfectly, giving me the ability to picture the entire book from beginning to end in my head. This novels ending was gut wrenching and left me speechless. I kept saying please don't let it end like this and of course Jason delivered a punch that I had to re-listen to multiple times. Overall, it was a great book with twists galore and allowed me to immerse myself. Unfortunately it was a little too slow for my taste and that will not allow me to give it a 5 star rating. As always though, I will be looking forward to his next novel!

Thank you to netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest rate and review.

3.75 stars

I absolutely can't wait to read Jason Rekulak's next book. His engaging writing style combined with John Pirhalla's expert narration was a complete winner for me. The narrator captured the MC's personality perfectly and brought this story to life.

From the get-go, I was hooked and eager to know what was going to happen and how it would end. This domestic mystery/suspense was riveting.

When Frank's estranged daughter Maggie contacts him after three years of silence and announces that she's getting married and wants him to be there, he is eager to do whatever it takes to be a part of her life. His wife died many years ago, which resulted in him raising their daughter alone with the help of his sister, a nurse, and foster parent. However, when Frank, his sister, and her fosterchild get to the wedding location and he realizes that his daughter is marrying Aiden, the son of a powerful tech billionaire, he can't believe it. He comes from humble yet proud roots as a UPS driver for the past thirty years. Then, he starts noticing strange things and hearing bits of conversation that don't make sense. And there's the missing woman Dawn, who was last known to be dating the groom-to- be. As his suspicions grow that this family is hiding secrets, he becomes convinced that Maggie is in danger and needs to be saved before it's too late.

Sadly, I guessed the major twist early on, so it wasn't explosive for me. I also thought the ending was abrupt and didn't quite understand what it all meant. However, it was a definite winner for me, and I definitely recommend to others looking for old-school suspense.

Thank you, #NetGalley, and #MacmillanAudio for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
#TheLastOneAtTheWedding

I had high hopes for this one, and while I enjoyed it overall, it didn't hit the mark as much as Rekulak's debut. This one seemed to move a little too slow, I basically hated every character, and the continual mention of spiders and lice made me feel like my skin was crawling. I'll still pick up his next book though.

I am absolutely obsessed with Rekulak's first novel, Hidden Pictures. This one, unfortunately fell short. Frank has been estranged from his daughter for years. But when she calls and says she's engaged, he jumps at the opportunity to be involved again. When they arrive at the wedding weekend, it's clear that his daughter's family is not quite like theirs. There was a pretty substantial twist at the half way mark but it didn't do it for me. The narrator was great and I enjoyed the audio, but the plot fell short.

So I feel like I missed something with this one. I wanted to love it as much as Hidden Pictures but was sadly disappointed. I kept waiting for that gasping twist that never happened. Instead it was filled with unlikable characters that got on my nerves and made dumb decisions. I missed something, right? (Scratching my head) The narrator was pleasant and was good at portraying the characters. My thanks to McMillan Audio for providing the audiobook for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.