A great cover always pulls me in, so I knew I had to read this book! This one was a slow burn, with two different mysteries unraveling ten years apart.

I thought the author did a fantastic job of giving us both storylines for each group of friends, alongside the story of Tessa and her unraveling. However, I think Tessa’s fall from grace storyline intrigued me more than either of the mysteries on Isle Blind. That piece of the plot left me in more suspense than what was happening on the island, as there wasn’t much guessing of who was responsible for the deaths that occurred.

This was a quick read that flowed really well between past and present.

Scream meets The Guest List in this wickedly compelling and compulsively page-turning thriller of friendship and murder from the author of The Lost Village, Camilla Sten.

On a remote, craggy island nestled off the coast of Sweden, four friends—Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina—meet every year. Best friends since childhood, the idea is to drink beer, dance by the water, and shake off the weight of life's expectations. The location of the island is a secret to everyone but them. One night of reckless fun and secret-sharing, and then they return to their normal lives.

Ten years later. Ever since she was a teenager, Tessa Nilsson has been consumed by the story of four friends who disappeared on their annual trip to a remote island together. As her true crime fervor turned into a wildly popular podcast, Tessa urgently covered Sweden’s most gruesome cases, but could never find the answers behind what happened to these women who disappeared, leaving a few maddening clues but no concrete answers. Now Tessa’s podcast has crashed and burned, any chance she had at uncovering the truth vanishing with it.

Anneliese is Tessa’s best friend, and before she walks down the aisle, she wants to have a bachelorette party. The Baltic Vinyasa, a sleek, sophisticated yoga retreat on a small island off the coast—one with such similar characteristics to the tragedy years ago that it raises the hair on Tessa’s neck. The idea is to drink gallons of cava, do sunrise yoga, and get in their last chance to bond with the bride. Tessa will not pass this up. It’s her last chance to find out what happened to the four women, once and for all.

And it’s someone else’s last chance to get revenge.

Just a word of thanks to both netgalley.com, as well as Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Publishing Group for an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

2.5-3 stars on this novel.

This is the third suspense novel by Camilla Sten. Looking back, the previous two novels Sten wrote - The Lost Village and The Resting Place - were both suspenseful, and for me, believable thrillers. I was looking forward to The Bachelorette Party for this reason. I can't say I was disappointed, but The Bachelorette Party didn't deliver for me. It seems to me that the genre of suspenseful thrillers are similar to the old Agatha Christie, "And Then There Were None." The premise being that a group of people are in an isolated area and there is a murderer on the loose removing them one by one. That set the bar, for me on suspenseful thrillers - Sten seems to have taken from this theme and used it in The Bachelorette Party. A group of friends get the opportunity to see one another for a weekend of fun for a bachelorette party. They are to meet at a resort on a secluded island to celebrate their friendship and, more importantly, the upcoming wedding of one of the friends - Anneliese. Our antagonist in this novel - Tessa - is the only one, initially, who knows that a series of murders occurred on the same island years ago. Tessa is a podcaster of serial killers and their murders, and has knowledge of the previous murders on this island. However, Tessa has a sketchy past that we hear about, and, is therefore a bit unreliable.

Like "And Then There Was None", one of the ladies in the bachelorette party is found murdered, and thus begins the suspenseful part of the novel. Was it interesting? Yes. Has this theme been overdone? A definite yes. The unreliable protagonist cannot be trusted, and there is a murderer on the loose. I defintiely knew how the ending would play out, so I was disappointed in that regard.

Certainly not a bad novel, but the theme has been played out for a while.

3.5 Stars! I feel the plot had a lot of potential, going in with a crime on a lone island and a true crime podcaster trying to figure it out years later at her friends bachelorette party. I had a hard time connecting with the main character and her friends. Tessa's relationships with all the girls was strained, and her wanting to come on the bachelorette party more for trying to solve a murder rather than one of her oldest friends parties was kind of odd.
There were a few twists, but nothing super wow factor for me. I'd be willing to read another one of Camilla Sten's books!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

As someone who loves true crime podcasts, this one was by far a favorite this year! This gave off And then There Were None and horror movie vibes all mixed into one. Definitely recommend!

"The feeling that has been haunting me ever since we arrived, the feeling of being hunted, stalked like an animal, is growing ever stronger."

Two different groups of friends a decade apart. One mysterious, remote island. And one killer out to get them all?

THE BACHELORETTE PARTY by Camilla Sten is an extremely dark, locked room thriller that will have you thinking twice before saying "yes" to that girls' trip 😬

We alternate primarily between two timelines in this story - 2012 and 2022, following along with 8+ characters (some were difficult to distinguish as we didn't spend a ton of time getting to know these characters in either timeline), with a building eerie atmosphere during what should be a pleasant time.

I really did love how dark Sten went with this story (though it did take me by surprise 😅) - she twisted expectations and normal thriller tropes, which allowed me to really just be taken along for the ride.

This one will be a great beach read for the summer!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review - out June 10!

This is a fast paced mystery that connects the unsolved disappearance of 4 friends to a bachelorette party ten years later. All of the guests except one were childhood friends of the bride and the owner of the resort lived in their neighborhood. The male chef was the only stranger on the island. Determining the scandal that caused the implosion of Tess' life was very compelling throughout the story. The events will keep you bouncing from suspect to suspect but the ending is a little over the top.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten is a twisty psychological thriller set on a remote Swedish island with a dark past. The story alternates between the disappearance of four friends and a present-day true crime podcaster determined to uncover the truth.

While the premise was intriguing and the writing strong, the book didn’t fully live up to the hype for me. I found the pacing a bit slow at times, and though the characters were well-developed, the plot didn’t completely hook me. That said, I still enjoyed the eerie setting and layers of mystery, and I think fans of atmospheric thrillers might find it more their style.

I give it 3.5 stars and would still be interested in seeing what Camilla Sten writes next.

3.5 stars for me! This was my first novel by Camilla Sten and won’t be the last! I love the concept of friends revisiting a place that had a mysterious tragedy happen 10 years prior. It kept me hooked and I finished it pretty quickly. I would recommend to people who like thrillers.

This had a strong start that hooked me but then quickly lost me as the book progressed and I found myself wanting it to put it down more than I wanted to pick it up.

I think this one just wasn't for me. I will be on the look for others by this author.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books & Netgalley.

Tessa gets roped into attending a bachelorette party at an exclusive new yoga retreat in the Baltic Sea on a tiny island for her oldest friend. But what her friends don’t know is she’s there to find out what happened to the Nacka Four - four women who went missing and are presumed to have accidentally have drowned during an overnight getaway. Tessa immediately feels something is off about the island but can’t put her finger on what it is. Then when one of the party members suddenly goes back to shore without telling anyone, Tessa gets suspicious and starts poking around even further. And she may not like what she finds…

Camilla Sten wrote an excellent broody locked door mystery set on a remote island that will have you turning the pages to figure out what happens next.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my personal review.

Creepy, atmospheric, and impossible to put down. The Bachelorette Party delivers everything I want in a thriller,an isolated setting, a dark past, and secrets that refuse to stay buried. Camilla Sten builds tension masterfully, weaving past and present into a chilling mystery.

The remote Swedish island was the perfect backdrop, and the twists kept coming. I only knocked off half a star because a few side characters felt thin, but the suspense and setting more than made up for it.

#Locked-room thrillers #Survival horror # psychological suspense

I was soooo ready to get messy with The Bachelorette Party! Hoping for a fast-paced, twisty slasher with strong “whodunnit” vibes—something that would keep me guessing and on the edge of my seat!

But unfortunately, this one fell flat for me....Hard.

Four friends—Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina—meet every year. The location of the island is a secret to everyone but them. However, before the last hoorah into adulthood, all four women disappear from the island without a trace. Ten Years Later. Tessa a true crime podcaster, who covers Sweden’s most gruesome cases, could never find the answers behind what happened to these women who disappeared. But now she may have her chance!

Anneliese is Tessa’s best friend, and before she walks down the aisle, she wants to have a bachelorette party. The destination: Baltic Vinyasa, a sleek, sophisticated yoga retreat on a small island off the coast—one with such similar characteristics to the tragedy years ago. Tessa will not pass this up. It’s her last chance to find out what happened to the four women, once and for all.

While the plot had a lot of potential (a true crime podcaster trying to revive an old case, friends with secrets, and a bachelorette weekend ready for drama), the execution didn’t get there. The suspense was minimal, and the story lacked the unpredictability that I usually crave in thrillers. One of the biggest disappointments was how early it became obvious who the killer was. There was no real twist, which made the rest of the book feel like just going through the motions to get to the end rather than a chopping at the bit to figure out what was coming next.

I love a good slasher and live for the gore and drama, but I also need a story that keeps me hooked—and sadly, this one just didn’t. It wasn’t terrible, just underwhelming.

If you're new to the genre or prefer straightforward plots you may still enjoy it. The writing overall was very good. But for seasoned thriller readers looking for surprises, this wouldn't be my rec.

I really enjoyed this one. I love a locked room mystery. This is a multiple timeline locked room mystery told on a remote island at a bachelorette party where 10 years earlier 10 women went missing. This is a quick read that will have you entertained until the end.
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's press for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Bachelorette Party
By: Camilla Sten
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: 6/10/25
This book reminded me of a tv show called Harper’s Island that ran for a season back in 2009.
It starts out with a group of 4 friends who party on an island every summer till all four go missing. Many years later a group of six friends go to that same island where there is now a resort for a bachelorette weekend. But things feel off the whole time they’re there. A storm has cut them off from their phones and internet upon waking up on the first morning there is a note from one of their party saying she’s gone back to the mainland but did she? As time goes on they begin to turn on each other. Are they safe?
#camillasten
#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalley #booksofinstagram #netgalleyreader #netgalleyarc #netgalleyreviewer #bookworm #bookish #bookaddict #bookreviewer #bibliophile #ireadromance #instabooks #booknerd #arcopies #romancereads #advancereaderscopy #booklover #readersofinsta #igbooks #bookclub #fiction #womensfiction #historicalfiction #contemporaryromance #read #readers #bookaholic

The cover and premise called to me as soon as I read and seen this! While I enjoyed this book I didn't hit as hard with me as her other novels. There were so many characters and timelines that I sometimes found myself disengaging
But I will continue to look out for this authors books!

Having been a huge fan of her previous works, there had to be a least favorite, right? This was it. The story foundation made sense and I loved how the two timelines and events were tied together. But it all felt somewhat obvious and that the end result book was just a small layer of what the story could have been. Characters never really stood out or made me feel attached to what was happening to them. The most engaging part of the story, for me, was a side trip during the course of the main story itself. Like I said, there always has to be a least favorite. This was it and I am already looking forward to the next book from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this E-ARC.

I ate this book up!!! I finished it in less than 24 hours and could not put it down! I got absolutely nothing done in my life. I grew up in Sweden so this was a fun book to read since I knew some of the places and names.
It was such a quick fun read. It kept me guessing the entire time.

4 girls have been friends forever. They have a yearly mini vacation where they camp on their friends island. They don’t tell anyone where they are going, it’s a fun little secret. Until they all go missing.
Ten years later, Tessa has always been interested in true crime. Tessa’s sister is friends with the sister of one of the missing girls. They get the opportunity to go to a bachelorette weekend on the island where the 4 girls went missing all those years ago. The island has a brand new yoga retreat that has yet to open but the bachelorette party gets to visit it first.
Will it be the relaxing spa weekend that the bachelorette party has envisioned? Or will more bad things happen on this island? You’ll have to read and find out.

3.5 Stars

Told in a dual timeline, the story focuses on the events of Matilda "Tilly"'s life in 2012 and Tessa's life in 2022. Tessa is invited to her childhood friend's bachelorette party— a four-day yoga retreat on an infamous, remote island. Tessa does not want to go, but as a true-crime podcaster, she can't resist the chance to check out an island from which Matilda and her friends disappeared in 2012.

The Bachelorette Party is a perfect summer beach thriller read. It is fast-paced and full of intrigue.

However, also helps my case that bachelorette parties do not need to be a multi-day travel experience. Nothing good ever comes from it! :)

Advanced reader copy provided by Minotaur / St Martin's Press via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun time albeit hard to follow at times with the large cast of characters. I’ll keep reading from this author in the future but this wasn’t my most favorite of her books.