Although the premise of this book is quite intriguing, the execution of the story is disappointing. You never really feel like you get to know the four girls who previously disappeared that much, except for Matilda. The others are like afterthoughts whose stories are only important in how they relate to hers, making them much less interesting. In the present day, Tessa and the bride-to-be, Anneliese, are supposed to be best friends, but they do not seem close at all. If they are not and they have really drifted apart that much, it doesn't make sense that Anneliese would still invite Tessa to be part of her wedding.

The mystery is not handled that well either. The solution only makes limited sense. It kind of comes out of left field and is unsatisfying. Plus, there is a lot of violence, and some of it is quite graphically described. Accordingly, if you don't like mysteries with a lot of violence, this is not the book for you. However, if you do, you might enjoy this book.

This is a wonderful story of friendship, crime, murder, revenge and thriller.
In 2012, 4 friends disappear while on their annual trip to Isle Blind, a remote uninhabited island owned by one of the friend’s fathers. Their bodies were never found but it was believed they were lost at sea. Media refers to them as the Nacka Four.
Tessa has always been drawn to this story but could not use it on her true crime podcast because she has nothing new to add to the story.
In 2022, Tessa’s friend, Anneliase, wants to gather her friends on Isle Blind at a new yoga retreat that was built there by a sibling of one of the Nacka Four. Despite Tessa’s misgivings knowing the history of the Nacka Four, she wants to support her friend.
The unveiling of facts from 2012 is slow and tantalizing. We wonder if Tessa is paranoid or if her fears are realistic. This was so well written and I was glad to have the opportunity to read it. I would recommend. I feel this book will be well received by lovers of thrillers and psychological thrillers.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten is a gripping thriller packed with suspense and just the right touch of romance. I couldn’t stop turning the pages because it kept me hooked from start to finish.

I loved this intricately plotted and highly suspenseful read. The isolated setting heavily contributed to a sense of foreboding throughout the entire story. I loved that there were so many unexpected twists both in the past and the present because it made the story even more exciting.

The Bachelorette Party is a fast-paced, atmospheric thriller set on a remote Swedish island—once the site of a violent tragedy, and now the scene of a seemingly carefree girls’ getaway gone wrong. As a fan of thrillers, I was immediately intrigued by the cover and title, and while I hadn’t read Camilla Sten before, I was eager to dive into this one.

The premise is compelling: two groups of women, separated by a decade, become linked through a location with a violent past. The modern-day story unfolds quickly, and the locked-in island setting adds a sense of tension and isolation that works well for the genre. The pacing is brisk, making it a quick read with a cinematic feel.

That said, as someone who reads a lot of thrillers, I found the twists fairly easy to predict. The plot felt fresh, but it didn’t quite manage to surprise me. Readers newer to the genre might enjoy the reveals more than I did.

I struggled at times to keep the characters straight—there are several women in the present-day storyline and additional characters tied to the past, many with similar names or overlapping roles. Because the book is relatively short, I felt the character development was a bit lacking, which made it harder to connect emotionally with anyone or feel truly invested in their fate.

Despite these issues, I really enjoyed the setting and the mood. The island resort, the Swedish coastline, the sense of isolation—it all contributed nicely to the suspense.

While The Bachelorette Party wasn’t a standout for me, I’d definitely be open to reading more from Camilla Sten. I think fans of quick, locked-room thrillers and readers who are just getting into the genre might enjoy this one more than seasoned thriller veterans.

This was also posted on Goodreads and will be mentioned on the Books Around the Block Podcast TBD date

The Bachelorette Party offers a blend of suspense and psychological intrigue, set in a hauntingly atmospheric location. While the novel's structure and character development have received mixed feedback, it remains a compelling read for fans of thrillers that explore the darker facets of friendship and the past's inescapable grip.

Scary and riveting on a remote island😧

4.5🌟 stars
Wow! This small, uninhabited Baltic island, apparently situated in the Stockholm archipelago, has doom written all over it! It's twisty, heart in your throat anxiety as a bachelorette party goes totally terrifying. Is it connected to a group of four women friends who disappeared in 2014, almost a decade earlier? I'm not telling!

I remained confused and captivated throughout, and the dual
alternating timeline between the first group of friends and the second kept the tension going right to the climax.

I've read several of the author's horror thrillers before and this one ranks with the better ones.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared on 6/3/25 on Waterstones, Goodreads and Bookbub, and with Barnes & Noble and BAM. To be shared with kobo and Google Play upon publication.

Generally, I'm a big fan of Swedish, female crime writers, and I was excited to give this one a go. The setting and overall feel of the mystery was great, but I had a hard time feeling a connection with the characters in both timelines. Even the satisfaction of guessing the main plot long before I was supposed to, couldn't get this book over 3 stars for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read The bachelorette party by Camilla Sten. This is a slow burn psychological thriller that is told in two timelines. Four friends meet on an isolated island every year until one year they all disappear. Ten years later Tessa's friend Anneliese decides to hold her bachelorette party at a brand new hotel on an isolated island. Tessa's life and her true crime podcast has imploded, and she hopes that finding out what happened to the four friends will restart her career, but will history repeats itself?
I found the pacing extremely slow at the beginning, and the plot seemed too drawn out, only for the ending to be too rushed. While the story overall was good, I wasn't a fan, but for those who love slow burn plots you may like it.

Okay, how are there this many thrillers called The Bachelorette Party? This is the second one I’ve read in the past year with that title—and just like the last, it had me questioning what’s really going on at all these wild pre-wedding getaways. This one combines the high-stakes drama of a bachelorette party gone wrong with the intrigue of a long-buried mystery. One of the women isn’t just trying to survive the chaos unfolding in the present—she’s also determined to uncover the truth behind an old tragedy that’s haunted her. Most people believe it was a freak boating accident, but she’s convinced something much darker happened. And as she digs deeper, the lines between past and present start to blur.

What I loved most was how it kept me on edge the entire time. I started this book and finished it all in one day—I literally couldn’t put it down. The tension ramps up so naturally that before you know it, you’re holding your breath right alongside the characters. There’s a great mix of psychological suspense, secrets, and survival, and the author does an awesome job balancing it all while keeping you guessing. This story had just the right amount of twists to keep me invested without feeling overwhelming. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author!

This started out looking like it was going somewhere but it ended up being like all other bachelorette party books.
We all know the drill. A group of women head to an isolated location for a bachelorette weekend and they mysteriously start dropping dead. This was a bit more dark than I expected. The pacing was fast and the writing is fine. Nothing exceptional.
Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a honest opinion. 3⭐️

This was so much fun. It was a short and quick read for me. I literally couldn’t put it down and finished in less than 24 hours. I loved the plot. It felt so genuine to me, like this could be something in real life. I also loved the author’s humor. Definitely recommend!

Links to come!

Camilla Sten delivers a gripping and atmospheric thriller in The Bachelorette Party. With sharp pacing and a chilling sense of isolation, the novel expertly blends psychological suspense with interpersonal drama. Sten’s vivid setting—a remote island getaway—sets the stage for secrets to unravel and tensions to erupt. The twists are clever, the characters layered, and the suspense builds to a satisfying climax. A compelling, page-turning read for fans of dark, twisty thrillers. Honestly, though, this seemed a bit different than Sten's other novels. But still quite good.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this digital e-arc.*

🏝️ T R A P P E D T U E S D A Y review 🏝️ featuring “The Bachelorette Party” by Camilla Sten!

In 2012, four childhood friends (Linnea, Evelina, Anna and Matilda) mysteriously disappeared from Nacka Beach on Isle Blind and were never seen again. This group planned an annual trip to the island to unwind and catch up with one another. This unsolved case was dubbed “The Nacka 4” and the family and friends of the missing women never got the answers they were desperately needing or the closure.

Now in 2022, a group of women are going to the island to celebrate a bachelorette party at the new Baltic Vinyasa yoga retreat for the weekend. Tessa Nilsson grew up with an interest in Swedish cold cases and even started a popular podcast called The Witching Hour with Tessa Nilsson. The Nacka 4 case always interested her and she was never able to find answers. So when she finds out that the retreat owner Irene is the sister of one of the missing 4, Tessa is determined to dig for more information!

I always love a locked room thriller on a remote island, especially when there’s a psycho killer on the loose! This book is a mix of gory horror, Nordic thriller and a mystery filled with revenge!

Thank you kindly to @authorcamillasten @minotaur_books @stmartinspress @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on June 10, 2025!

I had goosebumps as I read this thrilling locked-door mystery. As I started reading, I just knew chaos and danger would ensue. The slow build up gave it the perfect amount of suspense. While some parts were a bit predictable, the story held my interest and had me flipping through the pages at record speed.

10 years ago: four women disappeared on their annual remote island getaway. Present Day: six friends unite at the Baltic Vinyasa, a newly built retreat on a small island in Sweden, to celebrate a long time friend’s upcoming wedding. Queue the creepy music as this nefarious saga unfolds.

Just a couple of things that were an issue for me with this book

1. The two different stories and timelines took me quite a while to get everyone’s name straight and grasp the story.
2. The ending with a confusing character development. I had to go back and see if I missed something.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books and the author for an advanced DRC.

3.75 ⭐️

The Bachelorette Party is a quick and easy mystery/thriller read. Though I did find it relatively predictable, I enjoyed the journey. Tessa as a main character was interesting, and I found myself eager to learn more of her backstory. Does she make some bad decisions? Absolutely. Does that make her more of a realistic character to me? Yes, it does.

The plot itself was pretty standard. It wasn’t mind-blowing, but it also wasn’t bad at all. It kept me interested enough to continue reading, and though I wasn’t super satisfied with the ending, it also wasn’t bad. I think I just expected a little more. Either way, it was a fun read for me. Heavy at times, naturally, but I enjoyed the complexity those times brought to the book.

If you’re looking for a quick mystery/thriller, I’d recommend The Bachelorette Party!

Thank you Minotaur for the early review copy. All opinions are my own.

This was an intense, classically Swedish, thriller! I loved that this was written by a female author and that most of the characters of the novel were female as well. It was an interesting take on a thriller as I often feel the creepy male characters get too much hype in thrillers.

While there were some aspects that were a bit outlandish, most of the plot was easy to follow, interesting to bounce between multiple timelines, and really threw me for a loop of just how vengeful some of the characters could be. I didn’t find the pace dragging at all. If anything, it keeps you on the edge trying to figure out all of the complex pieces of the characters and the decisions they’ll make!

A bachelorette party on a deserted island that is famous for the disappearance of four women years ago, what could go wrong???

This is the premise for Camilla Sten’s The Bachelorette Party, a tense, atmospheric thriller that blends the claustrophobia of a locked-room mystery with the emotional stress of secrets among old friends. Set on a remote Swedish island, the novel delivers a chilling tale of obsession, revenge, and the dangerous allure of the past.

Tessa Nilsson, a disgraced true crime podcaster, joins her best friend Anneliese’s bachelorette party at Baltic Vinyasa, a yoga retreat on Isle Blind—a secluded island infamous for the unsolved disappearance of four women a decade earlier. That name alone would have given me some reservations.

For Tessa, the trip is more than a celebration; it’s a chance to revive her career by investigating the cold case that has haunted her. But as the women settle into their tech-free weekend, eerie parallels to the past emerge, and guests begin to vanish. Tessa must unravel the island’s secrets before history repeats itself. Yikes!

The isolated island gives off a creepy, foreboding atmosphere and the retreat’s no-technology policy, amplifies the sense of vulnerability and suspense. It's like a scarier version of 'White Lotus'. The narrative alternates between the present and the original disappearances, gradually revealing connections that keep me guessing. There are lots of good twists and turns that maintained my interest and created a hightened sense of tension throughout the novel.

One caveat, there is a large cast of characters that might be challenging for some to track, particularly with similar names and shifting timelines. Additionally, certain twists felt a bit predictable and some characters are underdeveloped. However, these aspects didn't detract from the overall suspense and entertainment value of this book. It kept me guessing till the very end!

A deserted island no one knows about is the perfect place for four friends to meet every year to catch up on life, drink and swim. No one even knows they are there. So when all of their bodies disappear, the police rule it as a boating accident gone wrong. Ten years later, the island is now owned by the sister of one of the victims and she plans to open the island up as a resort. Before the grand opening, Anneliese and a group of her plans book a private week for her bachelorette party. Four new friends, same island. One of them disappears. Is this revenge for what happened years ago? Or is someone just messing with them? I will say I strugged through the audio version of this book (though I can't pinpoint why). I was given the opportunity to both read and listen and found I enjoyed reading this novel more. However, it was still difficult to get through and I found myself losing interest. Too many characters to keep track of and it was just really hard for me to follow. I still give it three solid stars as it was an okay read, just not my favorite. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to listen and read this one prior to release date!

I really enjoyed the majority of The Bachelorette Party. The premise was super intriguing, and the characters were interesting and engaging. The pacing kept me turning pages, and I found myself really invested in the story. However, the twist at the end didn’t quite work for me. It felt a bit predictable, melodramatic, and I would have loved a more surprising resolution. Overall, it was a fun read, and I’m excited to see what Camilla Sten writes next!