4.5 stars actually, but not an option here.

I originally requested this book merely on the fact that it was described as Scream meets The Guest List, two of my favorites. I ended up reading this in two sittings because it was so twisty & dark, but I will say it took me a minute to get into the beginning. There were quite a few characters all brought up at once and I struggled to keep them straight. All in all though, I rather enjoyed this and recommend to my friends who enjoy twisty murder mysteries/thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

The premise totally hooked me—a remote island, a cold case disappearance, and a bachelorette party that might be connected? Yes, please. I was ready for something twisty and gripping, but unfortunately, this one didn’t fully deliver for me.

The pacing felt slow. It took a long time to build up, and when things finally started to happen, the payoff just wasn’t as strong as I wanted. It didn’t leave much of an emotional punch or that satisfying “whoa” moment I usually look for in thrillers.

I also had a hard time keeping track of the characters, especially in the past timeline. The original friend group kind of blended together, and I found myself backtracking to remember who was who. And Tessa’s storyline—especially the bit about her podcast career falling apart—felt underdeveloped. It was mentioned, but not in a way that added much to the story or helped me connect with her more.

It wasn’t a bad read, it just didn’t stick with me. I’d still be open to reading more from Camilla Sten, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

This was a well paced murder mystery that is told through dual timelines of past and present. The suspense really picked up in the second part of book and never let off!
Thanks st. martins press, Minotaur books & net galley for this arc!

"The Bachelorette Party" by Camilla Sten is a heart-pounding thriller set on a remote island in Sweden, perfect for readers who enjoy locked-room murder mysteries.

Tessa Nilsson is known for her popular true crime podcasts, in which she's notorious for covering some of Sweden's most gruesome cases. Yet, when her podcast goes up in flames, her name and reputation are tarnished, forcing her into isolation as she grapples with her newfound status as an outcast.

Yet, when she gets invited to a getaway weekend to a yoga retreat, a bachelorette party for her friend Annelise, Tessa sees this as an opportunity to uncover a decades-old mystery that's never been solved. The Nacka Four, a group of four girls who returned to the same island year after year until one summer ten years ago, when they disappeared without a trace. The retreat is in its early stages of opening, located on the same island where the Nacka Four disappeared. This might be Tessa's only chance to redeem herself and uncover what really happened to those girls. But digging into the past, especially one that may not be as clear-cut as everyone has convinced themselves of, might turn a fun bachelorette weekend into something ugly.

What an absolutely riveting, tense, fast-paced ride! Sten has a double mystery set up: the disappearance of the Nacka Four and the event that shaped the future (or lack thereof) of Tessa's podcasts. This causes a lot of tension in the novel. Not only is Tessa choosing to go "undercover" solo to determine what happened the night the four girls went missing, but the girls at the getaway weekend are intrigued by the event that caused her reputation to be ruined. These mysteries amp up the stakes, making it impossible to know whether Tessa's looking for another story when there isn't one, all on the hope she can return to her near-stardom status.

Sten delivers several perspectives and two different periods, making for a quick and fast-paced mystery for readers to dive into. While the perspectives were a bit hard to follow at first, they helped shape the story, characters, and mysteries. These perspectives help readers to understand the characters, to bond with them, and to care for them. This is very much a story about friendship as much as it is about grief and trauma and the impact it has on the psyche. Tessa's character is the most interesting because she's so complex, and there is so much about her that remains hidden throughout the story, a clever way of revealing some complex thoughts and emotions Tessa refuses to acknowledge, even to herself.

Readers who love Sten's writing, mysteries, tightly-wound thrillers, and themes of friendship, revenge, and trauma/grief will love "The Bachelorette Party." Be on the lookout for Sten's book on its expected publication date of June 10th, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (Minotaur Books) for providing me with an e-arc and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.

I decided to try this author again. The Lost Village got so many good reviews, and I was an outlier, so I thought it was me. And maybe it is, because this book just didn't add up.
From the start, I felt like I have read several books with a trope/set up like this: 4 women on an island for a bachelorette party. All have secrets. There is a tie to an incident in the past . And one of the women is a podcaster who is trying to fix her reputation in the field. I do like the locked-room mystery. If it is done well, it is one of my favorite mysteries. However, it took me several days with this book- not to read the whole thing, but to re-read it. Because the timelines and math did not add up. I will not go into detail because I do not want to spoil it for anyone that wants to read it, but I seriously had to go back because on the first read this "math" hit me. I thought maybe I missed something (because I began to skim). But, no, I didn't.

So, although this had the potential to be a very good book, when I looked at it in more detail- everything fell apart! It would not/could not have happened. With locked room mysteries- details are life! But since the timeline could not exist, this scenario could not have happened!

I really do not like writing negative reviews. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

An easy, fast paced locked room mystery! I enjoy a dual timeline and the setting being a bachelorette getaway was really fun. I was entertained the whole time, a great choice for a thriller binge read!

📚: The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten
⭐️: 3/5

Past and present collide on Isle Blind. A location then known to a group of best friends as a secluded, hidden island, home to their annual girls weekend to reconnect with each other. A location now home to a soon-to-open resort, fit for a girls trip of a different kind — Anneliese’s bachelorette party. What’s in common is when both trips, then and now, end with someone plotting for them to not go home.

The pacing with this one was solid, and I enjoyed the then and now narratives. That said, I found myself disconnected from every single character, with a twist that was obvious from the jump.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Bachelorette Party is out on 6/10.

This was a good one. On a remote island a group of friends meet once every year for a one night party at a location only they know about. Ten years later, Tessa, who is consumed by the story of four friends who disappeared on Isle Blind, is lured to Isle Blind for a bachelorette party for a friend of hers. What happens when they get to the island? Just a few days of partying, yoga, and hiking? Or is there something more sinister afoot?

I like this a lot. It was well paced. The beginning held on to the suspense nicely and built it methodically. Great use of multiple timelines. The ending! Harrowing. What a twist. Did not see it coming.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review. Check this one out for sure!

Confession: I had to tell myself to put this book down well before bedtime so I could watch something fluffy on TV to cleanse my brain palate before trying to fall asleep!

The Bachelorette Party is a tense--and intense--read that kept me on edge, my brain spinning to try to figure everything out (Some things I got right, other things I got wrong!).

The setup is fairly common: a group of young women going to an isolated place where another group of young women had disappeared a decade earlier. The story is told mostly from the POV of one of the women in the later group, with a few sections/chapters from others, mainly the POV of one of the women in the earlier group. This lets us experience the uncertainty and tension-building and icky dynamics in present day while dropping clues from the past for us along the way. There are PLENTY of red herrings to steer us off course, mixed in with clues to what actually happened--and who did what--in the past.

If you enjoy:
* a mystery that will keep you guessing to the end
* characters who are relatable, if not always likeable
* sleeping with your eyes open
* complicated relationship dynamics
* a character trying to rebuild her life and atone for a major past mistake
* a unique, picturesque setting that shifts back and forth from starkly beautiful to bleak and scary as hell
* smooth, readable prose
then The Bachelorette Party will make a great summer read for you!
But remember: don't read too close to bedtime.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a free e-ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by this author—and definitely not my last! I’m a huge fan of mystery thrillers, and this one had everything I love: suspense, twists, and emotional depth.

At its core, it’s a gripping story about friendship, grief, redemption, and the relentless pursuit of truth. The main character, Tessa, becomes obsessed with a massacre that happened a decade ago—and she’ll stop at nothing to uncover what really happened, even if it means returning to the very island where the murders occurred.

From the very first page to the last, I was completely hooked. The tension never let up, and I couldn’t put it down!

This was a fun, summer thriller. Fast paced and easy to read. Dual timelines can get MESSY at times, but this one was really well done. My one critique is that it was very predictable. I like to be kept guessing and I feel like this story didn't do that for me. That said, I still really enjoyed it and I can see people eating this one up this summer.

This thriller flies by and the audio narrator nails the vibe without.
However, nothing here screamed fresh. I clocked the villain early and kept waiting for a curveball that never came. Predictable doesn’t equal boring, but a little surprise would’ve pushed it higher for me. The subplot about how Tessa torpedoed her own podcast adds some depth, though.
Bottom line: quick, popcorn-worthy, and worth the credit if you like your mysteries light, fast, and competently read.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this book

Pretty quick read, fun little story but i do have to mention it's kind of predictable, I figured who it was long before story was over, not why so it was still worth reading to find that out. I didn't quite connect with any of the characters like you wish to do when reading a story, not sure if any of them weren't meant to be likeable or if I just didn't read them right but either way the character portion felt flat to me.

A good solid thriller. The story was completely unrealistic, and I would never attend a bachelor party just so that I could work on solving a murder, but once I got over that part of the story, I did enjoy the rest.

A binge-worthy read that kept me on the edge of my seat, The Bachelorette Party was everything I could want in a thriller. From the complex group dynamics to the spine-tingling fear, I raced through these pages in just a matter of hours. I mean, who wouldn’t love a locked room murder mystery on a small, deserted island? With a disturbing glimpse into the past thanks to dual timelines and dual POVs, this claustrophobic storyline started off with quite the bang and only escalated from there. You see, the enigmatic past was interwoven tautly with the present, creating a reality that was as eerie and dark as it was well-written. Bravo, Ms. Sten, on a plot that kept me glued to my chair.

While the plot was a ratcheting explosion of impending doom, the characters felt decidedly dramatic in no uncertain terms. Despite that, however, I quickly latched onto the two main narrators, who I rooted for from the sidelines throughout the adrenaline-fueled climax and near-perfect conclusion. And while the rest of the pack was far from likable or endearing, they still felt distinctly compelling. The best piece of the puzzle, though, was the horror-movie vibe. Who was going to be the last girl standing? And who was going to be the first to be taken out by the villain? Just like in the theater, I could just about hear the scary music playing as I raced to learn all of the whos, whats, and whys.

All said and done, this was one book that required every light to be on after I checked the locks on my windows and doors. Bloody, hair-raising, and somewhat graphic, it had everything that you love in those good ‘ole slasher films: a shadowy villain, pretty girls trying to survive, a sinister atmosphere, and plenty of kills. Was it just a tad predictable? Well…maybe. Just the same, I had a blast watching the bad guy in this addictive whodunnit even the score. So if you’re looking for a book that’s a mix of a classic scary movie and a thriller like One by One, this one’s for you. After all, the growing paranoia, uneasy foreboding, and palpable tension were all there in spades. Ration of 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Camila Sten, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for my complimentary physical and digital copies. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgally, St Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, and MacMillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Maybe I've read too many locked room thrillers lately, but this one didn't feel like it brought anything particularly fresh to the genre.
The story unfolds across two timelines. In the present, a group of women head to a remote island for a bachelorette party. One of them, the main character Tessa, is secretly hoping to uncover the truth behind a decade-old mystery - ten years earlier, another group of friends vanished from the same island during a yearly girls trip. Tessa, whose true crime podcast recently flopped, is desperate for a comeback and sees this trip as a way to redeem herself. But things quickly spiral, and she finds herself in real danger, caught in a twisted game of revenge.
I both read and listened to the audiobook. The audiobook was well-paced and the narrator kept things engaging. I appreciated the dual timelines and how the threads of the past and present slowly wove together. However, the overall story felt predictable and lacked the tension I was hoping for. I would also have loved more depth on Tessa's podcast and what led to its downfall - it seemed like an important element, but it was only lightly touched on.
An okay read overall, especially if you are newer to the genre, but not one that stood out to me.

3.75, rounding up!

This was a fun time. Beautifully written with complex characters and complex motives both. Perhaps because it was marketed as Scream meets The Guest List, I expected slightly more slasher-y vibes due to the Scream comparison and while I can see where that came from, it was definitely more mystery than any sort of horror or slasher, at least to me. Although the aspect was certainly there in some ways, particularly in the prologue.

Despite that, it was far from disappointing. Like I said, I had a really good time with this one. I got incredibly invested in trying to figure out who'd done what, and had so many different theories running at once. Some little aspects felt obvious in the end and even though the reveal was one of my theories, it was still executed well enough to make gasp. The finale entirely was action packed and nonstop and so well done. I finished the last hour of this in one sitting, I had to get to the end.

I also have to shout out the great bi rep in this book. It delighted me very much. Happy pride month to Tessa.

This was my first Camilla Sten novel and it won't be my last! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books for the ARC!

I’m a big thriller fan and love to try to figure out the suspect before the book tells us who it is. This book fell a little flat with me and was easy to figure out who the villain was. I also had a hard time keeping track of all the names since they all seemed similar, even across the dual timelines.

I did enjoy the dual timelines and POV. I liked that the ending was tied up and helped it be a good conclusion. I also really enjoyed how the author wrote about the healing of the FMC. Being my first Camilla Sten book, I am intrigued in checking out more!

The story jumps from past to present throughout. Some suspense, violence and horror at points in the book. Nothing jaw dropping in my opinion. A lot of characters to keep track of on the different timelines.

The Bachelorette Party by Camila Sten, in 2012 four friends went missing from a blind aisle off of the Sweden coast. now one of the missing girls sisters whose father own the island has built a resort and is letting her good friend Annalise have her bachelorette party there. The party is attended by old school friends McKayla, Caroline, and sisters Lana, Tessa and newcomer Natalie. They’re going to be the first guest there and the only staff is the owner Irene and the chef Adam. The book mainly focuses on Tessa a.k.a. Teresa who had success as a podcaster but for reasons not known in the beginning got canceled. she feels awkward around her high school friends and sister because she is the least successful among them but once they get to the island the activities have surprising effects even despite the fact her reason for going was to try and figure out what happened to the missing four women. her snooping only gets her so far but when she finds one of their friends who Irene claimed left early for reasons I didn’t get she immediately thinks the chef is the culprit. every now and then there is another POV with Matilda Irene‘s sister before the trip to the island setting up all the great suspects that could’ve potentially wanted her and her friends dead. I did find this book compulsively readable but there were many questions and situations in the book that had me rolling my eyes. I thought Tessa was a tad bit dramatic I get it shit anxiety issues but her reaction to those around her was only one example of her dramatized reactions I didn’t get that whole dragging vision thing her intense belief the chef was the killer and her need to get off the island I mean these women went missing 10 years before but having said that I still found it had really good writing which usually is it the case with translated books but this was really good and I even went and downloaded the author‘s other book the village. It’s an OK read and there’s way more to the story than what I put in this brief review but if you’re looking for a good mystery set in another country this should scratch that itch. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #CamilaSten, #TheBacheloretteParty,