I ended up putting this down because I really just did not care for the characters in this book. I couldn’t connect with any of them and therefore made me not want to read further. I do plan on giving this book another try eventually

I think I spend too much time with locked room mysteries, so this could be a me problem, but I guessed the ending pretty quickly. I think the last 1/4 of the book was entertaining, and I really did want to keep reading to figure out how they’d get out of it (and who would get out of it). I didn’t find the structure to be confusing except for the one part that dealt with the phone log. I had no idea who was who and only put the pieces together toward the end. Learning Matilda’s situation and then immediately seeing her get murdered….and then having flashbacks where we are constantly reminded about her situation was a little triggering? Not really a fan of using that as a plot device. However, I fear without that part of her character, I would not care much about Matilda. The murder being the first thing that happens in the book leaves no room for you to feel anything for the characters, and the flashbacks don’t really help.
At first I thought Tessa was unlikable, but she grew on me a lot. I was invested in her podcast backstory but felt slightly let down by the reveal. I appreciated her character arc and ending though.

Thank you to Camilla Sten and St. Martin's Press for my copy of The Bachelorette Party to read and review!

Overall, this was a fast-paced, fun read! The thriller elements are spread throughout the book, although it is a bit predictable to some degree. But I promise it's worth it to get to the big twist. I definitely wasn't expecting the murderer to be who it was!

There are time jumps (with dates) sporadically throughout the book. I know that not everyone likes this type of structuring in books, myself included, but I feel the structure of this one works for the plot.

I do wish that this could've included multiple POV's, as this would've elevated the story for me. Although two key characters, Matilda and Tessa) have their own chapters, I would've liked chapters from Irene and maybe the killer, especially for the past flashbacks.

What a wonderful, fast paced thriller. This story captured me from the beginning. Likeable, relatable characters with an ending that I didn't see coming.

I wanted to like this book but there were so many characters you are introduced to I'm not sure I ever learned who was who. For a short thriller this took me a long time to get into and then it felt like all the tension and drama were in the last 10% of the book. The pacing and reveal were not my favorite.

“The Bachelorette Party” is a mystery thriller by Camilla Sten. This book follows two timelines - one set in 2012 and the other in 2022. The two timelines are about two different groups of women - making it easy to keep the timelines and stories separate. Like others, I suspected pretty quickly who had “done it” for the 2012 timeline (and had a great guess for who might in the 2022 timelines) but I was missing the “why” in both cases. I actually found myself more interested in the story behind the scandal that affected Tessa. Overall, I found the pacing to be good in this book and the back and forth between the two timelines was solidly written.

“The Bachelorette Party” is a variation on the closed room mystery. Tessa, the main character, is fixated on a 20-year-old crime. Happily (?) for her, she’s invited to the island where it occurred. Tessa has been going through a rough patch and it’s clear that the other party guests don’t regard her as reliable.

So begins the yoga-themed bachelorette party. While the rest of the invitees are focused on Anneliese, the bride, Tessa is looking for clues surrounding the murders of four young women who died twenty years ago on this very island.

Author Camilla Sten doles out clues sparingly, adding to the suspense. Naturally there are some people who seem creepy, but are they really?

I enjoyed “The Bachelorette Party.” This author was new to me; I look forward to reading her other books. “The Lost Village,” for example, has been published in 19 countries.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy. This is my honest review.

This was a solid 3 star read. The story takes place across two timelines, centered around a Swedish island where an infamous true crime case took place. The main character is a true crime podcaster and gets the chance to visit the island on a bachelorette party, and chaos ensues.

The story is fast paced with a lot of named characters, but I didn’t feel like it was difficult to keep track of the characters. The story is a locked room mystery with a fun setting and premise. A bit predictable at times, but great beach read to pick up this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing an advance copy. It’s out June 10th. Opinions are my own!

I went into this book already so intrigued so it’s really no surprise this turned out to be such an intense read. Character development was amazing. I did have to get used to the back and forth narratives but I think it was very important for this story to be told in this way so I didnt mind. . I can’t wait to read more from this author. I received this from NetGalley for my honest review

The Bachelorette Party didn't work for me. Honestly I should have trusted my gut and DNF'd it instead of finishing it. The story failed to fully pull me in. I didn't find myself rooting for any of the characters either, which was unfortunate. The story didn't feel like anything new either.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

I really wanted to like The Bachelorette Party. The premise was intriguing, and I was excited for a tense, twisty thriller. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t land for me.

I tried both reading and listening to it, hoping one format would click—but no matter how I approached it, the story felt disjointed and hard to follow. The constant time jumps between eight different characters were especially confusing. Without clear labels indicating the time period or perspective at the start of each chapter, I often found myself flipping back to figure out where—and who—we were supposed to be with.

Worse still, the eight main characters all felt indistinguishable. None stood out in a meaningful way, and they blended together into a bland, forgettable mix. I never felt connected to any of them, which made it even harder to stay invested in what was happening.

The actual plot—the one teased in the description—doesn’t really get going until about halfway through the book. By then, I was already fatigued. The first half is heavy on world-building and backstory, much of which could have been trimmed. It dragged and lacked the suspense I was hoping for.

The potential was there, but in the end, The Bachelorette Party was a struggle to finish. A promising idea weighed down by poor execution.

This was a twisty locked room (albeit an island) thriller!! 🙌

I do have to say it was a bit predictable, but I was hooked from the get-go! While not my favorite from Camilla Sten (The Lost Village claims that spot), this was still a very enjoyable read! Check it out if you like a good thriller with slasher vibes and deserted islands! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and @
Camilla Sten for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

An easy and fast read for fans of locked door mysteries!
Let's be honest- locked door can get repetitive. But the vibes are usually still there, and it's a much loved setting! I find the key with locked door is to not speculate too much as I read and just enjoy the ride. I read quickly, so I sped right through this one as I do with majority of locked door settings.
The bachelorette trip as a setting is a fun time, and I enjoyed the characters as well as the duel mysteries going on. The chapters moved along at a nice pace and I was entertained throughout the book. I would recommend the read if the setting suits your mood!
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC

This one took a while to find its footing for me, I wasn’t really hooked until about 35% of the way in.

The final 20% did deliver, it was tense, stressful, and kept me flipping pages. But to get there, you really have to slog through a lot of filler. I think a tighter edit through the middle would’ve made the impact of the ending hit harder and more exciting to get through.

There’s a definite The Guest List vibe here with the isolated setting and the slowly unraveling tension, which I liked a lot! The location was immersive and atmospheric, and more unique than most which was impressive.

There were some things about the characters that didn’t really make sense to me -
1. Irene’s character arc made very little sense. Revenge is one thing, but the leap to methodical mass murder felt like a stretch. Also killing Adam simply for being a man and disagreeing with her seemed unnecessary and a little over the top. I also found it hard to believe Irene’s omniscient understanding of everyone’s movements. Like randomly guessing Annelise was visiting a friend in the same apartment building as Matilda and Carl - it would have been far more effective (and simpler) if Annelise just lived there.
2. Carl, too, felt like an unfinished character. His sudden turn into unhinged territory lacked buildup or explanation. If he was meant to be broken in some way, I would have liked more behavioral cues and background to buy into it.
3. Tessa’s backstory was oddly extensive for how little it actually contributed to the plot. Her personal trauma and guilt were presented in detail, but they never really fed meaningfully into the main narrative. And her decision to run instead of helping her sister? That moment made her frustratingly unlikable and hard to root for.

I found the flashbacks super compelling - they added some intrigue and backstory, and I think leaning more into them, especially to flesh out Irene and Carl, could have given the narrative more emotional weight.

It’s official: I will read anything Camilla Sten writes, and most likely, I will love it. Her third thriller is once again a winner for me, and I can’t wait to see where she goes next!

Ten years ago, four women, dubbed the “Nacka Four,” disappeared from an isolated island in the Baltic Sea, Isle Blind, during their annual camping trip to the island. They were never found, and presumably drowned while taking a dingy out on rough seas while drunk. Ten years later, a we resort has been built on Isle Blind, and a group of friends are going for an exclusive preview weekend as a bachelorette party for one of the group. Tessa, whose life s falling apart, has an alternative motive: to find clues about what happened to the Four that night. But there’s more going on behind the scene than anyone anticipated.

The story is told along two timelines: in 2012, from one of the missing girls’ POV leading up to the fateful trip; and Tessa’s in the present day.

Once again, Sten has created a unique story that just sucked me in right from the beginning. The opening chapter is super creepy and just sets the stage for what is to come in the book. And with that, the action really takes off right away. With the resort being isolated, there’s a foreboding and suspenseful atmosphere throughout the book that just ramps up as it goes on.

I didn’t guess most of the solution at all, even through it all made sense and the clues were there, which makes for a good book, imo. I had an idea about one point and was right about it, but like I said, there were still enough surprises and twists to keep me interested, which is what I love about Sten’s books. She always has a little something up her sleeve.

I also loved the character development with Tessa, who had a complex background story, and had to deal with her own issues throughout the book and its events. I liked how she was very multifaceted.

Again, I highly recommend this book, then checking out the other books by Camilla Sten. It’ll be worth your while if you’re looking for some good thrillers.

I’m sorry, but I DNFed this book. The prologue alone was so long and uninteresting, and there was already a theme attached to the main character within the first chapter that I don’t care to read about.

Publication date: June 10, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

The idea of a remote island getaway with friends for a bachelorette party sounds like something bad is bound to happen. Especially when cell phones are taken away and you are at the mercy of the resort staff. This locked room thriller was enjoyable to read, but never “wowed” me. I listed to the audiobook and found my mind drifting at times. Overall it was an enjoyable book and the ending wrapped up the story well.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

I liked the dual timeline aspect of this and how the stories wove together. Our FMC was hard to like at first, but it did not take me too long to root for her in the midst of chaos.

Thank you Minotaur Books for the gifted copy!

This was a very bingeable thriller that I had a hard time putting down! I was supposed to read it in a 5-day long structured buddy read, but all of us decided we couldn't stretch it that long and binged it instead.

My only complaint, and it's minor, is that sometimes the characters were hard to keep track of. I think this was more of a me thing than a writing thing though.

It would be a great beach read and I'd ultimately recommend to thriller lovers. The Bachelorette Party pub date is June 10.

This book starts with four best friends, Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina who get together every year on an isolated island, to catch-up, laugh, drink and party. Things go terribly wrong and the women are all murdered; but their family at home does not know about where they go and assume they are all missing at sea, when the boat they were on is found empty, floating.

Forward ten years later, Tessa, whose personal and professional life is falling apart, has been invited to the island where a new yoga and health resort is to celebrate a bachelorette party for one of her friends, Anneliese. Tessa doesn’t really want to go because of where she is in her life, but since she is a true crime junkie and has a true crime podcast, she cannot resist going to secretly see if she can solve the mystery. Tessa believes the women were murdered and thinks the proof might be on the island. As the ladies get to the island, they have to hand over all their electronics (to truly relax) and set about doing yoga, drinking cava, going on walks and catching up between vinyasas. But there is something strange about the island and when one of the women leaves to go home without a word to anyone, Tessa is suspicious. from there things go from bad to worse and Tessa has to hope she can survive the island if she ever hopes to know what really happened to the four women ten years ago.

I both read the book and listened to the audiobook, both were enjoyable. This story was not as good as I thought it would be, I thought the ending seemed rushed but it is well worth a read.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house, narrator and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.