This was pitched as "Scream (which I love) meets The Guest List (which I did not)" and so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

I liked Tessa well enough and I could definitely relate to her love of true crime. When we meet her, she's a bit down as her life has sort of imploded. There are a good amount of characters here and it's everyone's story.

Plot wise, it's okay. I did like the past and present chapters. It was a good way to find out the backstory without seeing it through Tessa's eyes. My main hang up is that it just didn't have the tension and urgency I was expecting for this story of story...even the reveals seemed obvious.

Overall, it was a quick read that did keep me interested, I just wanted a little more.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

The synopsis for this book says it's 'Scream' meets 'The Guest List'
I did not get either of those in this story, except that it's a locked room style mystery, and people die (sometimes with a little gruesomeness). 'Scream' is known for it's shocking reveals, but I found the twists to be rather predictable. The pacing is slightly off and I was also left feeling unfulfilled by the ending.

Despite this, there is no doubt that Camilla Sten knows how to write an atmospheric thriller. There were a few tense moments, that thanks to the writing, made you feel like your right there in the suspense. The character writing is strong as well. I got to know all of them well, and rooted for a few to make it out alive.

I've read a couple others by Camilla Sten, and although I felt that this one was just alright, I will continue to pick up her books.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a digital ARC from Netgally to read and review. The book is written mainly across 2 timelines about different characters that will tie together. The first third of the book was hard for me to get into and follow because it switched timelines too quickly and too often for me to really understand who everyone was at first. Once I had a grasp on the characters and timelines I was able to get more into the storyline. The story moves pretty quickly and the book does feel a little short, but all questions get answered by the end which I liked. I would recommend this book with the note to give it a chance if you struggle with the beginning like I did.

I often struggle to find words, or phrases, to accurately describe the mood and tone of a book.

Because of that, I usually provide a book’s summary followed by my thoughts and feelings about the characters, setting, and plot. Those story elements seem much more concrete and therefore easier for me to capture.

But the words to capture the mood and tone of ‘The Bachelorette Party’ by Camilla Sten stood out so clearly as I read and listened to the book.

Sinister, claustrophobic, macabre, ominous, and darkly atmospheric capture the mood and tone I felt were screaming off the page from beginning to end! This was exactly the book I wanted, and needed, to read right now!

The book version had me flipping page after page while the audiobook caused me to slow down my normal 3x the speed to 2.5 because I didn’t want to miss a single deliciously suspenseful word!

The voice actress did a brilliant job breathing life into this haunting tale of a trip made up of two separate groups of female friends, ten years apart.

In 2012, one group of friends travel to this location as their yearly trip; in 2022, the second group travels to celebrate upcoming nuptials. Despite the ten-year gap, both groups’ trip ends the same - it ends on a wave of sadness, grief, despair, and death because they encounter someone with evil intentions causing some of the women to not make their way home. Are the two groups connected in some way or is this a gruesome, tragic coincidence?

This is the first novel I’ve read/listened to by the author, Camilla Sten who is an author from Sweden. It appears she has a number of books in her catalogue of works that are obviously in Swedish. I hope they can soon be translated so new fans, such as myself, can enjoy them!

Thank you NetGalley, Camilla Sten, St.Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to be on the edge of my seat while consuming this 5 star read! Writing an honest review in return is a true pleasure!

Swedish thriller author Camilla Sten invites us to two bachelorette parties, set ten years apart, that take place on one of the 30,000 islands of the Stockholm Archipelago, a mile wide place known as Isle Blind. The name is fairly generic. It’s a seafaring reference to islands that appear suddenly and cause shipwrecks. For this thriller, it’s appropriate — as both parties get blindly attacked.

Prepare to keep track of at least ten characters between two timelines, 2012 and 2022. There’s a sparse connection (that we know of) between the two groups. The 2012 bride used to babysit the 2022 sisters. And one of those sisters, main character Tessa, is a podcaster obsessed with the disappearance of the Nacka Four, as the 2012 party has become known. Public opinion thinks the women were drunk-dinghying, and lost to the Baltic. Tessa had realized that Isle Blind was owned by the father of one of the women, and she’s convinced they were partying and disappeared there.

The ten major characters:
2012: Matilda Sperling (the bride and 2012 protagonist), Linnea Andersson, Evelina Banér, Anna Wittenberg (dad owns the island). The prologue shows us the death of three of them.

2022: Tessa Nilsson (present day narrator), Lena Nilsson (Tessa’s sister), Caroline, Natalie, Mikaela, Anneliese (the bride)

Irene Sperling is now the owner of Isle Blind and Matilda 2012’s sister plus a yoga instructor and hostess at the new hotel she’s built on Isle Blind.

The two storylines weave in and out, but Tessa’s paranoia and insistence that she investigate (mostly by trying to interrogate Irene) rachet up the tension considerably. It is a chore to keep track of the characters. 2012 Anna and 2022 Natalie seem to be bit players. I was fortunate enough to be able to switch between the ebook and the audiobook, narrated by Laura Jennings. Normally, with this many characters, audiobooks can be confusing, but Jennings did a terrific job varying the voices. Mikaela, a fairly unlikable person, was very distinctive. The audiobook definitely enhance Stern’s thriller. 4 stars for both book and audio.

One note, and this might be due to non-finalized advance copies, but the audio chapters and the book chapters do not line up — 69 audio chapters vs 50 book chapters. The spoken chapter headings are accurate.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only blue eyes mentioned once.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO There are only a few crooked, sparse trees on Isle Blind.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for advanced copies!

This book is super eerie and kept me on my toes. Everything about this book had me super invested and it was just what I needed to get out of a book slump.

The tiny remote island setting was a little unrelentingly claustrophobic and the plot too dark for me, but overall it did capture my interest and I was compelled to finish it. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars. I enjoyed this book, but it won’t leave a lasting impression.

True crime podcaster Tessa Nilsson has never let go of the mystery surrounding the disappearance of four childhood friends who vanished from a secluded Swedish island. With her podcast struggling, she seizes an opportunity to attend a luxurious yoga retreat—coincidentally located on an island eerily similar to the one where they disappeared. Hoping for one final chance to uncover the truth, Tessa soon realizes she’s not the only one chasing answers. Someone else is hunting for revenge.

The premise intrigued me, and I was eager to see where the story would go. While the book kept me engaged, it ultimately felt too predictable—which is surprising, considering I rarely see twists coming. It had its moments, but the plot didn't bring anything fresh or particularly memorable to the genre. I'm glad I read it, but it’s not a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for this complimentary e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Atmospheric, unnerving, and drenched in dread, The Bachelorette Party is a slow-burning Scandinavian thriller that reads like Scream in yoga pants—with secrets lurking beneath every downward dog.

Camilla Sten delivers a layered, dual-timeline mystery centered around two chillingly similar disappearances on a remote Swedish island. In the past: four childhood friends vanish without a trace during their annual getaway. In the present: Tessa Nilsson, a disgraced true-crime podcaster, joins her best friend's bachelorette party on a sleek island retreat that feels a little too familiar. For Tessa, it’s not just a weekend of cava and yoga—it’s her last shot at redemption.

Sten is a master of creeping suspense. The setting is gorgeously eerie, and she knows how to use isolation, shifting alliances, and just enough shadowy figures to keep you turning pages with growing unease. The friendship dynamics—both among the missing women and the bachelorette party crew—are tense, believable, and full of buried resentments.

The pace starts deliberately, but the second half moves with the breakneck intensity of a thriller that knows you’ve been lulled into false security. While a few reveals felt a bit convenient, the payoff is tense, emotional, and satisfying enough to make you rethink every group trip you’ve ever taken.

This is a locked room mystery, dark, wild and creepy.

A bachelorette party is on an island, where no cellphones are allowed, no outside contact whatsoever, and just a small boat. Yeah, no problem, right? Wrong! Everything goes so wrong!
Read this to find out what I am talking about it.

Thank you so much St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for inviting me to read this eARC via NetGalley, opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book. I liked this book a lot. Tessa is a podcaster and has lost all credibility due to fallout from her last story on The Witching Hour. Now, Tessa, her sister Lena, Annaliese, Natalie, Caroline, and Mikaela are all headed to Isle Blind for Annaliese’s bachelorette weekend. This is also the same isle where four friends disappeared 20 years ago. Irene, the host, is the sister of one of the girls who disappeared. It’s a great weekend, drinking, sunrise yoga, good food but Tessa is wondering what happened 20 yrs ago and can she make a story out of it. Find out the truth. Soon Caroline is missing. So is the dinghy. Irene has told them that they need to unplug for the weekend and now they really could use their phones. This is a pretty common story line. You will figure out who the baddie is pretty quickly. This would make a good beach read. It’s too simple to pose a challenge for a hard core book club, but if your book club is more about snacks and beverages, this might just be the thing for you. Get this in your beach bag and thank me later

So I went into this one completely blind not realizing I was walking into a thriller and not a romance (based off the cover) but I was all here for it. It's been a while since I've read thriller and while most of the time I don't figure out who did it, this one was pretty obvious from the beginning but the ride was fun getting to the end regardless. Plenty of action, twists and turns, and of course learning more about our characters past and present along with our duel timelines! All in all I enjoyed this one.

Camilla Sten is a favorite of mine; there’s nothing she’s written that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed. Something about her writing just resonates with me – the way she sets the atmosphere and writes her characters, it just vibes with me.

The Bachelorette Party is set on a remote island in two different timelines and two different women, each with their own issues they're dealing with.
It gives a unique perspective into the story and one passage in particular (for me, anyways).

In the past, Tilly and her friends have disappeared without a trace, assumed to have drowned after a weekend getaway. In the present, Tessa, is attending a bachelorette party with a group of women, including her sister on what Tessa thinks could possibly be the island that Tilly and her friends disappeared from ten years earlier. Now, a new yoga retreat is getting ready to open, and Tessa and friends will be the only ones staying there ….

Tessa, a disgraced podcast host, hopes to dig into the disappearance of the women but when things start to get bloody, she realizes there’s someone on the island who wants revenge but who and why?

Tense, atmospheric, and mysterious, I thoroughly enjoyed this remote setting thriller!
I co-read this while listening and what an amazing experience! Laura Jennings narrates this beautifully! Bravo and well done!

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and MacMillan Audio for these gifted copies!

This was such a fun, fast-paced thriller! I loved the mix of old secrets, messy friendships, and the true crime angle. Cold cases are my jam! The remote island setting added a cool, locked-room vibe, and I couldn’t wait to see how the two timelines would come together. Perfect for fans of twisty thrillers with drama, tension, and a little revenge.

Thank you Camilla Sten, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This book was absolutely incredible! From the very first page, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. The suspense had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the way the author writes made me feel like I was watching a movie unfold right in front of me. The plot was smart and gripping, and the twist at the end completely blew me away. I’ve read other books by this author and they never disappoint…this one is no exception. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a ARC of this thriller in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is definitely a fun summer thriller. Though it was not the most surprising twists and turns [maybe I read way too many thrillers! LOL. However, this had a great vibe to it, you definitely felt as though you were in Scandinavia, and the darkness and cold was present. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun fast and creepy read. The story was engaging, the characters were interesting and different, and the writing was very well done.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa reluctantly agrees to the bachelorette party weekend of her oldest friend Anneliese. Fresh off of a public scandal that cost Tessa her career as a true crime podcaster, she's not eager to face her fabulous and successful childhood friends. However, Tessa does have an ulterior motive. The site of the bachelorette party is on Isle Blind, which is rumored to be where four adult women, longtime childhood friends, died ten years ago on a trip. Tessa is hoping to have the opportunity to do some research while on the isle and maybe solve this cold case of the so dubbed "Nacka Four."

The isle yoga retreat is beautiful and reclusive-and also run by the sister of one of the Nacka Four victims. Tessa can't shake the feeling that something is ominous and forbidden about the isle. When one of the women goes missing, Tessa fears that she's stumbled onto the set of her very own true crime case.

This was an interesting premise. I loved the past and present timelines and was upset when the past timeline was cut off abruptly. I would have liked to see more context from learning about the past lives of the characters. I thought that the characters had potential that was never quite realized and would have liked to see Tessa's past scandal dealt with in more detail as it was an interesting layer to the story.

Without any spoilers, I can say, in a coded way that it was hard to understand the motivation behind the perpetrator of the modern day crimes. The reasoning and logic left something to be desired and stretched the realms of believability.

This is a fun summer thriller with a few flaws. I'd like to see some more aspects of the story explored to give it a higher rating.

Set at two points, a group of girlfriends go to a remote island 10 years ago and are never heard from again today. Back in the present,Tessa is a podcast or who has fallen from Grace. Her and her friends are going to a bachelorette party on the same island. These girls disappeared on. They catch is, no one really knows that the girls truly disappeared on this island and we thought to have drowned.

This is overall a decent thriller. For most of the book, I didn’t really see what was going to come, even though you did suspect some people. There were a few twists and how it ended, truly came full circle.

I liked this a lot! I love the setting, and the dark vibes. The bachelorette party takes place on a deserted island where four women previously went missing. The two groups are linked together, and Tessa is trying to put it all together. There was so much suspense in this one, it kept me turning the pages quickly. I liked the ending a lot. I will definitely read this author again!

I have not read any of Camilla Sten's other books. I fell in love with the cover and the description of the book. The cover makes me want to go on vacation, right? Who wouldn't want to go to a remote small island with a few of your oldest friends for a long weekend. Right? Oh, yeh, this book is a thriller so maybe not he,he.
Well, that all said, I had great expectations for this book. Sadly, it was slow in getting to the thriller part. Would I recommend this book? Yes. It is a good read, just not the thriller I was anticipating.