I have to start by saying this cover is gorgeous. The setting of a secret deserted island is right up my alley. Both the synopsis and epilogue drew me in right from the start but after that it was slow for the first half of the book. The story is told in dual timelines with two separate sets of friends staying on this same small island 10 years apart. The first set of friends disappeared. Going back and forth it took a moment to remember who was from which set of friends as well as who did what.

While attending her best friend’s bachelorette party, the present time POV is told by Tessa, a former host of a true crime podcast. Only being told by one POV made the story a little boring. There weren’t many twists or turns until the end, where the killer and motive came out like a runaway truck.

Thank you @CamillaSten, @St.Martin'sPress @Minotaur and @NetGalley for a free e-ARC. The opinions are mine alone and not biased in any way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️¾

This book definitely gave me Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes right from the start—and I was here for it. The eerie, isolated island setting combined with a bachelorette party gone very, very wrong? Yes, please.

The dual timeline worked well to build tension, and I found myself flipping pages quickly, eager to unravel the Nacka Four mystery. It was definitely a thrilling, addictive read that kept me hooked from the first chapter.

That said, the ending did feel a bit anti-climactic. The big reveal around what actually happened to the missing women (the Nacka Four) didn’t hit as hard as I hoped—it felt a little off or rushed somehow. Still, even with that, I really enjoyed the ride.

If you're into twisty thrillers with a slasher-movie energy and a creepy, atmospheric setting, this is a great one to pick up. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely a fun, fast-paced read with plenty of suspense to keep you entertained.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this thriller in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The blurb sold me instantly—“Scream meets The Guest List”—say no more. As someone in her 30s who’s been dragged to one too many destination bachelorette parties, I was already hooked by the premise.

A group of friends used to retreat to a secluded island every year to relax and reconnect. In 2012, they all vanished without a trace, presumed drowned. But that explanation has never sat right with Tessa, a true crime podcaster who’s convinced something darker happened. When she’s invited to a bachelorette party on that very island, she jumps at the chance—not to party, but to uncover the truth.

This one delivered exactly what I was hoping for: a chilling, atmospheric setting, a cast full of shady characters, and enough twists to keep the pages turning. It’s the perfect mix of moody and bingeable. A solid thriller with a fun setup and a satisfying payoff.

3⭐️

This was just okay. I was invested right off the bat sine this involved a group of missing girls that went missing from a secluded island as well as a true crime host running from a scandal. The island lead to an eerie, atmospheric story and the tension surrounding a group of women who have little in common besides the bride did lead to an exciting story. The infighting between the women and the similarities between the timelines lead to a gripping story.

After a while, though, the story got a bit convoluted. There characters between the two timelines became too similar and it was hard to tell which timeline we were actually in. I also found a lot of Tessa's choices to be odd considering she was a 'famed' true crime podcast host.

Thanks Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing this ARC to me!

This book had an interesting if not predictable plot but I’m inclined to enjoy it as thrillers usually deliver regardless. There’s only so much you can do to make a story more innovative especially as almost everything has been done before. Sten made it work to create an enjoyable reading experience.

I needed a palate cleanser, and The Bachelorette Party was the fix. Although parts of the book were predictable, I enjoyed that it wasn't another true crime podcaster based in the U.S. The location was a nice change of pace, and I liked the dual timelines. It reminded me of a mash-up between I Have Some Questions for You and The Guest List.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this arc of The Bachelorette Party!

Unfortunately this book was not for me. It started off very promising and exciting and then immediately took a nosedive in my opinion. I could not continue once I got to 30% as it just became flat and uneventful.

A remote island. Four friends go missing.
Ten years later, that same island. Four friends reunite for a bachelorette party.
Will ghosts start to appear and ruin this “last fling before the ring”, or will these four girls make it our alive?

The Bachorlerette Party is a basic mash-up of a few common Troupes in the suspense genre.
True crime podcaster✔️
Main character who made a mistake in the past ✔️
Cliche group of women✔️
Closed room mystery ✔️
Story that jumps back and forth✔️
Easily Figured out twist ✔️
In addition the whole set-up is so far-fetched, it goes off the rails for me.
There is nothing new in this story … not one I would recommend.
Thank you to net galley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

In the Bachelorette Party, we come to an isolated island called Isle Blind, where new friends and old have congregated to celebrate the upcoming nupitals of one of the party. Our protagonist, Tessa, is a former podcaster who, after a horrid interview with the parent of a murderer went wrong, found herself in a bind over the last few months. However, going to Isle Blind is going to be a reawakening for Tessa, as it is possibly the site of a murder of a group of four friends a decade earlier, now home to a spa built by the sister of one of the missing women. Instead of being the relaxing and exciting experienced promised to her, Tessa is instead met with a nightmare she thinks is her own doing.

Camilla Sten has brought us a masterpiece of a thriller. The setting of an island that can only be reached by boat brings with it a sense of foreboding. While the storyline could easily be predicted, which I did in the long run, it doesn't take away that you can physically feel the grief of the characters and what each of them has been through. Will absolutely be recommending this one to my friends!

Thank you to NetGalley, Camilla Sten and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

I was so excited by the premise of this book, yet it just never seemed to come together. The characters were hard to keep track of, and then hard to connect with. The way it came together at the end was predictable and overly dramatic. There were some twists that I did not see coming, but most of them were in the sidelines.

My first book by Camilla Sten! I was impressed. Of course the premise was interesting, and reminiscent of THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley - a group of friends visiting a secluded island (archipelago) for their annual girls' trip, in celebration of Tilly's upcoming wedding. But the girls disappear, never to be heard from again, leaving all their friends and family heartbroken and wondering what happened.

Ten years later, Tessa, a true crime podcaster that obsessed over the disappearance of those girls, is invited to one of the small islands in the same cluster to celebrate her best friend's upcoming wedding. Her true crime podcast has recently imploded in spectacular fashion, ruining her career. She hopes that if she can do a little sleuthing while on this girls' trip weekend, maybe she can get closer to discovering what really happened to those girls a decade ago, and it can spark a rebirth for her career - but hopefully she can do it on the downlow so her friends and sister don't get mad at her for being self-absorbed and turning her friend's celebration into something all about her.

The author takes us back and forth, between 10 years ago and the present, which serves as an eerie tool to show us what happened in the past and compare it to the present, helping us to try and decide whether all the strange and spooky intuitions Tessa is having in the present are her imagination or if something sinister is actually going on at the island, just like it did to their counterparts ten years ago.

The ending to this book is CRAZY. All of a sudden this somewhat slow-starting psychological thriller turns into a horror/slasher movie that is truly terrifying. Though I did guess part of the whodunnit twist, it only turned out to be about 30% of the full truth of what was really going on, and the reveal was genius. Camilla Sten 100% delivers on an explosive ending that I could totally see being turned into a delicious horror movie.

I highly recommend! A truly worthwhile read for thriller lovers!

“The Bachelorette Party” is my first novel by Camilla Sten and it was a quick thriller that I could not read fast enough!

The story flashes between 2022 and in the past of 2012. On a remote island, four friends that always vacation together mysteriously vanish. Fast forward 10 years and Tessa has to go to the same island for a bachelorette party. Although she does not want to go, she has a true crime podcast that needs its next big break, so if she finds out more about what happened 10 years ago, this could be it.

This felt like similar books I have read in the past. It kept me hooked because I wanted to see what happened, but I unfortunately predicted the ending. There were some story lines that didn’t come together for me, but overall a good read. 4✨

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC! This book read as a classic slasher. Although it kept me entertained most of the time I thought it did drag at a few points. Overall I thought the plot was clever, and the twist was revealed at an appropriate time. A bachelorette party gone wrong on a remote island… but it isn’t the first time this island has seen violence. If you’re looking for a fun summer slasher I suggest picking this one up!

I enjoyed this book! I did feel like I was in suspense the whole book and was a little let down at the end because it felt a little rushed. But it was a good read!

Ten years ago, four friends met for their annual outing on the small, barren island owned by one of the women's family. This meet up was different, as none of them were ever seen again. Now, a disgraced true crime podcaster reluctantly agrees to join her best friend and bride-to-be at a new wellness retreat built on that same island. But she is mainly interested in going in the hope of finding some clue to the fate of the missing and restoring her career.
This was a fairly fast-paced, intriguing thriller with an interesting premise. The tropes have all been done before, but not quite like they're presented here. However, there are some gaping plot holes and elements to the story that are pretty unplausible; but, if you're OK with not thinking about them too hard and just sitting back for the wild ride of the story, it's overall very enjoyable.

I really disliked the characters in this book. I found that it was very predictable, which made the mystery part of this kind of blah. I liked the idea of this book, but found it to just not tie together the way I wanted it to.
thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy

This is a quick, easy and entertaining read for any lovers of thrillers.

Ten years ago, four girls mysteriously killed. Now, there’s a bachelorette party being hosted at the same location, and some of the attendees seem to be connected to the missing girls…

Honestly from here it goes… exactly as you would expect. There’s nothing very surprising in this book and most of the characters don’t get very much development. We get flashbacks to the Nacka Four to build up to the reveal of what happened but the reveal is just… meh. We do get a chaotic climax which is entertaining (although not unexpected).

It just felt a bit basic and nothing really stood out about the story or characters. The only interesting character was Tessa, who had recently gone through a scandal of some sort, and she was the primary narrator. As for her friends, it was hard to care too much about them.

Overall it was a good and refreshing read, and certainly wasn’t boring. It just lacked the depth that would have made me care more about the characters. Anyone looking for a rather fast-paced mystery/thriller should enjoy this.

i really tried to like this book but i couldn’t get over how whiny tessa is. it was endless chapters of her talking about a failed podcast instead of snippets of said podcast. idk i got 25% through hoping for it to pick up but it just didn’t. i’m sure if some of these beginning chapters were shortened, and the whine replaced with more tales of the Nacka Four it would be more enticing?

The Bachelorette party - Camilla Sten
5/5

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!
In 2022, a bachelorette party returns to the same remote island where four friends mysteriously vanished from a party in 2012. Among the group is a struggling podcaster, secretly hoping to not only revive her failing show by uncovering secrets from the past but out her obsession with the girls to rest. But as the celebration unfolds, echoes of the old mystery begin to surface—and some truths may be better left buried.
I love a good murder mystery/thriller, and this one absolutely delivered! I read it in one sitting on a flight—three hours of pure suspense, and I was hooked from the start. I especially loved how it followed two timelines, letting us slowly uncover Tessa’s truth. That dual perspective added so much depth and tension.
I had a feeling about who the killers were in the current timeline, but I definitely didn’t expect how deep it all went. Some of the twists genuinely shocked me—especially the gruesome details of the deaths. I thought more of the girls would make it out… and I felt bad about how Tilly’s husband was left… but wow, was I wrong.
This was the first book that I have read by Camilla Sten and I can’t wait to read more!
I truly enjoyed this book. Every relationship was complicated and deep. Tilly knew something wasn’t right with her marriage and the baby but chalked it up to her husband being him and her being her. I was shocked that he was a cheater. Part of me thought it was her sister who killed her and her friends out of jealousy but I was so wrong. Also, how DARE Tessa’s ex reach back out… anything for fame I guess.