This book was a really good read. A group of women go to a little island for a bachelorette party. Tessa has been obsessed with the story of how 4 friends used to meet on that same island for years and then had suddenly disappeared with no trace.. Tessa has just lost her podcast and was facing being sued after a person she had interviewed had killed himself and didn't want to go but was talked into it by her sister. Hoping to jumpstart her career by solving the mystery, she reluctantly went along. It turns out that the new owner is the sister of one of the girls who disappeared.As she starts to gather clues things start to go wrong with her group. One of the party disappears and her body is discovered later.
Lots of twists and turns. The actual villain was a surprise. Really enjoyed the author's writing style.

This book was just ok. I found the initial plot interesting and the book was nicely placed but the twists all seemed quite obvious to me from the beginning

Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this arc!

I had a good time with this one even though it’s not my most favorite genre of thriller. I thought the author developed the character well and came up with a great plot. It only fell a little short because I figured out the twist too quickly. Overall I enjoyed. 3.5 stars.

I liked the plot and the characters but I had a hard time fully getting into the story, I figured it out too quickly. I’ve liked her other books but this one to me wasn’t as good.

I love a good YA-esque twisty thriller or slasher in between my typical heavier genres. I really enjoyed the 'then' and 'now' POV this was written in telling two different stories to essentially gradually link the two together. Thank you for the ARC!

📍 Remote island + old friends + buried secrets = one wild bachelorette weekend

If you love slasher vibes with a locked-room mystery feel, you need to check this one out! The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten is a dual-timeline thriller set on a super creepy, remote Swedish island. In 2012, a group of girls goes missing on the island. Fast-forward to 2022, and Tessa—our main character with a true crime past—is headed there for a bachelorette weekend with old high school friends. 😬

Tessa was my favorite part of this story. She’s smart, observant, and dealing with her own mess of mental health struggles and a mysterious “mistake” that tanked her podcasting career. She’s also bisexual, and there’s a scene in here that touches on biphobia in a way that felt really real and raw, even if the moment is subtle.

The island setting is chef’s kiss—isolated, moody, and with just enough “are we gonna make it off this island alive?” energy to keep me flipping pages.👀

Some of the side characters were a little flat, but honestly, I didn’t mind because I was so into the mystery and Tessa’s sleuthing. If you’re into fast-paced thrillers, true crime-y vibes, or just want to escape to a place that will make you double-check if your phone has service—this one’s for you.

📚 This one was fun, tense, and gave me serious modern horror movie energy.

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I have decided to give it 3 stars, but it is hard for me to put my finger on exactly why I didn't feel it should rate higher. I enjoyed the past & present timelines. There are few parts from the past that didn't make sense while reading, but now that I know the outcome, I may go back to them for a second look. The setting was excellent - a remote island, no way to get off. Definitely reminiscent of "The Guest List" as mentioned in the blurb.

I was eagerly anticipating the reveal of Tessa's scandal, and it was appropriately shocking & disturbing.

Small spoilers ahead!

Small spoilers ahead!



When Tessa starts to suspect who is the villain, I was really hoping she was wrong, as it would have seemed too easy and obvious. So I was glad to see there was a twist. The ending was a bit too slasher movie/ farfetched for me, but I was glad to see Tessa cutting out the woman who abandoned her during the scandal.

This had all the needed ingredients to be the type of story I love to read, but it fell short for me. I think perhaps in trying to figure out what the author wanted this book to be, she missed the mark and tried for too much. There's a good back story of "then" combined with an intriguing set up for "now". Maybe it's because I didn't love the characters. I think plenty of people will enjoy it, it just wasn't more than an okay read for me.

A really creepy story with lots of twists and turns! The book opens with the brutal murder of four friends during an annual get-together on a remote Swedish island. Fast forward to ten years later, when another group of friends visits the same island for a bachelorette yoga retreat. Secrets are revealed, and soon the women are in a fight for their lives.

None of the characters were particularly likeable, which usually lessens my enjoyment of a book. Not in this case, though, as the action was fast-paced enough for that not to matter.

Looking forward to reading other Camilla Sten books!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: My reading has been so meh this month, I am happy to say this was a solid 5 star read. The Bachelorette Party is packed full of suspense and truly leaves you on the edge. It's been so long since I feel like I was actually worried about the characters in a thriller I'm reading (meaning I felt very pulled into this story and really cared about these characters). This book does have some gruesome scenes and when someone dies the describes very much resemble a slasher which I personally enjoyed.

The Bachelorette Party uses a dual timeline and mixed media to tell an all encompassing story. I really enjoy island stories and especially toward the last half of the book you can feel the impacts of them being stranded and in close quarters without help. This book just really had me on the edge of my seat. The author also does a good job of slowly building the story and really honing in on who the characters are and their interpersonal relationships. I appreciated that Camilla Sten took time to build the narrative and really made the story feel believable.

Overall, this book is easy to get into and once you're in it keeps you invested. The synopsis compares it to the Scream franchise, I would say it's more I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes.

Who wouldn’t want to attend a fun bachelorette weekend on a beautiful island? Except this island isn’t just a beautiful escape, it’s the place of a mysterious murder and disappearance of 4 other women years before.

Was the killer fairly easily figured out, sure, but The Bachelorette Party was a fun quick read and a great way to spend a rainy weekend day!

Definitely recommend to any Lucy Foley readers!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc!

The Bachelorette Party was so fast paced, I couldn't put it down! Each chapter kept me hooked and wanting to keep going. The eerie undertones of violence and depictions of complex female friendships were really well done. It was definitely hard to predict the twists and I really enjoyed it!

A really engaging thriller. Does a great job of building intrigue and have you trying to figure it out. Told from 2 different times, it goes back and forth fairly seamlessly. At the end, I was definitely on the edge of my seat flipping pages frantically.

Thank you to Net Galley and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Bachelorette Party was a very fun read - and one I devoured in 2 sittings!

4 friends are brutally murdered on a remote island getaway in 2012, but only we know that. The world thinks they’ve gone missing - drunk and lost at sea.

fast forward to 2022, and a bachelorette party heads to the same island - now complete with a yoga resort.

The timeline bounces between 2012 and 2022 (and a little in 2020) as we fill in the blanks, and find out who was on the island with the original 4 victims, and how that story is connected to the girls in the bachelorette party.

It had some fun twists and lots of gore - I mean, some seriously nasty descriptions (which I didn’t completely hate!!) but I felt like the “bad guy” was fairly predictable, and not entirely shocking.

I did love how it ended, and we got to see how it all played out!

A solid 4 star read for summer (unless, of course, you’re headed to a remote island 😉) perfect for fans of the guest list or one by one!

I really enjoyed the author’s previous novels but I’m sorry to say that this one was a little disappointing. The plot combines two timelines. In the past, four women disappear and nobody knows exactly what happened or even where. We readers know that everything went down on an abandoned private island. Ten years later, in the second timeline, a fancy resort is built on the island and the titular bachelorette party will serve as its soft opening. Tessa is a disgraced true crime podcaster. She doesn’t feel like attending, but the bride-to-be is her oldest friend. She also suspects that the island was the scene of the crime, so she feels like she has to go. I hate giving a low star review, since I can imagine how hard it must be to write a book but the plot was a bit of a mess. I figured out whodunit in both timelines and the motives for both crimes were not handled realistically. But my biggest problem was the characters. There wasn’t a single one I connected with and I found Tessa especially unlikable. I can sympathize with a protagonist that I dislike if the plot works, but this was not the case here. I hope that Sten will keep writing creepy novels, this was just not for me.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books.

Camilla Sten is one of my favourite authors. The Bachelorette Party was slightly lighter than the last two books I read by her but it was equally enjoyable. I loved the apparent tension between the characters and the island setting just added to it.

Wow I really loved this book!!! I loved The Lost Village by her so I was so happy I got an arc through netgalley. so dang good I couldn't put it down. I'd say it was even better than The Lost Village. I still need to read her other book The Resting Place. I hope it's just as good! Locked room mystery books are my favorite and dual timelines too! I recommend to everyone.

Extremely engaging story and I didn't want to put it down. The main character was relatable in a grim fashion, reminding us that we all have secrets we wish we could forget.

I loved the setting of the book. The island's isolation had a creepy effect, even though you felt the lush, tropical paradise. I enjoyed the dual timeline. This is always a trope that I find fun, and I thought this was well managed. I also liked that the narrator was dealing with her own stuff, giving her a slight unreliability. I loved the first 2/3 to 3/4 of the novel. The pacing of this part was great, and it felt intense and thrilling. However, the book's last quarter felt somewhat dragging. I could see the twist coming, so the "whodunit" did not come as a surprise. Once the bad actor was revealed, it felt like the pacing slowed, and there was still too much left in the book. I kept expecting an ending to come, but it was still far off.

I didn't want to compare the author's first book (which I loved) to this new splashy thriller. This is an entirely different read told in dual timelines and a revenge plot that kept me turning pages. I must admit the setting grabbed my attention because of time spent on an island (Oland) off the coast of Sweden in my twenties. The setting gave this story such an eerie, atmospheric and mysterious vibe.

I also enjoyed following the narrative of the true crime podcaster in current day as she slowly and methodically uncovered the truth about what happened during the thrilling party ten years ago. Wow! This book had so much of what I love. Intrigue, drama, and suspense. Excited for the next Camilla Sten book!

Thank you, NetGalley and the author's publisher for an early read.