Some islands are meant to be left alone. Some secrets demand blood.

It started with a girls’ weekend. It ended with a podcast… and possibly another body.

Camilla Sten returns with a psychological slow-burn that unsettles more than it entertains — and that’s what makes it unputdownable. Set against the eerie, wind-lashed backdrop of an undisclosed Swedish island, The Bachelorette Party lures you in with cava, yoga mats, and promises of sisterhood — then shuts the gates and buries the exit.

Enter Tessa Nilsson, a once-thriving true crime podcaster whose obsession with an old case — four childhood friends who vanished without a trace — has consumed her career and her peace of mind. Ten years later, she's invited to her best friend's bachelorette party on a suspiciously familiar island… and something inside her knows this isn’t a coincidence.
And she’s right.

The tension coils from the first page and never lets go. Every yoga pose feels like a trap. Every whispered toast drips with dread. Every step on that island echoes with what was — and what’s still there.

Sounds spooky, am I right?

Five stars, without a doubt... you need this book in your hands

The Bachelorette Party follows the standard locked room mystery format, except that the locked room is an island. Ten years ago four young women were slain as they partied on a remote Swedish island. Now ten years later four friends are going to celebrate before the wedding of Annaleise. Plot twist, the island is now a wellness resort run by the sister of one of the victims from the murders ten years ago.

This book definitely kept my attention and kept me reading. I have enjoyed Sten's previous books, and while this was well written, the final solution just fell a bit flat for me. I just didn't understand anyone's motives for what transpired. Another problem I had was mixing up the names of the eight girls. I think this was partially because I was listening to the audio, and might not have happened had I been reading a paper copy.

My final verdict, a good book, but one I pretty much forgot the minute I was finished. There have been a lot of locked room mysteries of late, and maybe I'm getting jaded. I would rate it 3.4.

Thank you to NetGalley, Camilla Sten, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book made me think a little of Then There were None by Agatha Christie given the isolated island and the mystery. Tessa kept up with the mystery and moved between two timelines which kept my interest. The author kept a good job of keeping the reader guessing for the most part.

I did enjoy the interaction between the characters but they did get somewhat tiresome and I wanted more depth. Stating that I found the read to be quick and fast paced. I overall enjoyed it. I felt it was more mystery than thriller. This is my first novel by the author. I would read another by the author. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this novel.

Locked room mystery type of read, and while the premise is good I really struggled to connect with the characters. The Nacka Four disappear and are never found. Fast forward ten years into the future. Four more friends arrive at the same island for a bachelorette party. No tech allowed. A sister of one of the Nacka Four now owns the island and is determined to discover what happened to her sister all those years ago - what could go wrong? Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

*Thank you Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thrillers are not normally my go to genre. I really enjoyed Camilla’s The Lost Village a few years ago and I had been wanting to read more of her work. When I saw The Bachelorette Party ARC on Netgalley last month, I thought it sounded like a great read to kick off summer! 😀

And this book is…………………. ok. The story is entertaining, but never really blew me away. The mystery is good and kept me interested, but the book was never unputdownable.

I didn’t really love any of the characters. :/ I didn’t hate them either though. They all just kind of felt like suburban Karens. Left me unimpressed.

Once the killer and motive are revealed at the big finale, I don’t know…. I found myself feeling a little bit apathetic. I’m not really sure why? :/ I just found myself wanting to skim the last 8% of the book. It’s weird because all the build up the big final reveal was fine. I don’t know, the end just comes off very MEH.

The Bachelorette Party is ok. It is entertaining to a point. The characters are borderline unlikable. The ending reveal falls a little flat. It’s a good read, but not a great read.

This book was pretty good and took you on a thrilling ride. I enjoyed the plot for the most part, didn’t really like any of the characters though.

A strange disappearance years ago. A new group of women appear on the island, what are some of their connections to the past? Great concept. But execution didn't pan out well for me. I liked the suspense, the character development and the setting. But too many intentional gaps in the last 15 years to know what was really going on, who was hiding their identity. Plus, the murders seemed like a tool rather than a pivotal point in a character's life. Almost like an afterthought, as it was more about revenge without a motive until the end. But I liked the writing style and will read another from the author to see how it goes.

This one was an interesting ride. A friend group goes to an island for a bachelorette party, but unknown to almost all of them, there is a dark history there that involved a similar friend group years earlier. When things start happening, only one of them is aware of what it could mean but by the time she voices her concerns it may be too late. This story kept me guessing, and was investing until the end. With some good twists, it was a good read.

Told in dual timelines and points of view, this mystery starts with the murder of Matilda, Evelina, Linnea, and Anna on Isle Blind in 2012. Now, in 2022, true crime podcaster Tessa has been invited to a bachelorette party at a new spa on Isle Blind, and she can't pass up the chance to go. With her reputation in shambles, if she can solve the murder of the Nacka Four, she's hoping she can resurrect her career. Once there, Tessa can't help but feel that something isn't right, and when one of the other women goes missing (thought to be coming back the next morning) Tessa's on high alert. Things aren't what they seem at Baltic Vinyasa, and soon everything will come to a head.

This story was alright, but I've read better. I didn't feel any suspense or care very much for any of the characters. Nothing much happened until about 60% in, so if you're looking for a mystery that will grab you right away, this probably isn't for you. The mystery ended up being twisty and unexpected, but getting there seemed to take forever.

All in all, this is an okay read, most people will enjoy it. If you like unlikeable characters, getting the group back together, or being trapped on an island with a killer, then give this one a go.

Thank you to @Minotaur_Books and @NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

Every year four women meet on a remote island for a night of drinking and renewing their friendship. From the very beginning, Camilla Sten reveals that they are murdered by a figure in a dark hoodie. To the outside world it was assumed that they had accidentally drowned when their boat was later found, but one of them was an experienced sailor. Ten years later Irene, the sister of one of the women, opens a yoga resort on the same island. The first group to arrive is the bachelorette party of her friend Anneliese. The party includes Tessa, a one time successful blogger whose shows on true crime have been losing their audience. She is hoping to learn more of what happened to the women while on the island to boost her audience. From the very start she has a bad feeling about the island. Irene confirms that she never believed the decision that it was an accident, but she is reluctant to talk about it. When one of the women disappears, a note is found explaining that she had to leave the island because of an emergency. Tessa is skeptical and later finds the woman’s body. This is just the first death. As Tessa tries to find a way to alert the authorities and find a way off the island the other women begin to disappear. One of the bridal party members has a connection to the events of ten years ago and the party was arranged to exact revenge. While it was easy to guess who was responsible, for the events at the bachelorette party, Camilla Sten keeps you guessing who was responsible for the murders ten years earlier. Using a dual timeline, Sten introduces the reader to the four victims and offers subtle hints at troubles in the women’s relationships, but her solution still comes as a surprise. It was difficult to like the members of the bridal party, but with rising tension from the time they land on the island it will keep you turning the pages to the very end. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for providing this book.

This was an interesting thriller that I found gripping as I tried to figure out all the mysteries. I enjoyed the locked room setting, the complex group of characters and the dual timelines.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Four best friends embarked on their annual trip to a remote Swedish island, but they never returned home. Ten years later, Tessa (a true-crime obsessed ex-podcaster) has the chance to visit the remote island when her best friend gets a great deal for her bachelorette trip. Tessa’s determined to celebrate her friend while also trying to solve a decade-old mystery, but things don’t exactly go according to plan.

This book takes place across two timelines - present day with Tessa and ten years prior with Tilly. As the reader we get to see both storylines unfold simultaneously with adds some great suspense for the present day thriller that we don’t know about yet. Although there are many characters, I felt like the two timelines were their own entities and easy enough to follow so I didn’t find myself mixing anyone up. I went back and forth between listening and reading the story and I felt like both methods were great. I wouldn’t say the twists and surprises were the most shock-worthy, but there was a decent amount of suspense and wonder that had me wanting to know more. I recommend this book for thriller/true-crime lovers for sure!

This fell flat for me, There is a lot going on, and I didn't find the jumps between time lines to be well done. I was confused for a lot of the book.

I feel like this storyline has been done a lot. Bachelorette party, remote island, killer running free, etc., etc. Nothing too memorable, unfortunately.

I loved The Lost Village by @authorcamillasten so I was excited to receive The Bachelorette Party from @minotaur_books . Thank you!

This is a great dual timeline, isolated island mystery thriller with a crime podcaster character. (I love crime podcasters in books for some reason.)

When you set a thriller in an isolated location, you automatically create a tension and suspense for the reader. Then add a group of girlfriends 10 years apart experiencing similar situations and I could not put it down.

The Bachelorette Party was a “read it in one sitting” kind of book. It’s the perfect book for your summer beach bag!

This book was very “middle of the road” for me. I love a good locked door mystery and this book, set on a secluded island, definitely has those themes.

I enjoyed the plot, but I didn’t feel as if it were fleshed out enough? The characters fell a little flat for me and that made it hard to connect with any of them.

The book started out a little slow, but I felt the ending was kind of rushed.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would definitely try another book from this author!

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this eBook.

The Bachelorette Party book is a awesome read. I am grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read. The story starts with four friends on a bachelorette party and all of them vanish. Flash forward about ten years later and the island they disappeared on has been purchased and has a new place to stay. Four friends, one of who is a podcaster head out to the island to celebrate their friend Anneliese. Only Tessa in the group knows that they are headed to the island where the famous four have vanished. What should be a joyous celebration of friends together...well you gotta read it.

This book started out slow, but I wanted to give it a chance. I was intrigued with the mystery behind the missing girls from years ago. But I found some of the interactions and wording with the characters to be weird and not realistic, especially since they were adults. It just felt really odd and made me disinterested at times. It was an ok book but not one I would recommend to others.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Friends going to a remote island with some bad history ... sign me up. It had great mystery to try and find out what previously happened to the first friend group that went missing and presumed dead.
The characters felt relatable with all the situations they had going on which made it very easy to read.
Tessa trying to figure out the past while being on this trip almost made her seem a little crazy or just obsessed with the past but I really like how everything turns out and ends up connecting.
I like trying to figure out the mystery as little clues are dropped. This was such a great read, highly recommend. How it all ends made me say "wow" out loud.

This was a great read, I really enjoyed the character development and the plot. This kept me engaged and interested right to the end