The intriguing premise of this thriller didn't deliver for me. I found the story disjointed and the large cast of characters difficult to connect with. Ultimately, it fell short of my expectations. Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook. ⭐⭐

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.

I really wanted to enjoy this one but it didn't click for me at all. I was bored for the majority of it, it just didn't shock me with any twists. It left me underwhelmed, it just had so much potential but fell flat.

What started as a nice weekend with friends turned into something very bloody and horrific. If you are squeamish in any way this book is not for you. Otherwise a very interesting and suspenseful read.

The secluded island is a mysterious setting all on its own, but add in a murderous night and ten year time bounce the intrigue just keeps building. I loved the creative vibe of the island being recluse and only known to the four friends. A place where friendships can flourish and bonds are made. Enter the plot twist and I found it hard to put this book down.
Ten years later the island has a small and newly developed resort. It is not quite "ready" for the public when the girls head there for a bachelorette party, but the draw of this island is too much to refuse. This is especially true for Tessa who has been obsessed with the events of ten years prior.
I liked this story for the setting, the unknown and intrigue. At one point I even noticed that the names from the friend groups were sort of similar- but it did not lead anywhere. (Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina-------Tessa, Anneliese, Lena, Caroline, + Natalie & Mikaela)

The ending worked- but of course the build up was better than the resolution.
Topics: thriller, murder, secrets, past catching up with present, friendships, podcasts,
Recommended:: adult due to murder scenes that are somewhat graphic and sexual content

I was a little apprehensive after reading some reviews of this book as this was my first read by this author, many saying this wasn't one of her better works. If the reviews are anything to go on, I am very much looking forward to reading more by Camilla Sten as I thoroughly enjoyed this slow-burn thriller. I did not see the end coming and I loved the dual time-line and POV. I liked the narrator and would be very interested in listening to other audiobooks narrated by Laura Jennings. Thank you @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for this ARC audio version of The Bachelorette Party.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook.

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.

I read the E-book and then listened to the audio book. I found the narrator to be very flat and monotone- it was hard for me to stay focused on the story she was telling me. Overall, the story was good, but points were lost for the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillon Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Voted up because it was Camilla Sten. This one missed the mark for me. I didn't connect with any character. BUT give it a chance her other works are great.


Scream meets The Guest List in this wickedly compelling and compulsively page-turning thriller of friendship and murder from the author of The Lost Village, Camilla Sten.

On a remote, craggy island nestled off the coast of Sweden, four friends—Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina—meet every year. Best friends since childhood, the idea is to drink beer, dance by the water, and shake off the weight of life's expectations. The location of the island is a secret to everyone but them. One night of reckless fun and secret-sharing, and then they return to their normal lives.

Ten years later. Ever since she was a teenager, Tessa Nilsson has been consumed by the story of four friends who disappeared on their annual trip to a remote island together. As her true crime fervor turned into a wildly popular podcast, Tessa urgently covered Sweden’s most gruesome cases, but could never find the answers behind what happened to these women who disappeared, leaving a few maddening clues but no concrete answers. Now Tessa’s podcast has crashed and burned, any chance she had at uncovering the truth vanishing with it.

Anneliese is Tessa’s best friend, and before she walks down the aisle, she wants to have a bachelorette party. The Baltic Vinyasa, a sleek, sophisticated yoga retreat on a small island off the coast—one with such similar characteristics to the tragedy years ago that it raises the hair on Tessa’s neck. The idea is to drink gallons of cava, do sunrise yoga, and get in their last chance to bond with the bride. Tessa will not pass this up. It’s her last chance to find out what happened to the four women, once and for all.

And it’s someone else’s last chance to get revenge.

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.

The narrator did a good job, it was easy to tell who was who in the narrating and she was easy to understand. This was not as good as I thought it would be, but it was a good listen.

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

I know what they did last summer... or rather, ten years ago.

Ten years ago, four friends later nicknamed the "Nacka Four" took their annual girls' trip to a secret location - a remote Swedish island - and never returned. Presumed dead after a boating accident, their bodies have never been found and the mystery of what happened to them is still unsolved.

Now, another group of women, taking a trip to celebrate the upcoming wedding of one of them, is headed to a small island that sounds eerily similar to the one from which the "Nacka Four" disappeared. Among the five women taking part in the bachelorette party festivities is Tessa, disgraced former host of a true crime podcast that crashed and burned. Having been fascinated by the "Nacka Four" for a decade, and aware that the owner of the island where they are staying has a personal connection to the case, Tessa's attendance is in no small part motivated by her hope for redemption by uncovering the truth about what happened to the four women a decade ago.

The story is told in dual timelines, which worked really well here. The remote island, complete with a phone ban, serves as the setting for an excellent locked-room mystery, and Camilla Sten masterfully uses it to create an eerie, claustrophobic and tense atmosphere. The two groups of women make for a fairly large cast of characters, and given that the book is not overly long, not all of them are equally well-developed, but I enjoyed their varied, very realistic relationships. The story was fast-moving and made it easy to finish the book in one sitting.

"The Bachelorette Party" definitely reads more like the script to a slasher movie than a psychological thriller, so if you're expecting the latter, be warned. The sense of urgency from the locked-room atmosphere did add a lot of tension, but the whodunnit was blatantly obvious - even more in the present timeline -, and there were definitely some gory, grizzly murder scenes reminiscent of movies like „Scream“. I wasn‘t bothered by it, but proceed with caution if you are squeamish.

Overall, this was a popcorn thriller with slasher film vibes in an intriguing Swedish setting, with enough suspense to keep me hooked and read it all in one sitting.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Laura Jennings, who did a spectacular job as usual.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Bachelorette Party" is slated to be released on June 10, 2025.

This book was slow for the first half and was a slasher film for the last half. There was only very minor character development for anyone other than the main character and the bad guy was really one dimensional. Super disappointed. The narrator was good though.

Camilla Sten's The Bachelorette Party is a gripping locked-room mystery set on a remote Swedish island, where the past and present intertwine. In the past, four childhood friends vanish during their annual getaway, while in the present, disgraced true-crime podcaster Tessa Nilsson attends her best friend's bachelorette party, which feels eerily familiar.

The audiobook, narrated by Laura Jennings, brings this story to life in a way that enhances the suspense and atmosphere. Although I was not previously familiar with Jennings, I feel she did an excellent job capturing the nuances of the characters and the tension of the plot.

Sten masterfully builds suspense, using the island's isolation and shifting alliances to create a haunting atmosphere. The dynamics of friendship are explored deeply, revealing buried resentments that add complexity to the story.

While the pacing starts slow, the story really picks up the pace in the latter half, though some plot twists feel a bit predictable. However, there are surprises that keep the listener engaged.

Overall, The Bachelorette Party is a well-crafted mystery that balances suspense with emotional depth, making it a compelling listen for fans of psychological thrillers. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my advanced listening copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Locked room mystery thriller, though it's more like locked island as that's where the setting of this story takes place off the coast of Sweden.

The book has dual timeliness, one from 10 years ago in 2012 and in the present time, set in 2022. It revolves around two separate groups of friends, both groups then and now, only wanted to celebrate friendships and building connections.
When the first group of friends disappeared in 2012, no one knew why or how or what exactly happened to them. Fast forward to 2022, and Tessa and her three friends are going to the same remote island to celebrate a bachelorette party. Tessa, being a true crime afficionado, has been intrigued by the 2012 disappearance of those women and wondered if she could somehow uncover some of the truth.

What started out as some fun with friends turned into chaos, and they ended up fighting for their own survival.

I received this ARC as an audiobook, and the narrator did a fine job. The only thing I lost track of was the receipts of the phone calls/texts.

The beginning started out really strong and had promises of being a good intense thriller. However, the middle tapered out a bit, but the ending picked up the pace again.

As far as a thriller book goes, it's an okay read, no major twists or surprises, as I guessed it beforehand.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this one!

🏝🏝🏝/5

I listened to the audiobook for this one and I did like the narrator quite a bit. The story itself was interesting, but I found the main character/narrator really obnoxious, lacking depth, and self-absorbed. I really loved the setting for this story quite a lot. Tessa is headed out to a bachelorette party that she should be skipping. She is dead broke, but she can’t resist the chance to get to the island she is sure was the setting to something horrible happening to four missing girls years. I found it a little hard to believe that no one guessed the island owned by one of the family’s as a possible setting but it did make a better story. I guessed the villain super early on, and I struggled with how slow. Tessa was to process clues and get there herself. I did like the over arching mystery of how Tessa messed up her podcast career, it was fun. The one negative about the audiobook were the phone records and texts, I couldn't track the phone numbers the way I might have if I was reading the book.

I’ve been to quite a few bachelorette parties, but nothing like this…

We have dual timeline’s, the first follows friends Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina ten years ago who travel to this remote island every year to reconnect and have some fun. Then we follow the present timeline with Tessa and her group of friends who happen to travel to the same remote island for a bachelorette party. Things seem to be going well, it is your typical bachelorette shenanigans until someone is found dead and then things start to unravel.

I liked this, it gets a little slow around the 20-40% mark, but then it speeds up a bit when someone dies and the story picks up. I didn’t mind the dual timeline, but there were a lot of characters so sometimes I had trouble figuring out who everyone was. I thought Tessa’s backstory was interesting, but I didn’t really see how that fit into the story. I never read anything from this author and I would read from her again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the beginning of this and found it great until about half way. It started to draw on too long and I couldn’t seem to enjoy it anymore. Made it 90% before I decided not to finish.

Honestly I thought this would be good, this scenario has been done several times before, Bachelorette party where old friends come together and somebody dies, who did it? This is definitely along those lines, however it was rather boring. I didn't find myself wanting to get back to it. It was an easy listen, thanks to the narration. If it was a book I'm not sure I'd have finished it.

I love a duel timeline book. This one is a thriller that has a bachelorette party in the present and then in the past there was a gathering a decade ago. I enjoyed all the twists and the remote island made it feel extra creepy. I liked the writing and the characters. This was a fun and entertaining thriller and I would pick up the author's next book for sure. This was great to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

🎧: I’m not sure if it was the writing style or the narrator or both. I think both. The narrator had a pretty monotone voice and whatever fear or drama was to be displayed didn’t come through, very lackluster and if was supposed to be suspenseful or dramatic, I didn’t feel much. There was also a lot of sentences. Short sentences. Like a robot. Not flowing.
You get the point, right?

Despite those two issues, this was still a fairly good read. The premise was appealing. A bachelorette party on an island? Count me in! But the differing timelines were somewhat confusing, I’ve read several books with past and present and I can’t put my finger on it.. but this one just didn’t flow right with them. I was pretty uninterested in the “past” timeline and it didn’t give enough information to really care much.

Characters were pretty one-dimensional. I wasn’t invested in any of them, and toward the 90% mark I was just like.. ok, when will this be over?

It kept me involved enough to want to finish… mostly. But not the best. I’d try again with the author.