This book is so full of twists and turns! It kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. I highly recommend if you are looking for a book full of suspense, murder, and who done it energy.

Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillian Audio for the opportunity to review this advanced reader copy.

This is a DNF for now. I honestly never knew what was happening. I never found myself invested in the story. The narration for me was not easy to focus on due to how monotone the narrator was. The same tone was used for each character so it was difficult to keep track of who was who.

Might give this another try at a later date.

i tired so hard to listen to this but just couldn't push myself to suffer through this.

thankful i got the audio arc

⭐️⭐️ 1/2 (rounded down).

Thank you NetGalley, Minotaur books and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this audiobook.

I was so excited to dive into this audiobook when I read the synopsis and saw the cover page. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for me. The plot reeeaaaaallllllyyyyyy dragged on in the beginning. I was halfway through before something really interesting caught my attention. (Ie. The reason for Tessa’s fall from grace). In the synopsis, the book was compared to The Guest List - which is one of my favorite novels. Possibly my hopes were set too high because of this because other than the setting, this book was nothing like The Guest List. I didn’t find the main character likable and none of the supporting characters in both timelines added anything to the story.

The audiobook narrator was okay. I have no complaints in that aspect.

I had messed up the bookmarks on my audiobook and I missed the last 1 1/2 hours of the book. I just listened to the last 20 minutes and got the gist of what happened. At that point, I didn’t care to go back and listen to the parts I missed.

This book was just not for me.

Four childhood friends meet annually on a remote Swedish island for a night of fun and secrecy. Ten years later, true crime podcaster Tessa is obsessed with their disappearance. When her best friend plans a bachelorette party on a similar island, Tessa sees it as her last chance to uncover the truth. But someone else has revenge in mind.

I recently discovered this author, and let me tell you, this book was like diving headfirst into a suspenseful mystery. The writing style was refreshingly different - you knew what was happening, but the how and why kept you on the edge of your seat. The pace was just right, with enough detail to keep you hooked without overwhelming you.

We meet a cast of characters, from Tilly, Anna, Linnea, and Evelina to Lena, Minna, Mikaela, Natalie, and our main gal Tessa. The diverse personalities added layers of drama and intrigue to the story. Some characters were a bit tough to warm up to, but Tessa was a gem - likable and totally underestimated.

Now, I know what you're thinking - that's a lot of characters to keep track of. But fear not, it's all handled with finesse. The plot builds up beautifully, but I have to admit, the ending fell a bit flat for me. I was expecting one more twist to really knock my socks off.

The back-and-forth timeline kept things interesting, and while some parts were predictable, it was still a solid murder mystery read. The vivid descriptions of the environment made me feel like I was right there with the characters - it was truly an experience to remember.

I opted for the audiobook, and let me tell you, it was a fantastic listen. It added an extra layer of intrigue, especially during the longer parts. If you're into secluded island murder mysteries, soap operas, short chapters, or beautifully described scenery, this book is must-read. It's the perfect summer read for a rainy day - you'll breeze through it in no time.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

First, this cover is GORGEOUS! 🫶🏼
This was a fun, twisty “locked room” type thriller!
Locked away at a fancy wellness resort for The Bachelorette Party…it seems everyone has a secret,
Told from the POV of Tessa, who has her own demons….the isle is home to a decades old missing person case when 4 BFF’s go missing on thier yearly trip together.
I listened to this audio & it was great! Narrator did a fab job. The story was fun too…I felt the final twist was a little lackluster & kinda came from no where but over all this was fun thriller!
3.5/5 rounded up for NetGalley

Was ok. Duel timeline. Wasn't too hard to figure out though. Narrator did a decent job. Would recommend if you like deserted island, slasher style stories.

a solid thriller: interesting premise, great location, locked-door mystery (my favorite). however all the people and the timeline got very muddy, making it a touch hard to follow. Also I was able to guess the killer (though not the reason ,which had me gobsmacked ) pretty early on. Still very much worth a read and I would read more from this author.

thank you to NetGalley, the author Camilla Sten, and Macmillan audio for my ARC of this audiobook.

This was ok. A bit rambling and times and there wasn't enough suspense to be classified as a thriller.
The characters were very interesting but I got lost with the shifting timelines. Sometimes forgetting where I was.
The narrator was a bit monotone at times.

Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio for the advanced copy!

I love the plot—a weekend bachelorette party on a remote island, what could go wrong? The story transitions smoothly between two timelines and features multiple main characters. However, it didn't have the suspense I was hoping for, and it felt a bit slow at times. I'm not sure if it was the narration or the story itself that created this feeling, but I felt like something was missing.

My rating: 3,5

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC in audiobook and print format.

Camilla Sten’s "The Bachelorette Party" is a masterclass in psychological suspense, blending the eerie isolation of a remote island with the unraveling of long-buried secrets. Narrated by Laura Jennings, the audiobook elevates the tension with a performance that is immersive and unsettling, making every whispered suspicion and frantic realization feel palpably real.

The novel follows Tessa Nilsson, a disgraced true-crime podcaster desperate for redemption. When her best friend’s bachelorette party is set on the same island where four women mysteriously vanished a decade ago, Tessa sees an opportunity to uncover the truth. But as the weekend unfolds, strange occurrences hint that the past is far from buried—and that someone is determined to ensure that history repeats itself.

Sten crafts an atmosphere thick with dread, using the island’s isolation to heighten the sense of claustrophobia.

The dual timeline structure—alternating between the original disappearance and Tessa’s investigation—keeps the suspense taut, forcing the listener to constantly reassess what they think they know.

Laura Jennings delivers a gripping narrative performance, capturing the emotional nuances of Tessa’s desperation, fear, and determination. Her ability to shift between characters with distinct voices ensures clarity, while her pacing—slow and deliberate in moments of creeping dread, frantic in bursts of terror—amplifies the novel’s tension. The audiobook format enhances the experience, making the listener feel as if they, too, are trapped on the island, piecing together the mystery in real time.

Beyond its thriller elements, "The Bachelorette Party" explores themes of guilt, obsession, and the consequences of digging too deep. Tessa’s journey is as much about confronting her own past as it is about solving the mystery, adding layers of psychological depth that make the novel more than just a standard suspense story.

For fans of locked-room mysteries and atmospheric thrillers, "The Bachelorette Party" is a chilling, compulsive listen. Sten’s storytelling, combined with Jennings’ evocative narration, creates an experience that lingers long after the final revelation.

If you enjoy novels that keep you second-guessing every detail, this one is a must-listen.

I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Camilla Sten and The Bachelorette Party didn’t disappoint. There are some plot holes and convenient twists and maybe a bit of predictability, but I loved the isolated-closed-circle mystery and the two groups of women enjoying their time on the island. This book felt suspenseful and creepy- probably my favorite thing about sten’s books is her ability to build an atmosphere.
I felt like the mindfullness and wellness aspects of the current day bachelorette party retreat were a very with the times touch and all the podcast details were really spot on for the popularity of truecrime and the moral implications of covering it.
There was some real depth in the examination of sexual identity that I, as a bisexual lady myself, truly appreciated.
This book it’s necessarily shopping but it’s certainly gripping and it’ll make an excellent beach read that I’ll be recommending all summer.
The audio narration is really well done.

I LOVE this trope. Bachelorette party gone wrong. Specifically a group of friends being punished for some reason or other regarding their past. Scream meets I Know What You Did Last Summer. Seeing some of the other reviews, they mentioned the pacing was slow. I personally thought the pacing was fine and worked with the story.

The reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 for me was because of the ending as well as the 2012 time jump. While the ending provided answers, it seems like the who & the why was a bit of a stretch to make sense for me. The 2012 time jump didn’t provide any information. It was essentially Matilda’s diary. It didn’t provide any clues as to what was going on and seemed to just cut off abruptly.

I did think the narrator maybe could have been a bit more excitable for this storyline. She was even keel throughout and it just didn’t fit with the story. I did however enjoy her voice. I listened at 1.5x.

All in all a 4 out of 5 star audiobook for me. I did enjoy it!

I did actually enjoy this book once it got going. The many characters did flummox me at the start which seems to usually be the case when there are multiple characters to keep track of. The storyline wasn't overly original as I feel like I've read similar books where friends get together after and secrets are revealed. The dual timelines were well done and I did enjoy the audiobook narration which was also excellent.

This book was basically: “let’s go to an isolated island with a cursed history for some yoga and champagne, what could possibly go wrong?” Spoiler: everything.

I had such a good time with this one! It’s twisty, dark, a little bit unhinged, and I was living for the chaos. Tessa gave me total true crime podcaster energy, and I appreciated her relentless determination (even if sometimes I wanted to shake her and yell, “ma’am, maybe don’t investigate a potential murderer alone??”).

Special shoutout to the audiobook it pulled me in even more and nailed the creepy atmosphere. I kept telling myself “just one more chapter” and next thing I knew, I was halfway through with laundry still sitting in the basket.

Would highly recommend if you like thrillers with messy friendships, dark secrets, and characters who clearly missed every horror movie warning sign ever made.

🎧 (3.5/5 rating) The plot, the setting, characters - very enjoyable read with strong story. There’s something mesmerizing about thriller set on a beautiful island during life’s happiest moments of every woman’s life. So to have this be the twisting, cruel turn of events is everything.

The story was more predictable than I would have liked but I enjoyed it either way, specially of how close you feel to characters. Their story was so well written, I felt like I truly knew them.

Solid read, definitely recommend for any thriller lovers.

This book was okay. It seemed like it would be one of the locked room thrillers that I enjoy time to time but I was a little let down overall.
Four friends take a bachelorette trip to an island with a wellness resort. One of the friends is going to investigate the disappearance of four friends in the area 10 years prior in an effort to save her podcast.
The writer did well writing the dual timeline - I really enjoy it when a writer can do this well - many writers cannot.
The characters were fairly developed.
The plot pace was good but as this was a thriller, I wanted to speed up at certain areas of the book.
I do think with some minor added details and increase pace - this is easily a 4 star book. I also think this could make a creepy movie!
All the elements are here.. history of a missing friend group 10 years prior.. current day bachelorette party.. deserted remote island... a locked room.. super creepy vibes. I think I was let down because I had all this build up but then it was almost like the writer backed away and wrote the book in way that felt almost censored.
Again - not a bad book - just wanted more and expected this to give major thriller vibes.. not baby thriller vibes.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Update: I was also provided the audiobook ARC to read and I stand with my above statements regarding the book! I still felt this book was 3 stars as it needs a bit of work.

*The Bachelorette Party* by Camilla Stern starts with an irresistible premise — a group of close friends reuniting for a luxurious weekend getaway at a remote island resort. It’s the kind of setup that feels both aspirational and ripe for suspense, and I was excited to dive in. The idea of long-standing friendships, hidden tensions, and a mysterious act of violence unfolding in such an isolated setting had the potential for a gripping thriller.

Unfortunately, the pacing of the story didn’t live up to that promise. The mystery behind the violent events was solved far too early, which drained the tension and left the rest of the book feeling stretched out. Much of the action, especially the women’s attempts to escape, felt repetitive and drawn-out. Instead of a clever, psychological unraveling, the story began to resemble a predictable slasher, with a final girl bumbling her way to safety. Additionally, the subplot involving the previous group of women who had gone missing on the island felt forced and didn’t contribute much to the core plot — more of a distraction than a meaningful parallel.

The narration was adequate. The performer delivered the story clearly and competently, but the material didn’t give them much room to shine or elevate the experience beyond the surface level.

Overall, I would rate *The Bachelorette Party* 3 out of 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the Advanced Listener Copy. While the premise had promise, the execution leaned too heavily on overdone tropes and lost the suspense that the synopsis seemed to promise.

I don't like this as much as I liked the first book I read by this author, which was similar in some ways -- there's the plot where people are being murdered while cut off from the rest of civilization. Islands are fun because they're supposed to be fun, and the girls got together for a party for one of them. This was interesting because the plot is about secrets from the past, and there aren't many people involved, so it just felt more realistic that there would be anger boiling under the surface when there are secrets. I don't think Sten writes action very well and it was a little bit of a slow burn, but I was listening to the audiobook and the narrator made it an enjoyable read. I look forward to her next book.

I always feel a bit guilty when I’m not enjoying a book. This plot reminded me of another novel by the same title published last Fall (true crime junkie/bachelorette party/dark turn). The beginning started with a bang and then jumped a decade with all new characters introduced. The past timeline focused on the first group of friends and the present timeline follows the bachelorette party of a different group of friends. I was almost completely uninterested in the main story through Tessa’s POV (present) and was more interested in Matilda’s POV (past), which wasn’t good because the present was really the main story.

Audio specific: The narrator seemed monotone for the main characters (Tessa and Matilda) and their “voices” were basically the same. I had to really pay attention the chapter titles/dates. The other characters had good unique voices. My other gripe was that this is set in Sweden and everyone had American accents. I think it would have helped to use a narrator that could nail the accents to help bring the book come to life for audio listeners.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
for this ALC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date Jun 10 2025