Thank you to St. martins Press, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for advanced copies of this novel. Here are my thoughts.

Four young women took regular trips to a small island off the coast of Sweden. It was a secret place and the only place that they could escape just them, but unfortunately ten years ago someone found them, and they were never seen or heard from again. Present day, Tessa has just blown up her true crime podcasting career. But when her best friend invites her to her bachelorette party which takes place on the same island of the missing women she can’t help but join in.

This book has everything you want for a fun summertime thriller. I really liked Tessa and I thought she was written well as a woman who feels like her life is falling apart and she kind of just wants to hide. I was sympathetic towards her, but her true crime obsession felt a little crazy at times. The other characters all filled a different niche in this story and some I hated, and some I enjoyed.

The twists and turns were fun and throughout, and it started off more as a mystery to me but then escalated into a thriller closer to the end of the novel where it is truly gripping. The pacing of the novel was spot on, and I was intrigued both by Tessa’s past and present, which balanced nicely and just enough hints and context clues were provided.

This is my first novel by Camilla Sten, and I enjoyed it! Would read others, and hope I get to enjoy more thrillers like this one this summer!

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten in quick, rapid-fire thoughts.

This book literally gets one full star for the amount of atmosphere Sten created! There was a palpable frightening edge to many scenes and the characters' fear was tangible!

Unfortunately, the various characters and two timelines were confusing to keep straight.

The plot was slightly predictable, although it still managed to give me a couple shocks!

The audiobook, narrated by Laura Jennings, was really well done. Jennings's voice added a breathiness to the narration which added an additional level of suspense!

When I was desperate to read another summer thriller, this one really scratched the itch!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

This book was full of wild twists and turns. Just when I thought I had figured out the twist, more happens and I realized I was not right. I really got sucked into this one and finished it straight in one time chunk because that’s how invested I got. I got really invested in Tessa who is the narrator and really enjoyed her perspective but also how it would switch back to ten years ago. I definitely will be looking into other books by this author because this was so good and I enjoyed it a lot. The setting was perfect for the mood of this mysterious story. The narration was well done and I think the way the audiobook was narrated added to the suspense

This was my first book by Camila Sten, and I listened to it as an audiobook. The premise immediately drew me in! I'm a big fan of thrillers with juicy tropes, and this one had all the makings of a compelling listen: a remote location, hidden secrets, and plenty of tension among friends.

While I really enjoyed the setup and loved the dynamics between the characters, I found that the suspense didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I was hoping to be more on the edge of my seat, but the pacing and reveals felt a bit underwhelming. That said, it was still a fun and entertaining story that I think many readers will enjoy, especially if you’re looking for a quick, drama-filled escape.

The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job and kept me engaged throughout, which definitely elevated the experience.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

**2.5-stars rounded up**

The Bachelorette Party is primarily set on a remote island off the coast of Sweden. The story follows two different timelines and includes a podcast element. All of these were selling points for me, but unfortunately, I found the presentation quite choppy, and I was never really able to settle into the story to enjoy it.

The early set-up involves a group of four women, who make a trip to the island together every year. Best friends since childhood, it's a tradition they keep in order to continue the good times and their friendship. They're also very secretive about the island's location; telling no one. They have it just for themselves. This one night of fun without any ties to their regular lives was always a great thing for the women. Until it wasn't.

Ten years later, Tessa Nilsson, a recently disgraced podcaster, decides to focus on a true crime case that has captivated her attention since she was kid. It's the story of four friends, who went to a remote island for a night, but were never seen again. As luck would have it, Tessa's best friend is about to get married, and her Bachelorette Party is a yoga retreat, set on a remote island with many similarities to the one the friends went missing from a decade ago.

Tessa, of course, attends the retreat and the way things go, she's positive this is the place. Someone is out for revenge, but for what and for who?

I don't know what else to say. That's what the story is about, but it failed to stay with me. In my brain and directly out. I didn't vibe well with the way it was written and found it difficult to stay focused on the back and forth. Tessa's perspective was the most interesting thing going on for me, but even that started to lose me after a while.

I do think if you read this one at the right moment, perhaps it could be a win for you. Please don't let my apathy about it keep you from at least giving it a try. I would categorize it as a Popcorn Thriller, so it could be a good one to bring with you this Summer to the beach, or on a quick Weekend Getaway.

Personally, I wish it could have captured my attention a little more, because the premise was certainly intriguing. At the end of the day, we can't love them all, and this one just wasn't for me. I know many Readers are going to enjoy it, and you could be one of them!

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I have enjoyed novels from Camilla Sten in the past, and will continue to check out all her new releases. My favorite so far, if you're interested, has been The Resting Place.

From the beginning this one felt chaotic and hard to follow... had to DNF it about 1/3 of the way through because I just couldn't figure out what was going on, nor did I really honestly care. Disappointed :(

Narration was great but the story was not one I enjoyed at all.
I have to mark it dnf even though I read/listened to well over half.
This book was a big disappointment for me.

I think maybe some things were lost in translation. Though it was a pretty good thriller/mystery, there was nothing spectacular. It sort of tried to do noir but didn’t quite go there. The middle was pretty boring.

I love how this book had me hooked from the start. A group of friends on a getaway together. So much lies, deception and betrayal. Full of revenge and and trying to uncover secrets.

The narrator dis a wonderful job with this audiobook and i highly recommend this one.

This was my first read by this author and while I found the story to be entertaining, I struggled following the characters names (there felt like a lot) as well as the duals timelines which took a little bit away for me. With that said, I still enjoyed it. I found some parts predictable, but there was plenty took me by surprise too. Overall I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a fast paced, remote setting thriller.

This was a suspenseful psychological thriller.

Written in dual timelines, the novel kept me glued to the pages as I tried to keep up with all the characters and figure out what had gone on years ago and what was going to happen in the present. Tessa Nilsson is attending a bachelorette party along with her sister, Lena, for one of their oldest friends on a remote, basically deserted island known as Isle Blind. Coincidentally (or not) the place happens to be where four friends disappeared 1o years ago. It so happens that Tessa is a true crime podcaster (now disgraced and canceled) who is set on trying to revive her career by finding out what really happened to those women known as the Nacka Four. Shortly, Tessa finds herself in a very precarious position that might just end her and her friends.

Without spoilers, the book deals with sisterhood, friendship, and the girl code as well as what happens when you don’t do the right thing by others. Although it didn’t end as I’d hoped, it kept me in suspense and guessing throughout the story.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC —both formats provided by the publishers. The narrator, Laura Jennings, did a great job of voicing all the characters and bringing great dramatic flair that made for an excellent production. At one point, toward the end, I just had to speed up ahead of the audio as things got really tense and exciting. The audio definitely enhanced my enjoyment.

There were too many characters in this book to really get into the story or care about any of them. I definitely think this could have been fine tuned.

DNFing at 62%.

I am just struggling to pick this book up. Maybe it is my mood right now, but I am just not feeling this book and I have no idea what is going on. I have been listening on audio and maybe that is my problem. I might come back to this book at another time but for now it is a DNF for me.

Thank you @macmillon.audio and @netgalley for the #gifted copy.

This book started off strong with a fantastic premise and location. I was excited about the Swedish setting, since I'm part Swedish and haven't read too many books set there.

This book lost me when, at 43% nothing had really happened. And it all sort of just went downhill from there, with the motivations for everything really falling flat. The ending enraged me and wasn't really worth the journey it took to get there.

Pretty good thriller. Nothing too crazy but an entertaining plot, a crazy killer, and just some girls who wanted to have fun.

This book was just okay for me. I don’t think it was written poorly or a “bad” book, and could easily see it being 4-5 stars for someone else, it just was not sucking me in the way that I wanted it to.

I found it difficult to connect to the characters (again, probably just me) which made it hard to invest in the story.

I loved the premise, and was very interested in reading this book and finding out what happened. But in the end, I just couldn’t say it was one of my favorites or overly memorable. I may have to give it another try later and see if it captures my attention more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for providing me with an audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I just finished The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten and here are my thoughts.
Childhood friends meet on a remote island for a bachelorette party… A remote island where a true crime took place… Tessa knows if she can figure out what happened there… She could reignite her true crime podcast… But someone has a lot more to lose than Tessa stands to gain.

This was her best yet! Camilla Sten absolutely nailed this book. She bought the creepy atmosphere. She totally wrote the kind of thriller I love to read and the audiobook did an excellent job of bringing it to life for me.

Tessa has spiralled. She doesn’t want to bring down the fun but knowing her friends are going to a crime scene… a place where a mystery went down that hasn’t been solved… She can't help herself and goes. I liked how she was written. She was struggling with herself and it really showed. Being around happy people sucks when you are unhappy!

I loved the big ending twist! It was perfect! A bit outlandish but who cares! It was well done, well written and deliciously satisfying. I like really dark… gentle twists with a great ending and that's what this one brings. The pace was excellent. She is a master of her craft that is for sure!

The side characters were all annoying. That was probably my only gripe. I was kinda ok if they were going to die haha..

4.5 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for my gifted ALC

This book was exactly what I didn’t know I needed- a sharp, fast paced thriller with a wild setup and even wilder follow through. What starts as a fun bachelorette weekend among old friends quickly twists into a locked room nightmare full of suspicion, buried secrets, and true crime obsession. I was hooked from the first scene.

I loved how unpredictable the story was—nothing felt safe or straightforward, which is rare in thrillers these days. Just when I thought I had a handle on what was happening, a new layer unraveled and changed everything. The tension builds steadily, but there are also these delightfully messy, absurd, almost darkly comedic moments that made the ride even more enjoyable.

Tessa, the main character, is complicated in the best way. She is driven, flawed, and oddly relatable. Her fixation on an old serial killer case added a psychological edge that elevated the book beyond a typical murder mystery. I also appreciated the way the author weaved in mixed media formats (transcripts, forum posts, etc.) to add texture without overcomplicating the flow.

Sure, not every twist is perfectly plausible, and some of the supporting characters felt more like puzzle pieces than people. But honestly? That didn’t matter to me. This book knew exactly what it was: clever, wild, and impossible to put down. I devoured it in one sitting, and it left me wanting more.

Recommended for fans of twisty thrillers, messy friendships, and murder mysteries with bite.

I enjoyed The Bachelorette Party! The plot twist really surprised me — I didn’t see it coming at all. That said, I’m not sure I agree with the comparisons to Scream. It had suspense, but the tone didn’t quite match, and the frequent changes in narrators made things a little confusing at times.

Overall, it was a solid read, just not one of my favorites. I usually buy a physical copy if I really love a book, and I don’t think I’ll do that with this one. Still, worth checking out if you enjoy twisty thrillers.

Who doesn’t enjoy a Bachelorette party gone terribly wrong? This thriller delivers a gripping, atmospheric ride set against the haunting beauty of a remote Swedish island.

A dark tale of revenge and redemption unfolds through a dual timeline and a classic locked-room mystery structure. The story thrives on its character-driven narrative, featuring a cast of deeply flawed, intriguingly unlikeable individuals entangled in layered, messy relationships.

While it didn’t quite live up to its full potential for me, the concept was compelling enough to keep me thoroughly engaged.