The Bachelorette Party offers a suspenseful narrative set against the backdrop of a mysterious disappearance. While it may not break new ground in the thriller genre, it provides an engaging read for fans of atmospheric mysteries and psychological suspense. I enjoyed myself but was not terribly surprised at the twists.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

📖 Bookish Thoughts
This one kept me guessing. I struggled a bit with the timeline jumps because they were confusing at times, and it wasn’t always clear which POV we were in. Tessa as an MC is messy and I kept moving between liking her and finding her insufferable. She’s a bit delulu to think she can solve a cold case at a bachelorette retreat. I kept wondering if Tessa was actually paranoid or if something sinister was really happening.

The pacing dragged a bit in the middle, but the ending flew by! I couldn’t stop listening. Tessa mostly grew on me by the end. She’s complicated, messy, and real. Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook!

🖤 What You Can Expect
• Thriller
• Bi FMC
• Cold case
• True crime podcaster
• Dual timelines
• Bachelorette retreat

🗓 Pub Date: June 10, 2025
🎧 Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. All thoughts are my own.

10 years ago, four women vanished without a trace from an isolated island north of Sweden.

Now, a disgraced true crime podcaster has been conveniently invited to that island for a bachelorette party. Tessa, who actually vaguely knew one of the missing women, Matilda,, is convinced they were actually murdered. If she can solve this cold case, she can have a dramatic comeback.

This book started off strong, floundered in the middle, and finished with a lot, I mean A LOT of gore. It was kind of predictable, but there was at least one twist I didn't see coming. The book is primarily told from Tessa's POV with backflashes to Matilda from ten years earlier. From the moment Tessa arrives on island, she feels like something is wrong. She is treated badly by her friends, laughed off by everyone, but the joke is on them as people start dying.

There were a few things about this book that didn't make sense, but I don't want to spoil anything, so I will just say, being in Tessa's brain really made this book anticlimactic. She was kind of a dud, and I think this book could have been a lot more "thrilling" had it been told in third person.

I appreciate the ARC. I did not like the voice that the narrator used for Tessa, which is probably another reason I didn't like being in her head, but I liked the rest of her voices. The narrator also could have infused my mystery into her reading to make the book more entertaining.

First off, I love the cover!

I was excited for the mysterious island vibes and gripping nature of the whodunnit. Unfortunately, I found that the mysterious island vibes fell flat and the story didn't grip me. It had potential, but the ending seemed to take forever to arrive and when it did, it was unbelievable and disappointing. I enjoy dual timelines and find they add intrigue and propulsion to a story. This was partly true in this case, but the characters didn't stand out to me, which made it slightly confusing with the back and forth.

3.5


This nothing like Scream, it’s more of a distant cousin to The Guest List.

I was entertained by The Bachelorette Party. I’ve always been a fan of past/present timelines and this did a good job weaving those together. Focal to the story is toxic female friendships. Lots of betrayals, pandering, posturing, and in the end it led to a lot of deaths. I was wrong about a hunch and didn’t expect that twist! CS did well in redirecting us, ensuring we’re looking at the wrong thing until the very end.

The narrator was ok. I wish some of the lines were more animated. For example, some dialogue was described as being flirty or teasing but she read it flatly. Overall it wasn’t bad, there’s enough lilt, intonation, and feeling for me not to miss the overall tone of the book.

Prepare for the Bachelorette Party of the decade!

In 2012, four young women gathered for their annual girl’s trip at a small remote island off the coast of Sweden. Those girls went missing and were presumed drowned. It was suspected that they took the boat out joyriding while intoxicated. They became a cautionary tale for drinking and boating. Or did they? Maybe there was something more sinister at play that weekend!

In 2022, Tessa is invited to a bachelorette party on the very island that the girls in 2012 disappeared from. The island has been transformed into a wellness retreat boasting lots of yoga, fancy vegan meals, and champagne. Perfect! Tessa is broke and shouldn’t make the trip but she has been obsessed with the missing young women for many years and wants to look around and ask questions. But the information she uncovers may be much more than she was expecting.

Clearly this is a locked room mystery and I don’t want to spoil it by adding too many details. I really enjoyed the Swedish island setting. This story was told in dual timelines and there was a large cast of characters to follow.

The audio narration was fantastic performed by Laura Jennings.

Thank you Netgalley, MacmillanAudio, and the author for this ALC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on June 10, 2025

Thanks to NetGalley for an ALC. I enjoyed this toward the beginning, and then just kind of grew bored with it. Just very mediocre.

This was a quick and fun read but unfortunately was not a huge standout for me. I did really enjoy the premise: Tessa is a disgraced podcaster who sees an opportunity when invited to a bachelorette party - she may be able to discover new information on the disappearance of four women and revive her career once again.

Camilla Sten is not afraid to get down and dirty with some gory details, that actually do add to the impact of the story. Although this was a fun read it felt fairly obvious where the story was going and what the outcome would ultimately be.

I did appreciate that we got a detailed explanation for the events prior in the end, but didn’t feel there was enough to tie it in throughout the story to feel believable.

Ultimately it was entertaining and well paced, and I’d be interested in more by this author after this intro to her work!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance audiobook!

This book definitely had lots of twists and turns but I was able to predict some of those form early on. There was some gore till the end and I felt like we didn't get to know some of the characters as well and I would have liked. Some of the girls were flat out mean and I guess it set the stage for what was to come. There was some redemption for the mean girl but they still mostly. felt distant. It was a good, quick listen, but at times just too much going on to keep up with at once.

Mystery/thriller based in Sweden. Four childhood girl friends go to a remote island every year for a fun filled time until they do not come home. Ten years later Anneliese wants her friends to go to the remote island for her bachelorette party. One of the gals, Tessa has a true crime podcast and has always been obsessed with the disappearance of the four girls. With her ratings dropping, she hopes to uncover clues on what happened and save her program. Today, the island boasts of a wonderful spa like retreat. All is not what it appears to be on the island. I went between reading and listening to the book. The narration was done well. The story jump back and forth between the years. It’s a quick read.

Thank you #Netgalley, #StMartin’sPress, #MacmillanAudio, #CamillaSten, #LauraJennings and #TheBacheloretteParty for the advance copies for my honest review.

The Bachelorette Party
By Camilla Sten
Narrated by Laura Jennings

Publishes June 10,2025

I couldn’t put this down, what a fun, creepy, edge of the chair dark and wild read. The dual timeline was so good in this book. 4 women go missing and are never seen again, said to have drowned but 10 years later Tessa, who is a true crime podcaster is at the same remote island for her oldest friends Bach party. Tess decides she’s going to ask questions, look around and investigate because she doesn’t believe they just drowned. I could not stand one of the bridesmaids she was just so stuck up and acted as she was better than everyone. But this was so so good and I couldn’t stop listening, and the cover is so pretty!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC audiobook. All opinions are my own.

*The Bachelorette Party* by Camilla Sten is a psychological thriller set against the backdrop of a remote Swedish island, where a group of women gathers for a bachelorette celebration that quickly turns sinister. As secrets unravel and tensions rise, the story keeps you guessing who to trust.

While the premise is intriguing and the setting adds a nice eerie touch, the pacing felt uneven at times. Some of the characters lacked depth, making it harder to stay fully invested. There are a few suspenseful moments and decent twists, but overall it didn’t leave a lasting impression. A good read if you're in the mood for a quick thriller, but not a standout in the genre.

I recommend taking notes on the characters when you start this book. There are a lot of introductions in the first few chapters, and I had to write down names and relationships to try to keep things straight.

Unfortunately, I didn't like much about this book. I don’t think any of the characters were likeable. It was very difficult to finish.

The narrator was good but didn't always change her voice enough for the different characters. I had difficulty keeping track of all the characters and the timeline was confusing. Several times they were in the middle of a chase and they would announce a date which did not make sense.

The plot was good and suspenseful in parts.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

I really wanted to love this one, It has a great premise. Ultimately, this book has a lot going on The mystery of the women’s disappearance in the past, the main characters podcast eternal, and the current bachelorette party.

I did have a little difficulty following along on the audiobook, there were just so many characters, and the past and present characters/settings are very similar making it difficult to distinguish at times. The book works up to an exciting climax, This would be a good one to pick up if you enjoy slasher/thriller movies.

ARC audiobook- Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the copy. This book was a quick read for me. There are 2 story lines that all interconnect over three different time periods. I predicted the ending towards the very beginning of the book- which is why I gave it 3 stars. I also didn’t like the three time periods but only 2 story lines. I also didn’t like how every chapter started with a date, even if we were continuing the same day from the previous chapter. Overall, it didn’t have the suspense building and twist at the end that I love. Very predictable

The Bachelorette Party feels more like a soap opera than a thriller, with a tangled web of secrets, betrayals, and a few too many characters to keep straight. The setup is juicy and the tension simmers, but the plot gets a little too convoluted to stay fully engaged. It’s entertaining enough if you don’t mind a bit of chaos, but definitely takes some effort to follow. Not bad — just a little overstuffed for its own good.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
Rated PG-13 for language, violence, and messy relationship drama.

Gah i wanted to love this book but sadly didn't. There were a ton of characters to keep up with and honestly....they were all horrible. I didn't find the twist ending that shocking and overall I loved the setting but just didn't love the book.

The Bachelorette Party was a fun, atmospheric thriller with strong writing and a main character I really enjoyed following. Tessa is smart, flawed, and relatable—her obsession with the cold case at the heart of the story gave the plot a compelling urgency, and I liked the way her personal struggles (and podcasting past) added layers to the investigation.

The island setting was eerie and immersive, and Camilla Sten does a great job building a slow sense of dread. It’s got Scream meets The Guest List energy for sure—isolated setting, old secrets, glamorous group dynamics, and of course, murder.

That said, I guessed the twist a little too early, which took some of the oomph out of the reveal. The tension still held, but I was hoping for one more curveball. Still, it’s a solid, well-written mystery with a satisfying pace and mood. Definitely worth a read if you like smart female-led thrillers. And murder.

This books was dramatic. Like soap opera dramatic. I don’t mind a little drama in my thrillers, but this felt like too much, the whole time.
I also found the plot just far fetched and sometimes hard to follow. Lots of characters, and really not enough character development to differentiate them.
This one wasn’t for me. 2.5 rounded up to 3.