Notes from the Shelf

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The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak – Disturbing & Messy
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 338
Rating:  ★★☆☆☆
Buy: Bookshop.org

This post contains spoilers.

Book Blurb

Provided from Goodreads:

From the bestselling author of Hidden Pictures comes a breathtaking work of suspense about a father trying to save his daughter from a life-altering decision that will put everything he loves on the line.

Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right.

He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate—very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that delves deep into the heart of one family, The Last One at the Wedding is a work of brilliant suspense from a true modern master.

My Thoughts

This book took a turn I was not expecting, and unfortunately not in a good way.

First off, Tammy, Frank’s sister, is one of the most infuriating characters I’ve read in a long time. Everything she said to Frank made me want to shake her and tell her to get some sense.

Honestly, everyone in this book kind of sucks. Maggie sucks, and later turns out to be a literal psychopath. The Gardners suck in the way that ultra-rich, untouchable families tend to suck. Their lawyer and his much younger gold-digger wife? Awful. It’s just a bunch of rich people thrown together at a resort for a wedding, all obsessed with image and hiding their murderous secrets.

But Frank isn’t innocent either. He’s supposed to be the “everyman,” yet he’s just as frustrating. His sister brings a foster kid, Abigail, to the wedding, and Frank treats her horribly the entire time, until he finally steps up at the end. At least Abigail gets a happy ending; she deserved better from everyone.

Surprisingly, Aidan ends up being the most sympathetic character. By the end, I just felt bad for him. He’s trapped in this awful web of deceit spun by Maggie and the Gardners. And that reveal that Maggie was actually dating the dad? Gross. Completely unnecessary.

Frank drove me crazy by the end. The excuses he made for Maggie’s behavior were unbelievable, and handing the evidence over to the Gardners was beyond naïve. Only when he realized Abigail was in danger did he finally act.

In the end, Maggie is the only one who faces consequences, while the Gardners walk away scot-free because apparently, the rich really are untouchable.

Final Thoughts

I’ve looked at Jason Rekulak’s books over the years, but this is the first one I’ve actually read, and I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. While the premise hooked me at first, the execution and character choices left me frustrated more than entertained. I’m not sure I’ll pick up his other books if they follow a similar tone or theme, but I can see how readers who enjoy messy family dramas mixed with dark secrets might find it more engaging than I did.

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Read Other Thriller Reviews:
Beautiful Ugly
The Guest List
She’s Not Sorry

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