The Last One at the Wedding: A Novel

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars | 2,852 ratings

Price: 17.71

Last update: 01-09-2025


About this item

Long-listed, Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2024

"Pirhalla’s excellent narration highlights Frank’s insecurities, which are contrasted with the confidence of Aidan and his family. Pirhalla’s strong characterizations are carefully crafted. Listeners will enjoy having their perceptions change with each twist of the plot, and Pirhalla’s spot-on timing will also help keep them engaged."—AudioFile

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 But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners.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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.


Top reviews from the United States

J. Payne
4.0 out of 5 stars Good drama/twisty mystery
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2024
“The Last One At the Wedding” by Jason Remulak is definitely different than “Hidden Pictures”, but it is a quick and entertaining read. The story never drags, and the characters and location are all very interesting and, in my opinion, well developed. I certainly recommend this book.

I do have one problem with the plot, which is why I deducted a star. The father, Frank, has been estranged from his young adult daughter, Maggie, for about three years. One day, she contacts him out of the blue to tell him that she is getting married, and he’s invited! What’s more, she invites him to Boston to have dinner with her and her new fiancé, who comes from a very wealthy tech family. Frank is obviously overjoyed at the opportunity to become a part of his daughter’s life again. However, as soon as he meets her fiancé, he starts becoming suspicious that things are not quite right. His suspicion seems a bit … over the top? It’s persistent and unrelenting, and he does not hesitate to share his misgivings with his daughter. This cause some friction, and it seems like an odd choice of direction for the plot considering that they JUST reconciled. However, perhaps Frank is only being overly protective since he just got back into Maggie’s life, and he wants to make sure, as a caring parent, that she is make the right choice. We eventually find out, later in the book, the cause of their 3 year communication gap. Once this is revealed, I felt that Frank’s concern and protective behavior made absolutely no sense. I won’t reveal any details, but I could never reconcile this part of the story in my head.

This is still a pretty good read. But some of the plot is a little odd in places. No supernatural elements like “Hidden Pictures”, but that wasn’t a problem for me at all.
Michael S Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Put It Down
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2024
I am shocked the reviews for this book aren't in the high 4s, because I thought it was riveting. Having said that, I had no idea what to expect (I hadn't read any of his other stuff), so I didn't go into it with any preconceived notions. There are also moments where it's LOL funny. The chapters are usually short, which was another bonus, so you could ostensibly pace yourself; having said that, this is the first book in forever that I read in one sitting. It kind of reminded me of the vintage thriller, "A Simple Plan", in that an underlying theme turns out to be how far people will go to get what they want - and what they want is usually a lot of money. Lots of twists, and I loved the extended ending. Suspense builds and builds. 5 stars, easily.
Quentin
3.0 out of 5 stars Nice Read
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2024
Nice read with a lot of twist and turns. Kind of slow in the middle and kind of drags on in the end but interesting plot.
mnmloveli
4.0 out of 5 stars DRAMA NOT HORROR but still a great read !
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2024
‘24 - 4 STARS

DESCRIPTION :

*** THIS BOOK IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT GENRE THAN HIDDEN PICTURES WHICH WAS A HORROR/THRILLER; THIS BOOK IS A FAMILY DRAMA/MURDER ***

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. A pulse-pounding exploration of family ties, secret agendas, and the possibility of redemption—a thrill-ride like no other.

REVIEW :

First book by this author was Hidden Pictures (‘22 - 5 Stars - Horror).

Earned Triple Kindle Reward Points with this purchase.

This book is a totally different genre than Hidden Pictures. This one is definitely an interesting family drama with a twisty murder mixed-in. Very enjoyable but two totally different genres. Same great writing that really moved the plot along and keeps you reading and guessing where it was going. Once i got over the fact that this book was not a horror/thriller, I settled-in and was totally entertained. My 4-star review was almost 5 stars, but I felt that ending was a little rushed and the very last paragraphs made me re-read the last few pages to make sure I didn’t’ miss anything.

Best Sellers in

 
 

Cozy Witch Mysteries: Special Edition Box Set of 8 Books: Angela Pepper Box Sets and Bundles

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 2,582
26.21
 
 

Tom Clancy Defense Protocol: Jack Ryan, Book 25

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 852
19.69
 
 

God of Malice: Legacy, Book 1

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 46,735
21.83
 
 

Society of Lies: A Novel

4 4 out of 5 stars 4,010
17.72
 
 

Does It Hurt?

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 64,851
21.83
 
 

The Client: A Novel

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 8,028
19.69
 
 

The House of Cross: Alex Cross, Book 30

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 5,814
19.1
 
 

Lies He Told Me: She’s in Love—with a Liar

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,880
17.05