The Wedding Party

by Lorna Dounaeva

The groom’s grip is icy cold as he shakes my hand. “I have so wanted to meet you.” I look up into his steely eyes and a chill runs down my spine. I know this man, but no one can ever know why…

THE Toasting the newlyweds on a remote Scottish island, Sarah watches her friends anxiously. As the groom affectionately touches his new wife’s stomach, she shudders to think what will happen if the secret comes out…

THE With her marriage over, the last place Diane wants to be is at a wedding. But she’s sure her so-called ‘friends’ are the reason her husband wanted to leave in the first place. It’s time for the truth to come out. Whatever the cost.

THE I’d do anything for the bride, even if it means agreeing to be a groomsman before I’ve even met her soon-to-be husband. But when we finally meet, my heart starts pounding – we know each other, and I will do absolutely anything to keep where we met a secret…

But before the honeymoon begins, one of the newlyweds is found dead.

One of us is guilty.

One of us is a killer.

But who is it?

An absolutely gripping thriller about how well you really know the people you love, and how secrets can destroy even the strongest relationships. Perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell and Emily Shiner.

Readers can’t get enough of Lorna

‘Wow… Completely blew me away! I couldn't stop exclaiming “OMG”… My stomach was in knots as I kept turning the pages… A must-read!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Omg. What did I just read??!!!!!!… Gripping… A thrilling ride.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Holy cow!!! What a ride!!! I loved this book… Amazing!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A WILD ride!… There are some absolutely shocking twists… Will keep you on the very edge of your seat towards the end. I absolutely loved this one!’ @whatanniereadsnext, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Fantastic… loved the twists and turns… Edge of the seat… I read it in less than a day. EXCELLENT.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘The biggest SHOCKER happened… I was Like NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!… I can’t say enough about the ending, it was terrific.’ Goodreads reviewer

‘My head was spinning, at one stage, I felt like it was going to fall off and roll away!... Jaw-dropping! Mind. Freaking. Blown!’ @thesassynerdblog

‘DELICIOUSLY TWISTY!... Gosh… It feels like you’re going at lightning speed. Full of twists and turns… Jaw-dropping.’ @onlyshelves

Genres: Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Fiction

358 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 6, 2025

About the author

Lorna Dounaeva is a politics graduate who worked for the British Home Office before turning to crime fiction. She writes dark domestic thrillers and is especially fond of female villains. She lives in the Orkney islands with her Ukrainian husband and his parents, three children, a crafty cat and a happy dog.

Reviews

[Bookaholic__Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wedding party boasts a gorgeous cover that definitely grabbed my attention. I didn't even read the blurb... just saw the cover and was like "Yep, I want to check that out!".


The only reason I'm giving this 4 * instead of 5* was the pacing. I love the storyline itself, it's tense and unnerving. The revelations are great... it was just a little slow at times for me. And I loved reading from the varying perspectives, especially those told from the murderer.

Another win for thriller lovers, definitely gonna recommend this one.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 2 out of 5]

So...yet again we have that plot. Toxic friends gather in a remote place to celebrate the wedding of another friend. Toxic friends are toxic. Bad things happen. Secrets are revealed. Reader is yet again disappointed that the secrets are so BORING.

The one thing that this one has going for it is that there is actual murder. But, you also know exactly who the murderer is very early on.

I hated these people, but kept reading because I hoped there was some good reason for all this.

There really, really wasn't.

Not for me.

[Craig and Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big thanks to Bookouture for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
A remote island, no escape and a killer on the loose……. get ready for mayhem!
The Wedding Party is a slow burn, tension filled locked room mystery where all the suspects are in a stranded location.
Soon as the guests gather for the weekend for a wedding, danger erupts.
Friends of the bride and groom have come to celebrate but a murderer is among them.
Before the honeymoon has even begun, one of the newlyweds will be dead.
What is everyone’s secret….
Who is the killer…..
A smart plot told from the point of views of Sarah and Diane and unbeknownst to the reader the killer.
I thought I had this one worked out but boy was I wrong, I didn’t pick it at all.
A entertaining, suspenseful and fun read.

[Kayla_Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the chance to read the digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A group of old housemates have arrived on a secluded island to watch their “friend” get married. Shortly after the ceremony, the groom is murdered and the bride is running for her life. Now she’s missing and the bodies are piling up. Everyone has secrets and any one of them could be the killer.

I really enjoyed this thriller. While it was predictable and the ending rushed, it will still an entertaining and fun read.

[Ashley Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wedding Party by Lorna Dounaeva is a gripping thriller that makes you question how well you really know the people you love.

When five old friends from university are reunited on a remote Scottish island for a wedding, it should have been the perfect time to catch up with one another. The friends were last together eight years ago, so a get together is long overdue. But very quickly it seems not everyone is as excited as Asha the bride is. And then when the body of the groom is found and Asha goes missing, the friends realize that everyone is concealing some type of secret. As the bodies pile up, can the remaining wedding party make it off this island alive?

This was the first book by Lorna Dounaeva that I have read and I loved it! I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and the alternating timelines, it goes back to the University days and then forward to the present. I enjoyed how we are given little snippets that lead to the motive of the murderer throughout. An unreliable narrator, plenty of twists, and suspense, this book had me hooked and questioning everyone! Perfect beach read that will hit the mark with fans of Emily Shiner, Shari Lapena, and Lisa Jewell!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lorna Dounaeva, and Bookouture for this ARC!! Publication date: May 6th 2025.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

"She'd thought their friendship had matured into something worth nurturing. It seemed she was wrong."

This murder mystery is told through the POV of Sarah, Diane and the murderer. It's the perfect wedding day, until one of the newlyweds is killed. A lifetime of secrets are threatening to spill out and everyone is a suspect. Don't. Trust. Anyone.

This was a really good read. I must admit it started a little slow, so I was a bit unsure if I was going to enjoy it, but once the main part of the storyline began, I was hooked!

I liked the way the story was set out, with flashbacks that added to everyone's motives. This made it so hard to pin down who the murder was because it honestly could have been anyone!
I also liked the mini chapters from the murderer's POV.

I'd guessed who the culprit was before the reveal which took an element of the shock away, HOWEVER...because I was so busy trying to guess the murderer, the other twist caught me completely off guard!

I would definitely recommend this one to those who enjoy thriller, crime, murder mystery and suspense!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
Publication date: 6th May 2025

A group of friends reunite over one of their own’s "happy" wedding day. The wedding takes place on a beautiful and historical island, isolated only to the guests. The happiness of the wedding is short lived when a string of murders takes place and leaves this group of friends fighting for survival. A complete mind boggle of a thriller (it had me suspecting EVERYONE!). The storyline alternates back and forth to drip feed clues to the reader which kept me changing my mind as to who was the perpetrator. I was adamant I had pinpointed the killer but no surprise I was very outsmarted😂.

At times the plot felt a little silly some of the characters motives weren't summarised or made clear.


Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this e-ARC😁

[kayle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I realized this book wasn’t for me when I found myself speed reading to hurry up and just finish it to get it over with 🤦🏽‍♀️

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me preface by saying I have read other Lorna Dounaeva books and enjoyed them. I was intrigued with the premise of this story and was drawn in by her familiar (to me) writing style. However, I feel like I went for a ride with unlikeable characters (with friends like these, who needs enemies?) and then it suddenly ended without closure. I even went back and reread the last chapter and thought, ok, what next? What happened to ____ and ____ (names omitted to avoid spoilers), The Wedding Party was a miss for me, but is a quick, easy read for an afternoon or beach day.

[Kelly (aka jsybookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 3rd book by Lorna Dounaeva and another brilliant psychological thriller.

It’s been years since Diane, Sarah, Peter, Ethan and Asha have connected after sharing a house together during their time at Aberdeen University. They last were together for Diane’s wedding 8 years ago and now Asha’s wedding to Gordon is the perfect time for the group to reunite and catch up on each others lives. Asha is blissfully happy; the others in the group, not so much. The wedding is taking place on Haarlorn Island in the Orkney Islands only just accessible by boat. The location is definitely different to most wedding venues due to the Island being entirely off the grid with no internet and or even phone signals but that’s exactly what Asha and Gordon want for their wedding. The plan is for the wedding guests to come over on the boat the day before the wedding, enjoy the day of the wedding and then leave the next day. Asha and Gordon will also leave the day after the wedding, heading for their honeymoon in Cambodia. However, Diane, Sarah, Peter and Ethan plan to stay for another 5 days in order to catch up with each other. Soon after the boat with the wedding guests and bride and groom leave the friends decide to do a little exploring and find a bothy which is clearly being used by someone and the group realise they are not alone on the island as they thought they were. Later on, Sarah takes a walk along the beach and discovers a body, shocked to the core she reports this back to the group and they then decide to search the rest of the island to try and figure out what happened, but during this search they discover yet another body. The friends are terrified! With no outside communication except for an unreliable old style radio, the group have no choice but to stay on the island with a murderer on the loose until their ferry comes to pick them up. But 5 days is a long time when their lives are in danger. They thought they knew each other inside out but the time since university has changed everyone and they all have secrets to keep and lies to enable the secrecy, will they discover who the killer is? And if so, how many of the group will make it back to the mainland?!

Oooo this was a twisty old tale, and I loved every page! The phrase “with friends like these who needs enemies” fits this book perfectly! I have to admit the only character I actually liked was Asha, there were another couple of characters in the group who I thought were just awful! I really enjoyed the dual POV and loved that a mystery character was introduced in chapter 9- I always love a mystery character as it gets my brain ticking trying to figure out who they might be. I really liked how the juicy bits about each character slowly came out and although I tried my hardest to figure out the twist, I guessed wrongly multiple times and never got close to it, which made it an excellent surprise when it came out. I felt the eeriness of the island was written really well and it portrayed the suffocating feel of the island perfectly and frankly I wouldn’t have set foot on that island as it seemed so creepy!!

Overall, another great page turner from Lorna Dounaeva, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller. I look forward to her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lorna Dounaeva and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out now.

[MoMo Book Diary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Gripping, Sleepless Night on a Remote Scottish Island

I didn’t expect The Wedding Party to hit quite so hard — but from the moment I started, I was completely hooked. I went in knowing only that it was set on a remote Scottish island, which immediately intrigued me. Then I realised the fictional setting was part of the Orkney Islands — a place incredibly close to my heart. I lived there for a time, and even now, years later, it still feels like a part of me. So yes, I went into this one with high hopes and a deeply personal connection.

There were a few moments early on when the geographical details felt off — little things that stood out because I know the Orkney Islands well. But honestly? Once the story grabbed me, those details faded into the background.

Lorna Dounaeva’s writing is magnetic. Her pacing, character reveals, and simmering tension are so well done that I lost all track of time. I meant to read a few chapters before bed — instead, I devoured the entire book in one sleepless night. When I finally looked up, the sky outside was already light.

This is a story that plays with suspicion and secrets in all the best ways. The multiple perspectives are used so cleverly — each one peeling back another layer, revealing tensions, betrayals, and the kind of buried truths that make you question everything. The emotional weight builds with every page, and just when you think you’ve worked it out, something new knocks you off balance.

I loved the shifting perspectives and the way each character’s internal battles slowly unfolded. There’s a dark, addictive tension running through every scene, heightened by the isolation of the island and the tangled relationships within the wedding party. You can feel the pressure building with every page.

And when the twists come? They’re sharp, surprising, and perfectly timed. This is one of those thrillers that pulls you so deeply into its world that you forget everything else around you.

Despite my initial gripes with the geography, this book absolutely delivered on suspense, drama, and character-driven intrigue. It’s deliciously messy, full of secrets, and impossible to step away from. If you enjoy twisty psychological thrillers with emotionally messy characters and jaw-dropping revelations, this one’s for you.

[DJ Sakata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Quotes:

He was thin back at uni, but now his eyes have sunk into their sockets, making them look like the marbles in a pinball machine.

I know the people they used to be. But they’ve all changed. It’s like someone took a magnifying glass and ramped up all their worst qualities, making them clearer, brighter, louder.

All at once, she can’t bear the thought that she has touched a dead body. She imagines all the germs, all the flies and maggots, and feels desperate to scrub it off her skin. She fears all that death is catching.

The sympathy she once had for him is wearing thinner by the day, like a big ball of string that is being stretched and stretched until it’s just the thinnest fibres left.

...she sees the shadow of death hovering over her like a grey cloud. It’s an icy, unnerving presence that seeps into her bones. At times, the pain is so relentless, she hears their voices– the dead ones– all shouting at once, making it impossible to pick out what any of them are saying. It’s as if they’re trapped in a never-ending loop, their voices echoing and overlapping. She tries to block them out, but their presence is impossible to ignore. Their spirits refuse to rest in peace.


My Review:

These were horrible people thinking horrible thoughts about and doing horrible things to each other, over many years, until it ended, horribly.  I did not like them at all.  They were immature, selfish, warped, and just toxic creatures.  Yet this devious scribbler planted a worm in my gray matter, and I was hooked.  The little pea in my brain needed to know what was going to happen to them and who was killing them off one by one, and who would be the last one standing, as there always has to be at one left to tell the tale.  I would never have guessed this outcome, my hypothesis went in a different direction.  I love it when that happens.  

[Martti Orson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lorna Dounaeva really knows how to twist a wedding into something deliciously sinister. From the very first chapter, there’s a heavy sense of dread, and I could almost feel the cold wind whipping through that remote Scottish island setting. It’s claustrophobic, tense, and perfectly chosen for a story where secrets are bound to surface.

What struck me most was how cleverly the perspectives are woven together. We see the same event, this picture-perfect wedding from such different angles: Sarah’s unease about the groom, Diane’s simmering bitterness, and the groomsman’s desperate need to bury the past. Each one has their own secret, and I found myself trying to piece together who was hiding the most dangerous truth. It’s that kind of book where you keep second-guessing everyone, and the tension never lets up.

The characters aren’t necessarily “likable,” but they are compelling. Diane in particular stood out for me raw, angry, and not afraid to burn everything down if it means exposing the truth. At the same time, Sarah’s nervous energy had me flipping pages just to find out if she would break under the pressure.

And then the murder. I won’t spoil it, but the way it happens felt shocking yet inevitable, like the story had been winding up to that moment all along. The last third of the book was a proper page turner. I stayed up far too late finishing it because I had to know who would make it off that island with their secrets still intact.

If you like your thrillers atmospheric, full of messy relationships, and with that “everyone has something to hide” vibe, this one will keep you hooked.

[Sandy K Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows a group of university friends—Diane, Sarah, Peter, Ethan, and Asha—who reunite on a remote Scottish island for Asha's wedding. The reunion is awkward from the start, as the group's "friendship" is clearly built on old resentments and buried secrets. When the groom is found dead and the bride goes missing the morning after the wedding, the friends are trapped on the island and forced to confront their pasts as they try to figure out who among them is a killer. The pacing is a strong point, with the narrative expertly jumping between the tense present and revealing flashbacks to their university days, building a great sense of dread and distrust.
As for the characters, the book is primarily narrated by Diane and Sarah. Diane is a compelling but often unlikable character, and her perspective is heavily colored by her own paranoia and a recently failed marriage. Sarah is the anxious bridesmaid, carrying a burden that threatens to destroy her life. The other friends, Ethan and Peter, are not as well-developed and serve more as archetypes than fully realized people, which was a bit of a letdown. However, their one-dimensional nature doesn't detract from the fun of trying to guess who the murderer is. The tension between the entire group is palpable, and the final reveal of the killer is genuinely surprising.

[Els · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all I want to say I really adore this cover. Dark colors are often used for covers of thrillers, but bright, vibrant colors can also mean danger. Just look at nature. How many beautiful flowers or brightly colored insects or small animals are not among the most poisonous and therefore deadly?

Getting an invitation to a wedding is always fun, but when there are people who have a hidden agenda, this sheds a completely different light on what should normally be a light and fine appearance.
The story is set on a remote island in Scotland. Only a small group of friends is still present, along with one of the caretakers and there is no way to leave the island. When the first victim is discovered, it soon becomes clear that the perpetrator is one of them. But who?

This is a captivating book that features a mix of secrets, betrayals, and twists.
The story builds up tension by combining past and present. Sarah and Diane have something they're hiding, and the author unravels how their fates are linked.


The setting creates a creepy atmosphere, and the tension keeps you interested from start to finish. The middle portion had a slightly slower pace, but the final revelations made up for it. 4 stars


Thank you

[Curt Dunnam · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Wedding Party" by Lorna Dounaeva is an enjoyable 4-star read! Years after sharing a house together during university, Diane, Sarah, Peter, Ethan, and Asha reunite on a remote Scottish island for Asha’s wedding. The day after the wedding, disaster strikes, and the group must pull together to survive for a week until a boat is scheduled to return to the island.

The story is told from both Diane’s and Sarah’s perspectives, with flashbacks to various points in time. These flashbacks help us better understand the complex dynamics between the friends. While the story is well told, the pacing does slow down at times. There are so many secrets between the characters that it's hard to believe they would even agree to reunite. The author does a great job maintaining suspense, revealing one betrayal after another—right up until the killer is finally unmasked.

If you enjoy slow-burning thrillers full of deceit, secrets, and shifting alliances, this one is definitely worth the read.

Thanks to Bookouture, Lorna Dounaeva, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

[A Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wedding Party by Lorna Dounaeva is a dark, slow burn thriller with so much drama. Everyone is keeping secrets and lying about themselves.

Asha and Gordon are getting married on a lovely remote Island. Asha invites all her housemates from years ago. After the wedding, the friends find Gordon dead on the beach.but Asha is nowhere to be found. Did Asha kill her husband, and if not, who did. Fearing their own lives are in danger, they band together to look for Asha and find a way off the Island.

I really liked the premise of this story. It was twisty and suspenseful. The characters were all quite unlikeable. Arrogance and narcissism flowed through each of them, making them all good candidates to be the killer. While the ending didn't tie up all the loose ends, it was very fitting. The short chapters made for a fast read. Told mostly in the present, there were some blurbs from the past giving the reader a good backstory on each character. I really enjoyed this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know what I was in for, and what I got was a wild ride! A secluded island and we don’t know who the killer is? We don’t even know if everyone is going to make it off the island! This is simply a masterpiece as far as thrillers go. It’s so fast paced and engaging, try to put it down, I dare you!

This book had me suspecting everyone. I tried to piece together the puzzle, but I just couldn’t do it. Then came the twists I was super surprised how it all ended up! I just don’t think anyone can predict this book. Sure, you can try, but this author has a fantastic, if not a little questionable (haha) mind!

Seriously though, this book is really enjoyable. As I said above, it’s fast paced and it’s an easy read. The author provides us a great atmosphere for the book, and we get little flashbacks of days and times leading up to the wedding that help provide insight into who might the suspect be, but never really provides the answer. There are multiple points of view told in the book, which is helpful when you’re trying to figure out who is behind it all! So, if you’re into thrillers at all, check this one out!

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wedding Party by Lorna Dounaeva was an excellent dark thriller with a jaw-dropping twist - Superb! which was full of lies and secrets that every character was trying to hide.

Wedding of the year is fast approaching, and five friends from university are looking forward meeting again especially as they are all meeting up on a remote Scottish island. This should be a great catch up, the last time they were all together was eight years ago and this was overdue. But, something is wrong the body of the groom is found and Asha the bride has gone missing. . , . . they realise that everyone is concealing some type of secret.
What are they hiding?

The bodies pile up, Now, can the remaining wedding party - so called friends make it off this island alive? and live to tell their story?

WoW. . . . . One thing I loved about this book was it's great short chapters and the book cover caught my eye, - just beautiful, perfect cover for a excellent book.

I highly recommend it and a great read for your holidays etc.

Big Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whirlwind romance ✅

Romantic remote wedding location ✅

Family and old friends in attendance for the big day ✅

A body the day after the wedding ✅

Sounds like a nightmare start to a new life for the happy couple!! This is before the wedding location is a remote island with no transport to civilisation for five whole days!!!

This is a hotch potch of a friendship group, I didn’t quite see why they were friends other than habit. They’re brought back together by a wedding which none of them really wanted to be there. From the stories they gave me from their house sharing days, they were quite cruel to the bride so why she invited them flummoxed me. None of them were particularly likeable characters to be honest.

As the narrative circled between characters and timelines, I didn’t know how much Dounaeva was telling me to distract me from working out what the hell was going on . Some chapters felt like they were plugging gaps in the history of the quintet and weren’t aiding me in my quest to fathom out the twisted culprit in the perturbing events on the Scottish isle.

[Claudete Takahashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wedding Party has two different timelines and it's easy to have a glimpse on who they were and who they came to be. They were never really friends, they were together in their earlier years by chance, did not love each other but were able to put up with each other through pranks, cynicism, lies, keeping secrets, jealousy, treason, competition. After a few years apart they are summoned by Aisha to be at her wedding in a remote island and then they partially shed their masks and let the others have a glimpse of who they really are. The murders will only add to the rising somber energy that surrounds them and the island and the sad thruth will come out at the end. Well-written, full of mystery and with scenes that sometimes makes the reader think the culprit is one and then is another, The Wedding Party is one of those books that you read in one go! Really entertaining!
I thank Ms. Dounaeva, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Ashley Gillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wild ride of a book, and I loved it. The first chapter starts with a bang, literally, and things just keep going from there!

The format of the book is linear, with chapters inserted at key moments that flashback to various memories from the friends’ college years or the past few years as they’ve tried to stay connected. The POV varies between characters, mostly the two women, Sarah and Diane.

There are so many great twists and turns as things get going in this book, each new chapter seemed to bring a new surprise and gave me a new theory about what was going on. At one point in time, I thought each of the characters was guilty. And when the ending was finally revealed? I didn’t see that coming at all. It was so well-plotted and full of surprises!

This is the perfect book for someone looking for a nice, juicy who-dunnit filled with shocking twists and lots of drama. Don’t sleep on this one!

[Nicole Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading in Between the Wines book review #45/125 for 2025:
Rating: 3🍷🍷🍷
Book: The Wedding Party
Author: Lorna Dounaeva
Available now!

Sipping thoughts: Friends, frenemies, secrets, and deceit. If you are looking for those things, this book brings it and more. A wedding is supposed to be a fun time with people you love, but this reunion turns out a little different than expected. There were so many twists and turns, some I expected, but many I didn't. I really enjoyed this book.

Cheers and thank you to @Netgalley and @Bookouture for an advanced copy of @TheWeddingParty.

#TheWeddingParty #LornaDounaeva #Bookouture #NetGalley #ARC #advancedreader #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bokreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

[Nine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thankyou NetGalley & bookouture for this arc copy, this book follows a friendship group that reunites to attend Asha’s shotgun wedding to her husband.

As they all arrive it shows that they all have a dislike for Asha and wish for her downfall, no one really wants to be at this wedding. The book starts off with a bang when Asha’s husband after the wedding gets murdered, this spins into a who dunnit book. As they r all on a remote island no one can escape. As the story explores the relationship between Asha and her friends it flash’s back from the POV of Diana and Sarah. Throughout the book Sarah is trying to convince Diana to take over the boarding of their friend Peter. Throughout the book is asked a lot. I felt the flashbacks just got tedious and the characters became dull. Unfortunately I predicted the twist and when the twist came it felt underwhelming as well as the abrupt ending.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, the same thing as always, thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

Secondly, I think this was my first Lorna Dounaeva book. Or at least, the first I have been reading, seeing the others are on my never-ending tbr.

Here, we do follow Diane, who is friends Sarah, the bridesmaid of Asha. Ashsa is getting married on a remote island. Or, so she had thought, at least....and then her husband gets shot. And it looks like one of her friends had something to do with it....

A fast-paced, twisty story with the short chapters I do usually prefer, told in the POV of both Diane and Sarah, and some chapters take place prior to the current story. Also, I need to add, I am glad none of those women are my friends. Didn't really warm up with any of them. That did not mean I did not enjoy the book, though. Because I surely did.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, talk about a whodunnit! This was a whodunnit on steroids! It kept me interested and engaged thru the whole book.
The book is written thru the point of view of Diane, Sarah and the murderer, and it’ll keep you guessing. A group of 5 college friends reunite on a deserted island for one of their weddings, and it doesn’t take long for people to start dying. For such a tight group of college buddies, it turns out there are a lot of hurt feelings, resentments, secrets and betrayals. And when people start dying and everyone’s a suspect? Nobody is safe.
I was questioning everyone while reading this, and I was convinced every one of them was the killer at some point in the book! It was a great story and definitely worth reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wedding Party was a slow-burning thriller that involved four friends visiting a remote island to attend their old housemate’s wedding, which is meant to be a joyous occasion, but soon turns into something sinister.

I liked that the book flicked from past to present, so we got to know what the friends were like back in their Uni and house sharing days and onwards and what may have been the reason for the resentment and dislike of some people.

I didn’t particularly like any of the characters; the one I did like turned out to be an awful person, too.

I didn’t guess who the murderer was, I was a little surprised by it.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It was a good read, even though I used a few curse words when reading it; the characters annoyed me quite a lot.
I will definitely pick up another book written by Lorna Dounaeva in the future.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asha is getting married on a remote Orkney island. She invites her friends that she used to share a house with.
Her husband, Gordon is shot by an unknown assailant shortly after the wedding and Asha hides.
Which one of her friends killed her husband?

A slow burn thriller, with so many suspects. I kept changing my mind. I needed a motive for the killings, and never suspected the culprit at all.

The characters all have their flaws, and most are unlikeable. Weak, arrogant, downright nasty.... how on earth did the share a house???

The story is good, and I could picture the terrain of the island, but the book wasn't overly descriptive.

If you want a good whodunnit... this is the book for you. You will probably be as surprised as I was.

[Angel **Book Junkie** · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Bookuture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really don't want to leave a review but feel that it is necessary. This book was all over the place and reminded me of a "Big Orgy" or something. Although this is not a spoiler because it was not a Spicy Read. It was supposed to be about some friends who went to a wedding. However, I am still confused on who was who, who did or didn't like someone, and from Chapter 2 I knew who did it! It didn't confuse me at all. I hated all the characters. The only reason that I am giving this a 2 star instead of one is because, well I don't know. Maybe there was some savior to this. Because at some point we needed an answer, and it wasn't an answer that was worth reading for.

[Gemma Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment I read the prologue in this book I was hooked! This murder mystery is inspired by the orkney isles and is set on a fictional island called Haarlorn.

As five university friends are reunited on a remote island to celebrate Asha’s wedding, what could possibly go wrong? Told in the perspectives of Diane, Sarah and the murderer, when one of the newlyweds is found dead, deserted on the beach, everyone becomes a suspect. Nervous, frightened and desperate to make it to the end of the week alive, the friends do their best to survive, but at what cost?
Each has a past, each has a secret and each of them has a motive.

This was the first book I had read by @lorna_dounaeva and I can honestly say I am excited to read more of her books in the future.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Edgy, thrilling and full of twists, this story will have you guessing until the very end!