The Wedding Night

by Aaron Quinn

A husband vanishes on their wedding night. Seventeen years later, the lies start to unravel…

Donna thought she’d escaped her past. After being abandoned on her wedding night, she rebuilt everything — a new identity, a successful bridal boutique, a loving second marriage, and a stepdaughter who (almost) tolerates her. But when someone begins digging into what happened that night, Donna’s perfect life starts to fracture.

Whispers spread. Clients cancel. Anonymous messages arrive. Someone knows what she did.

As Donna prepares for a high-profile charity gala meant to showcase her resilience, shadows from her past creep closer. And then there’s her new neighbour — charming, familiar, and watching her just a little too closely.

Because the truth is, James didn’t just disappear.

And some stories refuse to stay buried.

A gripping, twist-filled psychological thriller perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Gillian McAllister, and Sarah A. Denzil. If you love stories about identity, secrets, and the terrifying cost of reinvention — this one’s for you.

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 11, 2025

Reviews

[Sheila Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't come together cohesively

It has an interesting plot but I think with all the twists and turns the eventual ending doesn't make sense. Either James intended to leave with his mistress OR keep her controlled as his wife. It can't be both.

[Lauren Speringo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too repetitive, drawn out and boring.

[Tara Gaffney · Rating 3 out of 5]

so insanely woman written by a man vibes

[Christine Fitzpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

it wasn't a bad book, it was just very repetitive and I was hoping for a better ending. when I heard it was going to be a novel full of twisting and suspense it really wasn't...

[Nishantidewi Kuppusamy · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many comments about this book ‘repetition’, well i get it now. Too much of same statements/confession/mind voice from the main characters also the side. Two stars because the twist at the last few pages after her confession. When we thought she was the victim….

[Donna Mallery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts with a big blast! And the pace continues at a great rate! I was surprised at one twist that I wasn’t expecting! I kept thinking throughout: Did she do something that would really matter after 17 years?! You decide!

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another standalone psychological thriller from this author & I think this one is my favourite so far. The prologue grabs your attention from the get go & the way the book is structured pulls you unrelentingly to the conclusion.

Wedding planner & bridal boutique owner, Donna Gardner has been married to her second husband, Oliver, for four years. Oliver’s first wife died & there is also a fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, Emma. Donna’s first wedding was 17 years ago & it became somewhat infamous as her husband disappeared on their wedding night. Emma is full of teenage hormones & all that entails but her animosity towards Donna appears to increase when a new couple move in across the road from the family home. Donna’s life begins to unravel & it’s all pointing towards her first marriage. But why? And who is responsible?

A quick read in page number & pace. There is also a lot of dialogue which, I have found, can often slow the reader down but not in this case. It’s very well written & I couldn’t wait to see where it took the narrative. A highly recommended read.

[Haien Cecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

52 (𝙢) 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 husband 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 girlfriend 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 woman 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖 3:30 𝙖𝙢 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 him. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 his 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙭@𝙜𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙣𝙤𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙣 him 𝙎𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝘼𝙥𝙥 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 his 𝙞𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 he 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙨 𝙤𝙣 his 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠, 𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙞 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 husband 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 girls 𝙤𝙣 his 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙞 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙚'𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙞'𝙢 𝙞 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙞'𝙢 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚. 𝙄'𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙣'𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙚. 𝘼𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠, 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚. 𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚?

[Tony Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always look forward to a new stand-alone thriller by Aaron, and, once again, with 'The Wedding Night' he has come up trumps!
Highly sought after and exclusive Surrey wedding planner Donna Gardner appears to have everything going for her - an extremely successful business, a great reputation and a stable marriage. The story of how she managed to rise out of the ashes of her first marriage where she was famously abandoned by her new husband on the wedding night has only strengthened her reputation as a survivor.
But then, things start to go wrong. She is being targeted both personally and via her business. Her teenage step daughter has some serious issues with her and she can't shake off the feeling that there is something odd about her new neighbours.
Someone is raking up the past and using it against her, but why? And who?
A brilliant, edge of your seat thriller, recommended!

[Charlotte Lees · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good idea of a book, boring ending. The book was an interesting read with how Donna have transformed her life after her first husband disappeared a day after her wedding. Now running her own business empire, ‘Second Chances’, based on helping to create second time weddings and living a new happy life with husband Oliver and stepdaughter Emma, Donna continue to live with her past as a continuous shadow - following her everywhere.

The events of her wedding shop being set on fire, the involvement of her stepdaughter Emma assisting David’s actions in uncovering the truth and the lack of a body in her first husband, James’, death left the reader with many questions. All of which remained unanswered. Disappointing that ‘what happened that night between Donna and James remains between them’, the end of the book led to have a heavy sigh.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

W.O.W. another fantastic physcological thriller! I'm blown away by how authors have the knack to switch from one genre to another. This author does it with ease. I'm so glad he did .....
This had me chasing my tail, lies, secrets, about the night James disappeared. I highly recommend this if you like your physcological thrillers, as all is not as it seems!!!!!

[Deni Tipuric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tad bit repetitive, drawn out and a slow burn. Still a good book. I can see where the author was headed, and I was trying to figure out the ending. The ending slapped me with a twist and an unexpected turn of events. I highly recommend this book. Br patient and finish it out. Brace yourself

Looking forward to more from this author. Only gave 4 stars due to my first sentence

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wedding Night by Aaron Quinn is such an amazing story; gripping, emotional, and full of tension. Donna’s life seems perfect until the past she tried to bury starts clawing its way back. It all keeps you hooked. The pacing is strong and the twists land well. Honestly, the only drawback is the ending. Still a fantastic, addictive read!

[Pheadra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, intruiging start when the groom vanishes on his wedding night. Fast forward to his abandoned bride of one day, Donna, who runs a successful wedding shop and bridal service called Second Chances. Someone starts to mess with Donna and her business, and up until here, the book was set to get 5 stars, but then the twists, though interesting, became implausible, which lost it a star. 4 stars

[Stuart Sear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great read from Aaron but the start is a bit weak but don't be put off and keep reading because you will be in for a roller coaster ride of twist and turns and an ending you just did not see coming. This is a page turning book that will keep you reading once you start.

[Barbara Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Deception, but with a giant twist. There are secrets all around and when the secrets are found, you wonder. Wonder when the truth will be uncovered. Or was the truth meant to come out at this chosen time. Still there will be unanswered questions.

[Carol-Anne Poursaied · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story but so repetitive, it could have been about 25% shorter. I struggled with the plot twist about James wanting to both control his wife and leave with the mistress. Which is it because it can’t be both? Didn’t come together for me at all.

[Natalie Zappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

I liked the strong, take no prisoners lead female character, and the beginning hooked me enough to keep me reading to see what really happened, but the middle was a little draggy.

[Lisa M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

finally: a believable thriller

So good on so many levels: the layers of “self” that we create….to survive, to win, to be free, to confuse, to get away with it .

Highly recommend it. I regret what happened to….

[travelholic.sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apesar de ser um pouquinho repetitivo, principalmente no final eu gostei bastante da história. Esse livro mostra que vc realmente não conhece as pessoas até que vc queira procurar ou a pessoa queira te mostrar. Leitura rápida, com bom ritmo e ótimas reviravoltas. Amei o final.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Rebecca Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow burner but decent enough

[Deana Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprising ending

This book grabbed me from the first page and did not disappoint with the cleverness of the main character. I so admired what she had accomplished. Love this book!

[Brian McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sensational Finish

This story had me enraptured from the start. At no time did I expect Donnas story to end in such a sensational way

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, interesting story that just meanders along, and then Bam! It hits you square in the face with a bombshell ending!

[paula laguaite · Rating 5 out of 5]

edge of seat

Love this book. Twists and turns kept me reading with gusto! Twister,hold on to your seat. A page turner for me and those that love a good mystery.

[jeanette Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

This book proves you don’t really know someone until they want you to know them! Great read with a perfect ending.

[Beth Arienti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like it a lot! It had a lot of twists and angles I honestly did not see coming

[Karen Beyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, but final chapters were very redundant before getting to final twist. Just kept repeating same thing in each chapter and really lagged and got annoying. But overall worth the read

[Kelly Parsons · Rating 2 out of 5]

so drawn out and quite repetitive and annoying