by Lucy Foley
4.3 · 4 reviewsA glittering wedding on a cut-off Irish island ends in murder. Everyone has a smile for the bride. Someone has a secret worth killing for.
On a windswept island off the coast of Ireland, a magazine darling and a rising television star are getting married. The guests are beautiful, the marquee is dazzling, and the remote setting promises a celebration no one will forget. But beneath the champagne and careful seating arrangements, old grudges simmer and buried histories refuse to stay buried.
As the wedding party gathers, the narrative shifts between the bride, the best man, the wedding planner, a plus-one who feels out of place, and the bride's overlooked younger sister — each carrying their own version of events and their own reasons to lie. The island itself, with its treacherous bog and crumbling folly, seems to hold its breath.
Then the lights go out, a scream cuts through the storm, and by morning there is a body. Told across the hours leading up to the killing and the chaos that follows, Lucy Foley peels back the polished surface of a perfect day to reveal just how many people had a motive — and how far some will go to protect the truth.
First published in 2020.
4 reviews
Well written and very readable, but I guessed the killer fairly early and the number of narrators got a bit confusing to keep straight. Still a fun, quick thriller — just not as twisty as I'd hoped after all the hype.
It takes a little patience in the first third while Foley sets up all the players and the timeline jumps. Once the pieces start clicking, though, it's genuinely hard to stop. A solid, moody whodunit for a stormy night.
The shifting points of view kept me guessing the whole way through, and the island setting was so atmospheric I could practically feel the rain. Every character had something to hide, which made the reveal land beautifully. Finished it in two sittings.
If you loved the claustrophobic feel of a group trapped somewhere they can't leave, this delivers. The wedding as a pressure cooker was a brilliant idea and the ending genuinely surprised me.