Wedding Nightmare
Claire’s dream wedding on a remote Pacific Northwest island is quickly becoming her worst nightmare. The ferries are cancelled, guests are stranded, the groom is nursing a hangover, and rain clouds gather over the isolated venue.
But cancelled transport and bad weather are the least of Claire's worries. Her controlling nature clashes with an angry cousin determined to ruin everything. The groom’s secret invitation to his vengeful ex-girlfriend sets a dangerous chain of events in motion. This ex is not just attending; she’s arrived to create a nightmare where someone won't survive the night.
Amidst the chaos of a falling cake and escalating family feuds, secrets surface with deadly intent. Will Claire make it to her honeymoon, or will her wedding day be her last?
- Ralph - Claire’s fiancé
- Claire - Ralph’s fiancée
- Belle - Ralph’s ex-fiancée
- Meg - Caterer
- Candy - Events manager at The Farm
- Francesca - Meg’s daughter
- Troy - Meg’s son
- Rhonda - Claire’s maid of honor
- Lacey - Claire’s cousin
- Mack - Ralph’s best man
- Kendra - Claire’s estranged mother
- Hanna - Kendra’s mother
- Claire and Ralph are getting married at The Farm on Barnacle Island.
- Lacey is angry that Claire did not ask her to be in the wedding party.
- Claire is attending to things on Barnacle Island, but most of her guests are stuck on the mainland due to ferry issues.
- Claire sees a redhead sneaking around the island and thinks it is Lacey, come to ruin her wedding.
- Lacey invited Claire’s estranged mother Kendra to the wedding, knowing that her presence will ruin Claire’s day.
- When Belle found out about the wedding, she invited herself, and Ralph couldn’t bring himself to say no even though he doesn’t want her there.
- Claire sits down with Lacey and asks her to be her maid of honor since her bridal party is stuck on the mainland, and Lacey agrees.
- Claire thinks Kendra abandoned her and her father, but the truth is that her father drove off in their camper van with their daughter, and changed her name from Tasha to Claire so Kendra could never track them down.
- He left Kendra because she was constantly drinking, including when she was watching Claire, and he was trying to protect Claire.
- When it’s time for the ceremony Claire decides they should eat first to give guests more time to show up.
- Claire, Ralph, Mack and Lacey sit down to eat.
- Francesca spills soup all over Ralph.
- Belle enters the room and accuses Ralph of seeing Claire before he broke up with Belle.
- Belle forces Claire outside and up the ladder of a cistern.
- Kendra appears and hits Belle with a rock, causing her to fall into the cistern and die.
- Police arrive.
- Claire and Ralph break up.
The premise had plenty of potential for a fast-paced mystery, but the execution fell short in every way. Despite the high-stakes setup, the story lacks genuine suspense, coming across more like a cartoonish drama than a thriller.
The momentum gets bogged down by repetitive inner monologues and heavy-handed character tropes. Meg’s perspective becomes tedious early on, largely due to her narrative continually fixating on her husband walking out on their family. The supporting cast feels pulled straight from a standard character template - complete with the freeloading best friend and the bitter ex, Belle. Lacey’s entire dynamic with Claire feels forced from the start, and her going to such extreme lengths to sabotage a wedding for a cousin she barely even knows comes across as ridiculous rather than genuinely threatening.
As the situation escalates, the character behavior shifts from slightly dramatic to outright illogical. Claire undergoes a jarring shift from an over-the-top bridezilla in the initial chapters to someone who remains entirely unbothered as her big day completely unravels. Rather than delivering a clever payoff or high-stakes reveal, the build-up leads to a remarkably anticlimactic resolution that fails to deliver.
If you like wedding-set mysteries and ultra-fast pacing, then you may enjoy this book.
- Addiction
- Death
ISBN: 9798993706153
Publication Date: March 16, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
