Summary:
On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate the wedding of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. Will is a rising television star, handsome and charming. Jules is a smart, ambitious magazine publisher. Though the sea is a little choppy and the cell service spotty, their wedding is everything you’d expect of a young power couple: designer dress, four-tiered cake, boutique whiskey, vintage champagne. Every detail has been curated to perfection. All that’s left to orchestrate is the happiness.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. It’s not long after the cake is cut and the champagne popped that resentments and petty jealousies come out. Worse yet, the latest barometer reading shows the weather has shifted from FAIR to CHANGEABLE, and dark clouds are looming overhead.
Everyone on the island has a secret. Everyone has a motive. And someone won’t leave this wedding alive…
My take: 5 looks
Very excellent mystery, which reminded me of the style of Agatha Christie, and that is high praise, indeed!
As a wedding party gathers on a very remote island off the coast of Ireland, everything has been planned, checked, and arranged. The bride and groom are both extremely successful, and the two make a beautiful couple. The maid of honor is a man, the groomsmen are friends from a prestigious boarding school and are still reliving those “glory years”, and the sister of the bride seems a little unbalanced. The owners of the venue are hosting this event for a fraction of the cost to drum up future business from the event coverage.
I loved several things about the story and the way it was written. First, it goes back and forth in time. With that, the reader knows what is going to happen, then the author takes us step by step through the process of how the climax is reached.
Then, each chapter is presented from the perspective of one of the main characters. That, coupled with the back and forth in time, gives the reader the same scene from different viewpoints, and arriving at different times. This gave richer details on everyone’s feelings, motivations, struggles, and painted the picture of how all of the different threads introduced would finally come together for a complete look at the end.
I know, sounds confusing, but it really worked for me. I was constantly guessing about the true nature of the relationships, the hidden feelings and undercurrents of stress that simmered, and, with a handful of people who all had very good reason to want the victim dead, who finally dunnit?
It is the perfect “palate cleanser” when you need something easy to read, satisfying, and quick. This is one that I read in just a few hours.
Highly recommended.
