This book was listed by The New York Times as one of the “Best Thrillers of the Year,” so I gave it a try and was surprised that it was so popular. This book borrows heavily from Agatha Christie’s “county house” mysteries, where all the suspects come together at a remote location. And like Christie, Foley also uses numerous “red herrings” and “kippers” to keep you from guessing whodunnit until the very end.

It was to be a celebrity wedding held on a remote island  off the coast of Ireland between two rising stars: the bride, an ambitious and gifted magazine publisher and the groom, a rising reality TV star. The wedding was planned as if for a magazine shoot, with the luxurious designer dress, the beautiful linens for the tables, and massive bouquets of flowers all set against the rugged natural beauty of the remote island location. The lack of reliable cell phone service eliminated the worry of unauthorized pictures being released and the fact that guests had to be ferried to the island by boat kept prying paparazzi and uninvited guests from showing up.

it was the perfect place for a perfect wedding, but the guests are far from perfect and soon the illusion of perfection begins to fray. The groomsmen begin a drinking game they used to play while they were at school, the bridesmaid ruins her dress, the bride’s oldest friend, who is there with his wife, gives a heartfelt but uncomfortably affectionate toast. But when a dead body turns up, all illusions of perfection are gone. Soon the jealousies, resentments that were so well hidden begin to emerge and soon the depths of a depravity so well managed that it fooled everyone, is revealed.

Narrated by various characters, the reader is offered many different perspectives on the people who are attending and the events that occur. This may be one reason why this book seems to have so many twists and turns as some of the narrators are not very reliable or have a specific agenda. Foley manages to  being a whole house full of characters to life, but so many were broken or disturbed in some way that I found it hard to identify with any of them. There were also so many Christie plot lines and tropes that it was sometimes hard to remember that I wasn’t reading a Christie book. Although it was an easy, fun read, I think Foley needs to develop more as a mystery writer and find her own voice before I read her again.

Brenda’s Rating: ** 1/2  (2 1/2 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book?  No one, unless they are trapped on a remote island and need something to read.

Book Study Worthy? It might be good for a “How NOT to write a mystery” discussion.

Read in e-library format.