Reviews - No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding: A Novel

554 reviews for:

No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding: A Novel

Catherine Mack

3.74 AVERAGE

ashley_603's review against another edition

4.5

funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Somehow this book is better than the first. The main character is significantly easier to empathize with in this book as compared to the first. There was a twist that I was not expecting however part of the plot was predictable if you’re a mystery reader.

My only other note is that the audiobook like the first one can be a little bit convoluted. The use of footnotes while great in a printed copy can be difficult to manage in an audio format as well as the other more pictorial elements.

Overall, much happier with this book than the first one and I am actually looking forward to the third!

niclistens's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kristymarie's review against another edition

3.5

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jndsouza's review against another edition

3.5

emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

aunt_cris's review against another edition

3.5

mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Loveable characters: Complicated

wonderedpages's review against another edition

3.0

funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I won this audiobook in a giveaway from The StoryGraph, and while the premise had me hooked (a murder at a celebrity wedding on storm-trapped Catalina Island? Yes please!), the audio format made it a little too chaotic for me to follow. Between the whirlwind pace and the large cast of characters, I found myself constantly confused, especially since only one narrator was used. Multiple voice actors would have really helped here.

This is the second book in a series, and it leans heavily on context from book one. I hadn’t read it, and it showed. I couldn’t remember the main character’s name half the time, even though I liked her vibe. Her best friend Emma, a movie star, is marrying her co-star Fred Winters, and the wedding is being held right after they wrap filming When In Rome, which was based on the main character’s novel. The whole thing had A Simple Favor energy (if you’ve seen the Netflix movie with Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, you’ll get the comparison).

A murder happens, and while our author-turned-sleuth gets to the bottom of it, the wedding is filled with near-misses, more threats, and lots of Hollywood gossip. The isolated island setting due to the storm was a nice touch for building tension, but I truly could not tell you who died or who did it. The reveal was so fast in the last chapter and epilogue, I felt like I missed half the conclusion.

All that said, the writing itself is clever and bubbly, with plenty of friendship drama, celebrity antics, and a light romance (fade-to-black). I’d read this author again, just with my eyes next time instead of my ears.

Content Warnings