The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak

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💒 The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak

Five-Word Review: Wealth, weddings, lies, and blackmail
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 out of 5)

🧨 A Promising Start That Fizzled Fast

After loving Hidden Pictures, I was excited to dive into another Jason Rekulak novel. The Last One at the Wedding started off strong—quirky, fast-paced, and full of intrigue. But somewhere along the way, it lost its spark. The suspense thinned, the twists felt flat, and the emotional stakes just didn’t land the way I hoped.

Still, it wasn’t a total miss. There were some fun, darkly humorous moments—especially involving the very rich, very weird Gardner family—and the central mystery kept me turning the pages.

👨‍👧 A Father, a Daughter, and a Lot of Baggage

Our main character is Frank Szatowski, a blue-collar single dad who raised his daughter Maggie after losing his wife, Colleen, to a sudden aneurysm when Maggie was just ten.

But the relationship between Frank and Maggie hit a major rough patch after a suspicious arson incident at Maggie’s old job. Maggie’s behavior didn’t sit right with Frank, and when he accused her of being involved, she cut off all contact—for three full years.

💍 Then Comes the Wedding Invite

Out of nowhere, Frank gets a phone call. It’s Maggie. She’s getting married. And she wants him there.

Maggie is engaged to Aidan Gardner, a mysterious painter (and tech heir) she’s been dating for six months. She won’t say much about him, and Frank immediately feels uneasy.

When he visits them in Boston, Frank realizes Maggie’s living in a luxurious penthouse with private elevator access. It’s stunning. And confusing. He didn’t even know she had a new job—turns out she works for Capaciti, Aidan’s family’s billion-dollar tech company.

Aidan barely speaks. Maggie’s being cagey. But Frank’s just happy to see her again… at first.

🕵️‍♂️ The Postcard That Changes Everything

A few days before the three-day wedding extravaganza, Frank receives a postcard in the mail. It shows Aidan with a different woman. On the back, it reads:

"Where is Dawn Taggart?"

Frank starts digging. Maggie admits Dawn was a missing woman who once worked at Capaciti, and that her family suspects the Gardners were involved. But, according to Maggie, the police cleared them. Frank’s not buying it.

At the wedding, things just keep getting weirder:

  • Aidan is mostly missing in action.

  • A mysterious woman named Gwendolyn is seen arguing with Aidan in the woods.

  • Frank is told that Aidan’s mother, Catherine, is sick and reclusive—but something feels off.

Later, Gwendolyn turns up dead, floating in the river. Everyone brushes it off as an overdose. Frank? He’s sure it was a cover-up.

🧨 The Truth About the Gardners — And Maggie

Frank eventually gets the real story from Catherine:

  • Years ago, Catherine’s husband Errol had an affair with Dawn Taggart.

  • Dawn got pregnant and came to Catherine demanding money.

  • Catherine killed Dawn in a rage.

  • Errol and Aidan helped cover it up—buried the body, lied to police, the whole nine yards.

But here's the kicker: Maggie secretly recorded an incriminating conversation between the Gardners and used it to blackmail them.

Her demand?
A marriage to Aidan—not for love, but for leverage. The deal was to marry Aidan for one year, then walk away with half of his trust fund. In exchange, Maggie would keep quiet about Dawn’s murder.

It wasn’t coercion. It wasn’t justice. It was opportunism. And Maggie played the Gardners perfectly.

💔 Aidan’s Fate and the Final Blow

Aidan, emotionally crushed and trapped between loyalty and guilt, takes his own life.

Even after his death, Maggie sticks close to the Gardner money. Frank even finds her in Errol’s bed.

He finally admits it to himself:
His daughter is manipulative. Ruthless. Calculating. And probably always has been.

The only bright light? Tammy (Frank’s sister) officially adopts her foster daughter, Abigail, and Frank takes an active role in helping raise her. It’s the fresh start he needs.

⚖️ Final Thoughts: Not Bad, Not Great

What I liked:

  • The wealth gap between Frank and the Gardners gave us some great, awkwardly funny moments.

  • Frank’s POV felt real and relatable at times.

  • The story had potential for a truly gripping psychological arc.

What didn’t land:

  • The deaths felt hollow and rushed.

  • Nearly all characters were hard to like or sympathize with, making it tough to care about their fates.

  • There wasn’t much emotional weight behind the twists.

📚 If You Liked This, Try:

  • 📷 Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak — Still his best work, hands down.

  • 💔 The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose — Lies, betrayal, and a shocking murder.

  • 🧠 The Push by Ashley Audrain — Psychological drama with a troubled mother-daughter dynamic.

  • 💼 The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin — Fast, twisty, and addictive.

  • 💰 A Familiar Stranger by A.R. Torre — Secrets unravel when a woman reinvents herself online.

📝 Final Verdict

The Last One at the Wedding tries to be a psychological thriller, but lands closer to domestic drama with a side of scandal. Maggie’s manipulative rise to wealth had promise, but the story doesn’t quite deliver on the shock or emotional payoff. That said, Frank’s dry humor and the class satire give it a little boost.

📌 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
📚 Worth a read if you're into morally gray characters and twisty family drama—but don’t expect another Hidden Pictures.

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