Publisher: Flatiron Books (Macmillan)
Genre: Thriller
Formats: $28.99 hardcover | $15.95 paperback | $14.99 ebook | $20 audiobook
Released: October 8, 2024
Bookshop | Amazon
Jason Rekulak is the author of Hidden Pictures, a national bestseller and winner of a Goodreads Choice Award, and The Impossible Fortress, a finalist for the Edgar Award. He lives in Philadelphia with his family.
In The Last One at the Wedding, Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic and determined to finally make things right. He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate—very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive, Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him, and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.
When asked what contributed to the book landing on the New York Times bestseller list, Rekulak said: “My previous novel, Hidden Pictures, was a small word-of-mouth success, and I think many of its fans pre-ordered my new book in a show of good faith. I’m very grateful to them! Strong pre-orders plus strong first week of sales equals #7 New York Times Bestseller.”
Hidden Pictures released in May 2022 and sold 3,000 to 4,000 print copies in its first week, though it never hit a bestseller list. However, its sales held steady due to word of mouth after launch and amounted to over 700,000 copies cumulatively ahead of the release of The Last One at the Wedding, which amounts to a strong readership ready for a new release from the same author. Additionally, The Last One at the Wedding was named an October Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association, and Rekulak promotes the book (and his others) on Instagram (nearly 12,000 followers).
“Hidden Pictures was never a New York Times bestseller, but I suspect it has outsold many books that have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list,” Rekulak said. “I still don’t really understand what happened, or how it happened, and I certainly don’t know how someone could replicate the experience. I guess my one takeaway from the experience is: If you write a novel that somehow sells 700,000 copies, your next novel might become a New York Times bestseller! (For one week.) Good luck!”
Emily Wenstrom is a freelance writer and platforming expert and writes award-winning speculative fiction for teens and adults as E. J. Wenstrom.
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures (August 10, 2021). When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. Learn more at her website.
