To say I’m behind with reviews would be an understatement. I probably read at least a book a week but clearly never review that much. However hopefully it’s better late than never so today I’m starting with a review of one of the fantastic proofs I picked up at the Theakston’s Festival this year, The Stranger at the Wedding by A.E Gauntlett. This book came with a free cake so was of course always going to be a winner in my eyes. The cake was lovely and the book was pretty good too.

The Stranger at the Wedding introduces us to Anne. She catches sight of Mark on a train and in a fit of confidence she passes him her number. When she doesn’t hear anything from him she assumes that he isn’t interested. However eventually they meet up. Once they do the romance becomes a whirlwind that ends in a wedding. It’s Anne’s dream come true. However both Anne and Mark have suffered tragedy in their lives so the marriage might not be as plain sailing as they hope.

This was a fantastic story with twist after twist that kept throwing any assumptions I had completely off the rails. Throughout the book the only character that seems vaguely trustworthy is a private investigator yet even he has his own demons. As the story progresses the characters all begin to flesh out, and as you start to learn the backgrounds you begin to understand a bit of why they act the way they do.

I thought the plotting of the story was very clever. It flits backwards and forwards from present day to the wedding to Anne’s childhood as all the timelines start to merge in the lead to the big reveal. The short chapters and the fast paced switch between timescales and view points meant you had to concentrate. This also gave the story a sense of urgency that mirrored how the PI felt as he tried to complete his job.

This was an utterly absorbing story that I would highly recommend. I believe that this is the debut novel by A.E Gauntlett in which case I can’t wait to read what they come up with next.

The Stranger at the Wedding is out in early 2024.