Beach Wedding by Michael Ledwidge is one of those thriller books that reads like a movie. It’s the perfect way to tell this story.
Terry Rourke and his family return to the rich playground of Long Island for older brother Tom’s fancy wedding. It’s part family reunion, part celebration, and all excess and fun.
But Tom has an ulterior motive. As soon as Terry catches on to it, the perspective shifts. There is still fun to be had, but the undercurrent sweeping below the action is quick and dark.
I will put a side note in here. Michael Ledwidge is a co-writer with James Patterson on several books. The style is very similar, so if you know James Patterson, you know what to expect here.
The chapters are short, the cast of characters is interesting, and the action is linear (except for a few “memory” sections, so it moves along quickly.
Really, there isn’t time to think too much. It is best to just let the story take you along for the ride.
Although I enjoyed the book immensely and finished it in one sitting I feel like there are some missing parts.
A few characters serve a purpose in a singular scene and then disappear forever. I think the biggest thing for me is that the wedding, the reason they are all on the island, fades into the background as soon as Terry gets wind of updates in “the case.”
No, I’m not going to tell you what “the case” is – you can read it for yourself. No spoilers here.
But I wanted more from the wedding of excess. It is almost like the author started with the intention of the book going one way and then decided to veer in another direction to get the “thriller” points.
I will say, however, that if you think you have it figured out before Terry, you don’t. The author saves a couple of pretty good twists for the last third of the book. I guess that makes it a good thriller.
In other words, just sit back and enjoy the beach wedding.
Twitter: _mikeledwidge
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About the Author:
MICHAEL LEDWIDGE is the writer of seventeen novels, the last dozen being New York Times bestsellers cowritten with one of the world’s bestselling authors, James Patterson. With twenty million copies in print, their Michael Bennett series is the highest-selling New York City detective series of all time. One of their novels, Zoo, became a three-season CBS television series. He lives in Connecticut.
