The Stranger at the Wedding

Starred review from June 10, 2024
Literary agent Gauntlett debuts with an un-put-downable thriller about a couple whose relationship unravels on their wedding night. University professor Annie Clark has put an uncommon amount of care into her wedding to surgeon Mark Lane, which goes off without a hitch until she spots an uninvited guest. From there, flashbacks reveal how Mark’s marriage to his first wife, Hope, fractured amid his drinking and their fertility issues, and how Hope disappeared without a trace after befriending a mysterious woman named Charlotte. Devastated, Mark joined a support group for trauma survivors, and met Annie outside the venue one evening. Meanwhile, the uninvited wedding guest turns out to be a PI hired by Mark’s father to investigate Hope’s disappearance, and his presence causes Mark to spiral. Soon, he’s casting suspicion on Annie, wondering whether their meeting was truly by chance and becoming increasingly curious about the deaths of her father and sister. Gauntlett moves fluidly between past and present, gradually revealing the secrets behind Hope’s disappearance without once allowing the pace to flag. By the time the explosive finale arrives, readers may find they’ve been up all night.