This wasn’t the plan. Sure, Ellery had known the trip was coming up, the date etched in her mind for the past twenty years, a constant reminder of the life she had envisioned. A reminder of promises made and broken. But the deposit was non-refundable. This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and Ellery wouldn’t miss out. She couldn’t have planned for Luke to decide he didn’t want to be married anymore. Despite her protests and promises to do whatever it took to move forward together, he was done. It was that simple.
Instead of celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary with this special trip to the secluded, luxurious Resort at Broken Point, Big Sur, she was utterly alone for the first time in her life. She had gone back and forth about coming, but here she was. Alone.
In a cruel twist of fate, the resort is hosting a wedding this weekend. Isn’t that nice? The young couple is so full of promise, with a bright future ahead. Ellery longs to warn them of the perils of love, but that isn’t her place. She wouldn’t have listened to herself back then, not when the promise of the future was all she could see. The resort is beautiful, just like that young love. But just as love can turn sour, so too will this trip.
The Unwedding marks Ally Condie’s first foray into adult fiction, and she quickly proves she’s more than capable of settling into the genre. From the first pages, we meet Ellery, a character I instantly connected with. She’s navigating the uncertainty of fresh grief while grappling with the scars of hinted past experiences. The resort was supposed to offer her a catharsis, but it quickly turns into a nightmare when she stumbles upon the groom’s body floating in the pool as a storm barrels into the area. By the following day, another body is discovered, and a landslide has trapped the guests in place. This setup has the makings of a classic locked-room mystery, but Condie’s deft handling of the characters elevates it into something more profound.
The Unwedding is, at times, a page-turning murder mystery and, at others, a deep exploration of life’s uncertainties and how we cope with grief. It culminates in a twisty ending that left me reeling with the revelations while appreciating the rich character development. If this is any indication of the care and skill Condie brings to thriller writing, I eagerly anticipate her next work.
For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2024, 45)
