Book Review: The Plus One | S. C. Lalli

An entire thriller around a wedding that never came to be? A dead bride and groom. A wealthy wedding party who must be responsible. Five star restaurants. A resort so beautiful it almost makes our leading character forget that she is on a mission. Sounds juicy, right? S. C. Lalli’s The Plus One is a fun vacation read. I wish I could transport myself right into that cover!

What is The Plus One about?

The wedding of Radhika Singh and Raj Joshi, a weeklong affair at a luxury resort in Cabos, isn’t just going to be the event of the season—it will also mark the union of two highly influential and wealthy Indian-American families. No expense will be spared for what Radhika and Raj have coined “R&R,” a week of rest, relaxation, and celebrating their love. 

Shaylee “Shay” Kapoor is just an outsider, but she just so happens to be dating Raj’s best friend, Caleb Prescott III, and is sucked into this world of wealth and excess. But on the morning the wedding festivities are supposed to begin, the resort’s wedding coordinator Daniela makes a frightening find. Raj and Radhika are dead, gunshots to the head.

Chaos descends on the hotel as the guests are turned away or sent home. Shay stays by Caleb’s side as the investigation starts to unfold, family and close friends grieve, and accusations run wild. The police believe the murders are a drug cartel hit.

But even if it was a cartel hit, even if the murderer somehow got past the resort’s security, the hotel room doors have state-of-the-art locks. There was no way for the murderer to slip into the room without a key. And only the sister of the bride, Zara; the best men, Caleb and Sean; and the wedding coordinator, Daniela, have keys.

Shay may be an outsider—and she definitely has secrets of her own—but she may be the only person with enough perspective to untangle everyone’s lies, and discover why anyone would want the bride and groom dead…

What did I think?

This was truly a juicy little read! I’d pick this up for the cover alone, but I also enjoyed the author’s previous thriller, Are You Sara? That one had a twisted cast if I’ve ever seen one. The publisher describes this as White Lotus meets The Guest List and that is a great description. A resort, a bit of a locked room style mystery, and a compelling lead who serves as our amateur detective.

The book opens with Shay arriving at the resort to celebrate Raj and Radhika’s wedding. These two are big time rich, and so are all of the guests (except for Shay). Why is Shay at such a wedding? By all appearances she is there for her boyfriend Caleb, who is best friends with the groom. But she has another reason to be there. Lalli hints early on about this, but it is a ways into the story before the reader learns what Shay’s true agenda is. That kept me hooked and by then I needed to unravel all of the other twisted characters. You can hide a lot behind wealth and beauty!

The cast of characters all have something to hide. As we are introduced to Caleb, Shay finds out he cheated. The way it unfolded from there was compelling. In some ways, Shay is in this relationship solely to get closer to her secret mission. At other times, it seems Shay really loves Caleb, perhaps more than she expected to. What is she going to do about the cheating? And who is it with? Those were questions that kept me hooked.

Radhika and Raj themselves are almost non-characters. The reader never meets them. They loom over the story, though. Peppered in between the events unfolding at the resort after their murders are cheery notes from the couple to their guests about the events planned over the weeklong celebration. These are eerie in their implications. This couple was lost long before their time. Right as they were about to take on the next step in their lives.

The readers does get to know the beautiful and enigmatic Zara, who is Radhika’s sister and the CEO of a major luxury skin care brand. Shay is fascinated by Zara (and so was I!). She’s cold but magnetic. You will want to know more about Zara. Another character, Sean, is a brother of sorts to Raj and son to Raj’s father Mr. Joshi. Sean seems like the only person in this glittering world that doesn’t quite fit.

I would have loved this to have multiple narrators, because I was so interested in everything that was happening. That said, I wonder if the story wouldn’t work with other narrators. Shay is the outsider that made it inside (sort of). She’s strong, bold, and driven. 

As for the mystery, Lalli crafted a locked-room feel (well, I guess literally because they were found in their locked hotel room). The list of who might have been able to access the room is relatively short. Also because of the clientele, this resort has no cameras in the guest areas, so there is only limited footage from the main lobby to go from. Interesting!

Readers who enjoy a good mystery and a peek at what the filthy rich are up to will love this book!