The Unwedding

A divorcée discovers a corpse during her California vacation in the formulaic adult debut from YA bestseller Condie (after The Only Girl in Town). Forty-something Ellery Wainwright initially booked her stay at the luxurious Resort in Big Sur to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary. After her husband left her for another woman, she decided to keep the reservation and indulge in a solo getaway. When Ellery arrives at the resort, she learns a wedding is being held there, and she’ll be one of the few guests who’s not involved. The next morning, she heads out for a swim and is stunned to discover the groom’s lifeless body floating in the infinity pool. A sudden storm hits, isolating the staff and vacationers from the outside world and impeding the arrival of the police. Ellery teams up with two other nonwedding guests, Nina and Ravi, to do a little detecting. They soon discover that the wedding party has darker secrets than appearances suggest, and race to find the killer before the body count rises. Unfortunately, Condie’s characters are paper-thin, and she resolves the mystery with a series of implausible contrivances. This misses the mark. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (June)