Memories of her disastrous nuptials haunt the heroine of Aisha Saeed's The Wedding Week, an entertaining thriller set at an opulent South Florida resort. The property is surrounded by a swamp infested with alligators, but those deadly creatures are no match for the "sea of side-eyeing aunties" in attendance. A talented storyteller, Saeed centers her second mystery novel around Bollywood-style festivities, while the delightful frivolity of her "swamp chic" masks the horrors to follow.
Hena Mirza and her sister, Lulu, were raised in the Everglades, but Hena fled to California when, on the eve of her wedding, her husband-to-be vanished and she was violently attacked by a masked stranger. It's been three years since that terrible day, and Nasir, her former fiancé, is still missing. Now Hena is back in town to attend Lulu's wedding, and many are unhappy to see her. After all, "if disappearances were contagious, Hena was Typhoid Mary."
While wedding guests exchange juicy gossip about Hena's past, a series of frightening incidents featuring pythons and pistachios and amounting to attempted murder sends shudders through the bridal party. Hena is convinced the incidents are linked to her own wedding fiasco but is uncertain why someone is trying to harm her and Lulu. She worries that the culprit could be Reza, the groom's handsome friend. Suspense builds as she and Reza find themselves lost in the resort's giant maze and Hena, distracted by romance, makes a near-fatal misstep. Saeed (The Matchmaker) skillfully untangles the mystery at the heart of The Wedding Week with a stunning conclusion that, if only they knew, would render the chattering guests speechless. --Shahina Piyarali