The wedding of Radhika Singh and Raj Joshi isn’t just the event of the year—it also marks the union of two highly influential and wealthy Indian-American families. Most people would die for an invite to the extravagant, week-long event at the brand new Blush Los Cabos. But for ‘plus one’ Shaylee Kapoor, it’s the kind of lavish extravagance she could live without.

“Blush opened its doors only two months ago, has a rumoured price tag of seven hundred million dollars, and according to a leading travel magazine, is the best ultra-luxury adults-only resort in the Americas…

What the hell am I doing here?”

 Her new (also rich) boyfriend is the best man, and he says he can’t imagine spending a whole week without her. But from the moment Shay walks into their exclusive villa, it’s clear that something isn’t right. There’s fresh evidence that her beloved has just spent the night with someone else, and before she can even begin to process what that might mean, a woman’s screams have her running back out the door to the next villa over.

“I’m next to her, my hands holding her quaking body when I finally understand her words.

They’re dead.

She’s telling us the bride and groom are dead.”

With a murderer on the loose, and potentially still inside the resort, Shay knows that the smartest move would be to get the hell out of there. However, she doesn’t have a history of making wise choices, and she’s professionally inclined to stick her nose where it’s not wanted.

In her latest novel, The Plus One, S.C. Lalli skillfully combines relatable, well-drawn characters with gripping action scenes to create an engaging tropical whodunnit. Shay’s amateur investigation skills will have the reader concerned for her physical safety—is she sleeping with the killer? — as well as her mental stability, as her moral conflictions and crumbling self-confidence increasingly hamper her ability to separate objective observation from biased interpretation. To uncover the truth, Shay must deeply question her underlying motives and pinpoint where her heart and her history are clouding her judgement. Ultimately, she must confront the shaky foundations of her own personal narrative if she is to escape from paradise alive. 

The Plus One goes down smooth, like a classic mojito on a humid day. The relatably flawed characters will keep you guessing until the very end, and the all-inclusive resort vignettes will have you itching to book your next tropical holiday.

Come to the Whistler Writers Festival to see S.C. Lalli at Chilling Tales: Thrilling Fiction on Oct. 19 at the Fairmont. Get your tickets for the at whistlerwritersfest.com.

S.C. Lalli is the author of Are You Sara?, a national bestseller and one of NPR and Apple’s Best Books of 2022. An author of Punjabi and Bengali heritage, she also writes romance and women’s fiction under her full name Sonya Lalli. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and their mini goldendoodle, Joey.  

Review is by Kate Heskett. Heskett is a Whistler-based writer, canoe guide and collector of stories. They are an award-winning poet and their short stories have been published in Pique. Originally from Australia, Kate is firmly stuck in the Whistler bubble. They are currently working on their first novel.