The Bachelorette Party

Two friends stage an ironic bachelorette party for their friend who’s obsessed with exonerating a convicted killer in this implausible outing from Block (Girl Overboard). After conducting a prison interview with Eric Myers, who’s serving time for the decade-old “666 Killings,” budding journalist Alex Conley has come to believe he’s innocent. Days before Alex’s wedding, her friends—actor Melody and pro basketball player Lainey—surprise her with a trip to the abandoned Catskills cabin where the killings took place. The friends settle in for a night of drinking and smoking weed, and then Alex passes out; hours later, she awakens to find Melody and Lainey missing, with blood smeared on their sleeping bags and her hands. Cut off from the outside world thanks to a malfunctioning car and a lack of cell service, Alex searches for answers on her own. From there, Block intercuts Alex’s current investigation with flashbacks chronicling her crusade to free Myers. Unfortunately, Myers is the only character drawn with any nuance—everyone else, especially Alex’s too-good-to-be-true fiancé, are mere ciphers—and the contrived plot hits the skids well before its far-fetched denouement. This misses the mark. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Sept.)