The Guest List
Ratings591
Average rating3.6
5✨ i read 5 thrillers in 5 days. find my full thoughts in this reading vlog >> https://youtu.be/KPBa2jmQKTs
Overall it was a good story, but it was hard to follow along with the timeline moving forward and back while also jumping constantly between various characters' points of view.
Jules and Will seem to be the perfect celebrity couple, and their wedding on a starkly beautiful island off the west coast of Ireland is on track to be just as perfect. However, as guests begin arriving the tensions start to rise as actions people thought they had left buried in the past come back to haunt them. The Guest List has an “And Then There Were None” vibe, albeit with a much lower body count. The short chapters and rotating perspectives pull you through the action and make for a quick, exciting read. You will be left wondering how well you really know your friends!
SOOOOO many cases of drug use where the character is seemingly completely unaffected and unbothered.... I don't need my books to be accurate, but this was disconcerting lol
I picked this book up because I needed something to listen to while I am not reading any of my literary fiction books. This book surprised me. In a good way. I... really enjoyed it.
We meet Jules and Will, a couple to be married. They choose a far off island to get married. They invite their close friends and family to share their happiness with them. Everything goes well except someone is dead on the wedding day. Who is it? The close friends and the family of the couple carry their own secrets. What has happened? Who killed whom?
I had 0 expectations when I started to listen to the audiobook. The only reason why I listened to this is because I needed a way to pass time rather than scrolling through the never-ending reels. This book is a modern rendition of my favorite, ‘And then there were none' by Agatha Christie. I do not want to compare this book to Agatha Christie's but Lucy Foley delivered. Now, don't build your expectations. It is predictable the way it ends but the unfolding of secrets and how each character's secrets are linked to others is something enjoyable.
I would definitely recommend this to you if you are looking to pass time but not particularly if you do not enjoy multiple perspectives or if you are looking for something out of the box.
Once again Lucy Foley has delivered an exceedingly good thriller, with all the elements I have come to expect, namely secrets and lies, and a remote setting.
We are in Ireland for this one; a remote island off the west coast, to be precise. This is the location for a wedding, and also a murder.
The story is told from five POV'S, and flips between the day of the wedding, and the day preceding it.
We learn at the start of the book that something has happened on the island, but it is a slow build up to the murder itself.
This is quite a dark thriller; it has a slight Lord of the Flies vibe about it in places. It is, nonetheless, an engaging page turner.
a slow starter that finds itself finishing faster than expected. Fantastic audiobook production. I think I enjoyed it overall but wouldn’t recommend it.
It started off a little slow for me, but by the end, I was loving all the drama!
I read this book right after my exams and DID NOT expect it to be this good. Picking up this book with low expectations, as the ones I read before it weren't all that impressive, I was SHOCKED. This novel had me screaming with excitement.
Based on the summary, I anticipated finding a body at the start of the book, but the way the story unfolds through multiple points of view, leading us straight to the secrets of one individual, is masterful. At that moment, you just CAN'T put the book down! The last few chapters kept me on the edge of my seat, super curious about how it would all play out.
This is one of the books I'd highly recommend to anyone seeking a thrilling read. The plot twist and the author's adept storytelling make this a standout in the genre.
4.5 Stars
I loved this book!
I didn't see the killer coming, I liked the different points of view, and the DRAMA! So much drama, sex, lies, and secrets. Charlie, Hannahs husband needs a reality check and a kick.
2.2 / 5 *ੈ✩‧₊˚
I'll be honest, it's been a while since I read this book so my mind isn't totally clear on why I disliked it so much. It just felt like everything was mashed together in the weirdest ways. The plot twist made sense and I did see it coming, but it wasn't very satisfying.
I've heard that this author often does this in her books, particularly ‘The Paris Apartment' (thanks to those who commented telling me to avoid it.)
It's a shame because I loved the world. Dark and stormy? 100% my thing. Cultish frat boys? Not really my thing.
I do understand how it all tied together, but getting there was so confusing, I felt like I was reading a million short stories compiled together and it wasn't intentional.
I might give the Paris Apartment a shot to kind of see, because I do think this had a lot of potential.
Would I recommend this? No unfortunately ):
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score card:
plot: 3/5
characters: 2/5
world/setting: 3/5
pacing: 1/5
enjoyment: 2/5
total: 2.2/5 *ੈ✩‧₊˚
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reading log
hours of reading: 5.3
post-reading
i'm so disappointed by this book i feel like it had so much potential and it just felt like a fever dream RTC...
pre-reading
i'm attempting the reading for 24 hours thing again, starting with a fast paced thriller - hopefully this is like comfort food
Love of fun British thriller like this! Never got into true crime, but I just really love these women written English thriller novels
3.2
Have you ever finished a book and been like “that's it?” That's how I felt after finishing this book, it was lackluster and didn't work for me. I was waiting for the exciting plot twist in this murder mystery and sadly that never happened.
This novel is told from multiple POVs and we gradually find out the dark secrets that link the characters together. Hearing how these dark secrets affected each person's life was the most interesting part of the book. But by the time the secret reveals came to light everything felt repeatitive and too much of stretch from reality for me to enjoy.
This is my first Lucy Foley book that I decided to read. For me in my opinion, it just seemed slow at first for about 80% of the book and the last 20% seemed rushed. Would I recommend this to my friends?....eh I don't think so. The characters were based on their past struggles and that was the entire point of the book. The only thing that was a current problem with the characters was the end when they found the body.
If you have triggers please read this (it talks about self harm and has scenes of self harm!)
If you read this book, I would love to know your thoughts!!!
Fun mystery. About halfway through the book I was really ready for something to be revealed. 70% of the way through almost every mystery becomes revealed, just by characters finally deciding to say the previously unsaid thing. It's mostly nitpicky but it did make the mid section of the book drag a bit.
