The Guest List

The Guest List was a quick, engaging read that I'm definitely ordering for our library.

I haven't read The Hunting Party, the author's previous book that I've seen reviewers say has a very similar premise to The Guest List. If it is, I'll have to read that one next.

The Guest List takes place on a small island of the coast of Ireland, where a TV celebrity and magazine editor are getting married. The wedding party is spending the night before the wedding on the island, and you soon find out there's lots of secrets and tensions between pretty much everyone. Brief chapters of the night of the wedding throughout the books reveal something bad has happened, but you don't know who, what, or where.

The story is told through 5 points of view over the course of the book. I'm usually not a fan of multiple viewpoints, but it managed to make them distinct and still have a connection to all the characters - whether sympathetic or not.

My one complaint would be the ending, which I have mixed feelings on. There was so much time leading up to it, that the resolution felt a little rushed. I would have liked a little more closure/story on some of the issues that popped out earlier in the book. On the other hand, I can appreciate leaving it up to the reader.

I couldn't help but think about the TV show Harper's Island the entire I was reading The Guest List. Wedding on an island, dark history of said island, tangled relationships, and, of course, murder. Of course, there were many, many differences, but the general atmosphere has me wanting to rewatch the show.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for a review.