The Guest List
Ratings628
Average rating3.6
Pros: Competently written, very much in the Christie Genre
Cons - One coincidence too many ruined it for me - you will easily know which one it is.
MUST READ!!! Unbelievably amazing with all the twists in the world! Haven't hated a character like that in a long time. Couldn't put it down once I got midway
Great atmospheric murder mystery, made for fast-paced reading. I was able to predict some of the plot turns but the ending snuck up on me--all the pieces fit together at the end, which was very satisfying on multiple levels!
This was pretty good. The story all wrapped up a bit conveniently, but that's so many mysteries. I saw where some of it was going, but not the actual whodunnit part.
I'm so happy that I tried this one again after initially starting the eBook and putting it down as I couldn't get into it. I then tried the audiobook and wow!! I could not stop listening! The voice actors are brilliant and really heighten the tension of the story. Definitely recommend this for anyone who loves a dark and atmospheric thriller.
A Good Mystery book
I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forwards to starting the next book by Lucy Foley. I would recommend this book to anyone however like a mystery crime book.
Too many annoying men (read: all of them), and the writing style really didn't work for me.
But the women were interesting, and the twists were good. One even caught me completely by surprise.
Enjoyable enough to finish, but completely lacked anything to really get me engrossed in the story until the last third.
Also, for me personally, I found it completely lacking the atmosphere it promised. It was almost like it tried SO HARD that it cancelled itself out. Like, the remote island would have been enough! It didn't need the ~ghosts~ and ~old bodies buried in the bog.~
At least [redacted] died. That's honestly the best thing about the book.
Whoa, what a ride! I really enjoyed this story.
I don't read a lot of mysteries/thrillers but I think the author did an amazing job with this one. She definitely kept me guessing who was the killer, at one point I was sure it was one character and then two pages later I was sure it was another. It came to a point that anyone could have been the killer.
I have to say that I did guess who was the victim before the end, but I wasn't completely sure until the very end.
I enjoyed the slow burn story telling, loved the haunted/remote Irish island atmosphere and the multiple POVs, in my opinion, really helped to build up the tension. There was so much history between the characters and there a lot of clues along the way. I couldn't stop reading!
Overall, a very entertaining book, with twists and turns, twisted characters and a strong Clue game vibe.
12/12/20 Giving it a 3.5 stars. I liked The Hunting Party more and gave that 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kept going back and forth between 3.5 and 4 stars. Ultimately, I'm giving it 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow! That was pretty good. Although it had some interesting twists, would've liked a more detailed ending, but still, great reader, kept me on my toes the whole time. Total page-turner.
The Guest list is a fast-paced and entertaining novel. However, in one word, it's forgettable.
Even though it reads quickly, it isn't particularly mysterious or tense. It seemed to me that the story had no ups and downs, but remained instead in this flat line until the very end, where it went slightly up. The murderer's identity revelation was unsurprising since I had already considered that person. I will say there were a few plots that I didn't see coming, but I wouldn't describe them as shocking, they just were. I should also add that I did not like one of those plots - it's hard to explain it without spoiling it, so I will just say: it seemed unlikely and something the author forced to happen.
Despite all that,l I would encourage anyone interested to read the book because, really, it isn't a bad one, I just found it unimpressive.
I try to read books that have been nominated or won awards! This book was just published this year so will not show up on any award lists yet. However this seems to be on alot of “Must Read” lists for this summer I thought I would try it out! This was a great book!! Tons of suspects, great characters, good location & surprises! As the suspense/mystery builds up, the chapter lengths get shorter helping to even make it more thrilling! Read this, I think you will enjoy it! David Navratil
Merged review:
I try to read books that have been nominated or won awards! This book was just published this year so will not show up on any award lists yet. However this seems to be on alot of “Must Read” lists for this summer I thought I would try it out! This was a great book!! Tons of suspects, great characters, good location & surprises! As the suspense/mystery builds up, the chapter lengths get shorter helping to even make it more thrilling! Read this, I think you will enjoy it! David Navratil
“but only he/she knew the terrible secret they were carrying”
basically how every chapter ended.
A ton of foreshadowing and smoke and mirrors. The end was satisfying, but not quite worth putting up with repetitive, flat, chalk-full of cliche writing throughout.
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.
This was ok, but very similar to The Hunting Party. Once again, 30-something characters haunted by school-age relationships and traumas are isolated in a wild, remote place to celebrate something and it ends in murder.
Cw: self harm
Pretty good thriller with a great setting. Solid rainy day read.
This book has a lot of “gasp!” moments. The first 100 pages were a little slow, but after that it became very fast paced. I liked the layout of the plot. You don't know who has died until near the end and by that point the possible suspects are abundant. I thought it was interesting that almost all of the female characters were likable, but all of the male characters were very unlikable. I liked the shock of the connection between the characters. I'm always impressed when I can't guess the ending.
That might've taken while to finish, but it was still a great a read! I loved how the chapters were split with you getting perspectives from the different characters, although I have to say none of the male characters in this book were very likeable! Despite that though, it was a very good book and I would definitely recommend to others. With that in mind, I'm definitely adding The Hunting Party by Lucy to my TBR list!
One of my favourite tropes is the “locked-room” thriller. You know, the one where everyone is stuck on an island, or trapped in a spooky house (always during a storm!) and one of the characters dies. There is usually a small pool of suspects and it's fun for the reader to play detective and work out possible motives, means and methods.
In the case of The Guest List, a high profile wedding is held on a secluded island off the Irish coast. There is a storm (of course!) and a murder most foul! Who? Why? How? and most importantly who-dun-it?
I would say this is a mostly successful thriller. Its a page-turner for sure, filled with a cast of damaged and dangerous adults behaving badly (fun!) We hear from the perspective of five core characters - The Bride, The Best Man, The Bridesmaid, The Plus One and the Wedding Planner - as well as some secondary characters (including a cultish clan of ushers). It's a fun, gripping read that doesn't take itself too seriously. Perfect for a beach read, or to snuggle up with a glass of red.
My only gripe is that there are a few too many convenient coincidences and connections between the characters. But, if you are willing to suspend your disbelief and just allow Lucy Foley to take you on her sensational journey, I am sure you will enjoy the ride.