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The Guest List: A Novel
Written by Lucy Foley
Narrated by Jot Davies, Chloe Massey and Aoife McMahon
Editor's Note
Reese’s book club…
Reese Witherspoon picked “The Guest List” as one of her June/July 2020 book club picks, along with “I’m Still Here” by Austin Channing Brown. “A very stormy seaside destination wedding is the back drop for this thrilling June book pick. … Get ready for so many twists and turns as you try to figure out the who, what and when of this mystery. It reminds me of some of my favorite mysteries from Agatha Christie,” Witherspoon wrote in her Instagram announcement post.
Description
A Reese's Book Club Pick
“I loved this book. It gave me the same waves of happiness I get from curling up with a classic Christie...The alternating points of view keep you guessing, and guessing wrong.” (Alex Michaelides, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Silent Patient)
"Evok[es] the great Agatha Christie classics.... Pay close attention to seemingly throwaway details about the characters’ pasts. They are all clues.” (New York Times Book Review)
A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times best-selling author of The Hunting Party.
The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
Reviews
Loved the alternate perspectives and first person chapters that lead up to a surprising ending!
The story was great! Really enjoyed it and had me gasping throughout. This is the first book I finish as an audiobook and I’m glad I did!
Suspenseful and entertaining. Great characters and plot twists. I enjoyed it a lot.
the story was really interesting.
I enjoyed the several big twists peppered throughout the story. Usually, thrillers wait until the end of the book for the big twist.
where this story falls flat is how quickly the book ends.
there was very little wrap-up and very little conclusion.
I would have liked to know more of how it played out.
I enjoyed the several big twists peppered throughout the story. Usually, thrillers wait until the end of the book for the big twist.
where this story falls flat is how quickly the book ends.
there was very little wrap-up and very little conclusion.
I would have liked to know more of how it played out.
I really loved this book! With as many characters as there is, I’m so glad they had different actors narrate for them. Super creative and something completely new which is what I was looking for! It kind of feels like an Irish Agatha Christie novel.
The last quarter part of the book was really good! But it was difficult to get there
Excellent character and plot development. Couldn’t stop listening and weaving together all the little details to form my idea of who the murderer was. Thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end.
This was well done and it came together full circle in the end. I wasn’t expecting that I’d get through it so quickly! I totally see this being picked up as a Netflix series.....eventually.
This was great... I actually figured it out ... it was a made guess and only a few chapters before the reveal. Good plot.
Great ending! Keeps you guessing. The readers made it authentic. .
Great narration. Great twists and turns. Very satisfying at the end!
Could not put it down, such a good book and even better the audio with full cast!
This is my second Lucy Foley book. The first one I read was The Hunting Party, which I did enjoy. But, I liked this one, The Guest List, a bit more...well, a lot more, actually.
The Guest List is a solid thriller. There were also some spooky parts which I really enjoyed and appreciated.
Told in several POV, we are weaved through a tangled web of lies, betrayal, vengeance, and all kinds of deliciously deceitful things. The mystery of “who done it”...and thinking you know who done it, but then “PLOT TWIST”!!
I’m always pleased when I’m wrong about “who done it” and I was definitely wrong about this one.
The Guest List has all the things that make up a great thriller.
The Guest List is a solid thriller. There were also some spooky parts which I really enjoyed and appreciated.
Told in several POV, we are weaved through a tangled web of lies, betrayal, vengeance, and all kinds of deliciously deceitful things. The mystery of “who done it”...and thinking you know who done it, but then “PLOT TWIST”!!
I’m always pleased when I’m wrong about “who done it” and I was definitely wrong about this one.
The Guest List has all the things that make up a great thriller.
I LOVED IT! It was amazing. I was really not expecting the end! The last four chapters are all about answering the questions you had all through the book and it’s shocking and at the same time you feel bad for some characters and I love how you learn about all of them — at least those who matters to the story line. In any way, this book is truly amazing and the ending is what I call a true ending! Loved it and would 100% recommend it!
The narration change to the perspectives of the various wedding guests made the mystery engaging and more suspenseful than typical mystery stories. I recommend reading this one!
WOW!! The ending to this tightly woven plot is unexpected. I rarely say it about books because too often directors fall short. But this is one suspenseful story I think would be excellent movie.
Loved this book!!! Could not stop listening to it .
Wonderful writing. Excellent characters. Intriguing backstory. I was swept away. I love an audiobook with multiple narrators and Irish or English accents, so this book was an easy choice for me. Lucy Foley builds the perfect balance of mystery and reveal to make the chapters irresistible. I took away one star because for me the ending didn't live up to the start. Certain characters and parts of the story proved unnecessary and some plotlines were just dropped. I still recommend it for the overall experience.
Excellent book; well worth your time. The audio version made it particularly intriguing.
Great book! Loved the many characters and accents. Kept me riveted until the very end.
3.5 maybe. It was enjoyable enough but not genre defining or anything. Well written but I like my mysteries with a bit more shock.
It's interesting and all. But whatever happens to the other characters. The ending felt rushed and was only slightly satisfying.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
The Guest List ticked off a lot from the "whodunit thriller book" checklist:
☑️ a dead body
☑️ wide array of motivated and revenge-fueled murder suspects
☑️ multiple POVs
☑️ slow-burn story packed with plot twists
The Guest List is a truly enjoyable read, especially when read in audiobook format because of the amazing and convincing narrators. Although really amusing, I felt that the ending wasn't as satisfying and wrapped up more neatly as I wished it to be. The murdered character is such a horrible person that I felt that he needed to die more painfully.
Trigger Warnings: statutory rape, sexual predator, suicide, self-harm, bullying, murder, adultery
The Guest List ticked off a lot from the "whodunit thriller book" checklist:
☑️ a dead body
☑️ wide array of motivated and revenge-fueled murder suspects
☑️ multiple POVs
☑️ slow-burn story packed with plot twists
The Guest List is a truly enjoyable read, especially when read in audiobook format because of the amazing and convincing narrators. Although really amusing, I felt that the ending wasn't as satisfying and wrapped up more neatly as I wished it to be. The murdered character is such a horrible person that I felt that he needed to die more painfully.
Trigger Warnings: statutory rape, sexual predator, suicide, self-harm, bullying, murder, adultery