The Guest List

Yes! I gotta say, this is one of those books that took me completely by surprise in the end because when I first started reading it I did not think I would end up giving it five stars. The beginning was a bit slow but once it got going it completely won me over and I totally think that this book deserves all the hype that it has gotten. It's a really terrific “closed island” thriller mystery with a murder at the center and the reader trying to figure out, first of all- who is dead, and then- who killed them. Wow, there are not enough good things that I can say about this novel and will be recommending it for years to come.

First of, The Guest List is about a wedding on a secluded island and following all the main individuals involved in it as things transpire and secrets are revealed which leads to a murder and trying to figure out who committed the crime. I have been reading lots of closed-in, murder thriller mysteries lately and I gotta say, this one is probably my favorite so far. Even though this plot has been done countless times, the characters were just so sinister and flawed and messed up, that it was fascinating watching as things came to a head and secrets about how they were all related were revealed. I thought it was clever and very intriguing and I loved every moment of it.

Further on, the characterization was superb, there's no other word for it. I love messed up people doing messed up things and this novel delivered exactly that. Not only were the characters super complex and intricately complicated, but they also had complete backgrounds that really explained how they got to be who they were at the time the novel took place. Even though it was a bit of a slow burn in the beginning, the backgrounds really brought the characters to light even more and made them bigger than life. There were no cookie-cutter characters here, even if they tried to give off that persona in the very beginning. Also, the different characters' perspectives were done incredibly well.

Finally, the writing was flawless and I was able to breeze through this novel without having to go back and reread sections of it to make sure I wasn't missing anything important. I loved that the chapters were so short but even aside from that, the writing painted clearly what was transpiring in the novel and built up to a crescendo at the end of the novel, the climax. The ending of the book was my absolute favorite part because it was mind-blowing and spine tingling and part of that had to do with the extraordinary writing choices that the author made with this novel.

In conclusion, I believe that anyone who loves thrillers and murder mysteries would love this book. I shy away a bit from hyped up novels but this one definitely turned me into a believer and I will be reading Lucy Foley's other works very soon. I love finding favorite authors and she has definitely become one of mine. Don't skip this book, it's well worth a read!