The Guest List is a crime thriller that was launched last year to quite a lot of praise. The book is Lucy Foley’s second thriller hit and incorporates one of my favourite stories and twists I’ve read in a book to date. It had me gripped from early on and kept throwing curveballs at me to keep me so.
Essentially, The Guest List is about a group of people who all go to a private island for a wedding when one of them is murdered. We then finally work out who the murderer is and what their motive is. Of course.
Plot – 4/5
The plot for The Guest List is very Agatha Christie – a group of people on an island all of whom could be the suspect for the murder of one of the other people on the island. It’s great!
This is a tale told from the point of view of different people over two different time points – before the murder happens and the build-up to it and then after the murder happens and the events that unfold there. Foley’s written this in a smart way where the tales of each character end up intertwining with one another and you get really engrossed in each of their stories.
When a body is found on the island during what everyone presumed would be the perfect idyllic wedding an enthralling 300 pages or so of “why” and “who” begin as you start to realise that it could well be quite a few people there that day!
Characters – 4/5
As aforementioned, this book is told from the point of view of different people at the wedding. All of the characters have very interesting backstories and personalities that help define their own storylines, despite some having more chapters than others.
Being able to write different first-person accounts of the same event is very impressive and gives off the impression of reading multiple stories within one book. This then in-hand gripped me as a reader. Each character has a very interesting backstory to tell that’ll keep you turning the pages too.
On a quick note, I must say I wasn’t overly in love with any of the characters – I had my favourites but having read the book around nine months ago, I can’t remember any names or anything.
The Guest List summary – 4/5
I’d definitely recommend picking up The Guest List. It is like many contemporary thrillers – there are some people who aren’t happy with one another, not everything is as it seems and there’s a great twist that you likely won’t be expecting. It’s a very easy read but may not be right for those who are more crime-focused and like the parts of the book spent working out who the killer is with forensic evidence and intelligent deduction.
Pick up this book if you fancy a great, easy read with an intriguing plot, some decent enough characters and a cracking premise. I’ve rounded this review to four out of five stars as I really enjoyed it but wouldn’t say it’s one of my favourite books of all time (which is how I usually define a five star). Read more of my book reviews here.
