Lucy Foley | THE GUEST LIST

Plot (via Goodreads):

Set on a remote island off the Irish coast, this is one guest list no one would want to be on, just as no one would have wanted an invitation to the New Year's Eve party in Foley's previous novel, The Hunting Party . Lives unravel amid the revelry on an eerie and remote island as family and friends assemble for a glam wedding in an updated Murder on the Orient Express. Each of the principal characters has a reason to want one of their number dead, there are old secrets, and one of them is murdered.

Review:

Last year, The Hunting Party was such a great read for me. It was equally immersive, atmospheric, and reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel with its locked-room-mystery aspect. Foley has a gift for creating a cinematic setting, providing you with a plethora of fantastic characters, and also building one hell of a plot. I was initially nervous going in to The Guest List because I had such high expectations compared to The Hunting Party. Well, have no fear whatsoever because this one blew my mind in so many different ways and yet was so different in so many ways.

Alright, comparison wise, I think if you liked The Hunting Party for what it was overall then you'll enjoy this one. What I mean by that is we have another large cast of characters on a remote island for a wedding during a nasty storm that is brewing parallel to the pacing of the story (and adds so much to the plot) and it is a locked-room mystery. So, if that's what you're into, then you're in luck. I actually am really into the fact that both of Lucy Foley's novels kind of feature this plot. Basically, when I read, I was thinking I would be really into Foley's work be like American Horror Story in the sense of having a bunch of characters in murder mysteries with no escape but just different scenarios. Anyway, the setting to this one was just fantastic and added all sorts of depth to the plot, especially in that creepy way that there's a storm brewing and you know someone is basically dead or in jeopardy.

With this one, I originally felt like there were a lot of characters and I was confused during some parts, but Foley did a great job of keeping our key essential characters prominent and vivid. I loved them all and their personalities contrasted each other wonderfully and really kept parallel with the pacing of the novel. These characters were all sorts of fun and diabolical. I mean, we had jealousy, drama, and all sorts of things that kept the tension flowing; it was brilliant. This time around, we had the intermittent chapters foreshadowing something horrible happening in between the chapters that were building the story. So, for about the first 100 pages, Lucy Foley did take her time building the characters, adding in mounting tension, and creating a wonderfully creepy setting. The drama was slower and definitely one that took its time, but once the wedding night hit, it was game on! I loved the twists and turns with this one and as more reveals kept coming through I kept wondering why I hadn't even so much as guessed that some of these revelations could be possible. I absolutely loved the ending to this one and can honestly say the last 100 pages were such a twisty thrill ride that I cannot wait to see what everyone thinks of this one when it comes out this summer.

Special thanks to William Morrow for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5