Lucy Foley

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "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, #1 New York Times bestselling 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 bestselling 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?

The Guest List

I can’t afford to fall apart, not today. 

Julie had made out that it was all a stunt, that Olivia was being a drama queen. I suspect it was the opposite. I think she was trying to disappear.

I want to cry like a kid as I stumble down to the beach, because it should hurt, my whole body should hurt, but no tears will come -I haven't been able to make them come for a long time. If I could cry it might all be better, but I can't. It's like an ability I've lost, like a language I've forgotten.

I wonder what it would feel like to have the ground suddenly fall away under me, suddenly disappear so I'd have no choice but to go down with it. For a moment I realise I'm standing here almost hoping for it to happen.

Just because the rest of us don't wear our hearts on our sleeves, just because we have found a way of managing our feelings - it doesn't mean they're not there.

. I do not want to talk about any of this with anyone. 

Life is messy, We all know this. Terrible things happen, I learned that while I was still a child. But no matter what happens, life is only a series of days. You can't control more than a single day. But you can control one of them.

I believe she’s used to having the best of everything. 

*Waterstones Thriller of the Month* *A Reese's Book Club pick for 2020* *The Times Best Crime Fiction of the Year pick* *Longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award*

Emerson Clute

brie

this is now one of the only books, a total of which i can count on one hand, written in first person and/or present tense that i’ll defend. 


even though the plot was developed around two or three nights, it was well executed and nicely paced. this one definitely lived up to the hype!


Popsugar Challenge: A book that’s on a celebrity book club list.

Kaylee Ray

A bit slow for most of the book, but I did like how everything connected in the end!

Luke Harkness

Highly intrigued the whole way through

I was trying to decide whether to give this 4 or 5* after recently thinking I give 5* away too easily. This book had me fully enveloped the whole way and had me trying to work out where it was going and constantly being surprised when I got it wrong. It's smartly.written with the different first person views giving different angles to the setting and events. It very much feels like a modern Agatha Christie. Great story with some great moments in the final third.

Oliver Magnanimous

Isabella 

a let down. i love reading multiple pov, but i didn't like the structure of this book; the characters were all the same and indistinguishable and the multiple pov didn't add to the excitement of the story. it was so slow and there were no thrilling/exciting part because it was too predictable. too much coincidence honestly can ruin a good plot imo. personally, i think that there are better thriller books than this hence the rating.

This is my first Lucy Foley book that I decided to read. For me in my opinion, it just seemed slow at first for about 80% of the book and the last 20% seemed rushed. Would I recommend this to my friends?....eh I don't think so. The characters were based on their past struggles and that was the entire point of the book. The only thing that was a current problem with the characters was the end when they found the body. 

Angel 🖤

A REMOTE ISLAND. AN INVITATION TO DIE FOR. A gripping, twisty murder mystery thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of The Hunting Party. 'Lucy Foley is really very clever' Anthony Horowitz 'Thrilling' The Times 'A classic whodunnit' Kate Mosse 'Sharp and atmospheric and addictive' Louise Candlish 'A furiously twisty thriller' Clare Mackintosh 'Secrets and lies at every turn' Sarah Pinborough On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year - the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. Old friends. Past grudges. Happy families. Hidden jealousies. Thirteen guests. One body. The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped. All have a secret. All have a motive. One guest won't leave this wedding alive . . .

Suyash Goylit

When the lights went out, (view spoiler)[she (hide spoiler)] raised hell 

An absolute gem of writing. I've always been a fan of the closed room, atmospheric, whodunnits, but this took it to a completely different level. Where in the classic murder mysteries, the murder is the inciting incident and the rest of the story focuses on finding the culprit and the tension caused by it; The Guest List rejects the traditional structure and gave something better. Surprisingly, the murder in the story serves as the climax and the whole tension stems from the actions and interactions of the characters well before the wedding. This unique kind of writing seems very much the embodiment of 'show, not tell', when compared to the former.

Multiple POV writing is another thing that I love. It makes information revelation all the more intriguing and it is executed here perfectly. The way timelines are handles makes the story even more interesting. Furthermore, the slow-burn style of writing is at full display here. It is taken to a point where the aftermath of the murder is totally ignored in favor of the development and the build-up to it. Although that might sound a little negative, it certainly isn't. It rather elevates the tension and character-driven nature of the story, making the whole thing even more effective.

(view spoiler)[Finally, I believe the best mysteries aren't those that make the readers feel totally surprised at the climax, rather ones which makes them feel that everything was right in front of them all along, they were just too occupied otherwise to notice it. The Guest List is the epitome of the latter. The whole idea of the invisible wedding planner feels completely natural and pretty irrelevant in all the havoc that was being caused on the island. Furthermore, the author did a wonderful job of making Aoife the least interesting character (again something that might sound negative but believe me it isn't), which makes her seem completely harmless among the sea of guests that had all the reason to kill the groom. This, along with the culmination of her backstory that was being hinted at throughout the length of the novel, made her the perfect killer. (hide spoiler)]

In conclusion, I feel like although I still like the whole idea of a group of individuals searching the killer in a closed space, all the while doubting if the person next to them is it. From now on, this distinguished style of mystery writing is probably what I'm going to look for, every time I read this genre.

“In my experience, those who have the greatest respect for the rules also take the most enjoyment in breaking them.”
--------------------
The Guest List is not really a whodunit, as much as it is a why-hasn't-anyone-done-it-before-this-moment. Set on a weather-beaten and isolated island with the perfect atmosphere for a thriller, the plot is full of petty jealousies, ulterior motives, sinister secrets and issues galore (ranging from eating disorders to toxic masculinity, mom issues, dad issues, and self-harm) revolving around a wide cast of characters that are enjoyable to hate.
I am aware that this is shaping up to a whiplash kind of a review, where it is uncertain whether it is good or bad. It is very much on purpose. This is a book full of stereotypical characters and heavy-handed foreshadowing that I actually saw all the plot twists and reveals coming a mile ahead, but it was just so entertaining. Plain old fun.
I feel like this is a modern twist on the Agatha Christie type of murder mysteries, which makes me even more motivated to dive into the classics of the genre very soon.
3.5/5

it was predictable but also not? i did like how things connected near the end but i could see why it would be boring haha

chloe

Kelly mooney

Page turner! Couldn’t put the book down when I picked it up also major plot twist at the end didn’t see that coming!

Maikah Sabrina

It didn't feel like I was reading a thriller/mystery. The ending was also pretty weak.

lexie

i really love how men are such assholes in this book and they got what they deserved.

Laura Mauler

I read the first 200 pages in one sitting, which I think says all that needs to be said.

Thrilling, engaging, captivating. I enjoyed the pace and multiple perspectives in this novel. Some relationships were predictable but I was surprised by the ending. Very much enjoyed it. 

Robin Collura

taryn

Having multiple narrators for the audiobook definitely made it more exciting, overall didn't meet the hype around it, but was still a fun mystery. Loads of secrets, isolated location, big drama event.

Atli 💗🧚🏽‍♀️

** spoiler alert **
           rating: 3.5 stars. I swear this book could've had 4 or even 5 stars if less time was spent digressing from the main plot and telling us about how little sex Hannah was having compared to every single character who existed in this book. 

But anyways the moment that Freddy started talking to Aiofe about "don't worry about it" and "it's going to plan", I had an idea that they were behind everything. Also it was simple to figure out who the body was. It had to be Will or Johnno because it wouldn't have served a purpose for the story if any of the others died. They didn't have that many people who disliked them.

Middle of the road thriller. A few twists toward the end but overall similar to other Foley books. Just okay. 

Paige Paul

On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater.
 
Old friends.
Past grudges.
 
Happy families.
Hidden jealousies.
 
Thirteen guests.
One body.
 
The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped.

All have a secret. All have a motive.
One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . .

A Novel

Guest List

Julia McKenzie

my second lucy foley book that i wasn’t sure i was going to like after reading the hunting party but this was so much better. very similar in plot but for some reason the writing and the characters of this were far more intriguing and had me interested the whole time and i sped through this.

The pacing of the book moved really slow. The last 20% of the book is where all of the exciting information came. I figured out half of the twists before they were revealed. Overall I liked the book and thought the premise was cool. I enjoyed how the story focused on the characters and you began to understand how they were all connected to one of the focal characters. 

Daphney Norman

Well written but I guessed all the relationships in the book so not as fun 

Claudia Regio

LUCY. FOLEY

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST THRILLERS OF THE YEAR "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, #1 New York Times bestselling 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 bestselling 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?

Listened as an audio book and would recommend so you can hear and feel each of the characters! Loved the first person perspectives and layers of the book all adding up! Definitely pay attention to the little details!!

Lacee Foutch 

Thrilling, exciting, intense, kept me on my toes

Desiray Chambers

The book was nothing out of extraordinary. It's sad some refer it was thriller. I think I have read much more jaw dropping stories that I could figure who was murdered from first 10pages. The book would have been better if written backwards. As in reveal the murder n then build the story. The last 20 pages I can credit it as a good writing . There was no out of the box character. A fuckboy celebrity, image conscious bride, damsel in distress maid of honor, forbidden lover, bored wife, "yes men" Friends and one  wedding planner. The style of writing was either too poetic which wasn't necessary or seemed like screen play of a movie. I expected more from this book

navya s

Barbara Williford

I cannot give this enough stars! 

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book I could NOT put down. For the past 24 hours I have shucked all adult responsibilities to read this book!

A thriller set on an island off the coast of Ireland. Guest arrive at the wedding of an Internet sensation and a reality TV star. Throughout the book you get a perspective from the main characters and how their lives are actually intertwined and the result is murder. It’s like slowly watching a train wreck and being so mesmerized you can’t do anything about it.

The Guest List

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