The Guest List

A Novel

paperback, 320 pages

Published June 1, 2020 by William Morrow.

ISBN:
978-0-06-298895-9
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4 stars (60 reviews)

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. …

9 editions

Review of 'The Guest List' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This murder mystery that takes place during an extremely pretentious, extravagant wedding, and surprise, the bride and groom are both thoroughly unlikeable. Also, some of this story is predictable, while other parts seem like wild coincidences. And yet, I enjoyed this very much. The manner in which each character's story unfolds, and then how they come together, is effective and satisfying.

This was fun, and I do recommend it.

Review of 'The Guest List' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Fantastic premise and execution! I loved puzzling out how all the pieces fit together; relishing my accuracy, and delighting even more when the story twisted away!

There's a minor error in the first half of the book, which tripped me up and made me think there would be a supernatural twist later:
the morning of the wedding, when Hannah's legs are stuck and sinking in the peat, she clearly identifies Duncan and Pete as her rescuers.
A few chapters later, when the lads are venturing out during the power outage, Duncan remarks (to Pete, who is now stuck!) how he and Femi had unstuck Hanna.

...I was waiting for that other shoe to drop, a la bodysnatcher-cum-groomsmen.
Ah, well. Maybe in the next book ;)

Review of 'Guest List' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

A predictable yet fast-paced suspense novel, The Guest List is my first and likely last book by Lucy Foley. Given all the hype here on Goodreads and elsewhere, this had been on my list for a while. Real life is stressful and busy at the moment, so I wanted a read that wasn’t too complex and would read quickly—this at least fits that bill. However, on the mystery/thriller front, this book left a lot to be desired. It is a solidly mediocre book for me—it could have been better, and it wasn’t terrible enough for me to quit it, but I can’t justify it winning a Goodreads award. It is no great novel, and had a lot of similar issues to The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, yet somehow did not annoy me as much. Maybe because my expectations were not that high to begin with.

All of the characters …

Review of 'The Guest List' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I really need to stop trying to read thrillers. Why have I not learned, yet, that I'm never going to like anything from this genre. As far as these stories go, this one was fine. I was parricularly enjoying the attention to the female gaze: towards make beauty, male aggression, and other women. That may have been interesting enough to bump this up to 4 stars but I also didn't really get engaged in the central mystery, even more so once ebeuthingbwas revealed. So this was probably a really good example of this kind of book, I'm just never going to be the audience for it.

Review of 'The Guest List' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Fantastic premise and execution! I loved puzzling out how all the pieces fit together; relishing my accuracy, and delighting even more when the story twisted away!

There's a minor error in the first half of the book, which tripped me up and made me think there would be a supernatural twist later:
the morning of the wedding, when Hannah's legs are stuck and sinking in the peat, she clearly identifies Duncan and Pete as her rescuers.
A few chapters later, when the lads are venturing out during the power outage, Duncan remarks (to Pete, who is now stuck!) how he and Femi had unstuck Hanna.

...I was waiting for that other shoe to drop, a la bodysnatcher-cum-groomsmen.
Ah, well. Maybe in the next book ;)

Review of 'The Guest List' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

This book has a promising premise, along the lines of Agatha Christie meets Gone Girl. Unfortunately, it goes right off the rails. My first issue: I'd figured out one of the major revelations easily within the first few chapters. My second issue: the number of absolutely bat-shit coincidences and reveals in this book is well beyond anything plausible. My third issue: the author has bitten off more than she can chew, and as a result there are a number of inconsistencies and minor plot points.

This author can write, but her storytelling needs work. If she wrote for Scooby Doo, the final scene where they unmask the villain would involve not one mask, but seven pulled off in rapid succession.

If you don't believe me (and don't mind having the entire plot spoiled), read this summary to see how ridiculous it is: the-bibliofile.com/the-guest-list-summary-synopsis-spoilers/#quicksummary

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