The Guest List: A Reese's Book Club Pick

Lucy Foley

Jun 2020 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Don't miss Lucy Foley's new book, The Midnight Feast, coming June 18th!

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?

Ratings and reviews

"The Guest List" was slow going at first, and I wasn't a fan of the UK/Ireland setting-too much slang and names I couldn't pronouns; but it did pick up near the end and I loved the plot twist

"The Guest List" is a well written book that could have been edited more tightly. The book would have benefited from losing about 50 pages. You don't even find out who was murdered until you're over 3/4 of the way through the book...even though you "will have" guessed before then. I feel the comparisons to the venerable Agatha Christie is sheer hyperbole. Is it a well written book? Yes. Is it unnecessarily, long? Yes. Is it a captivating murder mystery? Not so much.

Enjoyed reading this. Lots of twists and turns - some predictable, others not. If you like whodunits with a dash of deceit and drama, this is for you.

About the author

Lucy Foley studied English literature at Durham University and University College London and worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry. She is the author of five novels including The Paris Apartment and The Guest List. She lives in London.