Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Guest List

Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

180 reviews

bethaniesherwood's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don’t like how neatly some of the plot threads are wrapped up. It’s almost too neat. It feels akin to “plot armor” but I genuinely don’t think that’s the case. To an extent, I think all the “coincidences” are fine at an event like a wedding — which would bring everyone you know together — but there’s two “coincidence”s that shouldn’t fit and feel forced. It takes you out of it.

That said, the writing itself is very good. Gripping. Even though all these characters are terrible people, I was hooked. Foley has a way of crafting a narrative that’s hard to get out of your head. She seems to gravitate toward mysteries but if she ever wrote a psychological thriller, I’d buy several copies.

Anyway, I “read” this as an audiobook. The narrators did a fantastic job, each character had its own voice — which paid homage to their roots and personality.

I think the editor screwed Foley over a bit on this one. When I read through reviews and saw people citing repetition as an undesirable trait, I just assumed they meant the revolving narratives. That was premature. The narratives and timelines are orchestrated quite well. In my opinion, the word choice was redundant in a lot of ways. Again, excusable through their linked pasts and culture. The foreshadowing didn’t help either — too heavy handed.

Still a great read. Would recommend.

Content Warnings

mel_bee_421's review

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emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

chemistreader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This thriller/murder mystery definitely kept me guessing until the end - I had some inklings of what may have happened here and there but definitely didn’t put it all together. It was intriguing not knowing whodunit or the victim until the very end. Early on the book was slow with poor character development. I really wish there had been one more chapter to tie up the loose ends with the characters. The ending felt rushed. Also some of the “trigger warning content” was annoying and not necessary and thrown in for the shock factor.

Content Warnings