Reviews - An Unwanted Guest

3.84k reviews for:

An Unwanted Guest

3.59 AVERAGE

maze0707's review against another edition

2.0

This book lacked the one thing I look forward to in a suspense thriller, and that's the thriller aspect.

2.5 stars

lacytelles's review against another edition

3.0

Fun and quick mystery. I love a "locked room murder", and this one takes place in a snowed in hotel.

littledango's review against another edition

3.5

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The ending felt bland and she always makes it about a person's pre disposition. Ie. They're like evil people

ejl2623's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this mystery about a group of strangers stranded in a small inn during a snowstorm. It is fair to say this pays homage to Agatha Christie's "And then there were None." I started reading Christie in high school and pretty much had read all of her books by the time I finished college. Her plotting was impeccable and I loved her protagonists, but her actual style was less compelling to me than Lapena's. Lapena makes the story her own with characters you connect to, interrelationships with backstories that matter, and red herrings that are dropped deftly. I love that Lapena ties the whole story up with a review -- a la Poirot -- of all the hints that would have led us to the actual killer if we eliminated the misleading parts. Definitely a fun read.

holdmethrillme's review against another edition

5.0

A common theme in the thrillers that I love is a a character or characters being stranded in an isolated setting with a killer, especially during a storm or snowstorm. This book provided me with that in spades and I really enjoyed it! I also loved that I was completely unable to identify the killer before it was revealed. If you haven’t read this book it’s an excellent addition to a winter tbr!

tashabye's review against another edition

3.0

mysterious medium-paced

am_paro's review against another edition

3.0

Pretty enjoyable; the writing was a bit too spare for me, but the mystery was solid. I wasn’t sure whodunnit until close to the end, and I always appreciate the skill of a good armchair mystery that can be solved by the reader.

I guess other than the meh writing was that the story was felt at arms length from the characters, even though we spent some time in everyone’s head as narrators. No one really stood out as likable or compelling. So I wasn’t invested or hoping that anyone in particular would survive.