A review by ginnyroberts2
The Guest List by Lucy Foley

mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Fun! I thought each character had an interesting little story to tell, although I expected the ways those stories intersected to be a bit more nuanced/interesting. Even though the ending was a bit boring I had fun reading and would recommend to someone looking for something simple and enjoyable, or any fans of mysteries. The Agatha Christie comparisons are deserved! 
But at the same time there's something about Foley that just bothers me. While the genre might be best enjoyed by turning some parts of my brain off, I do think this and the Paris Apartment had endings that are sorta suburban girl panic... In this one there are very flat charicatures of topics that irl are more complicated than
one irredeemable man so evil so terrible that we can all agree he DESERVES to be stabbed BY women and FOR women !
there's like a Facebook viral post quality to the topics Foley chooses for these books and not in a very self-aware or critical kind of way. It's like these books play to the same anxieties fed to us by social media algorithms and then offer the fantasy of violent catharsis, but ultimately that reinforces anxiety and a heartless worldview where everyone is out to get you, where there are bad evil people around every corner, and the only thing that can heal you is righteous violence against the dehumanized.
 Don't think too hard

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