A review by bizarrebrunette
The Guest List by Lucy Foley

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 January is one of my least favorite months. It's dark, snowy, and depressing. Part of why I chose to read The Guest List is that it seemed to be a darker thriller. The Guest List immediately captured my attention. I wanted to read The Guest List any time I had free time and spent my entire Friday night reading half the book in one sitting. I loved the Guest List and even though I did guess one of the bigger reveals early on, it was still so satisfying to see that I was right.

A wedding party flocks to a remote, Irish island. The wedding is breathtaking until someone is murdered. As the story progresses, secrets are revealed, and everyone seems to have ulterior motives.

One reason I loved The Guest List is the setting. The wedding takes place on this remote Irish island with a chapel, house, and lavish tents are set up to house guests. There's a small Celtic cemetery located nearby giving this island a haunted feel to it. I took pauses while reading The Guest List to imagine the island in my mind. The setting for me helped solidify the story and made me want to continue reading.

There were several perspectives to read from. Usually, I'm not a fan of this because it becomes too many characters to hear from, however, Lucy Foley does a great job balancing all the characters. Out of all the character perspectives, I felt drawn to Hannah especially. Hannah (plus-one) was the best. I love how protective she felt over Olivia and how Olivia reminded her of her sister Alice. Hannah is an outsider to the wedding party especially because she comes from a working-class background. Hannah seems like a cool person who's down to have fun, however, she's subjected to this wedding and being there because of her husband Charlie being best friends with the bride, Jules. Hannah was the character I was rooting for. Besides Hannah, I liked seeing Hannah bonding with Olivia. Olivia is Jule's half-sister. 

The big reveal as mentioned above was something I ended up predicting about halfway through the book. In some cases, I can become disappointed if I predict a book's plot, although, in The Guest List, I was more excited to see how everything came together. There was a smaller reveal that felt more shocking to me.

As far as the ending to The Guest List, I thought it wrapped everything up while also leaving a few loose ends. It wasn't enough to feel that there was a glaring plot hole, but enough for me to think about what could happen after The Guest List ended 

The Guest List was everything I wanted in a thriller: an intriguing setting, a sprinkling of characters to root for and characters you would like to see burn, and a few twists throughout. I don't have anything bad to say about The Guest List. If anything I wish I had read this earlier!