Book: An Unwanted Guest
Author: Shari Lapena
Pages: 304
Read on: Kindle
Read in: 3 hours
Plot Summary: We can’t choose the strangers we meet.
As the guests arrive at beautiful, remote Mitchell’s Inn, they’re all looking forward to a relaxing weekend deep in the forest, miles from anywhere. They watch their fellow guests with interest, from a polite distance.
Usually we can avoid the people who make us nervous, make us afraid.
With a violent storm raging, the group finds itself completely cut off from the outside world. Nobody can get in – or out. And then the first body is found . . . and the horrifying truth comes to light. There’s a killer among them – and nowhere to run.
Until we find ourselves in a situation we can’t escape. Trapped.
Things I Liked:
- The premise of this book is very interesting and sort of nightmare-inducing! Imagine this- you and your friend (much like Gwen and Riley) decide to take off for a girls' weekend to a remote mountain inn. On getting there, on the very first morning, one of the guests ends up dead. Then, a few hours later, another one ends up dead. And now, you and the others are trapped in this remote mountain inn while a snowstorm rages outside. Good, right? Of course, "good" in terms of a book's premise. From a story point of view, not as a real-life-this-could-happen-to-you type of a thing.
- This is a very atmospheric book! I was pulled into the whole ambience of the book- the dark corridors of the old hotel as the power went off, the howling winds and snowstorm outside, using cellphone torches to look around, expecting a deranged serial killer jump out of the shadows! Basically, the author has done a fabulous job of brining the world around these hotel guests to life. You get pulled into their environment and begin to feel a bit of their paranoia.
- The mix of characters at the inn is quite interesting. First, there is Gwen and, her suffering-from-PTSD friend, Riley. An old, married couple- Beverly and Henry- whose marriage is falling apart. Ian and Lauren- somewhat new-ish in a relationship and this is, possibly, their first weekend getaway. David Paley, a criminal defence attorney with a mysterious past. Matthew- an heir to a big New York fortune- and his glamorous fiancée-Dana. Candice- a bitter writer struggling to get some writing done. James- the owner of the hotel- and his twenty something son, Bradley. Each of these people has their own secrets and issues and all of this becomes so much more heightened as bodies begin to drop.
- The book is very fast-paced and, because events occur during the course of one night, it is pretty unputdownable as well!
Things I Didn't Like:
- Now, while in a mystery/ thriller book, it is nice not to be able to easily guess who the killer is. However, the perfect mystery book is one where the author drops enough breadcrumbs for you to guess who the killer could be. In this book, there were no breadcrumbs. Except maybe one small, tiny one. But, this is not a big issue, if you like being surprised by who the killer is!
Rating: 4/5
Read this book on a rainy day and I am sure you will enjoy it!
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