Book Review: The Guest List by Lucy Foley.

Book: The Guest List

Author: Lucy Foley

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 319

Read On: Kindle

How Long it Took Me To Read: 1 day

Plot Summary: The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner  – The bridesmaid – The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. 

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

Things I Liked: 

1. This is my second read from the author, I previously read The Hunting Party...I think last year and quite enjoyed her writing and the premise and treatment of the book. This one too drew me in with the plot. A secluded island, remote and stark. A lavish wedding. A bunch of people pushed together. And an underlining sense of dread. All of these make for some very interesting plot points and in this book to they come together to keep the pace and intrigue alive. I enjoyed the writing and character building and I enjoyed the structure of the book, its told from a couple of perspectives and each of these narrators add to the quick pace and keep the mystery going.

2. This book is told from a handful of different perspectives- the bride- Jules, the best man- Johnno, the plus one- Hannah, the bride's half sister and maid of honour- Olivia and the caretaker and wedding planner- Aoifi. Each person tells their side of the story, adds to the drama and building dread and each person...well some of them even add their backstories and make for perfect red herrings. I loved reading from each person's bit and wasn't favouring one over the other (something that happens often with books like this). I especially like Hannah and Olivia. They were some of my favourite characters in the book and ones I really liked. Even Julia, the bride, slightly flawed and imperfect as though she maybe, won me over by the end. She was so well-written and crafted with such humanness.

3. I read this book in pretty much one sitting, it's just one of those books you fall into headfirst and have a hard time setting it aside, real life be damned. So if you're looking for a fully engaging and engrossing thriller, something in the vein of Agatha Christie (in treatment and theme) this one is a good bet.

4. I also read this book at the perfect time..weather wise. Rainy days and thrillers are a match made in heaven and this one was read on a rainy day in July and it added so much to my reading experience. A stormy island off of Ireland and the raining coming down outside my window. Add a cup of coffee to the mix and life is set.

5. Will, our groom is a total prick and is so brilliantly written and brought to life. We all know men like this, charming, way too good looking and suave for their own good and full of charisma. Slightly, ever so slightly smarmy but you can see why women like men like this. Will is a textbook narcissist and the writer has done a bang up job on writing him.

6. There is a also a whole posh boarding school background to the story and the whole camaraderie and bond that exists in those place, as well as the slight competition and jealously and everything else that exists in close friendships, even male friendships is very well depicted.

7. This is a cleverly done book. I will give it snaps for that, the whole story and the mystery is very tight and the writer hold the cards very close to her chest for most of the book and for most part she manages to keep things pretty neat and tight with slight twists here and there.

8. I liked the ending....not giving any spoilers but I found it very satisfying.

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. Picking from the last point, this is a clever book...perhaps it tried being a tad too clever. For most of the book and I mean like 70%...or even more we have no clue who the murder victim is. Like it's kept completely under wraps. And honestly, from 23% onwards this began to bug me. Like just tell who died for God's sake! Why keep the identity of the victim a secret?!

2. A lot of the twists were beyond easy to guess.

3. There were far too many coincidences and connections amongst these gathered guests. Farrrr tooo many. I get the whole suspension of disbelief when it comes to fiction and thrillers but this felt too convenient.

4. The killer was easy to guess too.

Rating: 3/5

Net-net not the best thriller I've ever read but certainly not the worst. The whole I don't know who the victim is till the very end was very frustrating to me personally, but if you don't mind that bit you might actually enjoy this book.