I loved this authors other books and am now a huge fan of hers so I was excited to see this new one. It was so intriguing and kept me hooked throughout. I certainly didn’t guess who the killer was. Great book.

When a group of strangers decide to spend an idyllic weekend at a country manor inn, no-one could ever guess they would end up in the middle of a murder mystery and trapped with no roads, electricity or phone signal to help them.

An Unwanted Guest is a great murder mystery that combines all the elements of the classic mystery genre that Agatha Christie perfected while also included some modern elements (such as Wifi, phones, etc).

From the first couple of chapters of this book, I was completely hooked. Each couple have their own thing going on, and if you don’t know it straightway, you soon come to discover what it is. The single people visiting the inn are also enigmas of their own, and I loved how the story was played out bit by bit, leaving me on the edge of my seat.

This is the type of mystery that really clues into people’s behaviour and the different ways people can react to tragedy, and highly intense situations. Some people turn into heroes. while it’s easier for others to become villains.

I definitely guessed a few people before finally alighting on the person who did actually do it. But I definitely was bouncing around for a while before I came up my final decision.

I really enjoyed this book, and almost read it in on sitting (and probably would have except for that dreaded thing called work). I would have liked a bit more at the end in regards to some characters

A slow story and rather predictable in places. Sadly I didn't enjoy this as much as previous books by Shari Lapena

Who doesn't love the group of strangers stranded in a remote place getting murdered one by one style of a whodunit? An Unwanted Guest was an enjoyable and easy read that kept me guessing to the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This is by far one of my favourite books by Shari Lapena. Everything I’ve wanted in a book, I got from this one. The suspense, the mystery and the secrets. It had it all.

The plot is so simple. People gathered in a hotel while a murdered is killing them one by one but you really don’t know who it is. If you figured it out early then good job, but I did not. It keeps you guessing till the shocking end.

A great modern day thriller that will keep you awake until you finish the book. After that, you'll sleep with the lights on and the doors double locked.

This is a classic, who dunnit, in the style of Agatha Christie. For me, it was a bit slow, and at times predictable, no batteries for the torches, icy cold house, no alternative heating when the power goes off. Everyone has a secret, some more than others. Murders everywhere. Sorry, it just didn't reel me in, I tried to like it!

Loved this book. I have heard a lot of good things about this author. It kept my interest the whole way through and had me guessing right to the end. Definitely will be reading more from this author. Highly recommend.

I've never read Shari Lapana before but I will be after reading An Unwanted Guest. I thoroughly enjoyed this whodunit. It's in the classic style of Agatha Christie. Guests arrive to a small but beautiful hotel in the mountains. The weather is already turning bad before most arrive and by the end of the first night they are essentially snowed in. The first murder victim is found the following morning. It's not long before victim number two is discovered. Fear, paranoia and suspicion ensues as it becomes clear that someone amongst them is the killer or killers. A page turner.

Great who dunnit novel. Multiple murders in this one to guess who the murderer is. A little group of holiday makers gather at a small country hotel, but one by one are murdered in different ways. One killer or multiple? Love the little twist at the end regarding one of the deaths. Nicely done

An Unwanted Guest is a classic whodunnit with a limited number of possible culprits, set in a remote hotel during a snow storm, without telephone reception or internet access. The author follows the traditional structure of the genre, setting the scene, introducing the characters whilst hinting that nothing is as it seems, then slowly revealing the secrets whilst inserting several red herrings... I found the pace a little slow and repetitive, and the characters and their secrets were quite cliché. It’s a quick and easy read but one that I am unlikely to remember next week.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Another great book from Shari Lapena. I loved An Unwanted Guest. I was glued to the book and couldn't put it down. Finished it in one sitting.

An Unwanted Guest is a book I kept hearing about all the time so when it became available to read on The Pigeonhole I jumped at the chance. This meant that I read a stave every day for ten days. I'm not sure this worked so well for me at first as I think I would have benefitted from getting more stuck into the book at the beginning, but once I was familiar with the characters I was engrossed.

This is one of those very atmospheric reads, one where the setting and location is crucial. Extreme weather and huge wide-open spaces add to the sense of foreboding that I started to feel very early on.

Mitchell's Inn is a remote hotel upon which a number of guests descend for what should be a relaxing weekend but ends up being anything but. There's snow, ice and a storm which cuts off the power, so pretty quickly the guests become more involved with each other than they would have done. Some of them are in couples, some are friends and some are there alone, but none of them know anybody else apart from the person they arrived with. Along with the owner of the hotel and his son, there are twelve of them altogether but then a body is found and that total starts to decrease. The first death could possibly be an accident but what occurs afterwards is most definitely not. Can you imagine being confined in a building with a murderer and not knowing who it is? That intense, claustrophobic feeling is what An Unwanted Guest is all about.

I thought the characterisations were excellent. Along with the guests, I had no idea who the murderer might be and I suspected each and every one of them. In fact, I had no clue at all until very near the end when I started to get an inkling. I did turn out to be right but honestly, it could have been anybody and to maintain that level of mystery and not give away lots of pointers shows how talented Shari Lapena is. I haven't read her other books yet but I'm keen to do so now.

This is a clever book. The author captures the way people feel when they're under threat, how they start to suspect and accuse other people, how they feel vulnerable and scared, how they begin to divulge things about themselves that they wouldn't have ordinarily. It's the perfect murder mystery.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy. 4.5*

A weekend retreat in a snowstorm in a beautiful hotel. What could go wrong? Enter creepy music here!!!!!!

This book has a delicious old fashioned murder mystery to it. The atmospheric descriptions of the hotel and surrounding were beautifully written. I wanted to have a cocktail in the ice house and snuggle up with a coffee and a book in the library.

As the guests check in we are introduced to a whole range of personalities to be cared for by the father and son who are running the hotel. A body is found the next morning by one of the guests. However the hotel is cut off from civilization and without any power. Is there a killer among them or is there stranger danger?

As the weekend progresses it is obvious there is a killer on the loose. I thought the whole whodunnit style was highly entertaining and engrossing.

fter reading The Couple Next Door and A Stanger in the House, I was super excited to learn Shari Lapena’s third book An Unwanted Guest was due for publication. Shari Lapena is one of those authors I just know is going to give me a great read, but after reading the synopsis I was in two minds. If I’m honest it did sound a bit cliché Agatha Christie: a group of strangers stranded in an old building with no power who get popped off one by one. But did I enjoy this book as much as the other books by this author? Read on to find out!

Most contemporary thrillers are written in first-person, drawing the reader into the protagonist’s frame of mind. This novel, however, has an omniscient third-person perspective which works really well for this whodunit mystery type thriller. With a large and varied cast of characters and no main protagonist, the all-knowing third-person narration gives a more traditional feel as if being told the story from the outside looking in; the reader being privy to the thoughts and feelings of the whole cast, allowing them to draw their own conclusions as to what is going on and adding a further layer of suspense through dramatic irony.

By the end of the first hook where we find out one of the characters recognises one of the other characters, I was completely captivated. Although, on the surface, the plot doesn’t sound that original, the narrative is so well written, and the characters are so compelling, I could have quite happily devoured the whole book in one sitting. There are lots of twists and turns and red herrings along the way, and when the murderer was revealed it wasn’t the person I thought it would be.

This is like a modern-day Agatha Christie novel from beginning the end. It is intriguing, exciting, and I very much enjoyed reading it. At first I wasn't sure about the way in which the story is written: with multiple people’s inner stories presented by side, in the same chapter. I found that this unusual way of writing the story works well here though - it makes the story flow nicely and gives you a multidimensional view of people and events. Sure, the ending is a bit contrived and not as neatly layered or complex as most of Christie’s best works. But this book is just as engrossing. I look forward to reading more novels by this author!

A very suspenseful novel with an air of an Agatha Christie tale. Good character development and kept me guessing right until the end.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

"As the guests arrive at the 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. 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."

After loving this author's first two books, there's no way I was gonna wait for this one to come out on paperback like I normally do! Shari Lapena has once again delivered a truly gripping and compelling read. I was hooked right from the very beginning and I just found it impossible to put this book down!

The premise of this book was actually really terrifying. Imagine being completely trapped in a unfamilar place with unfamilar people, with no electricity, and people are being murdered. The whole time I was reading I had chills down my spine while I was frantically trying to guess who the killer was! While the ending wasn't as sinister/dark as I was expecting, this book is definitely another must read from this author! I highly recommend all the books from Shari Lapena!

An Unwanted Guest centres around a weekend at the Mitchells Inn. A weekend that should be one filled with relaxation, peace and quiet. But turns out to be a weekend of murder, mystery and suspicion. During a violent storm, the guests finds themselves cut off from the outside work. In a remote location where no one can get in or out!
With a killer in their midst.

The novel is told in almost a diary style, with the dates/times listed. So we read on, as each of the guests arrive and come to know there individual personalities. They are an unusual bunch and none of them really trusts one another, when the murders begin. . .

Gwen Delaney and Riley Shuter are best friends on a weekend escape from life. Riley is distant; and we learn that it is due to her PTSD and recovery from time as a war correspondent for national news. There is also top NY criminal defence attorney David Paley, a widower seeking a break from the daily grind of work.
There are three couples Lauren Day and Ian Beeton. Beverley and Henry Sullivan, an older couple with a marriage in trouble. Dana Hart and Matthew Hutchinson, a newly engaged couple that are the gossip of the guests.
There is also a resident writer on retreat Candice White, whom spends most of her time alone and away from the other guests.

Six of the twelve rooms are occupied this weekend. With the weather the hotel is short staffed. As it is a family owned business, father and son James and Bradley Harwood, find themselves managing all the tasks needed to keep the hotel running. The father James is the hotel’s chef and the son Bradley the bartender. The guests settle in and unpack for their first night at the hotel. In the morning, they are awoken by the sounds of screams. . . .

At the bottom of the stairs lays a body. There is a power-cut and the hotel is plummeted into darkness. Did the victim fall? Or were they pushed? Is this an accident or murder?

Throughout the novel, the guest’s dark secrets are slowly revealed. I was gripped by the individual storylines. Beverley and Henry’s unhappy marriage goes from bad to worse. The friendship between Gwen and riley is truly tested, when Gwen makes choices Riley disapproves of.

The characterisation is brilliant; and I loved how the secrets are slowly revealed.
They felt like little bits of gossip and really added to my feelings regarding different characters.

Upon the discovery of the body, fear sets in and accusations begin to fly. With the guests turning on each other, will the killer ever be revealed? David with his experience of criminal court, takes centre stage making decisions for the group. But even David has secrets. Secrets he doesn’t want revealed.

The novel has a clever whodunit style. Like a modern-day Agatha Christie novel. It has a brilliant ending that doesn’t disappoint.
Murder, mystery and suspicion 4*

In the style of a cliché ‘Whodunit’, 10 guests, the owner and his son are trapped in a remote inn while a murderer terrorises them. The murderer could be amongst them or is there someone else hiding somewhere in the inn waiting to get each of them alone.
I love TV ‘Whodunits’ but had never read one before now so I have nothing to compare it to, although many other reviewers have likened it to Agatha Christie. All I can say is it’s nothing like The Couple Next Door, neither in story nor quality of writing. It seemed full of clichés and lacked depth. I didn’t really warm to any of the characters and therefore wasn’t bothered as they dropped like flies. When the murderer was revealed I wasn’t surprised – I hadn’t guessed either but that’s more because I wasn’t really into the story and therefore didn’t care enough to try to predict who was responsible.
However, I will give it credit for being creepy at times. I’m 32 and still afraid of the dark – so every time they went wandering through the hotel with just the light from their mobile phone I was petrified on their behalf!! I think it’s because of that element of suspense I was able to power through until the end instead of giving up mid-way.
If like me, you read and enjoyed The Couple Next Door I believe you will be disappointed with this novel. I just hope the comparisons to Agatha Christie are incorrect as I was really looking forward to reading some of her works.