A brilliant read!

I raced through this book; page-turner that it was. Set on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Jules is gearing up for the wedding of the year to fiance and TV star, Will. A remote island, wedding guests with secrets, a storm brewing and heading towards the island, with no way off it. What could possibly go wrong? Murder, maybe?

What I liked about this book was the fact that it was narrated by five different people (bride, bridesmaid, best man, wedding planner and plus one) and that the chapters were fairly short (although that meant it was difficult to put down).

Really enjoyed and recommend heartily.

A couple are getting married on a remote island and there's an underlying mystery running through the novel. The characters change from chapter to chapter and the timeline jumps back and forth which can be a little confusing. I had really enjoyed Lucy Foley's previous book The Hunting Party and found this to be a little disappointing. It was difficult to keep track of what was going on and most of the characters were thoroughly unlikeable. It examines male boarding school culture which is quite interesting but I really didn't connect with the book.

I loved Lucy’s debut novel.

I loved this book even more and felt it flowed better than The Hunting Party, especially with her style of writing.

An excellent novel full of believable characters and an excellent storyline

Wonder what the setting will be for book 3

THE GUEST LIST - LISA FOLEY
The story takes place in a remote Island off the coast of mainland Ireland with a cast of similar and diverse characters and is told largely in the first person from the perspective of 6 of the main characters Aiofe (the wedding planner), Jules (The bride), Will (the groom), Olivia (the bridesmaid and half sister of the bride), Johnno (the best man) and Hannah (described as the “Plus one”).

The story is split, between “before” and “the night of” the murder. It is clear as the book continues that all of the main characters have their own troubles, secrets and lies and the book draws the reader in providing multiple options from the list of main characters as to who the victim is and who the protagonist is which is all left to the last few chapters

A number of readers have indicated that it is not that dissimilar to her other book “The Hunting Party”. However, this is the first book I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this “whodunnit”.
Thanks to netgalley UK, the author and HarperCollins uk for allowing me to read this for a honest review

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47934718-the-guest-list

A craftily, expertly and oh so cleverly written ‘guess who’ of a murder mystery that has it all. With a full cast of characters where everyone has their own tale to tale, inside a tale, that brings them all together for a spectacularly twisted masterclass in psychological suspense!

Using the same formula as The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley digs even deeper and even darker and goes one better with her new book The Guest List. There are enough twists and turns, red herrings and subtle little clues that keep you on your toes and the imagination ticking making this a book thats impossible not to devour whole.

The book blurb has everything you need to know covered, so that just leaves me with the task of telling you how good this book really is!!

It will pull you in, twist you up in knots, as each character is drawn into the spotlight and all set themselves up to become the guilty party, and keep you guessing right up until the very bitter end.

Did I guess the correct villain? Not a chance! Would I recommend this book? Hell Yes! Did I loose an entire nights sleep due to reading right through the night? Yeap! And was it worth it? Definitely!

The Guest List will be published on 20 February 2020 and is available for pre-order now from Amazon, Waterstones or your local bookshop. You can even pre-order a signed edition from Waterstones 😍

Thank you to the author Lucy Foley, publishers HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for my arc of this book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

I absolutely gobbled this book up, looking for chances to read it wherever I could. There's a colourful host of characters, some more likeable than others but all written really well and easy to distinguish from one another. I loved the setting of the story and the fact the whole story took place over just a weekend, switching from past to present. I also really enjoyed that the story was set around the wedding. There was so many twists and turns that kept me on my toes and while I don't feel it was necessary to tie every single character and their 'past' to one another (and this actually made the plot less believable), I didn't find I was bothered too much as the book was such an enjoyable read. I would love a sequel to this book as it would be interesting to revisit the characters and I'll be looking to read the authors other titles

Not an island I would choose to get married on, especially in bad weather!
Wooed by the romance of the setting and the Irish connection with her fathers family, the wedding of the year, Will and Jules, is planned to within an inch of its life...or an inch of somebodies, as a body is discovered just after the cake is cut.
With multiple narrators and several flicks back and forth between pre-wedding, weding and the aftermath this is a fantasticly dark read. It is made so much the darker by the reveals of the characters, Olivia and her troubled past, the "boys" and their public school behaviour, traditions and secrets interspersed with the frivolity of dress choices, cake tasting and wedding decorating.
With the owners of the folly and organisers of the wedding the only calm people for the duration of the event, many truths are accidentally outed during the wedding reception and true colours are pinned to various flags.
I particularly liked the identity of the victim being a mystery for so much of the book- it made every single person both potential victim adn potential murderer and made me second gues pretty much everything.
Well plotted and extremely well written.

Will and Jules are marrying on a remote Irish island. However one of the wedding party has a host of secrets which are about to become unearthed by the other guests and when they do, murder is on the cards. Told from different view point characters the mystery weaves throughout the book. I enjoyed this book more than the 'Hunting Party." and there is a similarity in the theme and type of characters. A good read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

Family and guests gather on a remote Island off the coast of Ireland for the wedding of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. No expense has been spared and it's going to be lavish party.
The guests all have issues with each other and don't get along that well.
It's clear that something awful is about to happen.
A slow moving mystery that failed to hold my interest in parts.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. It didn’t grip me fully though, possibly as I read it straight after ‘The Hunting Party’ and both books have a similar format.
I’ll reflect more and possibly re-read before posting final reviews on publication.
I enjoyed the setting of a remote Irish Island, its isolation and unpredictable weather creates the perfect backdrop for the drama to play out against. The concept is fun: a wedding party where narrative threads are slowly being revealed and unravelled, as the bride and groom prepare for their happy day. And there’s ultimately no cause for happiness. Foley creates her usually bunch of suspects and filters the story via various voices and perspectives. We have to jump back and forth to piece the story together towards the inevitable murder.
I think there’re possibly too many coincidences at the end with the group of suspects; I was pulled out of the story a little.

Overall though, an intense wedding calamity as jealousy, bitterness and betrayals come to head on a remote island. A story of peer pressures, secrets, hatred and passions wrapped up in game of whodunnit for the reader.

Weddings, one of the most complicated and dangerous places to be. You have a great setting a remote island off the coast of Ireland. A wedding is a small community. You don’t know how one invite can bring the dream tumbling down. Seeing the weekend unfold through the eyes of the main characters and suspects keeps the reader on their toes. You are completely fascinated by these people as their stories unfold. This is a brilliantly riveting whodunnit that you cannot put down.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Like Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party, this is once again set in an isolated area. This time it’s the wedding of two famous people, a TV reality star and a woman who has gone from blogging to having an on-line magazine of her own. A small cast is thrown together on a small island and there’s no access to the outside world because of the rough weather. It’s almost like a locked room mystery.

We get to know the people as individuals and soon see that there are secrets festering under the glamourous surface. I really enjoyed this story and the unfolding of people’s lives which finally come together at this wedding. What should be a time of happiness suddenly turns sour for several of the people involved. You must read it. It’s awesome.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader's copy. I'm thrilled to have the chance to read this as I loved The Hunting Party. This book is unputdownable. I absolutely adored it. Another murder, another mystery from Lucy Foley where everyone is a suspect.

If you enjoyed the The Hunting Party.. like I did then you will find this book unputdownable. Atmospheric and brooding from the outset. A wedding held on a wild and remote island.. everything seems perfect on the surface but slowly and surely there is an unraveling. I loved the way the book is written from each characters perspective..the story builds and builds but in no way is it predictable. Lucy Foley builds a dark brooding image of the island which runs through the novel, likewise the undercurrents between each of the characters builds and builds.
Don't want to give too much away, but safe to say there are unexpected twists and turns and I didn't see them coming. A great read....took me two days! Looking forward very much to another Lucy Foley. Highly recommend.

I loved The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley and I loved this book too. Certainly there are similarities in that the reader is introduced to a group of friends in a hostile environment who get far more than they were expecting. This time they are brought together on a sea-swept island off the coast of Ireland to celebrate Will and Jules wedding. And of course it isn't as simple as that, oh dear me no. There are secrets, unexpected twists, ghastly revelations and horrible coincidences to deal with. Not to mention the bleakness of the weather and the terrible feelings of danger and dread that mounts irresistibly page by page. You just know that no matter how grand the setting, how expensive the occasion how glossy and glamorous the wedding party is, it won't end well. And it doesn't. Highly recommended.

Lucy Foley’s books remind me of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Ensemble casts, hidden relationships, mysterious disappearances and deaths. The Guest List, much like The Hunting Party, would make a brilliant play, as the story skips between The Night Of and Before, you can imagine the stage hands running out to set the scene, sudden costume changes from beautiful wedding gowns to soaking wet, covered with seaweed and peat.

It starts with an island. Remote, separated from the Irish mainland. A couple. Jules and Will, getting married.
The weather on the island foreshadows what’s to come - the day Before we have gentle warm skies, The Night Of? Howling winds, breaking waves, darkness. As with The Hunting Party, the location and the weather feel like additional characters in Foley’s ensemble - tearing through our main cast and stripping them all bare until the truth is laid out, strewn over the boggy landscape - like a body, waiting to be found.
I was kindly gifted a DRC of The Guest List by Lucy Foley from @harpercollinsuk / @harperfiction and @netgalley - coming out 20/02/2020. A must read.

There's a lot to unpack with this book so bear with me. The TLDR version is this is a great book, you should read it as soon as you get the chance.

So, what do we have? A rich story in a bleak setting that takes the concept of mystery and delivers a double shot of the good stuff. The characters are interesting, and the plot has enough twists and turns to open an entire theme park full of rollercoasters. If you want to be drawn in and find yourself second-guessing everything? This is the book for you. Not only are you asking who did it, you're also wondering who they did it to.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room about this book - The Hunting Party. I first read the blurb and thought "A bunch of old friends in a remote place for a celebration and someone dies? Sounds a bit like The Hunting Party to me." And then I saw the author and realised it's not just the core plot these books have in common. Which made me wonder. I loved The Hunting Party, just what would such a similar concept be like from the same author? And the answer is not that unexpected; as soon as I started reading the entire structure was very familiar. Which meant I proceeded with great caution - was this going to be a pale imitation? Happily, no. There are subtle differences. I'll hold my hand up, I was too cynical. If this was a series I wouldn't think twice about such similarities, in fact I'd be happy that the sequel followed the same path, so why should I be worried about an accomplished writer continuing to write in a style that they do so well? If you liked The Hunting Party I suspect you'll like this too.

So what are the differences? Well, they're small but mostly serve to make the whole thing slightly more accessible to more people. Forget that blurb claiming there are 13 guests - they're the focus of the story for sure, but there are dozens more people around the edges. That does make the whole thing slightly move civilised and less bleak, but, as someone who adored that hostility in the former book, I didn't find my enjoyment particularly lessened.

The plot twists are slightly gentler too, without actually killing the mystery. My hunches were far stronger, but even to the very last moments I never fully trusted my judgement, and rightly so it seems. And this is truly what makes Foley's writing stand out. I can admire so many aspects of this book, but those final pages where everything falls into place is where the true majesty of her writing shows. Like the storm lifting from the island, the most brutal pages give way to a comforting peace as a clarity arrives. It's superb. As I said at the start, read it at the first opportunity.

Lucy Foley uses the same basic set-up in The Guest List as she did in The Hunting Party. A group of privileged old 'friends' who don't really like each other very much descend on an isolated location and murder ensues, although we don't find out who the victim was until late in both of these novels. In The Guest List, the location is a tiny island - barely more than a rock - off the coast of Ireland, and the occasion is a wedding. Again, the novel is narrated by a series of characters: the bride, the best man, the bridesmaid, the plus one and the wedding planner. It also suffers from similar structural problems to The Hunting Party, with a long build-up and a rushed denouement. Although I enjoyed the atmospheric setting and I love set-piece novels, I didn't find this as captivating as the previous book. 3.5 stars.

I will cross-post this review to Amazon after the publication date.

I had previously read and enjoyed Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party which was in essence a deliciously updated version of the country house murder mystery novel exemplified by such writers as Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K. Chesterton, Mary Allingham and of course Agatha Christie. These stories normally have a few set components, a country house in a remote setting, the persons involved are commonly part of the upper class and are far from sympathetic in character some hiding deep secrets, a murder is committed with a large number of suspects, there may be a violent storm which cuts off all communication and means of escape and the domestic staff may not be entirely trustworthy.

Large elements of this are found both in the The Hunting Party and now in The Guest list where the scene changes from a remote Scottish Highland hunting lodge to a remote coastal Irish island. Here the wedding is being held of Jules Keegan and Will Slater but as the guests arrive and the story unfolds we learn that deep secrets are haunting some of the participants which may well give them a motivation for murder. You will seldom encounter so many troubled or unpleasant characters.

From the opening chapter we learn that something terrible has happened (we naturally assume murder) but until the end we do not know who the victim or perpetrator might be. The story then goes back a day and through first person narrations of some of the leading characters we learn of just why someone would want to commit murder and to whom. Its a long list of suspects but which one did the deed? This is the thought that will keep you guessing and reevaluating until all is revealed in the final pages. For my liking there are just too many co-incidences but with twists and turns aplenty I think that if you like a good who done it then this will certainly be for you.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Thanks @netgalley @lucyfoleyauthor and @harpercollinsuk for my arc
Publication date 20th February 2020
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On an island off the coast of Ireland the wedding of the year is taking place. And then someone turns up dead. Everyone on the island is a suspect.
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This book was absolutely fantastic. I literally couldn’t put it down. Dark and creepy and atmospheric. It was an amazing murder mystery whodunnit, reminiscent of an Agatha Christie book. I feel I should I mention this book had so much more though. The characters were very well written and well rounded and each added their own story. Loved it. Highly recommended xxxxx