I enjoyed Lucy Foley’s first book, The Hunting Party, so was really looking forward to reading The Guest List.

It’s set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland. The setting is very well described and you get a real sense of the sinister atmosphere and the stormy weather. I found the descriptions of the cormorants looming and cackling very spooky!

Jules is a successful owner of an online magazine and after a whirlwind romance she is going to marry Will, star of a survival programme. They decide to have their wedding on the island.

There are a lot of characters in the book but I found it easy to follow and remember who’s who. Each chapter focuses on a different character, either in the days leading up to the wedding or on the wedding day itself.

It follows a similar format to The Hunting Party in that there is a murder, but the victim isn’t revealed until the latter part of the book. My guess for the victim was right but my murder suspect was totally wrong!

The book is well paced and the characters have a lot going on. The last quarter of the book gets really good and you won’t want to put it down!

There are links between some of the characters but there were a couple of parts where I thought it was a bit convenient and too much of a stretch, which made it a bit unrealistic.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

I loved The Hunting Party - and Lucy Foley has done it again with this atmospheric mystery with an evocative backdrop that is impossible to put down. Great characterisation, brilliant pace. Super-smart plotting that keeps you guessing all the way through, A perfect wintery read!

Lucy Foley has nailed the modern-day locked room murder mystery. She keeps us guessing until the end. The identity of the victim doesn't come out until near the end and each character tells us their version of the story although not the whole story, of course. Language is modern, sex and violence and swearing abound, so it is no Miss Marple account but the essentials are very Agatha Christie. It is clever, twisting, loads of red herrings, good characters and motives, a satisfying conclusion. Looking forward to the next one.

Having not read The Hunting Party, even though it has been on my to read list for quite some time now, I was really excited to read The Guest List.
I was immediately drawn in by the setting, which was so well described that you actually feel like you're there on the island with them. The same can be said for the characters in this, even though the point of view flips from one to the other throughout.
The way that their back stories add to what is happening in the present is really well done and gives you some brilliant characters to engage with.
It is a bit of a slow burn, which I personally didn't mind as I was hooked from the very beginning.
I loved that it wasn't obvious from the outset who the killer was and the way in which it is revealed, with you not knowing who might have done it/there being multiple people with motives and reasons to do it, was brilliant.
It was pretty hard for me to believe that one person had done so much damage to so many people over the course of their life but I guess it could be quite possible.
Having said that, I really enjoyed The Guest List and will be recommending it to many.
I cannot wait to read more from Lucy Foley and have just downloaded The Hunting Party to finally read that now, as a result of finishing this.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing! Absolutely loved it. It had a similar feel to ‘The Hunting Party’ but in a very, very good way. I got super invested in some of the characters (and hated others!) and I loved how it all tied together. Would definitely recommend!

After hearing so many great things about the Hunting Party when this appeared available for review, I thought I would give it a go.

Really enjoyable read about Will and Jules, who have traveled with their guests to a remote venue on an island off the coast of Ireland. It’s atmospheric and whilst it’s June, it feels bleak rather than the month should suggest. Will is a successful TV star who has appeared on a show called survival and Jules runs a magazine. They appear to be the perfect couple.

Throw in a back story of Wills friends from his public school days, Charlie (who is married to Hannah) but is best friend to Jules, Olivia who is Jules much younger waif like step sister and many back stories...alongside a murder. A great story, well paced before a reveal. Only comment would be the finishing off felt a little light,

Thanks to Net Galley, the Author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

After being a fan of The Hunting Party, I was excited to get my hands on The Guest List.
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It didnt disappoint. Like Lucy Foley's previous thriller, it was a story told via various points of view, with the story slowly building to a murder where there is more than one motive and more than one suspect.
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It's not a story that makes you think too hard, the clues are there, the stories unravel and lead you to the event but you its anyone's guess at who the culprit is until its finally revealed.
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It's an enjoyable read, its twisty and with enough turns to make you dizzy, and that's what I enjoyed about both The Guest List and The Hunting Party. It didnt shock me, or really blow my mind but it kept me reading until the small hours of the morning.
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Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for a copy of this book.

I'd give it a 3.5/5

Good news! I enjoyed this far more than The Hunting Party. Bad news! Everything I disliked is replicated here in the same formula. The difference is The Guest List has some interesting conflicts and I wanted to know how they‘re resolved. I’m still not a fan of the murder victim not being revealed until the end but I feel that it’s handled better here. There are motives against several people so everyone’s fair game. The multiple POVs are also distinct enough. Some of the characters have genuine connections and history which added to the tense setting.

Regarding the murder mystery itself, it’s a little weak and predictable. There are too many coincidences that feel convenient plot-wise. The resolution arrives really quickly and I wish there’s a proper closure. But if you want to read about a weekend wedding from hell this would be a good choice!

The tale of mystery at a wedding on an remote island. Easy to read not the ending I thought. Lots of hidden pasts.

An ancient and atmospheric island is the setting for this potentially perfect wedding. The ceremony takes place in a folly and, although the first couple of chapters are introducing the characters and wedding frivolity, there is the promise of secrets, past misdemeanors and impending doom.

There is a dual timeline - the wedding day as it happens and a couple of days before leading up to the main event. Each chapter is told in the first person from different points of view. Informal and readable, as first person narratives are, complete with thoughts and feelings and a confusion over when to use 'me' and 'I'. And bizarrely, each character 'hisses' when they are angry.

There is a tension as the story builds after the first couple of chapters and the expectation that there will be a murder or something serious about to happen. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie, the reader simply knows there will be something and the search is on to work out whodunnit even before the crime has happened. The short choppy chapters work really well.

​A great, fast-paced thriller. Recommended.

The Guest List from Lucy Foley is my first ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book of 2020. It’s simply a tour de force of the thriller, whodunit genre. #Bookstagrammers in Foley we have ourselves a modern day successor to #agathachristie.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The plot and characterisation in the book is razor sharp. Layers of secrets, betrayals and jealousies are slowly unpeeled from the POV of each of the guests, revealing some shocking home truths. No spoilers here but once you start this book be prepared not to put it down until you’ve finished the last page - it’s truly binge worthy. BBC option this book immediately.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Brilliant, I couldn’t put it down thriller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

I loved ‘The Hunting Party’ so when I saw that ‘The Guest List’ was available on NetGalley I knew I had to read it! I loved the unexpected twists and turns of the book and thought the story flowed well, it was a bit more fast paced than ‘The Hunting Party’ with a few more plot twists. Would highly recommend!

Apologies, I read this back in November but a personal loss meant I’ve only now notice I didn’t post my review.

This book had me gripped. The multiple narratives really added to the tension and the building mystery.
The writing was perfect, allowing for each character to be formed in such a way that even if the chapter didn’t indicate who I was with, I’d know immediately.
Perfect.

I enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing and wasn’t obvious, which is a must in this genre! I only knocked 1 star off because I feel this familiar storyline is occurring quite a lot in fiction at the moment.

Lucy Foley's latest novel, The Guest List, follows the same 'locked-room' type formula as her earlier novel, The Hunting Party, in that it involves: (1) a death, (2) at an isolated location, and (3) with a closed cast of suspects. It also continues the author's clever trick of revealing the murder at a fairly early stage in the book, and then leaving the reader guessing as to exactly who has been murdered, who committed the crime and what their motive was. This is a formula that cannot help but draw the reader into the story. I was gripped from the first chapter and found myself flying through the pages, eager to find out the identities of both the victim and perpetrator.

The story focuses on the wedding of Will and Jules on the small, remote Irish island of Inis Amploir (translated to mean 'Cormorant Island' in English). Once the location for a massacre, Inis Amploir's dark history adds to the sense of trepidation that surrounds the wedding. The isolated island is bleak and creepy, providing at wonderfully atmospheric setting for the mystery. It reminded me a little bit of Agatha Christie's novel, And Then There Were None, which also features a remote island as its setting for murder. Inis Amplour is only accessible by boat, an approaching storm leaves the visitors stranded on the island overnight with a murderer in their midst, something that could not fail to dampen the most lively of events!

The chapters are split between a number of characters and I liked the way each narrator is given a description: Aoife - the wedding planner; Hannah - the plus-one; Jules - the bride; Johnno - the best man; and, Olivia - the bridesmaid. It emphasised each character's position in the wedding party and also helped me remember who everyone was. The author does a great job with the characterisation, giving them each an intriguing backstory that places them front and centre when exploring the possible motives for murder. The way the author uses the characters to advance the story moves The Guest List from a classic murder mystery to a part-crime-fiction / part-psychological suspense.

The story flips between the day before the wedding and the wedding night, ramping up the tension as each character's motive for murder if gradually revealed. Everyone holds on to some dark secrets about their past and everyone seems to have a motive for the murder.

The story is cleverly and precisely plotted, ensuring the steady increase in suspense as the plot progresses. The high-emotions of the wedding and the gathering appears to have a pressure-cooker-type effect on the group, as tensions come rushing to the surface. It is somewhat unsettling to think that there could be so many simmering resentments amongst one couple's closest friends and family. No one is quite what they seem. The story reminds us that sometimes friendships persist out of shared experiences or merely habit, rather than from respect, like or admiration. Secrets unfold and past traumas come to light as each character takes their turn in the spotlight, resulting in an intricate, gradual and satisfying revelation and conclusion.

I was totally gripped by The Guest List. It was tense, entertaining and full of thrilling secrets and reveals. The book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it did not disappoint. This book has certainly made its way to the top of my Top 10 reads for the year and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a binge-worthy crime / suspense novel.

Having read The Hunting Party last year and really enjoying it I just couldn’t wait to read this one, and it didn’t disappoint it was so good. I really couldn’t put it down. I had planned to read this over a few days as that’s how long it usually takes me to get through a book I’m really into, but I managed to read the whole thing in just under 24 hrs. I just needed to find out what happened!!

The Guest List is really well written but be warned it is a slow burn. Normally when it comes to books that are told over different time frames I struggle, but this one worked perfectly, it was easy to read and follow. The Guest List is told from the perspective of the different characters, which I enjoyed as it helped to build a picture of who was murdered and who could have done it.

The characters were very well written and I liked how each of them added their stories to the various twists. I have to admit some of them weren’t likeable at first but as the plot thickened and we learnt more about each of the characters, some of them started growing on my and by the end I ended up liking them.

All in all, this was a great read for me and one I would highly recommend. I can’t wait to see what Lucy Foley has to offer next.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for my eARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

I read this book in a day. It was an easy read that went back and forth between timelines and a few characters perspectives. So many of the characters were unlikeable and at one point I really didn’t care who was the murdered person, it could have been a few for me! But it all came together at the end with no great surprise as to who was murdered. However who did it was very cleverly done and not something I saw coming.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

This is astory about a wedding based on an island. During the festivities a murder is committed. There are some very unlikeable characters a lot of tension but not difficult to guess the ending. A very quick read.

I loved The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley’s previous novel and The Guest List is just as good. This is a classic whodunit with plenty of twists and turns, secrets and lies.

On an island off the Irish coast, guest gather for the wedding of Jules and Will. They are old friends with plenty of history between them and then one of them is murdered. As a vicious storm sets in trapping the guests on the island, the atmosphere becomes more menacing. Who has been murdered and who is the killer?

The narrative is told in different timeframes and from the perspective of various characters. The tension increases as the novel progresses and the mystery intensifies. I didn’t work out which one of the wedding guests had been murdered until close to the end and the killer was a real surprise. Very clever indeed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book to bits! The plot was great, the characters in the story were superb. I had just finished the previous book by Lucy Foley and hoped that this one would not disappoint and I was so delighted that it did not! Superb setting and great flow to the story. An excellent read! I do not give 5 stars very easily but this book definitely gets my 5 stars!