Many thanks to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and B A Paris for my ARC of ‘The Guest’ in return for an honest review.

All of this author’s novels have been a ‘must read’ and this was no different. A brilliant read.

Laure (a close friend) has moved in to Iris and Gabriel’s house whilst they have been on holiday. She has left her husband after he told her he has a child by another woman from a one-night stand. Iris and Gabriel are going through a tough time in their relationship due to Gabriel having been through a traumatic experience..

Gradually the story unfolds and then hammers you between the eyes.

Highly recommended

Let me start with the positives: this was very readable; I finished it in a couple of days.

It started strongly and the first few chapters were excellent.

Unfortunately, that’s all the positives I have for it :(

Thank you for the advance, and apologies I don’t have a better review! I was sure I was going to love this based on the author (The Dilemma remains one of my favourite novels) but sadly this story didn’t work for me; it all felt rushed and dare I say a bit… Desperate Housewives-y towards the middle and end.

When Gabriel and Iris return from a last-ditch holiday that has profound implications for their relationship, they find that they have little time to process their situation. Because their friend Laure has quite literally set up house in their home.

If her unanticipated arrival were not bad enough, Laure has also been sleeping in their bed and wearing Iris's clothes. But perhaps it is natural enough that she is behaving oddly. After all, she has just found out that her husband Pierre - who is also a friend of Iris and Gabriel's - has had the child that he claimed he never wanted with another person, someone with whom he has been having an affair.

This is a twisty story of unreliable and dishonest characters. The disadvantage was the first part moved very slowly. Halfway through, things picked up, and the epilogue provided lots of bang for your buck.

So in the end, it was worth it, but some ruthless editing in the first half would have done wonders for the overall reading experience. Not my favourite B. A. Paris story, but ultimately quite an interesting read. It gets 3.5 stars.

I wanted to enjoy this book much more than i did i'm afraid. For at least half of it i was just getting irritated that the story was just not going anywhere. All of a sudden BANG things started happening and the second half became a fab who done it. The ending chapter was the star of the show. B.A.Paris is a wonderful author but this was definitely not the best. My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Thanks to Netgalley etc all for this preview. Unfortunately it wasn't for me. The characters weren't likeable especially Iris. I felt the story was weak & uncreible & the ending was weak.

When Iris and Gabriel return from a trip to find their old friend Laure staying at their house, wearing Iris's clothes and rearranging their furniture, they are surprised, especially as they had no warning. Laure confided in them that Pierre, her husband and also the couples friend, had a child by somebody else, something he always said he didn't want. Comforting their friend in her time of need and also searching for answers, will they all make it out with their secrets safe?

I have been searching for a B.A Paris book I enjoyed as much as Behind Closed Doors, and this one almost knocked it off top spot. I really liked the second guessing of characters, the fact that everybody - apart from Iris was hiding something from everybody else. The short chapters, unreliable characters and shocking twists made it a quick read, and one I could not put down. I rated it 3 stars purely because I thought the beginning and middle needed a little more substance to it as it started getting a little repetitive. The epilogue is where the story gave its final twist and I couldn't believe what I was reading, everything I thought to be true was not. I sat and thought about it for a while after I turned the last page and that is what I want from every book I read.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Due Feb 20th 2024.

This is the second book I’ve read from this author and sadly they just don’t work for me. The plot was shallow and the characters undeveloped and unlikeable.

Gabriel and Iris return home to find their friend Laure has moved herself in, sleeping in their bed and wearing Iris’ clothes. They become friendly with another local couple and their gardener, who happens to have known a young man who Gabriel previously found dead in the quarry. The body counts begins, but there isn’t really any tension, twists or shocks, just a very slow story with too much meaningless dialogue.

The epilogue is simply one of the characters spilling the whole story of what actually happened. So I may as well have just read that bit, which was actually quite good and did earn the book that extra star.

2⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, B.A. Paris and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in return for an honest review.

It has a good writing style and being a fan of the author was enough to keep me pushing through a very slow start, knowing it would get much much better eventually! It does drag for the 1st half. It seems to just be a somewhat drawn out story about an annoying friend but the 2nd half?! Omg! I loved every second the pace picks up, people start dying, secrets start getting revealed and I couldnt put it down. The 1st half does serve to give a lot of depth to the characters and background so it does have a purpose, I jist prefer a more event filled plot. And that final twist?! Sheer genius! Just amazing

Hmm. I really liked the writing style of this book, and some of the descriptive passages were lovely, but the pacing was bizarre.

At the halfway point of the book, I paused to think to myself 'What is this book actually about?!', and I struggled to come up with an answer. It seemed to be about a house guest who was being a bit annoying and overstaying their welcome which is all very well, but it isn't a thriller is it? In the second half, when people start dying it did begin to pick up a little bit and I started to enjoy the story more.

I also struggled with the behaviour of certain characters, mostly Gabriel. I appreciate finding someone dying would be unpleasant, but to be severely depressed and need months off work to cope with it? Sorry, not buying that.

To be a bit more positive, I really liked the way the book was written and although I did guess the ending, I really liked how the author cleverly placed clues throughout the book to lead us there. I wasn't 100% sure how everything would come together until the epilogue, which I thought tied things together very nicely.