The Guest List by Lucy Foley Review

A Wedding, An Island And A Murder...

Plot

A spellbindingly shocking murder mystery thriller with twists around every corner. From the bestselling author of The Hunting Party (which is next on my list), Lucy Foley. “It starts with a party. It’ll end in murder.” Captivating from even the blurb. The setting is spectacular, a remote island on the Irish coast. A wedding invitation some might die for, quite literally.

Jules and Will are the “it” couple. Will is moderately famous as a star on the TV show “Survival”. Jules isn’t far from the limelight either as a top woman in power, running her own company. After just a couple months of dating the pair are set to tie the knot. How does a legendary duo say “I do?” in style of course. The exclusive ceremony is held on Inis Amplóir, a practically deserted island. Having discovered the island from wedding planner Aoife, Jules was immediately drawn to the wild beauty of the island, she felt it was a sign, with her Irish roots and all that.

As the élite guest list arrives, the weather takes a turn for the worse. A storm is brewing and the guests are left stranded, adding to the already spooky feel of the island. Sequentially, the event kicks off with everyone boisterous and disorderly wedding, as like most weddings. The mood instantly transforms when the lights go out and an ear-piercingly high scream reverberates.

They all have secrets…but who has the motive?

The author uses multi-character first person narrative to expose the truth by cutting back and forth from the present, the murder scene and the events preceding. We are left in suspense for most of the novel. Thirsty for the knowledge of who the murderer is, who has died or if this is all just some cruel trick altogether?

Thoughts

Having never read a mystery novel before, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. To me, a good mystery needed two things, a trailblazing concept and a fluid execution. As a No.1 Sunday Times best-seller, I was intrigued immediately with by this. The unusual setting, with a twist on the typical “fairy-tale” day. As I wouldn’t customarily read crime stories I worried that story would be raced, or the plot would lose rational or become clumsy. My worst fear was figuring out who did it in the first few pages.

With pleasure I can guarantee that this novel does not fall under any of those characteristics of its stereotype. I was astounded with how much I enjoyed this read. A complete page-turner. The author effortlessly tells the story sinuously in an exhilaratingly stirring fashion. This is a finish over a weekend kind of story, you will not be able to put it down until you know for certain what has happened. Each page you’ll want to “leave it there for the night” will end with a sentence piquing your interest even further making it impossible to put down.