The Guest List
Fiction
William Morrow
June 2, 2020
Hardcover/Audio ALC
320
Purchased/LibroFM
A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the author of The Hunting Party. The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It's a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride's oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn't wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
My review:
After reading The Hunting Party last year, I knew that I was ready to delve into another thriller from this author. This was definitely a page turner with a lot of room for speculation along the way. Once again the setting is in an out of the way place, complete with little cell service and not an easy way to escape, which of course sets itself up for a creepy thriller. I loved the back stories that we were given for the characters. We slowly learn why each of them could be motivated to hurt one of the guests (which guest and who dunnit is not revealed until the end of the book). The ending was where my problem lay. I can't reveal too much without spoilers, so let's just say I found it to be way too much of a coincidence how all of the players were related to each other (not in a biological way, but by circumstance). It was an otherwise fine book, but it lost some of its luster in the closing minutes.
A fast page turner, with lots of moving parts and a sinister landscape, this one had a lot going for it. I wasn't a fan of the too contrived ending, and think The Hunting Party was a better read.
I can usually excuse a lackluster ending if the buildup it strong enough. This one sounds like an intricate and twisty thriller, the kind of book I love reading!