This is going to be a weekend that the guests of the Mitchell Inn will never forget. Among those staying at the Inn are an infamous lawyer, a wealthy engaged couple, a husband and wife with a troubled marriage, two friends who are hiding secrets, a lesbian writer, and a couple looking to enjoy a sexy weekend away, as well as the owner of the hotel and his son. One of them is a killer. But who?

Soon after arriving at the Inn, guests start dropping like flies. No one knows who is murdering the guests, but one thing is clear ...there is a killer among them. Tensions run even higher after a massive ice storm knocks power out at the Inn. Without electricity and phone service, the guests fear that whoever is killing them is lurking in the shadows around every corner. With no way to call outside of the Inn for help, the guests have to remain vigilant and resourceful in order to stay alive. Who will survive and who will die?

Reminiscent of the legendary Alfred Hitchcock suspense films of the ‘40s, ‘50s, & ‘60s, as well as the popular murder mystery board game Clue, Shari Lapena’s An Unwanted Guest invites readers to take a stab at a classic whodunnit. Lapena opens the novel with the arrival of the guests to the Inn, allowing readers to be lulled by the cozy atmosphere and cheerful disposition of the guests who are looking forward to a relaxing weekend, before pulling the rug out from under them with the first murder. From there, it’s a heart-pounding game of cat and mouse as the guests try to figure out who is the murderer among them before it’s too late. Finger-pointing ensues and hidden secrets are revealed as the guests become more wrapped up in the murders, making for a suspenseful “keep-you-guessing” kind of novel.

Good read in the vein of a classic whodunit. It was fast-paced and there were a number of red herrings thrown in to make for a fun read. I would recommend particularly for those who truly enjoy Agatha Christie.

As I read this book, I thought it felt like an homage to Agatha Christy's most famous closed room mystery, "And Then There Were None" (...or "Ten Little Indians"). If you loved Christy's novel, you'll thoroughly enjoy this mystery. Red herrings abound, and just when you think you know "who-done-it," Lapena reveals another tidbit of information that makes you doubt yourself. I was pleased with how Lapena wrapped it up at the end, and left us with an unexpected (and to me, quite satisfying) little surprise twist on the last page.

I finished this one, but I wasn't wowed.
There were too many characters to keep straight, and not all of them were necessary to the plot. Very little backstory was given for each of the characters to make us care enough about them whether they did it.
There frankly wasn't enough backstory to even remotely be able to figure out whodunit before the big monologe at the end.
It was an interesting premise, but in the end not very well executed, due to too many characters and not enough time spent fleshing anything out.

Fun mystery if you don’t take it too seriously. Once the killer is revealed I found it hard to believe he/she would kill all those people for the reasons given but it was fun if you just don’t think too hard about it.

I am sorry I didn't like this book because I enjoyed "The couple next door." I just couldn't connect with it!

An entertaining mystery! A group of people find themselves stranded at an old, elegant motel during a snowstorm in New York. Two are best friends from college hoping to have some girl time, some are couples either long married or newly engaged and one is a criminal defense attorney. When the power goes out and no cell phone service is available, the first body of many is found. With no one to suspect but the few that are there, who is the killer?

I loved Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door, and this one didn't disappoint! A traditional mystery in the style of Agatha Christie-lots of strangers iced into a hotel, then people start dying. The killer has to be someone in the hotel, and you'll never figure out who did it or why until Lapena wants you to. I'm impressed by this author's range and her ability to pay homage to Christie while making this type of murder mystery fresh and original.

This is the book I've been trying to find! Snowstorm, stranded at a hotel, strangers, and murder! The plot was fast paced and didn't linger on unimportant details. I guessed several different murderers and was completely wrong. I just loved everything about this book!

What a motley crew of characters - each with their own flaws and secrets that could make any one of them the killer during a snowy weekend stuck in an isolated inn. They're all suspects but you'll be surprised who it turns out to be and WHY!!!!

I’m still not sure what “women’s fiction” actually means…but I am a fan of psychological thrillers, so when I read that Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door (which I enjoyed), had a new book entitles An Unwanted Guest that was labeled under “women’s fiction” and mysteries/thrillers,” I was eager to accept a copy from Penguin Group / Viking and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Without revealing too much, just think Ten Little Indians goes to the Catskills…in an entertaining, quick read. The cast of suspects, guests and proprietors of a snowbound inn over a winter weekend includes an attorney who had previously been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife, a middle-aged husband and wife who are on the verge of separating (unbeknownst to one of them), a war correspondent with PTSD and the friend who brought her on a getaway to help her recover, a rich heir and his gorgeous fiancee…you get the idea. On the first night, one of them turns up dead…possibly an accident? But then the body count increases before the power comes back on and access to civilization is restored on Monday.

Along the way, we see what happens when people with lots of secrets are thrown together and trapped by circumstance, then put under stress with plenty of alcohol. Fans of psychological thrillers will appreciate, and although it was a bit over the top with red herrings galore, it is a fun read. Four stars.

I’m going to be honest with you. When I find an author whose books I like, I eagerly await their new releases. Such is the case with B.A. Paris, J.P. Delaney, Peter Swanson, and Shari Lapena just to name a few. I know author Robyn Harding personally (Hi Robyn!) and when I learned she finished her manuscript, I think I might have begged her to read it. And I did. And it’s AMAZING. Put it on your good reads list immediately.

I will always be happy to read a manuscript and give feedback, by the way. But I digress…

Knowing how much I loved Shari’s other two books, I was obsessively watching for advance copies of her new novel to be released. When I say obsessively, I mean daily. I just had a fluttery feeling in my heart that this book was going to be amazing and I was right! When I finally got my anxious little hands on the advanced sneak peek, I dove into the story.

Fellow book lovers will understand. There is not a whole lot better than getting lost in a good book. Reading is one of life’s treasures in my humble opinion.

From page one, I was totally hooked on An Unwanted Guest. I have been putting off reading the ending because I don’t want it to end!

The premise is that a group of strangers, each with their own issues, are staying at a luxurious lodge in upstate New York. There’s been a major snow storm and the power lines are down, no one can arrive and no one can leave. There is no electricity and phones have died. One of the guests is found dead, under very mysterious circumstances. As everyone begins to suspect one another, another guest is found dead. Who is committing murder? Then one more. Is it a guest killing people off…or is someone else at the inn?

If you are like me and love a good page-turner, order this immediately then clear off your calendar to read it in one sitting. Due out on August 14. SO GOOD.

In a book reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, a group of travelers trapped at an inn, begin to disappear. Winter in the Catskills means cold and snow, and lots of it. A group of travelers are staying at Mitchell’s inn, all for various reasons, some to relax and de-stress and some for ….other reasons. When a winter storm turns into a blizzard and the power goes out, the group is stranded. While annoying, it’s not alarming, there are plenty of fireplaces and wood stoves at the inn. But the fun comes to an abrupt end when one of the visitors is found dead, surely a tragic accident. Until the bodies begin to pile up like cords of wood. Someone is taking them out, one by one. But who, and why? A heart pounding claustrophobia inducing read