What a curvy ride The Guest List was!! The alternating chapters, which I normally don't like, were easy to follow, even as the story jumped back in time. There were so many plots, twists and turns that I read this book in one sitting - past my mandatory bedtime!!! I loved the ending and the twist. Sometimes Karma is just a b---h!!!!

I loved The Guest List! The story is told from multiple points of view and almost all the action takes place over a two day period. The setting is a huge destination celebrity wedding on a remote Irish island. Everyone has been especially brought in by boat over rough seas. There is no one on the island except the wedding party, the guests, the wedding planner and her staff. The atmosphere is almost Gothic, there is a feeling of foreboding. You know bad things are going to happen. And they do - to almost everybody. At first I was put off by the novel's construction. Chapter's are not arranged in chronological order. I was never confused as each one is clearly labeled with time and point of view: "Nine hours before the wedding, the Wedding Planner" or 'The day before the wedding, the Plus-One. Different, but absolutely the best way to tell this story. I couldn't go to bed until I found out how it ended

A fast-paced thriller, to put it mildly! The setting, an isolated island off the coast of Ireland playing host to a glamourous and over-the-top wedding is a character itself. As the suspense builds a storm descends on the island and we hop from character to character and back in forth in the timeline so you really have to be on your toes to see what's coming! I never did and it was so exciting to see the storylines play out.

Guests are gathering on an island off the coast of Ireland for the wedding of Jules, a successful magazine publisher, and Will, the star of a TV reality show. Many of the guests are Will’s friends from his school days. This is a sort of fraternal schoolboy reunion for them. The bride’s best friend, Charlie, and his wife, Helen, are also among the guests. Other guests include a multitude of family and friends.

The wedding planner and her husband own the home and the grounds. The island is rather remote with little cell phone service but everything has been planned to perfection for the boutique wedding of Jules and Will.

Then following the wedding ceremoy itself, the storms arrive. The bride’s sister must be rescued when she goes too far out into the water. The electricity fails leaving the party guests in darkness. And finally someone turns up dead. Who on the guest list would kill someone at the wedding and why?

Each of the major characters tells his or her own story. Many of these characters are hiding secrets. Their lives are filled with lies, jealousies and guilt. Thus there are many different points of view about their backstories, the wedding, the guests and the location. Additonally, the timing of the plot bounces back and forth between the day of the wedding and the day prior to the wedding. Both of these force the reader to pay close attention so as not to miss any details, clues, or motives that might prove to be important.

The remote island setting makes the perfect atmospheric background for a thriller that ends with a dead body. It has all of the necessary features including a bog and a cemetery as well as a history that is filled with ghosts and legends. Foley captures it all very well in her narrative.

The pace of the book is a little slow. The buildup at the end happens rather quickly making it a satisfying compromise for the long and tedious wait. The author uses many red herrings to mislead the reader and then concludes the book with a surprising and unexpected twist. While this book is not an exceptional thriller, its atmospheric setting and its tangled conclusion still make it a memorable read.

This review is written from the egalley provided courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

WOW!!! What a fantastic summer psychological thriller. Will keep you up all night and turning pages until the unexpected ending!!

A modern Agatha Christie, Lucy Foley captures the wilds of Cormorant Island off the Irish Coast for a posh wedding of lifestyle magazine owner Julia Keegan to adventure TV star Will Slater. Secrets abound and are told through numbers perspectives. This thriller will keep you entertained with the depth of complexity in the wedding party.

Yes! I love this Christie-esque Murder mystery, very And Then There Were None vibes but with a feminist spin and I am here for it! I loved Foley’s other whodunnit as well, so I am now a fan and will read whatever she comes up with next!

Overall enjoyable, though I lost steam halfway through. The story really ramps up at into the last quarter, and provides a stunning ending.

I received this as a review copy from NetGalley and William Morrow. All opinions are my own.

ARC/Netgalley

This is a solid plane/vacation thriller read. What I liked: the setting on a desolate Irish island and centering all of the events around a wedding. What I didn't like: it was darker than I was in the mood for and aside from a few characters just some very unlikeable people to spend a great deal of time with in my head.

The Guest List is a superbly written, darkly atmospheric, dryly comical character driven closed circle mystery. Foley draws you in with each character's narrative which gets better and better the more you learn about their lives. Foley's storytelling shines most when graces us with intricate backstories, which includes not only their fears and internal thoughts but the deep and darkest secrets. In between their narratives are scenes of the murder which occurs on Jules and Will's wedding night. One unique aspect of the novel is not only do you not know the killer until much later you don't even know the murder victim until you are more than half way through the book and yet the manner in which Ms. Foley reveals many of the characters shocking secrets, definitely keeps your attention. How much one enjoys this novel depends on two things how much one likes character driven plots and how much one is willing to suspend their disbelief. I don't mind doing either.

Having read ‘The Hunting Party’ I was excited to get the ARC of Foley’s new title.
It has a very similar flavour to the other book, but with another whole cast of different characters and personalities and their unique histories. Many of the storylines were sad and opened out deeper depths than you might think. Occasionally, I felt it was a little too similar to ‘The Hunting Party’ but the fast paced nature of the book helped speed you along easily so that I didn’t deliberate on that point too long!
I did like the way the mystery of who, and by whom, and why were all kept under question right up until the last few sections - very suspenseful. If I was still commuting to London everyday, this would be a book of choice.
Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC.

The wedding will be held at a venue on an isolated and uninhabited island off the coast of Ireland. The bride and groom are a power couple in television and on-line media and the guest list is select. Everything has been meticulously planned and it will be the wedding of the year. But, there are secrets and tensions among some of the guests…and, there’s a storm heading towards the island. And then the lights go out.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley is a jaw-dropping, can’t-put-down kind of book. The plot is well-conceived and the writing is excellent. The story moves back and forth between the day before and the day of the wedding, while using the perspectives of five different participants. It might sound a little complicated but it’s not. In fact, it’s brilliant. The story unfolds with just enough suspense, tension, and a tad bit of creepy. It is a character-driven tale that kept me engaged from beginning to end. The Guest List is a book I thoroughly enjoyed and I was sad to turn the last page. Kudos to Ms Foley and many thanks for producing such great book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Everyone is gathered on a remote island in Ireland for a posh wedding. The bride and groom are both beautiful and successful, but things are not what they seem. This book has plenty of atmosphere, a cast of engaging characters, and an engaging plot. It'll keep you guessing until the very end.

Although mystery/thrillers are often marketed as being Agatha Christie-esque, in my opinion, very few of them live up to that expectation. However, I am delighted to say that this one does! The Guest List by Lucy Foley weaves together a deliciously spooky tale of complicated relationships, secrets, betrayals, and murder on a remote Irish island. When a socialite chooses the island as the venue for her wedding, she sets off a series of irreversible events that will forever affect not only her but also her attendants.

I really loved the setting the author chose for her novel. It very much reminded me of some of the classic whodunits I have read and watched over the years. The descriptions of the land’s menacing beauty, the crashing waves, and the raging wind, gave the island a human-like quality, making it feel almost like an additional character. The story is told through multiple perspectives, and although this can sometimes be confusing in books, each character’s chapter was clearly labeled and their voices were distinct, thus preventing any confusion. Foley was also successful in connecting her many twists to the plot, and I enjoyed attempting to guess all of them. I also appreciated that the author tackled such topics as society’s emphasis on physical beauty and the often-used phrase “boys will be boys.”

Although I loved many aspects of the book, there were a few things that I did not enjoy. One of my pet peeves is the frat boy mentality, and this novel is full of that type of behavior. I also found some of the plot twists somewhat predictable, and I wished they had been somewhat harder to guess. Additionally, I thought the ending was a little too abrupt, and the story would have benefited from a lengthier conclusion. Overall, I really enjoyed The Guest List, and I will definitely be purchasing it for my library and recommending it to our patrons. I am looking forward to reading another book by Lucy Foley.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers, and Lucy Foley for providing me with an advance eBook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book should be a bestseller! Love when things tie together. Maybe a little too coincidental, but I liked it. Just rewards are sweet. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I really enjoyed this quick read. The story revolves around a high profile wedding on a haunted island off of Ireland. The cast of characters that seem so different harbor deep secrets that threaten to come out. Twisty and dark at times, I would recommend this novel to fans of thrillers.

Lucy Foley is excellent at keeping the momentum going throughout the novel. With multiple POVs, she ends each chapter at the perfect point to keep the reader guessing. At the beginning of the novel, we know that someone is going to die, but we do not know who it is or who killed them. The ending is a satisfying wrap-up, giving answers to all of the questions that pop up along the way.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this free ARC.
I read this book in 5 days and that never ever happens! I really liked the different chapters corresponding with different characters. It kept the story going at a great thriller pace. I also loved how she ended the novel.

This one didn't live up to my expectations- it's not that it was a bad book, it was just fine. There were several POVs which were each written differently enough that I didn't struggle between them. I enjoyed all the twists in the story, and definitely didn't guess them all. I expected more of the setting: a remote dark and stormy island is such a perfect place for a mystery, but it felt very much like background noise.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley is a fairly entertaining mystery about a wedding from hell.

So the story is well-written and I do think it rises above most thrillers. I much prefer mystery stories over ridiculous psychological thrillers these days. And the mystery is good – predictable in some ways but also surprising too.

Writing reviews for thrillers and mysteries are hard because I never want to give anything away! I thought this was entertaining overall and there are some surprises but also I felt some areas are too obvious. I think it was lacking a bit in character development. Still, for a quick read on a summer day, The Guest List is a pretty good choice.