I really enjoyed reading this book! The writing style was super easy to fly through. There was a lot going on at times, but I found it kept the pages turning. I totally did not see the twists coming! Especially that ending - wow! Overall, pretty good!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book.

A 3.5 rating rounded to 4 (that ending though)

I am so glad I read this! With all the elements that could make a thriller great, The Guest's premise is what made me pick it up in the first place. An charming uninvited guest, a son that seems to be struggling to fit in, a distant husband and a case of a missing person turned dead.

The book's fast pacing makes this a quick and easy read. I do wish we could have gotten a more in depth exploration of the characters at play and have the chance to fully connect with them. Despite the at times disconnect from the author’s writing, this story definitely delivers when it comes to a shocking twist and a thrilling ending.

I’m not really sure what I thought of this book. The beginning and the middle were ok, the ending however was really good. I didn’t see it coming.

The story could have been such much more if it was built up throughout to match the end.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this book, but mainly the ending. It was difficult to stay with this book in the beginning as the story was slow to start up, and there were some chapters that looking back don't really have much point to the story?

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I am not sure what to write about this book, I finished it (with a lot of skipping) but can honestly say did not really like it. Sorry

A seemingly normal family invite a guest into their home. Things seem great at first but soon lies and crimes start to unfold. Who is lying ?

I did enjoy this book and it was a good quick read. I did find it a bit heavy on the detail, I felt like everything was over described, but I don't think this was a bad thing as it was consistent throughout the book. It started off relatively slow and I found myself just going along for the ride rather than itching to see what happened.

Towards the end, things really ramped up and I got really invested in finishing it. The slow beginning made for an even better finale as I was prepared for the book to continue on the same path. had not even considered any of the events that came to light towards the end, something that I like in a book.

All in all, I enjoyed reading The Guest. It would be suitable for anyone who wants a book with twists and turns and a bit of a mystery without being "scary". Recommended for fans of Gone Girl.

How do you get rid of a guest who you didn’t invite and won’t leave? What is the guest hiding? In this book everyone is hiding something but some secrets are worse than others! Art gallery owner Ellie seems to have it all but then her life starts to slowly come apart at the seams...is is salvageable it will it all fall apart? Great book with lots of plot twists!

Wow! What an insane amount of emotions I experienced reading this! Overall a fantastic read! Not sure I expecting where it was leading, was most surprised with the ending. But honestly, I was hooked! If you like books that keep you on your toes, then this is the book for you! Murder, Secrets, lies, romance. It's packed with it all! An amazing piece of work! Well written and kept you guessing the whole way through!

I don’t know how to feel about this novel. On one hand the premise was good, and if started well. But it then seemed to lose its way and sadly I couldn’t finish it.

I was given the amazing opportunity to read this book and give an honest review, thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books.

All I can say is just WOW! The twists and turns in this book? I finished it in one sitting and I am actually pretty shocked! The end wasn’t what I was expecting, which is most of the times a good thing.

Ok so Ellie is a successful business owner, she has her own gallery, an amazing husband, perfect kids, pretty much she has a perfect life. But we all know that perfect isn’t really perfect, am I right? Or am I right!

Anyway Seth, her husband, brings a friend for dinner, and Ellie has this crazy attraction to this man, and she was taken aback by him as well, not only is he hella hot, but he’s most definitely not someone that her husband will befriend.

One thing that took me back was also what was going on with her son. Her some Brandon is a freshman I’m high school and they all found out that a girl he has been crushing on was missing and then later on found out she was killed. And aside from that Brandon has been bullied by her as well. This broke my heart because I was in his shoes of being bullied and I know the toll that can take on a person.

There is so much going on in this book, and I loved the distraction, from Seth keeping insane secrets from Ellie, from Ace also keeping his background a secret as well, and even Ellie’s secrets as well. It was insane! Towards the end I was like “omg!! What the heck!” Cathryn kept me on my toes all the way to the end, I loved the feeling.

Wow. Full of twists and turns that I definitely didn't see coming. Laura has a life that I seriously envied but is it all its made out to be? As a mother, I could understand her worries and concerns due to certain things happening with her family but she shows a side that you never thought she had. Loved every single bit of it and will definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

I liked this book, but unfortunately I didn't love it.

I didn't see the twist coming at the end however that was the most exciting part of the book. I think the action scenes were well written but it was hard to feel anything for the characters as they were very underdeveloped.

It wasn't a great book but I would recommend it to someone who hasn't read many thrillers as they might enjoy it.

Ellie has a great life with two kids and her dream job as the owner of a very successful art gallery. She lives in California in a beautiful home with her children and her husband, Seth, with whom she has a good marriage. But Seth starts behaving in some very strange ways, the strangest inviting a near stranger to live with them in their guest room. After a neighborhood high school girl is found murdered and Ellie's art gallery is vandalized, she has the feeling all of these events are connected. But how?

I had high hopes for this book, as I do for all mystery/thrillers that I read, but this book left me disappointed. Most of the storyline felt disjointed and the writing overall left a lot to be desired. The main character went back and forth so much on what she was thinking or feeling about nearly everything, that it was hard to get to know and understand her. The characters were somewhat boring. The book had long stretches of needless description and that space would have been better off used to develop the plot and storyline. The first 2/3 of the book contains a lot of rambling in which something is explained or told only to revisited again in the next chapter.

There was way too much talk about what they were eating and drinking. If I had to guess I would say that a chef wrote this book with a glass of wine. Food and drink were mentioned so much that I started to wonder if there was going to be some secret plot twist regarding the two bottles of wine the main character was always drinking at dinner.

The last 1/3 of the book did get better, which is why I rated this book with 3 stars and not 2. There were some pleasant surprises, which I love at the end of a book. The idea for this book was a good one, and the ending was good. I think more time needed to be spent on the story and character development and the overall writing as well.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. It was an enjoyable read, but I really thought Ellie was not likable, It was difficult to put up with her bad choices, but that may be because I disliked her so much. But the story was good and had many twists and turns. Ellie sure drank a lot, even though I thought I read an exchange between Brandon and Ace where Brandon talks about how Ellie had a drinking and drug problem when he was younger. Not sure that is realistic. I absolutely disliked something that happens at the end,

Average thriller for me. There were some twists I didn’t see coming but found myself skimming more than anything. Decent. I just haven’t been able to get into this authors books fully.

The Guest by Cathryn Grant

Featuring a family in Southern California mum, dad two kids living a normal life until a girl from the boys school goes missing. Then dad brings a supposed family friend whom no one has met home for dinner and that is when the wheels start to come off. Dads hiding a secret, the police want to speak to the son about the girls disappearance and who is this 40 year old couchsurfer that Dad has invited to stay.

Overall it is an enjoyable book. The cover is the type that will catch your eye on a supermarket shelf with a dark background and bright title and picture. The chapters are short, meaning you want to just keep reading that one more chapter and the book runs at a good pace but in areas chances were missed where more detail or depth could have been added to the story.
I felt Simone, the daughter's character was underdeveloped; she was awful quiet for a supposedly chatty 6-year old. I felt that Dad was not a likeable character and Ace a mystery which suited the stranger role, but I felt some of his interactions are not realistic for someone who is supposed to be a stranger.

The first line "Girls like her don't get bullied" was an intriguing start and immediately had you thinking famous last words but that part of the plot was grossly underdeveloped. I felt the book wrapped up too quickly and neatly, I would have liked another few chapters to see how things are developed.

I would recommend this book but I would consider it an afternoon cup of tea and take your brain out book.

The Guest is a domestic thriller that drew me in from the first chapter. I found it to be a very easy read, I just kept reading and before I knew it I'd finished.

It kept me guessing until the end, in which the twists and turns keep on coming.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers, I think you'll like this one.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

This book was a real doozy. I simply could not put it down and had to keep reading and turning those pages. Its a who-dunit with lots of stuff going on in the background. However, no way did I see the twisty ending coming. It completely took me by surprise.

A strange one this one. I enjoyed it but found my eyes rolling just too often.

Another woman who is successful in business but a total disaster domestically; lacking in self-confidence in her own home, unable to confront her husband, her son or her guest and unable to make a decision, and yet can confide in her assistant ... or so we are led to believe.

What was the role of the neighbour who complained about parking? I dislike characters who are introduced and featured in story lines and then vanish. Why so much emphasis on food and wine? Other than filling pages I m not sure that it adds much to the story.

The big reveal was just a little too convenient.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC.

I had extremely high hopes for this book. . The premise was inviting and I was excited to get to review it. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it at all. The stories seem to drag on for me and though it was tagged as a thriller with twists and turns, it didn’t live up to its potential. I found the characters to be one dimensional and lackluster. The ending didn’t give me the chills I think the author was looking for.. Overall, I was extremely disappointed.