The Last Guest by Tess Little

Richard Bryant, a Hollywood film director, hosts a bash for his 50th birthday in his glamorous L.A. Mansion. His ex-wife Elspeth attends, expecting a large crowd she can get lost in, and her and Richard’s daughter Lillie who asked her to meet her there. At the last minute, Lillie cancels and Elspeth is wondering why she is there. There are only 7 other guests and she doesn’t know all of them; but they have all worked with Richard and have experienced his abuse. He is mean, belittling, and violent.

After a meal of eclectic foods, chosen to symbolize a specific experience with each of the guests, the attendees drink and act up and the evening ends with debauchery. Everyone passes out and in the morning, Elspeth wakes up first and discovers Richard on the couch, dead from his own vomit. Or, was it murder?
It’s a whodunit, reminiscent of Murder on the Orient Express, but it drags on and on and it never seems to climax. I disliked the characters, especially Elspeth, the director’s former wife. She whines all the time and is constantly on her daughter’s back. The narrative moves back and forth between past memories and present thoughts and the movement was often disjointed.

The best character was Persephone, the pet octopus who watched everyone from her large aquarium in the party room. She would escape from her tank in the evening and return when she needed to breathe. An interesting addition to the novel.

Thank you #NetGalley and #RandomHouse/BallantineBooks for this e-ARC. This honest review was in exchange for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I find myself having to stifle my urge to be too unkind in my review of The Last Guest. Suffice it to say that I was not a great audience for this book. I frankly found the first 50+% a bit tedious after which the story began to pick up a bit. You can dislike a novel’s characters and still love the novel but it is the kiss of death when you do not care one whit for them or what happens to them. Despite the author’s ability to write, I just don’t think that she had a particularly interesting story to tell and, by the time the last 2% of the book was used to wind up the details, I just felt relief.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early read. This is a tale of whodunnit in the style of everyone is locked in a room and something happens. However the breadth and depth of characters left a bit to be desired, and I really struggled to find a character to root for. I found them all rather mundane, well except for Persephone. And you have to read it to find out why Persephone is intriguing.

Behind the scenes of the rich and famous, can be hard to watch....never the life they live on the big screen. When Hollywood Director, Richard, uniquely handpicks 7 guests to celebrate his 50th birthday in his glamorous mansion, his lifestyle slowly unravels. These guests include his wife, Elspeth, much to her dismay. She wants to exit quickly, but curious why this particular RSVP includes this odd assemble. Instead, the party gets out of hand with the guests passed out and when they awaken, Richard is dead.

Was it a drug overdose? Is someone to blame? How many of them had a reason to kill him?

The investigation breaks down the guests as suspects giving everyone a reason to kill him. A lot of painful memories Elspeth shares what she has tried to forget giving off some angry vibes.

The conglomerate of guests include a watchful eye from her tank is a mystical creature & octopus, Persephone. She plays a key role in her appearance. What kind of a man keeps an octopus as his pet?

This Hollywood mystery thriller is slow to start, but picks up when you disentangle this web of deception. It can be compared to Agatha Christie's brillant design of whodunnit.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

There was a lot of potential for this Agatha Christie type mystery, but unfortunately it just missed the mark. The book was too slow is the telling of the murder mystery. There wasn't enough development of the other party guests to make you interested in them. Wish there had been more details in their roles and relationship with the murder victim.

A real page turner. A well written book that will keep you guessing! The story is full of intrigue and suspense. I give it 5 stars and a strong recommendation!

2⭐
Another case of wrong book for me. As I get older I am getting pickier about my thrillers. This one did not keep me turn in the page at all. I needed more from the story and the pacing

Well, just make a movie from this already! Crazy plot, crazy characters. Great who done it. So much drama.

Elspeth is invited to a gathering/dinner party at the opulent California home of her ex-husband, Richard, who is a famous Hollywood director. The book was a bit slow moving, but a compelling story with a nod to Agatha Christie.

Elspeth Bell is invited to the Hollywood Hills birthday party of her former husband Richard. Once there she is surrounded by a small group of people, some of whom she doesn't know. During the evening, guests are invited to watch a film that Richard made of his pet octopus, Persephone, and how she escapes her tank every night. As the night wears on, the guests become drunker and drunker until they pass out. The next morning, Elspeth finds Richard dead and everyone becomes a suspect when it is determined that there was foul play in his death.

While I appreciated the Agatha Christie influence the author was going for, this book was too long and too slow to enjoy. Then, the author seemed to have an odd fascination with the octopus - eventually, in Elspeth's mind, Persephone became a suspect. I found some of the story repetitive and tedious and just did not enjoy the story overall.

Elspeth attends a lavish birthday party for her ex-husband, a famous Hollywood producer, along with several other glamour scene guests. As the guests awake the next morning, the ex-husband is dead, and they are all suspects. The Last Guest is proffered as a locked room mystery, but it morphs into a story about Elspeth’s life with her ex, as well as her relationship with her daughter, among others. Although it’s obviously well written, the agonizingly slow pace just wasn’t for me, and I couldn’t get into the eccentric characters of the story. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for this ARC!

This book wasn’t as captivating and suspenseful as I thought it was going to be. I was really excited to read this one, but then couldn’t get through the second half of the book. I just wasn’t all that invested in finding out what happened in the end.

While I had high hopes for this book based on the description, I had a very hard time getting into it. I spent a few hours reading, hoping that there would be a moment where I connected with the story and the characters but sadly it never came for me. I did not find any of the characters very likeable, which I think contributed to my lack of connection with the book.

The story itself was on the slower side and the chapters seemed to move from past and present at the drop of a hat, making it more difficult for me to follow.

I did enjoy learning more about octopuses throughout the book though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC of The Last Guest in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I love anything murder mystery OR Hollywood-related, so this was a must-read for me as soon as I glanced over the description. The characters were well-developed, and though the whole octopus element was a bit overdone at times, I appreciated the creepy factor/metaphor. I saw the octopus as representing Elspeth's maternal instinct and her desire to escape the cage that Richard put her in. Some other reviewers said it was a slow burn for them, but I felt it was well-paced and well-worth the read!

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. A glamorous party for her ex husband ends in his death. One of the eight party guests has to be the killer, right? But who is it? And why can’t she remember anything? Who can she trust? Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was an enjoyable read! I found myself wanting to read more. Entertaining to say the least!

Elspeth went to her ex husband, Richard’s house for his fiftieth birthday party. She quickly realized it was more of a small intimate dinner party than the normal ragers that Richard throws for his birthdays. There were Richard’s costars, producer, manager, partner, Richard’s pet, and old school friends along with his ex wife in attendance. Richard ends up dead and Elspeth soon finds every person in attendance as a reason to want him dead. Who killed him?

I would recommend this book to a friend. It was quite entertaining and thrilling. The ending wasn’t necessarily wrapped in a tight bow, but it went with the story line. You should read this!

I wish to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishers Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the story of the dark side of Hollywood, a marriage in ruins and a daughter with mixed loyalties. When the father is murdered during his planned 50th birthday party all attendees and the family pet are suspects. This story keeps you on the edge of your seat working out all the clues. Just when you think you have it all neatly solved things go in a different direction. Hm, so, who did the deed? You will have to read to get the answer…maybe.

I have to say that this story was slow and none of the characaters were likeable. Well, the octopus was the star of the book in my opinion and when the book finally ended I was glad and tired of reading it. I must admit that by the end I simply did not care who did it. But I learned a lot about the life and habits of an octopus.

I enjoyed this one by Tess Little! Interesting POVs and good timeline. Characters were either easy to love or maybe have total contempt for.
A story that encompasses every possible emotion.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a very bizarre whodunnit. This is a story that had so many different directions it could have gone that it was impossible to put it down until the very end! Tess Little has done a great job in captivating the reader and not letting go. This is a must read thriller!

I received a complimentary copy of The Last Guest from NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Quite the mystery! First I have to acknowledge the very cool title, which had me guessing for quite some time, but then took on a double or possibly even a triple meaning. Great book! I was enthralled with the dynamics between the host and the guests of the extravagant self-thrown birthday party. It seems that all of his “friends” had reasons to deny him friendship, so a seemingly self-inflicted death appeared malicious. (Even the 8 legged pet was a possible suspect!) Perfectly executed novel. I will happily read from this author again!