Do you ever really know what goes on other people’s lives? Do you know what goes on in your own relationships with spouses, family or friends? Would you risk those relationships to get what you want, get what you need, put yourself out of harms way? Even if that harm is something you created? Iris & Gabriel, Pierre & Laure, have their secrets…some more than others. Will anyone be spared? Full of twists and turns, The Guest will leave you guessing….just when you think you have it figured out, guess again. Iris thinks her marriage is slipping away from her. Is it her husband and his secrets? When their friend Laure comes to stay, after finding out her husband has a child with another woman, what will it take to get lives back to normal? Could Pierre now be missing? Is Laure sharing everything or does she have her own secrets? Is the new couple down the street innocent or do they have their own secrets/story to tell? What about the young, handsome gardener with a drinking problem that supposedly got him fired from his last position? Where does the truth lie? What lengths will we go to, to keep our secrets? Another success from BA Paris. Twisty and curvy, in true BA Paris style, you won’t want to put this one down. A must read!

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of "The Guest" in exchange for my honest review.

Once again, Ms. Paris has delivered an absolutely brilliant book that kept me enthralled from start to finish. The intricate plot twists and turns culminate in an explosive final chapter that is nothing short of sensational. In this tale, Ms. Paris skillfully introduces us to the world's most infuriating houseguest, Laure, who invades her friends' home while they are away. Laure's audacious behavior includes sleeping in their master bedroom instead of using one of the guestrooms, donning Iris' clothes, rearranging their kitchen drawers to her liking, parading around in the nude, incessantly shadowing Iris, and even answering calls on her mobile phone without passing along the messages.

The story commences at baby Hamish's christening, where two couples, Iris and Gabriel, and Esme and Hugh (Hamish's parents), are joyously celebrating. However, a sudden and jarring explosion shatters the tranquility of the moment. The narrative then transports us six months into the past, where we uncover that Gabriel, a doctor, discovered a young man named Charlie Ingram at the bottom of a quarry, barely alive, but tragically, he passed away before help could arrive. Gabriel is tormented by guilt because he fabricated Charlie's last words. As Iris and Gabriel return home from Scotland, they are greeted with the unsettling presence of an unexpected houseguest—Laure. She has fled her husband Pierre, who claims to have fathered a child with another woman. Laure's conduct becomes increasingly erratic and invasive.

We are also introduced to Esme and Hugh, a couple who have recently moved to the village and now reside in the house that Iris had always coveted. Joseph, a young man in recovery from alcoholism, works as a gardener for Hugh and Esme. Pierre's uncharacteristic lack of response to Gabriel's attempts to reach him raises concerns.

Laure eventually returns to Paris in search of Pierre but fails to locate him at home. Instead of waiting for him, she hastily returns to England. Laure's sudden disappearance leaves everyone wondering about her whereabouts. Meanwhile, we learn that the Paris police have located Pierre. The story is replete with cleverly placed clues that consistently mislead the reader. Just when you are convinced you have it all figured out, another clue surfaces, leading you in an entirely different direction.

The narrative returns to the explosive moment from the beginning of the book, where another body is discovered. With a body count of three in just three months, the reader is finally poised to unravel the true intricacies of this captivating story. The conclusion is nothing short of brilliantly executed, catching the reader off guard with its sheer brilliance. Personally, I did not see it coming, and it left me utterly impressed.

The premise sounded so amazing! But sadly, I was not a fan of this one. It was, I’ll just say it: boring. The chapters went on and on with no real movement in the story. The epilogue wrapped it up very quickly and I was left feeling shocked and not in a good way. I did like the characters and how they were written. I just wish they were given more plot lines. Overall 2/5 ⭐️. Thank you St Martin’s Press, and netgalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been a fan of BA Paris since Behind Closed Doors (which happens to be my favorite book of hers), but sadly this one didn’t do it for me! I usually appreciate the domestic suspense plots, but I found myself bored through a majority of this story. While I didn’t guess the twist, it was hard being bored for a majority of the book then getting a huge information dump at the end (like, the entire epilogue?) It just didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat or looking forward to picking it up! Such a shame because I always look forward to her books!

3.5 stars rounded up

Lies, murder, deceit, infidelity! This book had all the tropes and I enjoyed it. Imagine meeting another couple on your honeymoon and renaming friends for the last 20 years. Never in your wildest dreams would you guess the secrets these 4 people are keeping. Man! That last secret was impressive, I did not see that at all, I am very rarely stumped. I actually thought Beth would be pregnant with Joseph’s child. This author does not disappoint, pick this book up if you love thrillers.

Book releases feb 20/24

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and the author for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Once I got the characters straight in my head, the book felt easier. I did feel like a few of the plot points were unnecessary and not worth the real estate in the book. It was slightly illogical just how engrossed the new gardner was in all of this, however I was pleasantly pleased with the ending.

I am an avid reader of BA Paris and once again I was hooked from the start. I found the book started off a little bit slow in the beginning but picked up in the middle with some twists. It had me guessing “who did it?” all the way to the end. I was unable to figure out the huge twist at the end and I absolutely loved the ending. I thought it explained everything in detail and didn’t leave anything open ended. Great job once again BA Paris! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in return for my honest review.

B.A. Paris books are a hit or miss with me and this one was entertaining but a bit slow. There were many unlikeable characters. Iris and Gabriel a married couple with one daughter Beth. Their friends Pierre and Laure and Hugh and Esme and Joseph all have secrets to hide.
None of the characters were very happy or content with their lives.
Overall I would rate this 3.5 stars. Many thanks to NetGalley and McMillan Publishing for the ARC. Publishing date is February 20, 2024

If you like lotsss of drama this book is for you. I thought the twist at the end was good and unexpected but the plot felt almost outlandish. I still enjoyed it though. Thanks for the ARC!

What a truly mind blowing book. You’d never guess the ending and when would one have time to since I couldn’t put the book down. The incredible plot leads one to believe the story to be of a couple with bad times in the midst when it’s a completely different way. B. A. Paris really know how to keep a reader intrigued only to blow them away at the end.

This was pretty good. I really bought into the story, and along with the primary characters, I felt so frustrated that Laure wouldn’t leave. But I was disappointed in the ending. Although everything got wrapped up neatly, to me it felt like an arbitrary choice as to “whodunnit.” So this is 3 stars from me, rounded down from 4 because of the ending. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!!
Fantastic! Kept me intrigued all the way through and I couldn't have ever guessed the ending!! Absolutely loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. After reading Behind Closed Doors, I was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of The Guest.

I was intrigued in the beginning of this book, loving the character development and how the story was unfolding. But as the story went on, so did the repetition and I was getting bored. Until the end.....the end of this book is the best! Hang in there, read this book because you'll want all the thrills from the ending. 3.5 stars

Pub date: 02/20/2024

B.A. Paris always delivers a thrilling book that is impossible to put down! She has once again succeeded with The Guest! Full of twists, turns and a shocking ending, this book kept me up turning page after page. Highly recommend for a book that will hook you from the start.

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

3.5 STARS

Domestic Drama

I enjoyed this much more than her last, but it fell short in overall pacing. We spend a lot of time with the married couple Iris and Gabriel and their guest, Laure. She is having marriage trouble with her hubs, Pierre. Apparently, he has upset her by revealing a secret from his past.

There is a good mystery woven into the plot, but I grew tired of the characters discussions, worries and day to day lives that circled around a littIe too long. I also became annoyed with the guest Laure and wanted to kick her out myself! Gees! I wanted to scream, “I’ve had enough”! 😂

There is also another troubled family that lives nearby and they also have a "guest" that is a bit unreliable. There guest is certainly suspect.

I was invested and wanted to find out how all the loose ends would tie in!

All in all, it was a lighter read, slow paced with moments of intrigue , and quite a good ending twist that I enjoyed! 🥨

I love me some B.A. Paris, this book though was not for me though. I liked the ending how psychotic it all was but my gosh… the characters were soo whiny and repetitive.

This book ended up being a very pleasant surprise! When I first started reading this book, I will admit that I did have trouble keeping up with all the different names/characters. There aren’t that many characters, but there are three main couples that are dealt with. Two of the couples, Iris & Gabriel, and Laure & Pierre are our two main couples of focus. Then we have the new neighbors who moved into the village, Esme & Hugh (okay- got it?). Once I had everybody situated, this book was smooth sailing…

This story starts off with Laure being an uninvited houseguest at Iris and Gabriel’s home. Laure and her husband Pierre are taking some time away from each other, and Laure is very distraught and needy. What should have only been a three week stay turns into much longer (Umm- that’s when I would have put my foot down and told her to go, but whatever).

Also, during Laure’s stay with Iris and Gabriel, we find that Gabriel is going through some personal crisis of his own. There have been some deaths in his family and in the community, and he has had to take some time off to grieve.

I wasn’t sure where this story was going at first, and it sure did move in a bunch of directions! The Epilogue of this story also made my head spin as I did not see any of that coming!! This story played out very well. With that, I do recommend reading this as I think this has some nice twists that many readers will enjoy!
(3.5 stars rounded up)

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book, which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: February 20, 2024.

Such an enjoyable read! Paris kept me on the edge of my seat, constantly changing my prediction for how the book would end. There were a few parts that felt far-fetched but for the most part I thoroughly enjoyed this fresh thriller. Loved the twist at the end!

This is my third BA Paris book…I’m a fan! I love the intricate story of relationships and the twist at the end. Just when I thought I could figure out what would actually happen…I was completely wrong.

I really enjoyed the book- one untimely tragedy after another. Only drawback was how brief the epilogue was to wrap up the story and tie up all the loose ends (but this is how I feel with most mystery-type reads)

Married couple, Iris and Gabriel come home from a trip to find their good friend Laure in their home. After learning of Laure's husband Pierre's infidelity which resulted in a child she decides to stay on with Iris and Gabriel to sort things out. Enter gardener Joseph with a sketchy past, who starts an affair with Laure. Meanwhile Gabriel is dealing with the guilt of finding Charlie, an 18 yo neighbor at the bottom of the quarry and the secret Charlie told Gabriel before his death.

I loved her previous novel Behind Closed Doors, very disturbing and such a page turner. This was good, felt just more a story about this families life. The story only wrapped up at the very end and a little rushed. Not predictable at all, I certainly was shocked. Overall a quick easy read with a good ending.
Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin Press for this ARC