What can I say? This book just like every other BA Paris book was fantastic. Kept me guessing right until the end. The whole time I was reading I felt like there was something I was missing. Just the feeling that kept me reading and led to the “suspense”.

As I neared the end of this book,
I was worried we were not going to receive the jaw-dropping twists that B.A. Paris always delivers- all signs were pointing towards…normal? I should have known better- Paris never disappoints. From the absent but much discussed unfaithful husband, to the seemingly too good to be true new neighbors, it is difficult to predict who will ultimately end up being the “bad guy”. Plenty of family dynamics and long-kept secrets are in okay to keep readers guessing until the very end of this page turner!

I received an ARC copy of The Guest by B.A. Paris and it did not disappoint!

How well do you really know someone, and what secrets can they be hiding?! This book takes you through the intricacies of different relationships and the emotions of grief, loss, revenge, hate, anger, jealousy.. it has it all !
Just when you think you have everything figured you... YOU DON'T. The epilogue of this book does not disappoint and comes with a twist that you would never see coming! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend to a friend!

Iris and Gabriel have been away and return to find their family friend Laure staying in their house. She and her husband are having problems and Iris and Gabriel are more than willing to let her stay. But as time goes on, things are getting a little testy.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this book. It takes you along at an easy pace and then Wham! I have loved all of Paris' books and this one is no exception. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

From the outside looking in Iris and Gabriel have it all. A good marriage, good daughter and good friends( Pierre and Laure). But when a young man has an accident in a quarry and Gabriel finds him, their “good” world starts to unravel. Will their marriage survive it?
B A Paris does it again with this slow burn. I spent most of the book trying to figure out what “really” is going on.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this ACR. #Netgally #BAParis
Pub. Date: Feb. 20 2024

I love every B.A. Paris book I've read (and there have been quite a few). This one is a little tougher to rate than all the others.

At times, I felt it was five star worthy. At other times, I was certain it was three stars.

The character development, like in all the Paris books, is first rate. By the end of the novel, you feel like you know every character, his/her foibles, his/her tendencies. You're wrong!

With great character development and multiple twists and turns, why would I rate it four stars? At times, I felt like I was dealing with a bunch of impish high schoolers. They bickered, they tattled, and they betrayed.

I'm sticking with this rating!

As a big fan of BA Paris (I’ve read all her books) I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of her latest work, THE GUEST.

THE GUEST was a domestic thriller and did not disappoint.

I loved the way the story started with a bang (literally) then took you 6 months before and worked your way back to the beginning. A cool way to tell the story, knowing what’s the come but not how you got there.

The epilogue is where the good stuff is! Wow, did not see that coming.

Definitely recommend this one to BA Paris fans and fans of domestic thrillers.

I was pulled in right away and couldn’t put it down but I also felt myself annoyed at how repetitive it was. Restating the exact sentence it just stated. The next chapter repeating everything from the past chapter. I understand it was for clarity of context since there were so many crossing over of timelines and characters but it was unnecessary. Some characters and part were almost too intertwined where it just felt unnecessary and like a messy reach that wasn’t needed. For example the whole Charlie part was so random to be tangled with Joseph? I get that it pulled it together maybe? Ok. But then him and esme? And Beth? Really didn’t need either of those twists.

I love that there were multiple twists and it just kept get more awful for the characters. I really did get annoyed with Laure as much as iris was lol so she was written perfectly and i totally believed she killed piere. I thought Gabriel killed Charlie and laure and Jeremy. I did guess Beth being pieres, but it was kept hidden their background of their trips and friendship. And how did piere not know for 20 years? Far fetched!
It was thoroughly entertaining and every detail was explained very well at the end!

I've liked many of B.A. Paris's books and was excited to read this one. I know this is probably just personal preference, but I don't care for the kind of ending used in The Guest--I don't want to be more specific than that because of spoilers. That said, the book certainly held my interest.

Let’s Get Bookie With It….

It’s Wicked Wednesday, y’all!

The Guest, is written by our thriller queen, BA Paris. This to me was undebatable decision . What organ could I sell to get my hands on this book?

Having read The Prisoner, Behind Closed Doors and Bring Me Back, I knew that The Guest, could never disappoint and boy oh boy was I right.

This book right here... bestseller!

I was hooked from page one. I loved the writing. The flow is executed perfectly. The character development is on point. The twists and buried secrets that reveal themselves throughout the book keep you begging for more. There was not one thing that I did not love about this book.

There were so many twists that I was unable to anticipate that I was on the edge of my seat as each chapter concluded.

The end ties everything together and has major shock value.

Are you ready for this one folks? You do NOT want to miss this! Now, go take your happy little fingers over to Amazon and click “buy now”

Teaser:

Some secrets never leave.

Iris and Gabriel have just arrived home from a make-or-break holiday. But a shock awaits them. One of their closest friends, Laure, is in their house. The atmosphere quickly becomes tense as she oversteps again and again: sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris' clothes, even rearranging the furniture.

Laure has walked out on her husband―and their good friend―Pierre, over his confession of an affair and a secret child. Iris and Gabriel want to be supportive of their friends, but as Laure's mood becomes increasingly unpredictable, her presence takes its toll.

Iris and Gabriel's only respite comes in the form of a couple new to town. But with them comes their gardener, who has a checkered past.

Soon, secrets from all their pasts will unravel, some more dangerous than they could have known.

I always enjoy BA Paris books and this was no different. It was engaging with lots of twists and especially at the end. I read this in 2 days and couldn't wait to get to the end. Thanks for this opportunity!!

This is exactly what I expect and want from a book by B. A. Paris. Great storytelling, complex and interesting characters, and plot twists I don’t see coming. I loved every minute of it! Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy.

I have been a BA Paris fan since getting an ARC of Behind Closed Doors years ago so I was super excited to get this eARC. It did not disappoint. I stayed up way too late on a work night tearing through this one!

B.A. Paris never fails to write engrossing thrillers with unforeseen twists and The Guest is another winner. Iris and Gabriel are saddled with their friend Laure in the aftermath of an argument with her husband. There are several plots running alongside one another and you will be constantly questioning how they will intersect. Gabriel has witnessed the death of a young boy and it keeping a secret about his final moments, new friends have moved in nearby and could be harboring a secret about their soon-to-be-born baby, and a mysterious gardener starts helping out on the grounds. It's hard to know who is being honest but its fascinating to find out! I loved this one and couldn't read it fast enough. A definite must-read for thriller fans and really all readers. Thanks to B.A. Paris, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC is exchange for my honest review.

I got an email from NetGalley/the publisher offering me B A Paris’s new book and I ran SO FAST. I’ve loved every Paris I’ve read, and this one was no exception. I’ve just recently gotten out of a reading slump, but had yet to find a book that WOWed me; this one did it! It was just an interesting story, then I was like “that’s it?” But NOPE. Enter: the epilogue. I usually hate the “this is how it all happened” trope that happens at the end of books, but this one shocked me. I audibly gasped, and that hasn’t happened in so long.

So grateful to have been auto-approved for this, and it delivered just as much as all Paris’s books do. She never disappoints!!

In The Guest, B. A. Paris serves up the ingredients for a perfect psychological thriller: a devastated husband who witnesses a young man take his last breath; a family friend who appears unannounced because of her husband's admittance to an extramarital affair; a couple down the street who hire a gardener with a questionable past. As usual, Paris has constructed a whirlwind of a narrative which focuses on a married couple and their complex relationships.

Gabriel and Iris have returned home from a much needed vacation. Gabriel has been recovering from the death of his father, a beloved dog and the untimely death of a young man. Gabriel had been out for his morning run and had found Charlie, an 18 year old guy, at the bottom of a limestone quarry, apparently a victim of a bicycle accident. Charlie was still alive and uttered a message to Gabriel before he died. This message has haunted Gabriel and has led to his emotional withdrawal and ultimately a strained relationship with Iris.

Upon returning home they discover that a close friend, Laure, has taken it upon herself to move into their home temporarily because her husband, Pierre, has admitted to an affair and a child from that encounter. Although they are close with Pierre and Laure, Laure's presence starts to grate on Gabriel and Iris. She ends up staying for weeks, trying to insert herself in their daily routine and claiming she can't reach Pierre.

As a welcome diversion, Gabriel and Iris befriend Hugh and Esme, a couple that recently moved in down the street. They are working on renovating their home and outside gardens. To this end, they have hired a landscaper, Joseph,
who has been recovering from a drinking problem.. On Hugh and Esme's recommendation, Gabriel and Iris hire Joseph to help Gabriel with their garden. Over time, Joseph's past starts to rear its ugly head.

Unfortunately, there's no end to the series of terrible events that ultimately unfold. Paris is masterful at showing how the bonds between people can ultimately fray as past secrets are exposed. This is another terrific novel from B. A. Paris that will be devoured in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book totally freaked me out! It was scary and gripping. I couldn’t put it down! A must read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!

Okay.... admittedly, this book was slower at sme parts than I've come to expect from this author- but that doesn't detract from how much I enjoyed reading it. I thought several times that I had everything all figured out, so the epilogue literally blew everything I thought I knew out of the water. In my humble opinion, you can't go wrong with this author... yes, there may be parts that drag on a page or two too long, but don't give up. The ending is 100% worth staying the course!

Whoa 🤯! I love when a story twists the way this one did! B. A. Paris continues to surprise me with how well she can spin a story. This one should keep you guessing until the very end! My favorite is the last line of the book. Once you read it, you’ll understand why. 😉

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it!🤗

Thanks @stmartinspress and @netgalley for read number 98 of 2023. This book reminds me of how well @baparisauthor is at developing character. She has some interesting ones in here. I was not expecting that twist at the end. The last chapter is pure gold and that last sentence is incredible. This book deserves ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ based on the last chapter alone. This was a hard book to put down, and I read it all in one sitting. There is a lot of character development, and while the pace picks up about 1/2 way through, even the other chapters had me hooked. @baparisauthor is a favourite author of mine, and she’s hit another home run with this book! I loved it! ❤️