BA Paris has been hit or miss for me lately. I absolutely loved Behind Closed Doors, but felt her more recent books were a struggle to get through. After the Prisoner, I wasn't sure I'd read another book from her. I'm glad I did and picked up the Guest. This book kept me on the edge of the seat and Laure gave me anxiety each time she pushed boundaries with her friends. There's mystery and domestic drama to keep the reader interested. The twist at the end really got me. Highly recommend.

I'm always excited to read anything B.A. Paris writes, and The Guest did not disappoint!

The Guest follows Iris and her husband Gabriel as they return from holiday to find their friend, Laure in the house. As days and weeks go by, Laure's moods become erratic and her behavior unpredictable. It also seems less likely that Laure has any intention of leaving. In her search for an escape from the increasingly tense mood in her own home, Iris befriends neighbors Esme and Hugh. But they have a guest of their own, a family friend with a seemingly checkered past. As the story unfolds, secrets come to light and lies begin to unravel, with devastating -and deadly- fallout.

I had a hard time sticking with the story for the first half of the book. It seems to take a while for anything to *happen*. However, the building tension kept me engaged and once the action picked up, I was hooked. The end of the book is fast-paced and twisty and ultimately, I was glad that I stuck with it!

Another terrific, twisty, mysterious and sometimes creepy book from BA Paris. This author knows how to weave out a story with compelling characters you aren't sure if you should be scared of, or rooting for. Highly recommend! Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for approving me to read and review this ARC. I cant wait to read more from this author.

I’m sorry!! I couldn’t finish this book. It was impossible to get into, which is sad because I loved behind closed doors. I kept trying to pick it up again but had to DNF (which I almost never do)

*4.5 stars!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of The Guest in exchange for my review. The story follows Iris and Gabriel as they return home to find their friend, Laure, staying in their house. She is having issues in her marriage and does not seem to be in a rush to leave. Gabriel and Iris are trying to discover the reasons for her wanting to stay and the mystery unravels from there. I don't want to go into too much detail because I think it is more fun to go in somewhat blind.

Wow. This was such an enjoyable read. The twists and turns of this story were so well done, and I did not see them coming at all! I love when a book can surprise me and keep me in suspense like this one did. There are many characters so at times it was a little bit difficult to keep them all straight but they are all interesting and well developed. The ending was so shocking! Overall, I highly recommend this one!

*many thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the eARC of #theguest by B.A. Paris which was published on Feb 20/24 in exchange for an honest review.
.
.
.
My mother has an expression about houseguests - “having them is like having fish - after three days they start to go bad.” How Iris and Gabriel could host their friend Laure for weeks at a time is beyond me. Laure has left her husband in Paris after thinking he has moved on from her and has come to England to stay with her good friends. And as is to be expected- things aren’t as they seem.
There are a lot of characters and at times it was all so confusing. I also found this moved along rather slowly, having me say inwardly- “get on with it.” As is Paris’ style I do like how every character is surrounded in a bit of mystery and all have secrets - or do they? Cue the ominous music here. I was not expecting this ending! A bit of surprise there! This kept me engaged start to finish - an ok read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5 This story was a domestic thriller that kept me reading but also hoping for more. The prologue was such a twist I did not see coming and loved how it was all tied together! I personally prefer a darker thriller with more twists and turns throughout the book that have me at the edge of my seat. This was what I would consider a light thriller, slower paced, but a great twist! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book.

I found this book to start out slow and took a me a little bit to get into. I was also confused at times. I felt the storyline bounced around and hard to follow. I almost DNFed at 40% but i pushed through and am glad i did!!
The ending was the best part....definitely did not see that coming!

Wow! I’m already a huge fan of B. A. Paris but this book was one of my favorites. It’s a slow burn, as most of Paris’ books are but they never disappoint. I really liked the characters and I felt on board with the feelings they felt, especially Iris. My mind went several different directions during this read and everything concluded perfectly. Easy 5 stars! Keep me reading late into the night.
Thank you to B. A. Paris, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC edition to review.

Two couples stories intertwine in the most unexpected way in this suburban thriller by B.A. Paris. Iris and Gabriel have their issues, but nothing compared to what they are about to face when Laure shows up with news that will shake their friendship with Laure and her husband Pierre. Something is fishy from the start, but Iris can't quite put her finger on it, nor can she help herself from comforting Laure through her neverending crisis. As their story carries on, things continue to make less and less sense... and where is Pierre??

This book kept me intrigued until the very end. The twists are well designed and the characters will keep you questioning their motives. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

A big thank you to B.A. and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review of The Guest by B.A. Paris. #TheGuest #NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This was a two point five star review but was bumped up to a three because of the epilogue which was the best part of the book. I found the story dragged so much and parts of it made no sense. I undertsand that for gabriel fiinding Charlie was tragic, but why would Gabriel be so affected by the events, that he cannot resume his life. Why did Iris and Gabriel put up with Laure, I just had so many questions, I found the characters wishy washy. But that epilogue made the rest of the book worth it. Great twists at the end and even though I had guessed at some of it, I enjoyed it.

Writing a thriller in first person POV, and then having the narrator withhold information/straight up lie via their internal monologue makes NO SENSE. Through dialogue with other characters, sure. But through their own thoughts?? It's just disingenuous and takes the fun out of it.

I really enjoyed this slow burn mystery by B.A. Paris who is on my must-read list of authors. Sometimes books that are slower paced leave me bored, but in this case I thought the pacing was perfect and made me curious to keep reading. I wasn't even sure where the mystery was going for a while, but it concluded with quite the satisfying ending that answered all my questions.

Iris and Gabriel return home and are shocked when they see their friend Laure there. Laure is making herself right at home which in return makes them uncomfortable. Laure left her husband after he confessed an affair and a love child. Soon a ton of secrets are unraveled.
I did enjoy the story however I kept getting bored with the book in the middle and set it down so many times. Of course there is murder and getting everyone’s story straight and figuring out what happened it just took really long for me to fully enjoy in a book.

I am a huge fan of B.A. Paris and Behind Closed Doors is one of my favorite thrillers of all time. I think I went into this book with high expectations that the writing style, plot, and characters would match in some way to the style of Behind Closed Doors, when in fact The Guest is extremely different all around.

The opening of The Guest had me hooked right away. The dynamic between the friends had the workings of an amazing psychological thriller and I kept waiting for the book to expand on that relationship but I do feel like it fell short. The book went a completely different direction than what I was thinking and I no longer felt captivated to read more. The twist at the end did surprise me but in my opinion it was just a little too late. I'm not a fan of books that reveal everything in an epilogue and I craved more anticipation, more intrigue, more suspense.

It took me a while to post this review because I do feel it is a bit biased having previously read Behind Closed Doors and coming in with different expectations. I would recommend this one to those who like slow-burn psychological thrillers with a twist that won't see coming.

Great book. A lot of suspense and wonderful plot twists. She never fails to deliver a wonderful story.

The Guest is full of unexpected twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing until the end!
Iris and her husband Gabriel arrive home one evening to find one of their friends, Laure, at their house. She’s upset with her husband, and planning to stay until they resolve things. Laure’s visit becomes longer and longer as her husband doesn’t respond, and they all soon suspect that he is having an affair. 
In addition to the suspected affair and lingering houseguest, tragedy seems to hang over Gabriel. Gabriel found a neighbor that fell in the quarry but was unable to save him, and is currently struggling with depression. Iris struggles to stay connected with Gabriel while he is recovering, and their marriage is floundering. 
New neighbors Esme, her husband, and their gardener interject some hope into Iris as she tries to cope with a depressed husband and overbearing new housemate for who knows how long. Although Esme is a light in the darkness for Iris, some of her behaviors leave Iris questioning her true motivations. 
Will Laure ever move back home? Will Gabriel recover from the tragic death of a neighbor? Are Esme’s actions pure? 
Although there is much darkness in BA Paris’ The Guest, the multitude of characters keep the reader early turning the pages and guessing at the connections and motivations. Brought there are many characters,  they are easy to differentiate and follow. Paris, in traditional style, has significant twists throughout the novel and an ending you won’t see coming. If you like thrillers, snag this one when it hits the shelves!

〰️Slow beginning, I was a little confused with the prologue and all the names since I hadn’t been introduced to the characters yet.

〰️ Loved the epilogue when we find out what really took place and happened! I wasn’t expecting it!

〰️BA Paris will always be one of my faves! The suspense was great in this novel!

This was one of my most anticipated books and it did not disappoint. In the beginning, I found it a little slow and hard to get in to. When I got about 20% in I really started to enjoy myself. I wasn’t a huge fan of “the guest”, but I feel like this was written that way intentionally.
I love a good domestic thriller, something this author does extremely well. The twist at the end was satisfying and I didn’t feel left wanting more.
Overall, highly recommend! 4 stars, rounded down to 3.75.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was a little disappointed by the quality of the writing by this author, consider how much I've enjoyed their previous novels. The characters felt bland and the writing generic. The "preview" at the beginning of the book didn't seem especially relevant to the story or make me want to dig in much more. It was a quick read and a decent distraction, but I hope for better from this author next time!