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…

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!

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.

Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Twist!

The Guest is a compelling read for anyone who loves psychological thrillers with a touch of mystery. B.A. Paris delivers a captivating narrative that will leave you questioning the motives of each character and contemplating the thin line between truth and deception. Highly recommended for fans of the genre!

This book was a bit of a slow burn but once it picked up it was fire! 🔥 (pun intended) I feel like she kept us guessing until the very end which I did not see coming at all. 5 stars!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of The Guest.


Gabriel and Isla return home after a much-needed vacation and find their lifelong friend, Laure, waiting for them. She makes the shocking announcement that she’s left her husband, and asks to stay with them for a while. It doesn’t take Laure long to make herself at home, but the more details that come out of her sudden separation, the more Gabriel and Isla realize they may have gotten themselves into something much worse than they could have expected.

B.A. Paris delivers again with a domestic thriller that I couldn’t put down. Right from the jump I was sucked in, and I found myself needing to know what in the world was going on. She takes you on a twisty ride, building to a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.

My only negatives center around some clunky editing choices. The prologue was unnecessary, as it was filled with far too many names we hadn’t learned yet, leaving me confused and not necessarily interested in who these people were. That same prologue was repeated word for word later in the book, so I felt it should have been omitted completely. There was another instance of choppy editing where one chapter ended and the other began with a major, mid-book reveal, but it was so jarring I thought I’d accidentally skipped a chapter.

Overall, I’d give The Guest 4/5 stars if you love B.A. Paris, this book will not disappoint.

After going through a B.A. Paris reading slump…. I thought the is one was more like her original two books. I really enjoyed this book. It was even and fast paced. I would recommend.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. While the storyline was gripping and I wanted to keep reading to know the ending, the characters were extremely unlikeable. I listened to most of the book on audio, which helped me push through to the end. The book follows a couple, Iris and Gabriel. Their friend, Laure, appears and asks to stay with them for an extended time due to finding out her husband Pierre has a child. They meet another couple, Esme and Hugh, who live in the same town. While everyone's stories tied up in the end, it was hard to follow each problem that arose, especially because the characters were so annoying.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a slower mystery with a touch of family drama.

Eeeek! This novel makes you think that sometimes you may not know your friends as much as you think you do…and giving them access to your home may not be the smartest idea.. Another great Paris novel that kept me guessing until the very end! The only reason I rated 4/5 stars is because some of the plot seemed a little far fetched.

I was strangely intrigued by it all, despite being at times quite implausible. A couple (Iris and Gabriel) get a visit from an unexpected guest Laure who as it turns out, has some issues with her husband Pierre, and needs to get away. Both couples are friends for a long time, and are close. The first half of the book is mostly family drama, of how Laure is irritating and rather an annoying guest. As the story progresses, we meet other cast of characters and, as the saying goes, the plot thickens. In the second half is where the thriller part comes in, and the path picks up. The ending definitely delivers and makes it a rather good thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the book. It was published on Feb.20, 2024.

This is one of my favorite authors. This book is a slow burn mystery with an unexpected twist. I couldn't have guessed the ending, but I'm not sure I liked the characters or the ending. This book keeps you intrigued until the end. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I loved this book! It is well written, engaging and surprising. So many twists and turns.
When a couple come home from vacation, one of their friends has moved into their house. Laure, the friend has left her husband Pierre. The two couples are close but rather angry that Laure has taken over their home.
Pierre isn’t responding to their constant calling and Laure says he has left her because he has discovered that he has a child with someone else.
So much happens in this book and the end is a WOW!
I highly recommend it.

Wow! Another hit by the author. I could feel the claustrophobia from having a guest in the house who would not leave. The first chapter is tough as you are asked to remember many names but once you realize there are 3 couples and 3 more characters, it becomes easier. The one lingering issue I had with the book is the death of Charlie - I didn't know how it related to the plot. It does but super tenuously. If you're into domestic thrillers, gardening, and secrets - this book is for you!

The title is a bit confusing as Emma Cline also has a book with this title!

I was so happy when I got approved to read this one. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris was my first book by the author, and I couldn’t wait to read a second one!

Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as Behind Closed Doors, I did overall like it. To me, it was a slow burn and I struggled to get through some pages, but the ending surprised me and had a really good plot twist!

My rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️

So disappointing... This is a favorite author of mine and this book did not even feel like it was written by the same person! It was boring, with characters I couldn't care about. There was no tension or intrigue. It just went on and on about who knows what. And the ending! Terrible. An epilogue that literally retold the whole book. This one was not for me.

That ending! Let me pick my jaw up off the ground…never saw that coming. A domestic thriller that had my hooked from the first chapter and I read this so quick. Couldn’t put it down. B.A Paris never disappoints and this story was no exception..

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

I definitely didn't see the ending coming, but I feel like the set up to that moment wasn't entirely in keeping with what was presented prior to that moment. (Perhaps that's the point of the surprise ending!). I found myself bored about halfway through the book and feel like it could've been paced a little more - perhaps more backstory of the interactions between the two couples? The misdirect of the one lone character was good though.

I enjoy BA Paris books and this was a fun read.
Iris and Gabriel return to their home from a vacation when they find their longtime friend Laure in their house. She is having problems with her marriage to Pierre and looked for refuge with their friends. Days turn into weeks and then months, as the summer drags into autumn and no sign or progress with Laure and Pierre’s marriage. In addition, Gabriel is on leave from his job as a physician after finding a local boy after a trauma and not being able to save him.
This book focuses on the main characters with a great cast of supporting characters adding to the story.. I loved all the questions and twists throughout this novel. I was not thrilled with how neatly it tied up in the end. This felt like a book that could have left some plot points more open-ended.
Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend.
#TheGuest #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

I'm just not sure I am the target audience for B.A. Paris books. While they read okay, I'm just never blown away by them and greatly dislike the information dump at the end of them! This is the second time I found myself reading one of her books and being completely disappointed by how we solve the mystery, if you will, at the end by being told exactly what happens all in the last chapter instead of being fed information throughout the story. I felt zero connection to any of the characters which made it all the less shocking when one would die, especially when we figure out how the murder is. While it was an easy enough read, it just didn't check the boxes that I need when I'm reading an intense and fantastic thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

The Guest by B. A. Paris is a fantastic thriller that I absolutely devoured.

The charactes were so well writtten, complex and fleshed out.

This book was so twisty and I absoultey loved the final reveal.

Twists and turns in all the right places propel this mystery forward. An idyllic christening party ends in a literal bang as there's an explosion across the village in The Guest's prologue. We turn back six months in time with the arrival of Laure, the titular guest, showing up unexpectedly at the home of Iris and Gabriel. Laure is distraught because her husband's revealed a secret that undermines everything she knows about him and their marriage.

This one kept me guessing. The clues are all there, and the big question of how well people really know each other is a recurring theme. Every element in this story is there for a reason. Clever, crafty. I'll be adding B.A. Paris' psychological thrillers to my TBR pile!

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

The Guest follows Iris and Gabriel who have just arrived home from Holiday. When they arrive home they see one of their closest friends Laure in their house. Things become tense because it is clear that Laure is overstepping. She has just walked out her husband because he was having an affair and has a secret child. Iris and Gabriel are trying to be good supportive friends. But Lauren is over staying her welcome and has become moody and unpredictable. Soon secrets from the past start to come out and could become dangerous.

B.A. Paris is such hit or miss for me and this one was such a miss. The pacing of this book was so slow. It also very repetitive and kind of boring. No thriller vibes really happened until like the last 30 % of the book. Most of this book was the characters pretty much sitting around in circles, and just talking to each other with nothing really happening. I didn’t see the plot twist coming in this book. But by the time the plot twist came I didn’t care. I will keep reading books by this author but this one was not for me.