I really enjoyed reading this ARC from Netgalley. I am a BA Paris fan, and this new story did not disappoint. I did not guess the ending and was definitely pleasantly surprised.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story is about a couple who return home from vacation to find their close family friend living in their house. This friend has had a fight with her husband and needs a place to stay for awhile. What follows is completely unexpected.
Great, domestic thriller

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and B.A. Paris for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Guest" was my first B.A. Paris book, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. The pacing of the story was too slow for my liking, and it wasn't until I reached around 57% of the book that anything interesting happened. I was disappointed because I had always heard great things about the author. Additionally, the characters in the story didn't appeal to me. There were too many uninteresting details about their lives, and not enough substance to make me care about any of them. Finally, the big reveal in the story wasn't that significant, it was more predictable than anything else.

BA Paris is easily one of my favorite authors! I love the way all her books have such a twist at the end. I loved the dual perspectives, the multiple suspects, and the ending of this book. I don’t think I’ve ever not enjoyed one of her books but this one was especially good. I loved that the ending they unraveled everything and you were left with zero questions. I received this as an ARC and I am so glad I had a chance to read this!

This was an interesting slow burn thriller. Iris and Gabriel struggle when their two best friends have marital problems and the wife Laure comes to stay…and more then outstays her welcome. Throw in a new couple down the street who have an interesting guest of their own to complicate everyone’s lives and you have a literally explosive beginning.

I find Paris’ books run the gamut of fantastic to not so much, and this one, while on the slower side definitely kept me reading. I thought the ending was fantastic and while I guessed a few elements early on it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the plot and there were other elements I didn’t expect at all. Overall I think regular readers of Paris’ novels will enjoy this one and fans of suspense/thrillers will find the story line interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martens press for an advance copy of this book to review

While I all of my B. A. Paris books have a special spot on my bookshelves, this one was not my favorite. It had all the elements it needed for it to be a great domestic thriller, but a combination of the slow beginning and totally unlikeable characters made it hard to get through. It was so hard to fathom why Gabriel was so disturbed, and I don't think his secret was as big as it could have been. But...in typical Paris style, she begins to weave the story in a way where you start seeing the connections and get an aha! moment... When that happens, I feel like I'm back in familiar thriller territory and I liked the twist.

I am very grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reader's copy by one of my favorite authors!

I enjoy Paris’ psychology thrillers/mysteries. The Guest was drawn out and the characters were confusing. I had to get everyone’s someone straight to have it make sense. It did have a twist and tied all the pieces together. Just took too long to get there. Still a fan of her writing. thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC read in exchange for my honest review.

The guest is another domestic suspense novel by Paris. It follows the story of two intertwined couples-Gabriel and iris and their friends Pierre and laure, Gabriel and iris arrive back home from a trip that was intended to strengthen their relationship when they find laure at their doorstep. Laure is convinced that Pierre has been cheating on her and pulls their friends into their relationship drama. Following laure is a new addition to the dynamic, their young gardener. What transpires between the couples is a twisted story of secrets, desires, deception, and murder.

While this is a fun story and palette cleaner from other reads, it’s pretty standard fare for Paris. If you have read anything by her before, you will know where the story is heading. This, however, isn’t meant to be a criticism, as she is a master of domestic suspense and writes fun stories readers can escape into, but if you are expecting anything new or ground breaking here, you may be disappointed! Still a worthwhile read for lovers of Paris, thrillers, or domestic suspense.

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: thriller/mystery 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
An interesting read that was a little slow put the epilogue made up for it

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
All the drama
Secrets and lies
Slow paced reads
Domestic thrillers
British countryside setting

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Short chapters
The epilogue was super twisty

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
I didnt really connect with any of the characters

I was quite a bit annoyed in the first half of this book - the guest was annoying as h—- and the hosts just seemed like pushovers … the book does get more interesting past the halfway mark and the epilogue is epic ! I almost want to reread it now 😂

I think I’ve come to realize this author doesn’t really write thrillers per se . They are more a study in human nature with some suspense and mystery thrown in . When I think of her books from that perspective I enjoy them more .

This book had potential but it was very slow going. It didn’t start to actually “do something” until about 50% into it. And then the ending felt rushed.
Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for an early copy to review.

I have to admit, Paris got me. For most of the book I swallowed the lines she fed me about who the real culprit was and why certain people died.
But then she pulled the rug out from underneath me with a big reveal! Well played, well,played.
I thought Iris and Gabriel,should have kicked Laure to the curb after a few days. I didn’t understand Gabriel’s inability to move on after a death and I thought that part of the story was shallow.
There was one character who had a hidden thread to all the other characters and the way Paris wove them together was quite creative.
9t was a wowsa read.

I love B.A. Paris! This book had a lot of twists and turns, yet the plot reminded me of a lot of other books that are already published. I enjoyed the connections of all the characters. Wish we got got some more information on some of the deaths. Overall, it is worth a read, yet not my favorite book of theirs.

Iris and Gabe have cut their vacation short by a day do to Gabes mental health he recently found a local boy dying in the quarry where he runs right before the boy died he left Gabe with some final words for his mother and although Gabe told everyone he said to tell his mother he loved him we soon find out that isn’t at all what the boy says and it plagues Gabe. He also recently lost his father and to make matters worse when they arrive home ready to relax and go to bed they open the door to see their longtime friend Lore. She is not only in her home but she is making herself at home even sleeping in the couples bed and wearing irises clothing. They soon learned she left her husband Pierre and when they find out why the couple or floored. She is definitely making herself the main character in the couples lives so when Iris makes a new friend with the new residence down the street she couldn’t be happier that is until Lore starts getting cozy with Jonathan the new couples landscape designer. It doesn’t stop the two couples from becoming close however but when more deaths happen in secrets come to light Gabe and Iris really have to ask themselves how well do we know our friends there’s way too much happening in this book for me to give a really good summary just know we have a predator in the book a murderer and they’re not the same person. I really liked the way Iris and the new neighbor whose name I don’t know how to spell had a good positive relationship as well as Iris did with her husband Gabe I found this book to be twisty it is my first book by be a Paris but it will not be my last I have been hearing about this author and finally decided to give it a go with the Kindle and audio version of The Guest. I can honestly say I was not disappointed this book has multi plot lines minor and major and they all come together cohesively in the end and that is not easy to do Miss Paris truly is a talented author as is the narrator who did the audiobook her name is Emily Joyce and she has awesome character distinction as well as bringing a great dysfunctional tone to the book bravo to her and the author I’d rather the audiobook but that is just me for those who enjoy the Kindle I’m sure it’s just as good I read both 50-50 and enjoyed each experience. I want to thank Saint martins press Minotaur books McMillan audio and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I liked the way the story was unfolding but I just didn’t feel like the end was satisfying. Some of the connections seemed like a stretch. I didn’t see the twist coming and it was surprising. I would probably recommend if this sounds interesting!

I have read several books by this author. This one just wasn't my favorite. I felt like the pacing was pretty slow. Also I was pretty bored through the whole book. I didn't really feel like it was a thriller but more a mystery. Like I said I was pretty bored because of all the mundane tasks that went on. I still love this authors writing so will be picking up more from this author for sure.

I have read other B.A. Paris books and looked forward to reading The Guest. I placed it under Mystery/Thriller but it read more like contemporary fiction for most of the book.

Main characters, husband and wife, Gabriel and Iris come home from holiday to find a woman staying at their home. The guest, Laure, said she had to get away from her husband Pierre who told her that he recently found out he had a daughter from a one night stand and needed to decide if he wanted to be in her life. Laure ended up staying with Gabriel and Iris because they had been friends for 20 years and they wanted to help her. Unfortunately, Laure was not an ideal guest and they tired of having her around.

There is also a new couple in town who Gabriel and Iris become fast friends with. Hugh and Esme also end up with their own guest, a family friend who does landscape work. There's a lot going on with all the characters; secrets, affairs, deceits. I wasn't really sure where the story was going other than being annoyed with many of the characters. Then, we are on the epilogue.....Everything came together and Paris tied all the knots together but it seemed so out of left field that I had a hard time buying the whole ending.

I still enjoy this author but it was not my favorite. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Ohhhh man... 1 star feels harsh. It really does. But I'm struggling to think of ANYTHING that I enjoyed about this book. I'll start by admitting that I'm hard to please when it comes to domestic thrillers - I really struggle reading something I feel that I've read before and that I don't think has anything new to offer. I unfortunately don't think this book delivers ANYTHING unique or new in comparison to other domestic thrillers but especially compared to B.A. Paris's previous few books. I found myself with the same critiques as The Dilemma, which is that all of these characters are keeping strange secrets from each other for NO REASON and doing absolutely nothing to resolve their own issues or make themselves or anyone around them happy. None of the conversations or decisions feel realistic to how humans would behave, nor were they entertaining because of how repetitive they were. The big reveal/twist was unsurprising and I think a lot of readers are going to be disappointed with how it's communicated in the epilogue and delivered as a villainous monologue - not usually something I have a problem with, but again it was unsurprising and unsatisfying in this book in particular. I'm sad to say I think I'm done reading B.A. Paris until I hear a lot of positive reviews about any of her future books!

Unfortunately I tired both the audiobook version and the digital arc and after giving it a good 20% in I had to DNF this book.

This book was great! The only downside to me is the very end! It seemed so out of left field and not expected. But aside from the that, it was so interesting the whole time. I was interested and loved the character development with each one of the main characters.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it felt long and a tad slow. I also felt like the blurb was misleading.