I've enjoyed most of this authors previous books but this one didn't live up to my expectations. I found the writing at times, to be slow paced, disjointed and repetitive.
If I had just read the first fifty pages and then the epilogue I might have given it one more star.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

This one was okay. It was annoying that Gabriel felt so guilty 3/4 of the book for just lying about someone’s last words. There didn’t seem to be any reason for keeping this from his wife and spiraling because of it. I can understand feeling guilty and hiding it from the grieving mother, but not from his wife. It just didn’t make much sense

This was a decent drama/mystery. It was a little slow and repetitive at times but I still wanted to find out who did it. There were a couple of surprising twists near the end that made up for the slowness. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

3.5 ⭐️
This was my first B.A. Paris book. I did like it, and was invested to find out “whodunit”
However the story did drag on a bit for me and I found at times pushing through chapters.

This story follows husband and wife Iris and Gabriel. Gabriel is going through emotional distress when their friend Laure shows up unexpectedly. She has found out her husband has an unexpected child and she walked out on him

Laure is constantly overstepping her boundaries. So much so that I’m annoyed with her.

Soon, so many secrets start to unravel (and by soon, I mean much later than I would have liked). The twist was great and fun. Just wish we wouldn’t have had to wait so long for something to come.

Thank you Negalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and the opportunity to review. This book releases Feb 20th, 2024.

Honestly I love this authors work but I was surprised by how disjointed it was. So much emphasis put on the husbands secret that had nothing to really do with anything. I kind of found myself wondering what the point was. I was excited by the idea of a friend taking over your life but she just seemed like a nuisance, not sinister. Also the curveballs just didn’t do it. Love you B.A but this one just meh. Also in the last chapter there’s a point where you say Pierre but I think you mean whatever the husbands name is.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

Iris and Gabriel are a couple living a happy life until an unexpected guest arrives one day. Laure decides to move in with the happy couple after discovering the infidelity of her husband, Pierre. The two couples have known each other for a long time, but things take a totally different turn when Laure decides to stay with Iris and Gabriel. Her behavior irritates Iris, who wants things to go back to just the way they were before she arrived at their doorstep.

The trope of an uninvited or unexpected guest who shows up in a mystery thriller is one of my favorites. I had the impression that this story would primarily focus on that trope. At the very least, it was the first fifty percent, but after that, it goes in a different direction in the second half. It is ironic that the part I expected to love due to this trope was the slowest, and that the story started to get more interesting and have a faster pace once that trope went away!

The second half of the book is where things really pick up and get wild. This is where the thriller aspect of the story really shines, and if you make it through the first half without giving up, you'll be rewarded with some intense action. I wouldn't say that the characters are particularly well-developed, but in a story like this, I think the plot is more important anyway. If you're a fan of the author's writing style, you'll probably enjoy this book because you know what to expect.

I remember reading B.A. Paris' debut book, Behind Closed Doors. I found it to be an enjoyable read. Although "The Guest" was entertaining too, it did, at times, venture into the realm of the implausible. I cannot say that I enjoyed it more than her first domestic thriller, but it provided a comparable level of entertainment value. As for my rating, I was vacillating between a 3.5 and a 4-star rating. However, I ultimately found the conclusion to be sufficiently redeeming, so a 4-star rating appears warranted.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

B. A. Paris was one the first five star reads of my 2023 year with her Behind Closed Doors and when I saw this title I had to snag it! I was super excited...until I started reading. While the other novel kept me engaged and intrigued by the storyline this one bored me. I tried sticking out and got to 40% before I had to throw in the towel. Unfortunately for me the pacing in this book is so slow and nothing happens. The characters are uninteresting nothing had happened that both moved the plot along and kept me engaged in the story like other mystery/thrillers do.

I like the author's writing and I might try this as an audiobook instead eventually, but sitting and trying to read it just didn't work for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary copy of this novel! Iris and Gabriel seem to be living an ideal life in England. Suddenly, their lives are turned upside down. They have just returned home from a vacation and there’s a woman in their home. Laure. Laure and her husband Pierre live in Paris, but Pierre has just admitted to Laure that he has a daughter with another woman from 20 years ago. So, Laure has shown up at their home because she and Pierre need a time out. (To clarify, both couples occasionally stay at each other’s residence when the other couple if out of town). However, a very short stay turns out to be a very frustrating long stay for Iris and Gabriel. Laure has taken to wearing Iris’s clothing and shoes. Moreover, Gabriel has a secret of his own. And he has had to take time off from his medical practice to deal with his secret.

Gabriel and Iris encourage Laure and Pierre to talk it out, but Pierre isn’t ready to yet. Eventually though, Pierre wants to come clean about everything and tell Laure who the woman is. Then to add another interesting element to the story, there is a third couple. Esme and Hugh, who are expecting a baby boy. Oh, and then there is also their gardener Joseph who has a bit of a shady past and somehow ties in with Gabriel’s secret.

Suddenly, bodies start to drop…3 to be exact!!!!

I’ve read quite a few books by B. A. Paris and have enjoyed them all, including this one!!! This one starts out slow, but once it gets going, doesn’t slow down. And the ending was a total shocker for me!!!! This is a domestic suspense thriller novel and definitely does not disappoint! AVAILABLE February 20, 2024

Thank you B.A. Paris, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing be to read this ARC E-book. Well Paris has done it again. Another story full of twists and turns that kept me guessing the whole time. I could not put it down and every time I thought I had a handle another twist would pull me again.

BA Paris does it again.

It starts off with an explosion in the neighborhood, and then rewinds six months.

When Gabriel and Iris return from their holiday vacation, they find the wife of their best couple friend shaking up at their place. Her and her husband are going through it after he reveals a deep secret and she needed to get away.

Iris meets a new neighbor and her husband, and find solace in their friendship. Her bestie has continued to outstay her welcome and Iris needs a break every once in awhile. Meanwhile, Iris’s new friend Esme, has a guest of her own. Joseph is a friend of Esme’s family and needs work while he gets through some kinks in his life.

When summer ends, everyone is glad because it seems as if it couldn’t have gotten any worse. It’s like everything has wrapped up, yet in an odd way?

Continue on to read the epilogue and a lot more comes to light….read to find out what happens.


I was very much not expecting the epilogue to reveal as much as it did. I knew there had to be more to the story when it all just wrapped up nicely with a bow, but woah. BA Paris really knows how to throw you off without even expecting it! Definitely make sure to pick this one up and read it!

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days. (Or less 😉).

This story has the houseguest from hell who just won’t leave. I’m not sure why she wasn’t kicked to the curb, but the stress on her hosts, Gabriel and Iris, along with the trauma of finding a young man dead, has left their lives in turmoil.

This is a compelling slow burn but the short chapters move the story along and the surprise ending makes this one worth it.

The Guest follows Iris and Gabriel, a couple whose marriage is a bit on the rocks due to a devastating situation Gabriel faced and has not been handling well. The couple arrives home from vacation to find a friend at their house with plans to stay while she sorts out her relationship that has just taken a considerable blow. Weirdly enough, the couple is completely fine with this invasion and lets their friend, Laure, stay with no questions asked. I really thought this story was going to go in a different direction. I expected it to be about the unwanted guest, hence the name, and her becoming unhinged and causing mysterious things to happen in their lives. That's not what happened at all.

I have read several books by B.A. Paris and I enjoy her thrillers. This was not a thriller, in my opinion. The Guest is more of a domestic drama with a touch of mystery because you have no answers for anything for most of the story.

I'm sad to say that this was not my favorite book of hers. The story drags on with many mundane activities, miscommunication, unnecessary dialogue, and too-detailed explanations of the same things over and over.

The most exciting part of the book was the epilogue, where the killer pretty much walks us back through every event from their POV and explains precisely what they did and how it worked out. I was happy to have answers that tied some things together. But, overall, I am very unsatisfied with the book. Maybe it wasn't for me, but I hope to see B.A. Paris come out with more thrillers in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and B.A. Paris for this ARC and the opportunity to read it early in exchange for an honest review!

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Joyce really nailed the narration on this book! All the characters voices were fantastic and I didn’t feel like it needed any additional narrators. The story is complex and really deals with family, friends, loss, love, and anxiety. I really enjoyed how all the characters were so multidimensional and the small glimpses given into their pasts together. I would highly recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers with highly unreliable narrators!

I love B.A. Paris and have read all of her books. You will always get a good story from her. Most are 5-Star reads and some are 4-Star reads. This one was a solid 4-Star. Overall, great story and nice twist at the end, although I did feel it was a bit late for that. Still well done though. I settled on 4-Stars because I did not feel it was a suspense thriller and that was what I had expected. It felt more like a domestic drama with a murder thrown in. It is also a slow-burn with fairly unlikeable characters, and there are a LOT. I still enjoyed not liking the characters though, if that makes sense. Everyone has secrets and is telling lies. Sort of like the nighttime soaps of the 90's, which I did love. Overall, pretty good story. Can't wait for more.

Thank you to #NetGalley, B.A. Paris and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication.

The first two books I read by this author were so incredible. Every book since then has been a letdown. The Guest was better than the last few books. I give it 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. B. A. Paris is one of my go-to thriller authors. The Guest was a slow burn that I felt was dragged out, But the twist made it al worth it. I never saw it coming and would have never guessed it.

I was excited to read this book after reading The Therpaist. It did not disappoint. There were a few typos but it's to be expected in a non-final copy.
The storyline: it's written in such a way that even I was getting tired of Laurie. This helps build the plot against her as the story proceeds. There are several twists and turns to keep you going. I was highly surprised when reading the Epilogue which I honestly felt was almost too long for an epilogue. Needless to say, I did not see that ending and it left me wondering how long Iris will be able to keep her secrets.

The Guest is a book about secrets and wondering if you really know someone. It’s filled with suspicion and you don’t know the truth until the final chapter when the story completely twists.

This was not one of my favorite BA Paris books, but I did enjoy it. It moves a bit slowly and there was some confusion at times. The twist did make it worth reading and I was so pleased that I did not see the twist coming.

"The Guest by B.A. Paris is an absolute masterpiece, a suspenseful journey that kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last. Paris weaves a tapestry of intrigue, betrayal, and psychological twists that left me guessing until the very end. The atmospheric setting and well-developed characters only added to the immersive experience. Every element, from the pacing to the unexpected plot revelations, was expertly executed. The emotional depth and the gripping narrative make The Guest an unequivocal 5-star read. B.A. Paris has crafted a suspense gem that will stay with me long after closing the book. 📖🌟 #BookReview #TheGuest #BAParis #FiveStarRead"

I'll be happy to properly review this book once St-Martins Press acknowledges the boycott and responds properly to it.