I would first like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and B.A. Paris for the opportunity to read this Advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
When I saw that B.A. Paris came out with another book I had to request it. I love her work!
The book starts with a teaser into the future where a group is at the main character's house when an explosion happens -- then starts the story a couple of months earlier.

Iris and her husband Gabriel come home from vacation to find a family friend in their house uninvited. She states she found out her husband has an illegitimate child and wants to stay at their place for awhile while she figures things out. She ends up not wanting to leave and inserts herself into her lives.

Meanwhile, Gabriel is dealing with his own problems after finding a dying teenager at the bottom of a quarry after a bike accident who, despite being a doctor, he was unable to save.

Also, there's a shifty gardener with an alcohol problem thrown into the mix as well... and everyone has secrets.

I really enjoyed this book. I was intrigued from the first page and could hardly put it down. The twists and drama were great, nothing was over the top, and everything tied together nicely at the end.

Thank you to B.A. Paris and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The good: This twist was SPECTACULAR. The last 20% or so of this book, I couldn't put it down. Literally. I'm sure my husband wishes I had helped out more with the kids but I just couldn't tear myself away from it..

The not-so-good: It took a while to get there. I found the character development slightly lacking and it was slower to start in general. The prologue confused me, and I'm aware that they are supposed to be teasers and not give away anything, but I had to read it twice because I wasn't sure what I read the first time. It made sense when I got back to that part later on, but I had trouble following - even something small like providing a little more background on who was married to whom would have helped me understand it a little more.

Even with the not-so-good, I don't regret reading it or feel like I wasted my time. It was a pretty quick, enjoyable read.

I want to start by saying I will read all of B.A. Paris’ books, summary not needed. This was. Good, great epilogue, 3.75 stars.

The Guest kept me on my toes and questioning WHAT was going on? Several times I thought I had it figured out but didn’t.

The characters were a little boring, it seemed like there was a lot of getting to know them, what they like what they don’t and trivial conversations. Lauren, the guest was awful. I would not have been able to manage long with her in my home.

The epilogue….holy 🐮! That was intense.

Big thank you to NetGalley and especially St. Martin’s Press for inviting me to read BA Paris’ newest book, The Guest.

Very enjoyable and fun to read. The premise was intriguing and I liked how the seemingly different storylines linked up. I was honestly surprised at the final twist!

This book was interesting. I am a big fan of B.A. Paris but I am not totally sure about this one. It was a good book, do not get me wrong. The writing is great and the pages turn very quick. I just felt that the story did not feel finished, there were not any crazy twists and the ending was predictable. My biggest qualm was the epilogue, it was entirely too long (like 30 pages) and I wish the stuff you found out in in that chapter was delivered earlier on. I felt as if the "big bang" was thrown in at the end and nothing really happened in the meat of the story. I just have very fond memories of "Behind Closed Doors" and I remember how that book made me rethink everything in my relationship. I was hoping to get that similar feeling. This book will be great for those who love domestic thrillers and unreliable narrators. I still recommend this book once it releases it was just not my favorite book from this author.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
I'm a huge fan of BA Paris, and have been awaiting this release. It was a pretty short book, so a pretty quick read.
I had a little bit of difficulty getting into it at first, and there were multiple twists and I was trying to keep up how everything would be relevant.
Two couples have an ongoing arrangement of sharing homes with the other when they are away. One couple returns to find their friend Loure is still there, and she has had a spat with her spouse and doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon. The couple, Gabriel and Iris, are stuck, not wishing to make her feel unwelcome. Gabriel is caught up with his own mental health, as he recently witnessed the death of a local boy. He takes a leave of absence from his job to recover. Iris befriends a new neighbor who is expecting her first child. All of their lives are quickly intertwined, but there's a lot of coincidence and farfetched activity in addition to some threads that are laid out, but not followed, leaving me to wonder why they'd be mentioned at all. I would have given it more stars, but there's a bit of deception (unreliable narrator) which is not my favorite resolution, in addition to an epilogue that ties up all the stories by pretty much explaining to the reader what happened, rather than letting it play out in the story, almost like the author ran out of time, and had to button it up.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The epilogue was amazing, but I’m not sure if it was more me just ready for answers or if it was that big of a blow out.

The story itself felt slow moving at times, and the dialogue between characters seemed maybe a little choppy? I’m not sure how to describe it, but, sometimes the flow of the story was interrupted. I think it adds into the story being slow moving, where we get a lot of the characters day to day movements added in and overall just made the reveal take longer.

The story revolves around Iris and Gabriel, who return home from vacation to a long time friend Laurie staying in their home. Laurie and her husband are on a break after finding out her husband has a secret child. Meanwhile, Iris and Gabriel are dealing with a tragedy of their own, and to top it all off - Iris has made friends with the new neighbors, who brought a friend Joseph along with them to the neighborhood. There’s a few mysteries entwined the story, and the characters weave together inside these mysteries, but also there are unlikable characters and plot lines that just don’t add a punch.

Overall, I’d rate this book 3.5 stars. It was good, but I wouldn’t revisit. An easy, light read for someone that enjoys mysteries and doesn’t want a big shock.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really struggled to push through this one. I found Laure incredibly annoying. It took be a longggg while to feel connected with the characters, I think this is because almost NOTHING happens in the book until 60% of the way through. I was just in general, kind of bored. I did appreciate some of the twist, but overall, I found that portion predictable as well.

It's your typical, run of the mill, domestic drama. Reliable, but not riveting.

First I'd like to thank NetGalley for lending The Guest to me. I am a big fan of B.A. Paris and have read Behind Closed Doors, The Therapist and Bring Me Back. I really enjoyed this book and did not see the plot twist at the end.

A twisty psychological thriller that will hold you in suspense from the beginning.
When Laure, a family friend, comes to stay with Iris and her husband then extended stay begins to add more turmoil to their marriage. Secrets and lies from the past and present will draw you in keeping you on the edge of your seat. The ending alone is such a shock for that alone you need to read this asap.

This book is incredibly slow. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but not much happens for the first 50 to 60%. Even with some twists at the end, I found myself dissatisfied. It was well written, and even though many dramatic things happen, the way it is told makes it seem rather doll. I also did not like most of the characters.

This was a slow burn but once it picked up, it did not disappoint. If you're a fan of her other works then you should enjoy this one. 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…

This story starts off with Laure being an uninvited houseguest at Iris and Gabriel’s home. Laure and her husband Pierre are taking some time away from each other, and Laure is very distraught and needy. What should have only been a three week stay turns into much longer (Umm- that’s when I would have put my foot down and told her to go, but whatever).

Also, during Laure’s stay with Iris and Gabriel, we find that Gabriel is going through some personal crisis of his own. There have been some deaths in his family and in the community, and he has had to take some time off to grieve.

This was a good book. An interesting concept. Friendships, secrets and lies.

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.
Publication date: February 20, 2024.

A surprise visit from a friend turns a couples life upside down. A lovers spat has Laure staying with Gabriel and Iris indefinitely. A twist at the end that genuinely shocked me. I found this to be a slow read and very hard to get into.

I have read every book by B.A. Paris and was so excited to read this new one. She hooked me from her very first novel, Behind Closed Doors. If you haven’t read that one yet, I highly recommend!

This one was a great suspense/drama/mystery about a friend coming to stay with them. Loved how the last chapter wrapped it all up and explained the details. I definitely enjoyed the book even though I didn’t really connect with any of the main characters. Will always look forward to a good book by this author.! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this fantastic ARC.

Iris and Gabriel are a couple who have been friends for 20 years with another married couple named Pierre and Laure. Secrets, betrayals, and lies are abundant in this story. I wasn’t expecting the ending at all. I tried to guess through the whole book who was behind all of the drama, and I was completely wrong. I really enjoyed this book and as always, I will be reading all the other BA Paris books that come out in the future!

I’ve been a fan of B. A. Paris since reading my first book of hers, Behind Closed Doors. I was anxiously awaiting her newest, The Guest, and when I was approved for an ARC, I dove right in. The storyline was interesting…exploring the relationship of the main characters, Iris & Gabriel with their new friends, Esme and Hugh, and also their longtime friends, Laure & Pierre, and watching as one of the couples’ relationship crumbles.

The story gets going after the first chapter, 6 months earlier. Iris & Gabriel come home from holiday to find their good friend, Laure in their home. Laure explains that she has left Pierre, as he has confessed to her that he has fathered a child with someone else. Iris & Gabriel provide support for her while also trying to sort out what happened. Repeated attempts to reach Pierre have failed, and Laure’s stay with her friends seems to be with no real plan to leave anytime soon.

Enter new friends, Esme & Hugh. Hugh is 20 years older than Esme, and they are expecting their first child together. When Iris first meets Esme, she also learns they employ a gardener, Joseph, and knowing they need some work done at their cottage, asks if he can work for them as well. Gabriel has promised their 20 yr old daughter, Beth, that he would bring the dilapidated walled garden behind their cottage back to life for her, and employs Joseph to help.

Without giving spoilers, Joseph seems to have a closer relationship with Esme than appropriate. He also appears to be interested in Laure. After an unexpected death, suspicions abound, and at times, some of them seem quite ludicrous. Unfortunately, the story really dragged after this, but still left me intrigued, hoping for a shocking revelation along the way. When more tragedy strikes, I started piecing together who was going to be next, still hoping for a gangbuster reveal in the end.

I felt like there were so many missed opportunities to weave this into a shocking ending, but it just went off the rails for me. I found myself wanting to give up about 3/4 of the way through, but kept going as I was still hoping for a good twist in the end. I’m sad that it never came. It wasn’t until the epilogue that everything was laid out in such a way that it felt rushed and very confusing. Almost like the entire book was recapped and every little scene explained. And the characters were all so flat that I just couldn’t form any desire to care about any of them.

I’m still a fan of B. A. Paris, but this was not her best, in my humble opinion. It had great potential, but just never delivered.

Some of BA Paris’s books are on my list of favorite thrillers, but this one fell flat for me. The characters don’t actually do anything except talk about the hard times they’re going through. Then the final chapter was supposed to reveal a shocking twist, but it was just a long winded explanation of what that character was actually doing throughout the whole book. I think I might have liked it more if I didn’t have such high expectations based on the author’s other books.

An intriguing domestic thriller for sure. The pacing and writing were a bit clunky, however it did keep me honed in pretty much the entire time. And definitely harbored a twist I did not see coming! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the ARC! A solid 3.5 stars rounded up.

This was more of a 3.5 star read for me. I really liked the quick pacing of the book. While there were a few different things going on here, I found the plot a bit predictable. Things are never as easy as they seem!

This one is absolutely worth the read!

This review was also published on Goodreads.

The Guest is another captivating thriller by B.A. Paris. A bicycle accident occurs in a nearby quarry and Gabriel finds the tragic event and stays with the young man while he passes away. This haunts him and makes it so that he is unable to work, and takes a leave. This event not only affects him, but also, his wife, Iris, who is trying to be understanding and assist Gabriel with his trauma of witnessing this event. In the midst of all of this, they are strapped with an unexpected houseguest, Laure. Laure unexpectedly inhabits the home of Iris and Gabriel as they are away. Upon their return, Laure shares the dismaying information of the fracture of her relationship with Pierre. Welcoming hosts, Gabriel and Iris invite Laure to stay as long as necessary, however, unbeknownst to them, is how long her stay actually will end up being. As Laure becomes more intwined in the household, unsettling events occur. Will Gabriel be able to overcome his trauma observing the death of a young man? What did happen between Laure and Pierre? Why has Laure taken up residence for such a long time in her friends’ home and why is she so interested in the death of the bicyclist? There are so many questions circling and twists that will occur. The story was captivating, thrilling, and concise. I would expect nothing less from B.A. Paris. The character development was just right, and I really got to “know” the main characters. As I have with her other books, I highly recommend this novel by B.A. Paris. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.