The Guest is like a really bad soap opera. Nothing happens, but also a lot happens and most of the time I wasn’t even sure what the story was or where it was going.

In all honesty it would have been 2 stars except for the fact I did not see the last chapter coming at all. Sorry BA Paris, this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Let me start by saying that I love B.A. Paris books. Whenever anyone asks me for a list of psychological thriller authors I recommend, B.A. Paris is always on the list. Her books are smart, unique, thrilling page-turners. Except for this book which I found tedious, boring, and uninspired. The characters were all terrible. Most of the book is people lying around whining about the "rough time" they've had recently. Then that character will go recap the same whining to another character, and we get to hear the same complaints again.

No one in this book works other than the gardener, Joseph. Everyone else is either on leave or apparently has a job they don't do, again "because of all they have been through recently." The daughter is annoying, the houseguest is annoying, the three main characters - you guessed it, annoying. Even the title of the book is uninspired and boring.

I will say that the last 15% of the book was pretty good, and the twist did get me, and for that I increased the rating by 1 star. The first 60% of this book is so painfully boring, I found myself not wanting to read. I would skip this one, but highly recommend The Breakdown if you are looking for a great B.A. Paris read.

Special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Guest went so far off base what I expected it to be and in this case it’s very unfortunate. This wasn’t it for me. I was so confused even up to the end reveal which fell flat. Paris’ is a fantastic author but this didn’t work for me.

I think I've given up on Paris' books. I've tried this newest and didn't get far - I always hope to like her thrillers but they fall flat for me. This one started off confusing in parts so I gave up.

This book was a wild ride. Not my favorite of hers (that will always be Behind Closed Doors) but very entertaining nonetheless. Worth picking up for sure!

I honestly had high hopes for this book since I've read a couple others from this author and devoured them! However, this one left me feeling irritated that I spent the amount of time I did reading it. It was very slow until about halfway through the book and I thought I was going to give up. Nothing was happening, the plot was slow and not gripping and the characters were blah. The conversations were forced and up until about 50% I was forcing myself to get through the chapters. I read a few other reviews that said it picked up after about 50% so I'm like okay, I'll give it a chance maybe the twist will be mind blowing and this will all be worth it. It wasn't. The twist was mediocre, and the epilogue spent page after page after page explaining how everything I just read was possible. I've never read such a long epilogue that just told me everything I just read so moral of the story save yourself time by just reading the epilogue.

Gabriel and Iris have gone through some tough times. So have Pierre and Laure. Oh, Hugh and Esme, as well.

This story by BA Paris has wonderful characters, a great pace, and a nice little twist at the end that I did not necessarily see coming!

There is murder, betrayal, obsession, and all the good qualities of a suspenseful read! Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy! Release date is February 2024!

I’ve enjoyed all of B.A. Paris’s books in the past and this one didn’t disappoint, though it probably isn’t my very favorite. This was slower moving and less suspenseful than I was expecting and more of a family drama than I thought. But the twist was on point and it was a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy through NetGalley. I’ve only read “The Dilemma” by B.A. Paris and it was an interesting but average read for me. I found “The Guest” to be much more enjoyable of a read and it was a great book to pick up after finishing “The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels.” If you are looking for a domestic thriller to plow through, I highly recommend “The Guest.”
•
•
The book opens up with a prologue starting in present day, and the meat of the story is the last 6 months leading up to what occurred in the prologue. As I read the synopsis again before starting this read, I feared that I would get lost in the weeds as it did seem like variety of things would happen. While that did hold true for a bit, it eventually make sense as it was all intertwined. Spoiler - not spoiler, there is a LOT of death in this book to the point where I ended up laughing because it hit a point of being a bit humorous. Consider it dark humor if you will.
•
•
Random character thoughts that will give no spoilers:
- I couldn’t stand Laure and I’m glad she’s not my friend because a line would’ve been drawn very early on.
- I appreciated that Gabriel wanted to keep his wife happy even if it meant an awkward conversation of kicking your best friend out of the house… that’s a man!
•
•
“The Guest” was clearly fun read as I finished the last 50% in one day. I just wanted to keep reading it because I was getting sucked in. I didn’t entirely expect the twist and I liked that especially given my over-analytical brain. As the reveal was unfolding, the pieces started to fall in place for me where I was able to make the connections. I do think the story could’ve been cut down a bit, but overall definitely a better book by this author.

I love everything that BA Paris writes, but I did find this book slower and a little harder to get into than the others. Overall the storyline was great, as well as twists and turns which I love so much in stories. I would still recommend it as a great thriller!
Thank you NetGalley for my ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read B.A. Paris The Guest. It was a bit slower than her other books. It took me a bit to get into it. The story was good. Gabriel and Iris come home to find Laure staying at their house with no notice. Iris is ok about it at first but she starts interfering in their daily living and rearranging their home etc. Then tragedy comes one by one and you can’t believe what happens….

This book had me hooked from the get-go and kept me on the edge of my seat It's a gripping novel that explores a couple who is already experiencing grief due to an unfortunate situation with a neighborhood young man who the husband witnessed die, and the couple is then unexpectedly put in a position where they have a guest that wants to stay with them while her own marriage is falling apart. Watching the main couple struggle in their own ways and with each other as well as trying to put on a supportive face for their guest is such an interesting concept and was really well done. There were so many times I questioned what I thought may be going on in the background, and I was always kept on my toes as things kept changing as more and more came to light. This author is always great at creating relatable and complex characters!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am huge BA Paris fan and of course The Guest does not disappoint. A twisted psychological thriller where Gabriel, who is out for his morning run, watches as a young man, Charlie, takes his last breath at the bottom of a limestone quarry. Charlie whispered a haunting message to Gabriel which changed him and affected the relationship with people around him, including his wife, Iris. The problem is, Gabriel lied about Charlie’s final words.
Gabriel and Iris take a much needed holiday only to return home and find that someone is living in their house. Their friend Laurie and left her husband and needs a place to stay. abriel and Iris seem to have been living a very simple life but people keep showing up in their lives - like new friends Joseph, Esme and Hugh.
Reader beware (insert smile here) there are red herrings all through this book to misdirect the reader and you may think you know what happened, but keep turning the pages to the jaw dropping conclusion that you will not see coming

This was my first B.A. Paris book that I've read. Though I plan on checking out some of her other books (I have Behind Locked Doors and The Therapist on my bookshelf), I was left wanting more from The Guest.

I found the story and the writing to be rather slow paced and repetitive, especially with the dialogue. Once something happened between two characters, in the following pages one of those characters would pass along the conversation to another person (hope that made sense).

Though it was an interesting twist at the end that I didn't expect, it felt like I was reading a completely different book during the Epilogue.

All in all, not my favorite but planning to read some of her other books.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with ARC of The Guest!

Overall, I feel the book was well written. It was face paced and kept me interested throughout. However, I felt there were too many different scenarios going on. Although the ending did a great job of wrapping everything up nicely I felt it a little too convenient. I would have loved to see more twists sprinkled throughout instead of all thrown together at the end.

Iris and Gabriel live in the British countryside. They have an old friend come stay with them shortly after Gabriel witnessed a tragedy. He is reeling from the trauma of a young boys accident. This book is a slow burn mystery. The plot takes off about halfway through and there a few secrets that you don’t see coming. For me the pacing was too slow and it took too long for everything to come together. I do think for people that like slow burns they will enjoy this book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a total B.A. Paris novel. The intricately woven lives of the characters was well written. Sometimes I did become confused, but that could have just been me. I do get a little tired of rooting for the main character throughout the book and then finding out key moments in their life were purposely left out. Gives me author trust issues. That being said, I was still surprised at the ending.

The Guest is B.A. Paris’ newest psychological thriller that tells the story of couple Iris and Gabriel, a seemingly perfect couple who were enjoying life. Until Gabriel, while out for a run in the quarry, stumbles upon his young 18-year-old neighbor dying after accidentally falling. Gabriel is the only one who receives the neighbor’s last words, and they haunt him.
Upon returning from a getaway that was supposed to help the now troubled couple due to Gabriel's trauma, they come home to good friend Laure staying in their home, reeling from her husband’s recent revelation that he fathered a child outside of their marriage. Laure has made herself quite comfortable with no signs of leaving.
Then enters a new couple in town, who brings with them their gardener with his own secrets.
All of these incidents seem to intertwine with each other throughout this slow burning mystery. There were lots of characters involved in the twisty conclusion.
This was a 3.5*read. Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the E-Arc and the chance to review it!

If you like a book with a lot going on, THIS IS IT!

B.A. Paris has done it again! This story is full of twist and turns, that will have you hooked from page one. I did not see the ending coming and usually I can guess the outcome. But not on this one.

Full of chills and thrills, don't sit on this one!

First I would like to start by saying thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for this ARC I received in exchange for my honest review. I love a few books by this author and was excited to recover this copy early. Sadly this was not for me and it was so unbelievable, that even being fiction I could hardly finish it. The first half is so incredibly slow and not in a slow burn kind of way. It just did not engage me or even just set the story up for something good later to come. I honestly just didn’t care what happened to the characters as I was not able to form any kind of connection with them and the sheer number of dead bodies was eye rolling. I hope someone else enjoys this novel but it did not thrill me.