The Guests
Margot Hunt
A category 5 hurricane is headed toward Florida. Marlowe, Lee and their seventeen-year-old twin sons, Tom and June, are preparing their waterfront home for the storm. Joining the Davies are Zack and Isabel. Shortly before the storm hits land a boat tie up at their dock. On board are two men and a woman: Jason and Bo (brothers) and Darcy, Bo’s girlfriend. The young strangers need a place to weather the coming storm. The Davies willingly offer them refuge in their lavish home. MISTAKE!
The plot has a lot of potential but falls short. A magnificent home, a loving family with friends and three strangers. This is potential! But the author failed in creating well written dialogue.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a review copy. My reviews are my unbiased opinions.

Last call for the Stupid Train. Destination: Face Palm City.

Happily married couple Lee and Marlowe, along with their 17 year old twins, Tom and June, have a wonderful life and a beautiful home on the Florida coast. They're preparing the home for a category 5 hurricane that is soon to come ashore. Staying with them is Zack, Tom's best friend, and, Isabel, Marlowe's assistant.

The winds have begun whipping and the rain is pelting down when to their surprise a boat is headed right for their dock. On it are two men and a young woman. Lee and their handyman Mick run out to assist them when an unfortunate accident occurs in which they need the strangers assistance. Marlowe feels it wouldn't be right to turn them back out into the storm after they just helped them in a time of need so they are invited to hunker down in the luxurious comforts of their well appointed home. What could go wrong?

EVERYTHING!!!!

Um, so, yeah, this was not good. Not at all. This book had absolutely no substance to it. Where do I even begin? Let's start with the terrible dialogue. This was so cheesy. These people spoke and acted like no one I know. Character development was basically zilch. I'd rather watch paint dry then to spend even a minutes worth of time with these people. Brand name this and brand name that, please stop it already. Their wealthy we get it. A plot that was incredibly simple to figure out made for zero tension or suspense.

Let me give you an example of how stupid these characters are. This family has been terrorized by these strangers for many hours and what does Marlowe have to say about one of them:

"Bo was handsome, charming, and engaging, and, perhaps most importantly, he had a sexual energy that was hard to miss."

Seriously. He's killed people you care about and is also holding a gun to your head but he sure is dreamy isn't he? 🤦‍♀️ I can't make this shit up. 💩

I wish every single one of these characters had been swept out to sea. Now that would have made it a satisfying ending but, alas, my dreams were dashed. 😞 1 star!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my complimentary copy.

While I normally don't read books with weather as an issue background, "The Guests" was an enjoyable read.

4.5 stars
~
Margot Hunt presents a gripping story that delves into the intricate inner worlds of its characters. The book unravels the motivations and hidden agendas of the characters with masterful precision.

As the plot advances toward its climax, the sense of impending danger grows more and more intense, leaving readers with a chilling certainty that not everyone will emerge unscathed from this tempestuous ordeal.

Hunt’s expert storytelling skills amplify the suspense, creating an immersive experience that captivates readers until the end. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the nuances of human psychology and the power of suspenseful storytelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to review this book.

Really good and suspenseful. Twists and turns. Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I look forward to reading more from this author.

OMG THIS BOOK! I finished this book on a morning I didnt have to be at work till later. The plot is so twisted I had no inkling what was going to happen what so ever! DO NOT miss this!!

"The Guests" takes readers on a harrowing journey through the treacherous territory of both natural and human-made disasters. Set against the impending chaos of a Category 5 hurricane in coastal Florida, the story explores the complexities of relationships, trust, and survival.

The Davies family, consisting of Marlowe, Lee, and their teenage twins, opens their waterfront mansion to close friends and welcomes them into the lap of luxury, all in an effort to ride out the impending storm together. Yet, the unexpected arrival of three enigmatic strangers - Jason, Bo, and Darcy - on their doorstep just before the hurricane hits, sets the stage for a gripping tale of suspense and intrigue.

What begins as an act of goodwill quickly transforms into a nerve-wracking ordeal as the hurricane's fury intensifies. Authoritative storytelling captures the mounting tension within the house, mirroring the rising turmoil outside. As the storm rages on, the boundaries between family, friends, and strangers become increasingly blurred, leading to a series of shocking revelations, each more unsettling than the last.

The book masterfully weaves a web of suspicion, secrets, and betrayals, ensuring that readers are kept on the edge of their seats throughout. It delves deep into the psyches of its characters, unraveling their motivations and hidden agendas. As the plot hurtles towards its climax, the sense of impending danger grows more palpable, leaving you with a chilling certainty that not everyone will emerge unscathed from this tempestuous ordeal.

"The Guests" is a riveting thriller that skillfully combines the forces of nature with the darker aspects of human nature. It's a tale that lingers in your mind long after you've turned the final page, a testament to the author's ability to craft a suspenseful and thought-provoking narrative.

Margot Hunt delivers a tale with twists aplenty in this atmospheric thriller. As a category 5 storm barrels towards their Florida home, wealthy Marlowe Davies and her family prepare to wait it out in their well-constructed home.

The characters in the house include not only Marlowe and her husband, but their son and daughter, their respective friends, and Marlowe's assistant, Isabel.

To the dismay of the Davies family adults, they also include three uninvited guests, who show up just as the storm hits. The trio are rattled, having just about outrun the hurricane in the boat in which they are travelling, which they tie up at the Davies' deck.

Things start out well enough - although the Davies' handyman Mick is suspicious of the newcomers from the get-go. With good reason, as it turns out, since the situation worsens as quickly inside the house as it does with regard to the ravening storm outside.

Various characters in this book have their own agenda - including those who do not fall into the category of the usual suspects. And as the story unfolds at a swift pace, secrets and lies begin to emerge that are as unexpected as they are consequential. What and who will be left standing once the storm has passed remains to be seen...

This was an entertaining tale, where the fear and claustrophobia created by the storm was conveyed with great potency. The writer delivered her plot twists through a storytelling style where the underlying tension was maintained throughout. And she also managed to make it easy to differentiate between multiple characters, which is no mean feat, given that she was juggling more than ten of them. An excellent read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I’m always a fan of storm and locked room thrillers. This book had some of both.
Marlowe and her family are getting their house ready for a hurricane when they get some unexpected guests.
This book grabbed me right from the beginning and had me hooked. I kept wondering what the situation was with the guests and who was telling the truth and who was lying in the house.
Lots of surprises and twists. Some expect and many unexpected.
Marlowe, June, Tom and Felix were very likable characters and made up for the not so likable ones like Bo, Lee, Isabel and Jason.
Great book. Would love to listen to an audio version of it as well.

I have to hand it to her: I was do caught up in the bad guys being SO BAD that I almost didn't notice the other characters having the emotional range of a gnat or other similarly short lived creature.

A Category 5 hurricane changes direction and is closing in on Marlowe's beach front mansion. Marlowe lives a fairly low key life but has been consumed with arranging her deceased parent's multi-million dollar donation of paintings to a museum. She and her husband Lee did not evacuate and they are now forced to wait out the storm with their teenage twins.

Little do they know, one twin is hiding a friend upstairs. Worse yet, uninvited guests emergency dock on their property. They have no choice but to take in the three unknown people, Right?

Put on those storm shutters, grab some extra food and buckle in for a night to remember!
#ThomasandMercer #Amazon #Netgalley #TheGuests #MargotHunt Thomas&Mercer

A family preparing to sit tight and wait out an incoming Category 5 hurricane welcome in three seemingly distressed strangers that arrive on boat right at the onset of it. Within minutes, the situation spirals out of control, causing panic and quickly escalating the tension and danger among the group.

I'm always a sucker for the isolated setting trope so I dived right into this one. This was a quick and fast paced read that's good for an in-between kind of book. I'm not sure there was one character though that I completely liked. Each made a pretty dumb decision at least once, whether they were a naive teenager thinking they were invincible or an adult not thinking logically. It was suspenseful with a great setting and the story was solid, it just won't exactly stick out with me personally. Three and a half stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A fast-paced suspense novel about strangers seeking shelter in a storm. It was fine and kept me reading, but I didn’t care about any of the characters so it was hard to be shocked by any twists.

This was a real page turner from Margot Hunt! I generally like her books but they can be uneven but this one was really solid. Having a hurricane be the driving force in a closed room mystery was very clever. She really wrote the storm in a way that I really felt like I was there. I also liked how she dealt with side characters like Felix in a really fleshed out, realistic way. No one was really a "hero", they were all trying their best in a bizarre, scary situation and realistically bad things (like twisting an ankle) happened. Of course there was a dramatic plot twist but honestly, the book felt fairly realistic. There are a lot of bad, week men out there.

4-4.25 stars! Wow, what an atmospheric book! I was so captured by the setting that when I did manage to take a reading break, I actually forgot I wasn't living through a hurricane myself! Told by several POV's, but not confusing at all since the author did a great job with each characters backstory. Tense and twisty- all wrapped up nicely at the end. Highly recommend!

My favorite Margot Hunt novel to date! A hurricane is the perfect backdrop for this locked room thriller. Hunt got the details and the feelings of a treacherous storm just right. This was fast paced and just twisty enough, with a few turns that I didn’t anticipate. A quick read that isn’t over the top, this was a great way to spend an afternoon. And a side note - Marlowe Bond is one my favorite character names!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

A category five hurricane, except to make landfall in Florida. The Davies family hunker down in their mansion on the water. With the family are some close friends, and three strangers who showed up right before the hurricane hit. They seem like nice enough people, but no one in the story is what they seem. I liked this story, but I had to wonder about a decision to ride out a hurricane in a waterfront property. I’ve lived through some Florida hurricanes, and by the water is the last place anyone would choose to be. Still, this is an exciting and well written story.

I was so enveloped in the setting of this book that my mind was tricked into thinking that I couldn't walk my dogs outside for a break because there was a storm. The author does a great job with the details of the setting and the storm that I really felt I was a part of it. I read this book in one sitting it was so good! The multiple point of views kept the pace moving quickly. Normally I get confused with multiple characters and POVs, but the characters were so well developed that I was able to keep them all straight and didn't have any issues. I did not see the twists coming on this one! Such a good locked room thriller!

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer, Thomas & Mercer for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Guests" by Margot Hunt promises to be a gripping and suspenseful thriller, set against the backdrop of a Category 5 hurricane, where the storm outside mirrors the growing tension inside a coastal Florida mansion. This premise sets the stage for a high-stakes and atmospheric story that explores the darkest corners of human nature.

The introduction of the Davies family and their decision to take in close friends and three strangers adds an intriguing layer of complexity to the narrative. As the hurricane approaches, the isolation of the mansion becomes a pressure cooker, and the dynamics between these characters are sure to be both fascinating and volatile.

The description hints at a carefully constructed plot, where secrets and tensions escalate in tandem with the storm's fury. The blending of family, friends, and strangers under one roof, coupled with the revelation of long-held secrets, promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

The story's focus on the blurred lines between trust and suspicion, loyalty and betrayal, is a classic theme in psychological thrillers. As the characters' true natures and motivations are unveiled, readers are likely to be captivated by the psychological drama unfolding within the confines of the mansion.

Overall, "The Guests" appears to be a thrilling and suspenseful read that explores the depths of human psychology and the lengths to which people will go to protect their secrets and survive in the face of danger. Fans of atmospheric thrillers with intricate character dynamics are likely to find this book to be an engrossing and suspense-filled experience.

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, Action, intrigue, mystery, revenge, murder, great plot twist, and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me