The Guests is a fast paced thriller which is perfect to read during the rainy season! The Davies family find themselves preparing for a Category 5 hurricane and as they do this they notice that a boat is out in sea and they are approaching their dock. Due to the circumstances they invite them to ride out the hurricane at their house. While at the house bad things start to happen and they soon realize that they should have never accepted them into their house. This book is a fast paced read and goes through the POV of the different characters which adds more depth to the story. The story unfolds really well and the twists at the end were great! If you love books about stormy weather, thrillers and shocking betrayals you will enjoy this one. Publication date is January 23, 2024. Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed The Guests, it was full of suspense and had more than a few surprising twists.

I loved the way the story unfolded and that I was never really sure who to trust, it definitely kept me guessing.

I highly recommend.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t believe the the twists in this story. I got to the end without any clue and when the twists were revealed they blew me away. This was a fast paced book that kept my attention throughout. Definitely recommend.

I very much enjoyed reading The Guests. Margot Hunt does a great job at placing the story, and we get to love/hate the characters very quickly.

I wasn't too impressed by the ending, but still enjoyed the whole story.

As much as I love the theme and the plot itself, this fell really flat for me.
Too many characters and too much going on. I was uninterested right away and nothing was grabbing your attention.
I love the idea, it just wasn't executed properly to hold my attention.

This was fun, twisty over the top but entertaining. It was nothing that will stick with me for a long time but it was a good popcorn thriller. This would be good to read by the pool or at the beach.

2.5 uninvited guest stars

The book opens with a family battening down the hatches as a hurricane barrels towards them. They have just about completed things when an uninvited boat pulls up at their dock. The family is forced to invite the strangers in as the storm has worsened into a Category 5 hurricane.

The family is Marlowe, Lee, teenage twins, a friend, and a work colleague of Marlowe’s. The guests are brothers – Jason and Bo – and Bo’s girlfriend Darcy.

Just what were the strangers doing out in the dangerous storm? Their story seems suspect. Soon, offered hospitality becomes more dangerous as the real truth emerges. Will any of them survive the storm?

I have enjoyed this author’s previous works, but this one was not as strong. I hope that her next book returns to her stronger writing, better dialogue, and plot.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

The Guests is a fast pace sort of locked room thriller by Margot Hunt that centers around a wealthy family living on the coast of Florida as they prepare for a Category 5 Hurricane.

Marlowe and Lee Davies and their twin teenagers prepare to hunker down. Three of their trusted family friends are also preparing to join them. Fortunately, their house is like a fortress so they aren't worried. Right before they are about to seal themselves inside, three strangers arrive by boat to their personal dock. They are clearly in distress and with an approaching hurricane, can't go anywhere. Although reluctant, after an unexpected accident, the strangers are invited in. That's when the deaths start and we learn that the strangers have an ulterior motive and it is no coincidence that they happened upon the Davies family.

This was a quick read told from multiple view points. There was plenty of action, lots of secrets revealed and quite a bit of death, which I wasn't expecting. There are some flashbacks to the past that gives the reader insight into why certain decisions were made.

Overall a little farfetched because its hard to believe that any of what happens after the strangers are invited in would actually occur since no sane person would let 3 strangers into their house. I would still recommend as it was interesting, kept my attention, and had a decent ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

“…the lines between family, friends, and strangers blur. Danger mounts with every pointed finger and broken confidence, and long-held secrets are revealed one after another until only one truth remains: not everyone is going to make it out alive.”

Personal review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Being from Florida and reading this shortly after a few major hurricanes, I thought most of the plot was intriguing and it certainly kept me reading, but at times, it got quite laughable - who invites strangers into their home during a hurricane?! Who the heck stays in their River home with that kind of predicted storm surge? But the novel did provide an afternoon in entertainment. The red flags from the author were present from the very first chapter and the novel kept me on edge. The Davies family has their own secrets, which were slowly slipped to us, and the strangers become not so unknown as the novel continues. Marlowe and Lee’s life is not as perfect as it appears, and someone, or someone’s in their house is lying. This was a fun, quick read, thank you @netgalley and @thomasandmercer for the advanced review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: When a Category 5 hurricane is poised to hit their coastal Florida town, the Davies family takes refuge in their waterfront manse. Marlowe, Lee, and their teenage twins invite their close friends to wait out the storm in comfort and style.

Uninvited are the three strangers who dock on the family’s shore right before the storm descends. Brothers Jason and Bo―and Bo’s girlfriend, Darcy―are a charming, helpful trio in need of a safe haven that the family is only too happy to provide.

But as the storm outside grows more threatening, so does the tension in the house.

This book was cringe and difficult to read. The glamorization of a killer was somewhat disgusting. There is no need to romanticize that. I get its fiction, but it is blurring the lines for mass media when producing television series, and movies doing just that and getting criticize for it none the less. The characters were difficult to like or care about.

Margot hunt could write my ovens user manual and I’d read it for 3 hours straight and then say it was my favorite read of the year. Every time I pick up a hunt novel I know I’m settling down to read until it’s finished they’re just too good to set down. This book did not disappoint! The suspense was perfectly done and the characters were built realistically and interestingly. Im reading this in October and I wish it was out now because it is the perfect spooky season read that won’t make you too scared to sleep at night but just anxious enough to wonder what that noise is in the house. Masterful. Hunt is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

2 stars ⭐️⭐️ A Category 5 hurricane is about to hit, and the Davies family has decided to ride out the storm in their waterfront home. When three strangers show up on their dock as the storm descents, the family is happy to provide shelter. Unfortunately, the strangers are not as friendly as they seem, and soon the family finds themselves in a very dangerous situation.

This book was predictable and unfortunately the character development and dialogue were lacking. The family made a bunch of poor choices (their first being to stay at home during the hurricane) and the ending was pretty ridiculous.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Ooof, a locked-room thriller set during a hurricane in Florida? Yes PLEASE.

THE GUESTS definitely delivered on the premise. It was a slower-burn beginning, with fabulous character depth, and I loved the array of POVs we got (each winding fabulously through the others). The twists were expertly revealed, just enough seeded in before to make you wonder before landing.

I highly enjoyed this read! So grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This book was really difficult to get into. Most of the time I could not keep up with what was going on with the characters or the storyline, perhaps it was me. Disappointed as I usually super love this author and everything they put out. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book entertained me a lot, super fast and with unexpected twists. I really liked the different characters and I could imagine them and the situations described. I loved the character of Zack!! I recommend it if you want something action-packed with a good share of drama.

This was quite disappointing which sucked because the blurb was so intriguing. The dialogue is awkward, unbelievable. The characters have no personalities. The story is just cheesy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this read. This is my 4th Margot Hunt and this was not as good as the others but it still gave a good punch to the stomache. It had some repetitive parts that I felt a bit like fillers but the book was crazy. Like nuts. I did enjoy it and I will read more of her work.

I was thrilled for a chance to review “The Guests” by Margot Hunt.

I have been a fan of Margot Hunt for a very long time, and a chance to review an advanced copy of her work is an early Christmas gift.

Lee and Marlowe live with their twins, Tom and June, in a gorgeous home off the Florida coast. A category 5 hurricane is headed their way and joining them is Tom’s best friend, Zack, and Marlowe’s assistant, Isabel. Just as the storm begins, the household ends up with three more guests.

Naturally, nothing is going to go wrong, right?

Hunt is a master as keeping the reader interested. Even if some of the plot comes across as predictable, the writing is powerful enough to keep you moving forward. While this is not my favorite of her books, I still enjoyed the story (though the characters not so much).

Three and a half out of five stars.

Thanks to Margot Hunt, the publisher, and NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

The Guests is a thriller that takes place during a category 5 hurricane and follows Marlowe and her family. Deciding not to evacuate, Marlowe, her husband Lee, and her twin teenagers June and Tom are preparing their house for hurriance Celeste when a boat with three strangers docks at their pier. The strangers claim that they were caught in the storm and need a place to weather out the hurricane. While hesitant, Marlowe agrees to let them into her home. As the storm worsens, Marlowe soon realizes that the guests are definitely hiding something. Soon, surviving the storm is the least of Marlowe and her family's worries.

While the premise sounded interesting, I just don't think the book was well executed. The pacing is extremely slow, and the entire plot is just too unbelievable. None of the characters are likable, and I didn't really know who or what I was rooting for. Additionally, the "twists" were all quite predictable. As a whole, I did not find The Guests to be an enjoyable read.