I loved the narrator of this audiobook! They really added to the suspense and I thought they did a great job with all of the different characters. This story really kept me guessing and wanting to read more. I thought the suspense was built up very nicely. However, I just did not like how it all wrapped up in the end. But I still think this is a very suspenseful book, and I know our patrons will really enjoy it.

Everyone's greatest fear...the house guest that refuses to leave. Throw in deceit, infidelity, unknown paternity, murder, and plenty of secrets and you have a very entertaining read. The narration of this audio book was a little distracting to me. I think it might have been the pronunciation of Lauren? The story has a decent pace although there are some elements of the plot that seem over done while others don't get the attention they deserve. The twist at the end is one I did not see coming and that always makes for an enjoyable read. B.A. Paris is an author that I will read any time she releases a book no matter what the description. This is definitely not her best work, but far from the worst. She has redeemed herself since The Prisoner, for sure.

The Guest
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow B.A. Paris never disappoints you when you read his books. You will not see it coming. He makes you guess & guess again. You won't be able to put it down. Another great thrilling story. Go get it & enjoy!
Thank you NetGallery.

A slow burn thriller with a good payoff. I didn’t see the twist coming. It was neatly tied up in the end.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for approving my request.

Aw man, B.A. Paris is usually one of my favorite thriller writers but I did not like this one very much. I listened to the audiobook and the reading was good, at least.

The story centers around a couple, Iris and Gabriel, who return to their flat from vacation only to find their friend Laure in their house, sans her husband. While this seems atypical, Laure does have a key to the house and the couples often house swap when one or their other leaves for vacation. The problem is that Laure doesn't seem to leave and she's acting really suspicious about her husband.

While the premise is good, the execution is not. I was really bored and had to push myself to finish. I didn't like ANY of the characters. There didn't seem to be much depth to any of them.

I'll hand it to Paris, that she always throws in out-of-left-field twists so that was okay but, in general, this one underwhelmed me. But, hey, they can't all be winners!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this Advanced Reader's Copy!

Iris and Gabriel arrive home from vacation to their home in England to discover their friend Laura has come to stay with them. Laure and Pierre, who reside in Paris, have been best friends with Iris and Gabriel for several decades. They are shocked to learn that Laure is having some troubles with Pierre but let her stay for a while to give her time to think. At the same time, a new couple, Esme and Hugh, have moved in down the road from them with their friend Joseph. It becomes very clear from the multiple viewpoints in the story that these people will all become connected in the story, but how?

This one was a little slower-paced than I’ve come to expect from B.A. Paris. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the twists throughout. However, I got a little tired of hearing the same discussions and worries about everyday life over and over again. I also got very tired of Laure constantly going on about Pierre and very much overstaying her welcome. Nevertheless, I was invested in the story and wanted to see how it all ended. The epilogue tied everything together for me in a shocking way. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a slow-burn thriller! I give it 3.5/5 stars.

The audiobook version narrated by Emily Joyce was great. Her different accents for different characters was perfect and I never got lost or confused about who was talking when.

Iris and her husband, Gabriel, return to England from an important trip to find someone in their house. First, the trip was much needed as Gabriel has recently witnessed something traumatic. They are relieved, but confused, to find out it is their friend, Laure. What is even more strange is that Laure has been sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris's clothes, rearranging things, just to name a few. Laure is convinced her husband is having an affair, after she found out he has a child she didn't know about. As Laure overstays her welcome, new details come out about Laure's marriage. The only distraction comes from a gardener for a family down the street. Storylines are much more entangled than they might seem. This book is one of those "slow-burn" suspense novels that builds into an explosive ending.

Narration was done very well. A great perfomer.
I just truly think that the book was too slow, I was at 60% without any real developments. I also had no clue what details being brought up had to do with the overall mystery or just the peculiar characteristics of the characters. If I am truly being honest, I think the only portion that felt like a thriller, was the epilogue.

Even the narrator sounded different during the epilogue. It's just not for me.

I love B A Paris so much but I just didn’t love The Guest. I just couldn’t get behind Iris and Gabriel’s characters at all. I don’t mind slow burns, but this one was a very slow burn. Leaving me wanting more.

🔑THE GUEST🔑
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝙳𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛
𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙵𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝟸𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
𝙼𝚢 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝟹.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...Laure has walked out on her husband after a confession of an affair & secret child. She goes to stay with Iris & Gabriel(mutual friends), but her unpredictable-ness is starting to take its toll on her hosts.

💭𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜...Domestic thrillers are so my jam so I was excited about this one. While it started slow, I still wanted to know more. Then the slow burn just got to be a bit too slow & I didn’t like the characters at all! This usually doesn’t matter in thrillers, but I needed to root for somebody, ya know?!?! I also could not figure out why they let this guest stay for this long for a strange reason(no spoilers) …With all that said, the ending was pretty friggin great with a unique delivery and for that it upped my rating. I had the advanced copy in both audio & kindle & thought the narrator was superb on the audio. 🎧Her accent & voices was 👌.

The characters in this book deal with all kinds of issues: depression, distance in a marriage, learning a partner has a secret child, loneliness, and lack of boundaries to name a few. I can’t say that I liked any of the characters involved. They all became mildly annoying. Although this was not my favorite book by B.A. Paris, I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

Thank you netgalley for letting me read The Guest in exchange for an honest review!

I hands down enjoyed every sentence in this book! It’s an easy read with a unique twisty storyline. This is an easy 5 stars. If you want a quick and engaging book this one is definitely for you. BA Paris is a brilliant writer!

Hands down an auto buy author for me!!!! Behind Closed Doors is the first book I read from this author and I was hooked! This book was a slow steady burn with an ending that slapped you across the face!! It was delicious!!! Most of the characters I was suspicious of and always had an eye out. Did NOT see the ending coming!

My first introduction to B.A. Paris was her novel Behind Closed Doors, and I was hooked! Her new novel, The Guest, does not disappoint. While engaging with the novel, I grappled with the questions of friendship and familial obligations. Iris and Gabriel must work to maintain their relationship while dealing with unexpected sorrows. Paris does an excellent job of reminding us that there are secrets that are better left hidden.

Gabriel and Iris are doing well in their life and marriage. They have a daughter currently working in Greece. However, there is something greatly bothering Gabriel. Arriving home from the trip, they discover that their good friend Laure is staying in their home. As they are good friends with Laure and her husband Pierre, the couple each has keys to one another's homes.

Laure tells Iris that she will be there for an indefinite period of time, and that she has found out something about her husband that makes her unsure if she wants to stay married to Pierre. Laure soon becomes the guest who never leaves.

Meanwhile, Iris wants Gabriel to get back to his jovial self. She knows what is bothering him, but not to the full extent. As Iris and Gabriel are navigating their lives, Laure's life is topsy turvy and what happens to her affects Iris and Gabriel.

While I have enjoyed many of B. A. Paris's books, this one didn't Wow me. I was interested in the drama, but that is what it was, drama. Iris and Gabriel's relationship. Lore and Pierre's fractured relationship. Other relationships. Nonetheless, Paris is a must-read for me and I look forward to her next book.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I had a great time listening to the audiobook of this book written by B.A. Paris, an author whose previous work I have enjoyed. While B.A. Paris has written multiple works, she is well known for her popular book Behind Closed Doors. I’d say that if you’re going into this book expecting it to be similar to that one, you may be disappointed.

Just as in her previous works, B.A. Paris writes this story eloquently and has crafted well developed characters that feel genuine and (somewhat) relatable. However, the pacing in this book is not what I would call quick. It is a very, VERY slow burn. You should not go into this book expecting a book that will constantly have you on the edge of your seat.

The Guest is about a married couple, Iris and Gabriel, who are close friends with a Parisian couple, Laure and Pierre. The couple is shocked when Laure, completely devastated, tells them that Pierre has confessed that he cheated on her years ago and has a child with another woman. Laure moves in with them and the story goes from there. There’s also a mysterious new couple that has moved in nearby with an even more mysterious gardener that seems to be a hot topic on everyone’s lips.

Now, if you’re reading this wondering, “but where’s the mystery?” you are not alone. In fact, I found myself wondering that same thing until about 50% into the book. At first glance, this book seems to have a lot going on but not much of great importance. But readers should be comforted by the fact that though this book is slow, it has a satisfying payoff and the characters were so interesting that at no point in this book did I feel bored. In fact, I devoured it in less than 48 hours (which is a short time for me).

As I mentioned before, I listened to the audiobook of this story. I thought the narrator did a great job portraying the different characters and had a polished and pleasant voice that was easy to listen to. She didn’t do any drastically different voices for each character, but I had no trouble immersing myself into the story and feeling like every character had a distinct voice.

Overall, I’m giving this book four out of five stars. It entertained me the whole time and I found it very easy to listen to. However, I’m not giving it five stars because it didn’t exactly thrill me at any moment, and while the ending was satisfying, it wasn’t exactly shocking. I really liked this book, but I didn’t love it. I would still recommend it to fans of domestic thrillers who like to read slow burns.

I think the idea of this book was really good, but the pacing was a bit slow. It felt less like a thriller than just a contemporary fiction novel with twists added at the end. I was into the beginning and Paris did a good job showcasing how awkward Laure staying with Iris and Gabriel was. I was pulling my hair out just thinking of having to deal with that. There were some other mystery elements woven in that I I wanted more hints dropped - like what was behind Gabriel finding the boy in the quarry - that could have helped the pacing along.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a advance copy of the audiobook for review.

This was my second B.A. Paris book and I enjoyed it just as much as Behind Closed Doors. I felt the pacing was really good and I just wanted to keep listening. The story unfolded really well. I related to Iris so much throughout the first half of the story. Laure was such an insufferable guest, I felt uncomfortable for Iris and Gabriel.

When the final chapter ended I was very surprised until the epilogue tied it all together. I did not see the twist coming. I usually don't try to figure thrillers out but with this one I speculated a little bit and still got it wrong. I will definitely be picking up more from B.A. Paris.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced review copy.

Overall a good book with a surprising plot twist. I felt it dragged a bit in spots, but this could have been because I didn't care for the narrator's tone.

I really wanted to love this one, but the thrilling premises stalled for me in the middle of the plot and I lost investment in the outcome of the story. I adore domestic thrillers, so when Iris and Gabriel returned home from a holiday to find their uninvited friend living in their home, tension develops. While they want to support her in her split from her husband (due to an alleged affair), having a live-in house guest with no exit plan leads to conflict for everyone in the house and with nearby neighbors. Add in a recent neighborhood death, a mysterious new gardener with a secret past, and tensions overflow into murder. The lack of connection for me was that there were too many subplots to keep track of, and their interconnectedness felt like a stretch. Also, rather than have some twists or reveals throughout the story, I felt the novel ended abruptly and then relied on an epilogue to reveal all of the twists.