Really enjoyed listening to this suspenseful mystery. The narrator kept me engaged loved her accents and different voices. This mystery kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had it figured out, there was a twist I didn't see coming. Very good characters and loved the English setting. Some of the dialogue got a bit repetitive, but not enough to get in the way of the taut plot.

When Laure suddenly shows up asking to stay, Iris and Gabriel have no choice but to say yes. Laure’s husband Pierre confesses he has a daughter by another woman and they both need time apart to reevaluate

After a month, Iris and Gabriel are over it and wish Laure would leave but husband Pierre doesn’t seem to want to even talk

This book deals with a lot of domestic situations: depression, grief, loneliness, and although there are some curious incidents and deaths, it didn’t feel like a thriller at all

The pace was steady, the story very much focused on a tired marriage but there was a lot of the every day minutia that kinda bored me

Their neighbors also have a houseguest and his hotness and alcoholic tendencies should have/ could have created some real fireworks but it all just plodded along

The writing flows well and it was an easy read. But honestly, I found it a bit dull - there were very few thrills and it felt more of a domestic drama than a thriller or even suspense

The final chapter reveals everything - it’s a complete shocker 💥 I loved how everything came together but only wished the actual story hadn’t been quite so bland

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review

I listened to the audio version of the book, which was enhanced by the quality of the narration. Had I read it in more traditional format, I think I would have stopped midway through. My high hopes for this book, based on B.A. Paris’ previous works, were dashed pretty early on. The story unfolds very slowly and Gabriel and Iris’ tolerance for Laure’s much too long stay, her intrusion into their lives, her treatment of them and their possessions, is irrational. I like a good twisty story with a solution I don’t suss out. I certainly didn’t see the ending coming, but that’s because the clues provided really were too obscure to piece it out. I found the change in voice at the end jarring. Despite these criticisms, I found the quality of Paris’s writing and the basic plot good enough to give The Guest 3 stars.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Joyce really nailed the narration on this book! All the characters voices were fantastic and I didn’t feel like it needed any additional narrators. The story is complex and really deals with family, friends, loss, love, and anxiety. I really enjoyed how all the characters were so multidimensional and the small glimpses given into their pasts together. I would highly recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers with highly unreliable narrators!

This is a domestic thriller and I want to thank NetGalley for letting me listen to the audiobook. I will probably try another book by this author but this one didn't impress me. I feel like there are rules when you have a mystery such as giving the readers enough information to feel like we should have caught some of what happened. In this story, the characters were kind of hard to tell apart and the plot didn't follow what I felt like we were given. The narrator did a pretty good job except for what I thought was an odd accent. Still, it was an interesting set of events so I will probably try again.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. B. A. Paris is one of my go-to thriller authors. The Guest was a slow burn that I felt was dragged out, But the twist made it al worth it. I never saw it coming and would have never guessed it.

I listened to The Guest as an audiobook.

The book involves the intersection of the lives of two couples - Iris and Gabrielle who live in the English countryside, and Laure and Pierre who are longtime friends who live in Paris.

Gabrielle is struggling after several emotional events have left him in a state of despair. Amongst them, he found a teen-aged boy who had been in an accident, and stayed with him waiting for help as the boy died. He listened to the boy's dying words, and they have left him unsure of what to share with the boy's mother. Gabrielle has taken time off work to recover, and Iris is doing her best to help him get over his depression. They take a small holiday in the hopes of lifting Gabrielle's spirits.

On returning home, they find that Laure has moved into their house - needing somewhere to stay for a few weeks as Laure and Pierre try and sort out their marriage. Pierre has revealed that he had fathered a child with another woman, and Laure is reeling from that admission. Weeks turn into months, as Laure is obsessed with thought of who the other woman is, and why Pierre cheated.

I struggled a little at the beginning of the book with the various characters involved. Especially with this being an audibook, it wasn't very clear to me which couple was which initially - especially when you throw in another couple who recently moved into the village. . The characters weren't very likable - especially Laure, who took huge liberties with her friend's home and possessions. I lost count of the number of times I had hoped that Iris and Gabrielle would tell Laure to go back home! There wasn't much mystery in the beginning, just a couples drama plot.

However, once the book got going, the mystery was revealed, and the pace picked up a little. Laure was still a very annoying character to me, but I enjoyed trying to figure out where the plot was taking us.

The ending brought on a huge twist, and I did not see it coming at all. That helped give me a satisfied feeling as the book completed.

I think the narrator did a good job with the pace of the book, and the characters, once we got through the initial section of the book. Once the characters became distinct in my head, the rest of the book went well.

Not necessarily my favorite of B.A. Paris's books, but I still enjoyed listening to the book, and I enjoyed the ending.

This was reviewed on goodreads at:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65213277-the-guest

3.5 stars for me. This was one of b a Paris’s better books. Fast paced and kept me interested. I did find that the ending was rather abrupt and would have liked if the twist was revealed by someone else. But overall worth your time.

▶️ Format: Book & Audiobook ◀️
⭐️ Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️

I really enjoyed this one! The beginning felt only a tad confusing as they introduce an array of characters, but I caught on quickly. There were also times the book felt mundane and repetitive, describing day-to-day life of the characters. But overall, it was an exciting / emotional plot with a good amount of twists. THE 👏🏼 EPILOGUE 👏🏼 THOUGH👏🏼 OMG… I will admit, I did NOT see that coming. After reading many thrillers and understanding a lot of tropes, this twist surprisingly got me. I recommend!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and B.A. Paris for an ARC of this book!

I had a really hard time getting into this one. It was good but, it wasn’t my favorite book that this author has written.

I personally felt like this book was very slow and nothing really happened until the end.

Overall, I’m thankful I was given the opportunity by NetGalley to listen to this one but, unfortunately it wasn’t my favorite.

I think having the audiobook for this made me end up being a little blindsided by the twist--which isn't a bad thing. I got absorbed into this very easily and didn't have any theories about what may have happened. Although what DID happen is definitely not where my head was. Not knowing how many pages I had left and how close to the end I was OR being aware that I was on the last chapter put me in a false security that there was still plenty of time left to figure out what the heck was going on.

And then I hit that hour-long prologue and realized I knew absolutely nothing. It all made sense, even if I didn't see it coming, which is what I like! Definitely recommending this to anyone looking for a quick thriller.

3.5** The Guest is an domestic drama that kept me engaged the whole way through (even though I was listening on vacation and had a million other distractions happening around me), and it had a twist I didn't see coming. Laure annoyed me to no end though, as did Iris's tolerance of how much Laure overstayed her welcome! There were a few moments where, due to the framing of a chapter, you find out what happens before hearing the explanation of why or how. I think this style was intended as a hook, but I found myself going back a chapter or two to see if I'd missed something, only to realize the context for the event were revealed afterwards. This was my first read from B.A. Paris and I'd certainly pick up another of her novels for a fun, quick read, but it didn't blow me away.

“The Guest” by B. A. Paris is a slow burn of secrets, a guest that overstays her welcome, a cooling marriage and ‘accidental deaths’.
I listened to the audiobook and had never read any previous books by the author. I enjoyed the narrator, Emily Joyce. But was rather disappointed in the slow burn of much of the book, as I was unsure of how everything would end. But then came the epilogue. That final twist that redeemed the book for me. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the early arc. Comments and review are my opinion.

Ooof i did not like this! I’m kinda sad about it bc I thought the beginning was intriguing with an old friend just barging into their friends life. I thought the whole setup and domestic small town vibes were gonna be perfect for a cozy mystery. But I was wrong and I want to cry about it!

The pacing here was sooooooo slow. I’m not even kidding I think I was about 40% when I realized not one thing had even happened. I don’t mind if we’re getting drama and insight into their lives, but I felt like we got nothing. Husband dealing with grief, wife being fed up with their houseguest, houseguest acting shady, random neighbor characters to move the plot along. I don’t know it just didn’t work for me.

I think all could have been forgiven if one trope was avoided. Seriously, if this didn’t happen I would have given it a middle of the road rating bc I thought the mystery (while a little obvious, come on lore def murdered her husband I think we knew that the whole time) was decent enough. But how are you gonna weave this whole story and the very last chapter have the trope of “the narrator was hiding everything the whole time”??? Absolutely no. We were in her head the whole time and she gave no indication that she knew more than she let on. Made no move to say she killed Pierre or why?? It made me so mad!

I want to give BA Paris another try but if this trope shows up again I won’t try again!

Okay what the what? I’m glad I listened to this book at 2.5 speed instead of reading it because it feels like a total waste of my time. There have been a few of this authors books that I really enjoyed but at this point there have been too many duds, and I might just have to give up.

The first 70% of this book is so slow and so boring and then the last 30% is absolutely wild with way too many things happening all at once for me to even care because I was so bored for most of the book. None of the characters were likeable, which disconnected me from the story even more. Maybe I’m just too annoyed to write a nicer review, but this book was not for me and I won’t be suggesting it to anybody.

The narration for this audio was fairly good!

The Guest by B.A. Paris follows Iris and Gabriel returning from a holiday to find their friend Laure at their home. Newly separated from her husband, Pierre, she overstays her welcome quickly. They learn Pierre has a secret love child. Iris and Gabriel want to support both friends, but Laure's behavior in their home is making that quite difficult. A very twisty story that keeps you guessing until the very end. The narrator was amazing and really kept me engaged in the story. I'm thinking of finding more titles with her narration!

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for an advanced audiobook of The Guest in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! I've been a tentative reader of B.A Paris and sometimes find them a little predictable but I was taken aback here. The story was slightly slow in some portions but overall kept my focus the whole time. I couldn't "put it down" and listened to this whole audiobook in one work day.

New chilling thriller alert! B. A. Paris is back with "The Guest," and it's a twisty ride into the dark secrets hidden beneath a seemingly perfect life. ️

Iris & Gabriel's idyllic home gets rocked by the arrival of Laure, a friend with way too much baggage (think: emotional meltdowns & closet invasions!).

️‍As Laure digs deeper, secrets spill like dominoes, each one more shocking than the last. The gardener's got a shady past, too!

I didn't love that all the plot was revealed at the very end and discovering our narrator was unreliable without any indication beforehand. I don't typically read unreliable narrators, so if I had known going in, I may have avoided that.

It was very good! It started off a little slow for me and I wasn't sure where it was going. At first I thought it was going to turn into another predictable story where the best friend is in love with the husband and won't leave her friends house and wants to steal her life and whatever. Well I was certainly in for a surprise when the twists started. And once they started, they just kept coming and coming! I listened to the audiobook version and I couldn't stop listening once the craziness started happening!

I also liked that the chapters were short. That's one of my favorite formats. And the characters were pretty interesting, especially Gabriel who was really mysterious!

The ending really threw me for a loop! It was definitely worth the listen. The narrator wasn't my favorite. I had to speed up the sound to make it a little more interesting especially in the beginning because her voice dragged out a bit. But she told the story really well.

All in all it was a very good story! Lots of surprises, secrets and twists!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my ARC in exchange for a review! I really enjoyed it!

The Guest is at the top of the twisty suspense novel genre with multiple overlapping mysteries that come together in a satisfying and surprising denouement. However, what makes this book stand out is the masterful rendering of setting and atmosphere. The remote home, and increasingly unwanted guest, cast a [satisfyingly] uncomfortable shadow across the unfolding plot. B.A. Paris creates a sense of claustrophobia that heightens the suspense and propels the reader through the story in search of some relief!