Phew. This book was good!

While I absolutely called one thing, I just knew it. I didn’t expect the who. And overall the story line was paced well. The character driven details were wonderful and I think the audio version was very well done!

Some secrets never leave.

Iris and Gabriel seem to have it all: a beautiful home in the British countryside, a daughter happily working in Greece, and good friends Laure and Pierre from Paris, who they often vacation with. But when a young man has a tragic accident in a nearby quarry, Gabriel is the one to find him and hear his final words, leaving Gabriel with a guilty burden.

A slow burn that took me a bit to get into. There are a lot of characters and everyone has their own drama (maybe too many characters, too much drama?). After a few weeks of Laure staying with Iris and Gabriel even I had had enough of her! Then things start to get mysterious and the story speeds up when Laure finally makes the trip back home to try to patch things up with Pierre. A dark twist at the end that left me surprised!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a fantastic listen. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I have no critique for this book, it was well paced, character development was enticing and kept your interest the entire way. This has plenty plots and twists to keep you guessing with a satisfactory ending. B.A. Paris knows just how much information to give you to satisfy you in the moment but keep you guessing for more.

Whoa, this one is something all right. I’m still thinking about the epilogue when FINALLY everything came together. If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller or even a slow burn, The Guest is not it!

Iris and Gabriel have a steadfast marriage that is recently experiencing a bit of turmoil. Gabriel is coming to terms with witnessing a young boys final moments after a tragic accident and being the only one to hear his final words. He is unable to share these feelings with his wife and it is straining their relationship. Now enter one of their oldest friends Laure.

Laure and Pierre are going through it. Pierre just admitted to Laure that he fathered a child at some point during their long marriage and now wants a relationship with them. Laure feels betrayed as she gave up the prospect of having children for Pierre. In a fit of anger she leaves Pierre and surprises Iris and Gabriel with an extended stay at their house.

Up to this point the plot was interesting in a “spill the tea” kind of way. However, literally nothing but this back and forth drama and the introduction of three more characters occur before chapter 20. At that point things get a tiny bit more interesting and suddenly deaths begin to occur. I found myself at the last chapter thinking…who killed who and will we find out????

The epilogue is literally one character’s monologue on how they committed all the murders and why. I will give high marks for the surprise, but this felt incredibly lazy of the author to write all the twists this way.

Overall, the story held my interest and I did enjoy the finale. The audio production was well done and is probably the reason I made it through chapters 1-20.

WOW--B. A. Paris does it again! This one starts off fairly simple, just some odd things happening and then the plot slowly starts to get more thrilling/suspenseful. By the last third of this book things were getting SERIOUS. Truths started spilling out like crazy. I was 100% shocked at the ending when everything came to light, I highly recommend!

The Guest will be released February 20, 2024!!

Special Thanks to NetGalley && MacMillan Audio for the arc audio copy of this book!

B.A. Paris is a must-read author for me! This book was great! For me, it was a good “palate cleansing” domestic suspense that I needed to start in 2024. I need to get back into my thriller, mystery, and suspense vibe! This was a good start. Though it wasn’t as dark as other favorites by the author, I still enjoyed it. The book was well-paced, the characters were well developed and stood out as individuals for me (I had no problem differentiating each character). Something about dual points of view that really enhances a story for me. I enjoyed it.
There were times when I felt like I didn’t know what was going on, and when I thought I did I super was wrong. I love that about her writing. The unexpected twists and turns that challenge your personal assumptions, it’s wild! I remember feeling this way when I read other books like Behind Closed Doors and The Dilemma. I was so taken by how attached I felt while reading those books and how I literally felt like I was on a rollercoaster reading them. I felt that during this book as well. These experiences make B.A. Paris a dependable and repeat author for me. I recommend this book! 4 stars!

Just like all BA Paris novels I’ve read I didn’t see the twist coming! I was lulled into thinking I had it all figured out just to have the carpet ripped out from me! Incredible! A must read for thriller fans!

B.A. Paris is back on her game with The Guest.
This book pulled me in, and did not let go until the epilogue.
The characters in this book had me all over the place. One minute
I liked them, the next I was not so sure.
Most of the time I glance over the epilogue, I would highly recommend reading it all the way thru.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

I think this was my least favorite of Paris' books. It just felt like it was leading to a big reveal and when it happened in the prologue I was very underwhelmed. It just felt like it should have been more and it let me down.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio. I have been a fan of B.A. Paris for awhile now and her books always make my jaw drop at the end. She weaves these little easter eggs into the story and you wonder how you did not see that end coming. This is a must read.

I received this audio book as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

This is my 7th B.A. Paris book read. Once again…she does not disappoint. This audiobook has all the thrills, suspense and drama you expect.

A bit slow…but definitely not boring.

Emily Joyce is a fantastic narrator.


#NetGalley
#goodreads

WILD. This trotted along like any other mystery/thriller, trying to figure out who did what in this loop of couples. I loved that nothing was revealed until the epilogue and my mouth was hanging open. BA never let's me down.

B.A. Paris delivers another solid thriller with a slow build but still utterly unputdownable. There are three couples are the core of the story: Iris and depressed Gabriel (he recently witnessed the death of a local teenager), returning from a holiday, who find Laure, their Parisian friend and wife of mutual friend Pierre, unexpectedly living in their British rural home, sleeping in the their bedroom, and wearing Iris’s clothes. A third local couple, pregnant Esmé and older husband Hugh, are new to the area and also insinuating themselves into Iris’s and Gabriel’s lives. Laure turns out to be the houseguest who is never leaving, and attempts to reach her husband, Pierre, are mysteriously fruitless. Add in a gardener, Joseph, supposedly a recovering alcoholic and with a tangential relationship to some of the characters, hovering in the background, as the couples get more entangled while they question Lauren’s continued presence in England.

If just the thought of an unwanted, over-staying, annoying house guest makes you queasy, then this is your thriller. Author Paris slowly builds the tension among the couples while adding a side story about Gabriel whose witness statement about the accident was fake (and he refuses to meet with the grieving mother). You can understand Iris’ initial reticence to evict her longtime friend, but as evidence mounts that’s something’s off, you want Iris to find her inner strength. As Laure became more exasperating, I needed to rush to the end..

Emily Joyce’s narration was incredibly nuanced for a novel with so many characters. The main character, Iris, comes to life as Joyce voices her and once you’ve become comfortable with the players, the narration easily delineates their conversations. 4 stars for both the narrative and narration.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No eye colors are mentioned at all.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO A walled garden is an essential element, but we just know it’s fabulous without detailed descriptions.

Thank you to St. Martin’s PressMacmillan Audio and NetGalley for free advanced copies in exchange for an honest review!

I usually like this author, but I'm mixed on this one. I was intrigued, but too many of the surprises came at the very end in a too long epilogue explanation.
I did like the narrator very much. She did a great job with different voices and accents.

Thank you to Netgalley for the audiobook.

3.5 Stars. The Guest was a classic B.A. Paris thriller. Paris took us for a long ride wondering the whole book who did what and how everyone was connected, only to reveal answers in the epilogue.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC!

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Iris and Gabriel return from a vacation designed to strengthen their marriage and connection, they are startled to find their friend, Laure, in their home uninvited. Laure and Pierre, her husband, are Iris and Gabriel's best friends, and Iris and Gabriel are astonished to learn that Pierre has been unfaithful to Laure and has fathered a child with another woman. While Iris and Gabriel are initially sympathetic to Laure - and concerned about Pierre, who doesn't answer their calls - their sympathy turns to dismay when Laure violates their boundaries by sleeping in their bed, rearranging cabinets, wearing Iris's clothes, and settling herself in their home for an extended period of time. Gabriel, too, is dealing with his own grief and decisions in the wake of a young man's death. Meanwhile, Iris and Gabriel (and Laure) become friendly with new neighbors Hugh and Esme, and their gardener Joseph, and Laure - seemingly ready to jettison her relationship with Pierre - and Joseph begin an affair. What follows is a whodunit with a shocking ending. B.A. Paris's compelling storytelling and narration, combined with Emily Joyce's masterful narration, makes The Guest one of my favorite reads/listens of 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC audiobook of The Guest by B.A. Paris, narrated by Emily Joyce.

I ultimately enjoyed this story, though like many I found it a bit middling in the middle and with many characters and storylines to connect to.
The beginning and especially the ending provided the thrills for me.

I happen to love a good expository wrap-up to a book, providing the answers to questions carried along the narrative until the climax. This epilogue contained that along with a huge surprise.

I was already a fan of B.A. Paris books, and while this one did not quite live up to my judgment of some others by this author, it was still a satisfying listening experience.

3.5 stars story and 4.5 to the narration.

This was a bit up and down for me. I liked it at first but then started getting bogged down by all of the characters and their relationships. It seemed pretty incestuous at times. I thought I had most of it figured out but suffice to say, I did NOT. The ending was quite shocking, I just don't know if the payoff was worth slogging through all of the rest. I loved Behind Closed Doors and did not like The Therapist. This was in the middle of those two for me.

I did enjoy the narrator although I had to look up the name she was saying because I couldn't figure it out. I don't think I have ever heard the name Laure before.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a solid thriller with a satisfying ending, which is always something I hope for with a thriller. Initially, I struggled with getting into the story. I did not find the storylines about the houseguest who would not leave, the expecting couple, nor the depressed husband to be interesting. It wasn’t until the shed scene around the 45% mark that things picked up for me. From that point on, I was hooked to the story. Although I did figure out the ending ahead of time, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. This was my first novel by BA Paris, and I’m looking forward to reading more of their works.

How well do you know your friends? If they randomly showed up at your house while you were on vacation? Allowing them to stay in your space for the unforeseeable future? I mean, a few red flags there, but I was seriously hooked on this one. The characters or wildly likable, the setting had me swooning, and each chapter left me wanting to read just one more!

The narrator was captivating, and there was such an ease to her effortless storytelling!