After reading The Hunting Party this year, I was excited to hear she was already writing a follow up. I had high hopes for The Guest List after the cracking job she had done with her first crime thriller, and she did not disappoint.

The Guest List was a brilliant, twisting, turning, reveal new bits of information bit-by-bit, character driven story. Foley seems to have developed her craft with using character to drive her storylines. While the characters in The Hunting Party were well-written and had depth, the characters in The Guest List were far more complex and developed.

Her attention to detail is second to none and her description really sets the tone and mood to build a stunning setting and transform it into a chaotic crescendo.

What keeps me wanting more of Foley's writing is her knack for stringing the reader along the whole way through: never letting slip who the victim is nor who the killer is either- a daring feat for someone fairly new to this genre of writing. But Foley pulls it off perfectly.

I can't wait to see what this incredibly talented writer is set to produce in the future.

I read and loved ‘The Hunting Party’ so as soon as I saw this latest book from Lucy Foley I knew I had to read it.

‘The Guest List’ is a story based around the wedding of Julie & Will. Will is a rising TV star and with Julie’s Irish roots they decide to marry on a remote island of the coast of Ireland.

The wedding planner and owner of the guest house, Aoife and her husband Freddie, greet all of the guests and the wedding is underway.

However, there are plenty of secrets involving various members of the wedding party that are threatening to rear the ugly heads. Will the wedding go ahead as planned ? What secrets are going to be revealed ?

The story is told from various people’s point of view, and I love how this works in revealing the secrets over time. I really enjoyed this book and if you love mystery’s you are going to love this. There are plenty of lies, secrets and much much more.

Thank you to HarperCollins Uk and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Jules is getting married on a remote island. The guests all arrive ready for the extravagant wedding but theres a lot of secrets amongst them. What is going to be dredged up from the past and just how connected are the guests really?

This was an interesting read. Its told from various different characters and jumps from before the wedding to the wedding night. I liked the developing connections between everyone. I had an idea who may have died but no clue as to who it was. The ending was so clever and utterly twisted. I would have liked a little more on Hannah and Charlie but it still worked. A great thriller with plenty of twists.

First, the idea of attending a wedding on an island with a bunch of posh guests is literally terrifying for me. There's no need for any gruesome murder, I'm already having a panic attack at making small talk with Henrietta and Giles.

In The Guest List, we have this nightmare scenario but the gruesome murder IS added to the mix, making the situation (slightly) worse.

This is a whodunnit and a whodied - we don't find out the identity of the killer and the killed until the end. Various characters with grudges are introduced as the book zips along. And it was ...ok. Characters had a tendency to speak unnaturally in order to expose key plot points and the melodrama towards the end went a bit soap-opera for me.

One interesting point of note was that every male character who says more than a few words is, without exception, a Grade A arsehole. Intended by the author? Not sure, but whilst I appreciate there are a lot of jerks in the world, it would have been nice to have just one of the male characters have some small redeeming feature.

Whodunnits aren't generally my thing but I imagine a lot of people will enjoy this book. It's a light read, coming to a beach or tube train near you soon.


Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for an ARC.

The Guest List is a murder mystery set at a wedding - and not just any wedding. This is the event of the year. It's set on an exclusive island off the coast of Ireland. The bride, Jules Keegan, is a magazine publisher, and the groom, Will Slater, is a handsome survivalist TV star. But all is not as it seems. Will's guests consist mainly of old public school friends who aren't particularly nice people (the ushers are frankly appalling), and Jules' 'Best Man' is an ex-boyfriend from when she was a teenager. Now, he seems perfectly nice, as does his 'plus one', his wife Hannah. Part of the story is actually told from Hannah's perspective. She's the person that you could see being your friend, someone who you could go out drinking with (coffee or alcohol!).

Jules is a very strong, confident woman - the polar opposite of her sister Olivia. Olivia seems to have had a bad breakup and is very fragile.

All of these characters (apart from Hannah) have secrets and grudges against another person at the wedding - even Will's Best Man, Johnno, who at first appears not to have a care in the world. But appearances can be deceptive.

I really enjoyed the way this story was constructed, with jumps backwards and forwards in time. There's the linear story of the build-up to the wedding, with leaps in to the future where one of the waitresses has found an unidentified dead body on the wedding night at the evening party.

This book had me guessing as to the identity of both the murderer and the victim, and I had great fun trying to guess who they were (I didn't get anywhere near the right people, and I also now realise that I have something of a bloodthirsty penchant for retribution). I'm looking forward to Lucy Foley's next book already!

I read this on The Pigeonhole, and Lucy Foley joined in, showing us photos of places she'd been in Ireland that inspired her, and commenting on our (the readers) comments. Another great Pigeonhole experience - and another book that I had also requested and received from NetGalley. So thanks to NetGalley, but especially thanks to The Pigeonhole for helping me to make a dent in my NetGalley book mountain!!

Where do I begin with my review of this book.

This is a murder mystery book set on an island off the coast of Ireland. It is the venue of the celebrity wedding of Julia and Will.

The writing of this book is exceptional. It’s so haunting and atmospheric. The description of the island and the weather adds to the atmosphere. It is written from multiple perspectives- the bride, the bridesmaid, the best man, the wedding planner and the plus one. The characters are so well developed and multi layered. Some are likeable and some are arrogant.

This book is a slow burner but that just adds to the creepy atmosphere. This book has something for everyone- tension, intrigue, mystery, suspense. Everyone on the guest list is a suspect.

This is a really well written atmospheric book and I would highly recommend it.
This book is phenomenal and I loved it.

Wow. Where to start!

I absolutely loved Lucy Foley's first book The Hunting Party so I was excited to read any subsequent books, and I was certainly not disappointed.

The Guest List is another thrilling murder mystery thriller. Not just another murder-by-numbers, The Guest List is an incredible rollercoaster ride and I did not guess the ending, so it must have been good!

Can't wait for Lucy's next offering!

“It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.” said Winston Churchill. In The Guest List, the key is that no one is what they seem and all have major secrets to protect.

Posh Jules is marrying the handsome television star Will on a remote Irish island. The wedding brings together their two families and friends. There is Jules’ absent father, troubled sister, distant mother, and best friend, Charlie. There are Will’s elite prep school friends. But some ghosts are best left undisturbed, and I don’t mean the long-dead turf bog skeletons rumored to be hacked to death by Vikings.

When Jules receives an anonymous note warning her not to marry Will, she ignores it. But no one can ignore the young server screaming, covered in blood, and mumbling about a body before collapsing in a heap at the foot of the wedding party.

There is an excellent feeling of dread pervading this novel in the matter of a gothic mystery like Rebecca. Though it does drag a bit in the middle, that just made me read faster to learn the horrible truth constantly foreshadowed in the brief flash-forward chapters. The Guest List is highly recommended for those looking for an atmospheric murder mystery. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t enjoy The Hunting Party also by Lucy Foley but thought I would try again with this book. Unfortunately not though so I guess she’s just not my kind of writer Luckily I seem to be in the minority and it certainly would be a dull world if we all just liked the same things. If you like a dark story with mean characters but some good tense moments then maybe this one is more for you than me.

Lucy Foley is quite the find as far as authors go, her approach to thrillers is quite unique. She feels thoroughly modern and yet her inspiration clearly comes from trendsetters of old like Agatha Christie - how she is vintage and up to the minute all at the same time I truly can’t fathom, but so it is.

The story unfolds across two timeframes, a ‘then and now’ premise and from multiple points of view, the bride, the best man, the bridesmaid, the wedding planner and the plus one. My words make it sound as though it will be confusing- it’s not. Foley unravels the secrets that bind these characters together at exactly the right pace. We have the eery location, we have a high profile wedding and of course we have a dead body.

Foley’s writing is unputdownable, she has written a classic whodunnit with a modern flavour - the plot has plenty of twists and turns and the characters are well drawn - I can’t ask for more. Highly recommended

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this well constructed mystery. As others have said, there are a lot of characters to get to grips with, but I'm glad I kept reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A well-crafted, gripping book, which incorporates all the best features of a traditional mystery: isolated, stormy location, an array of disparate characters brought together for an orchestrated event and a gruesome discovery, all with a modern twist in a contemporary setting. I loved the gradual unfolding of the characters from their own and others' perspectives, the build-up of suspense within the bog-strewn island and the connections that develop between all those histories. I found the book really compelling, generating sympathy and disgust in equal measure with our growing understanding of how the characters intersect. Agatha Christie would have been proud!

It’s official: Lucy Foley is Queen of the who-died whodunit! The Guest List is a solid gold masterclass in plotting, characterisation and surprises.

I adored The Hunting Party when I read it last year – I recommend it to everyone and bought it as Christmas presents – and I am pleased to say that The Guest List is just as intriguing, intricate and vivid as its predecessor. The descriptions of the bleak island and the extreme weather are wonderfully atmospheric.

Lucy Foley is so so clever at plotting and bringing her characters to life. The multiple narrators setting the scene is like the tense ride to the top of a roller-coaster then the twists and revelations come thick and fast like a dozen loop-the-loops. She has a very light touch that sketches the different characters’ personalities so clearly. I could see every scene played out in in technicolor in my mind.

The prologue grabs you from the start, the ending is filled with tension and the story in between is intelligent, thrilling and heart-breaking. I can’t recommend it highly enough and cannot wait to see what is next from Lucy Foley!

Huge thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction – especially Abbie Salter – for the ARC of The Guest List and to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for my spot.

I loved THE HUNTING PARTY so I figured I would love this too and what do you know?!….I was right!

If you love a slow burn murder mystery scattered with suspense and deadly charm, then look no further than THE GUEST LIST.

Let’s set the scene. It’s the wedding day of a celebrity couple, Jules and Will. The venue is a refurbished luxurious resort on a remote island. All very glamorous and perfect! 🤩 The alcohol is popping and things are getting wild. There is a raging storm and the lights go out….the guests hear a scream!! The waitress has seen a body outside.😱 DUN DUN DUUUUNNN!
Told from the perspectives of key members of “the guest list”, Foley creates well crafted characters who all bring their own baggage to the party and its our job as the reader to figure out this murder mystery. 🕵️‍♀️

Let’s be clear, in a murder mystery I want the following:

- a spooky setting so a wild remote island with hazardous cliffs is perfect! ✅
- a narrative that goes back and forth in time and twists and turns to develop the plot. ✅
- an eclectic bunch of characters where everyone has a motive and is a suspect. (Warning: Some of the characters you will loathe 😂) ✅
- lethal amounts of resentment, jealousy and revenge….mwah!! ✅
- A great reveal where I say “whaaat???” ✅

Is that too much to ask? No and this book delivers!!🙋🏼‍♀️

THE GUEST LIST is addictive. Superb plotting, well paced, diverse characters who all have a different take on what happened and it’s full of surprises. Highly recommend this one if you fancy solving a sinister murder mystery. Do you think I guessed anything right? You’re correct…I didn’t. 😂 I don’t like to disappoint. Foley is definitely a ‘go to’ author for me now.

Having read The Hunting Party I was eagerly waiting for this book. It was worth it!!! A classic whodunnit and locked room mystery. Different characters and how there lives inter twine and the dark secrets we keep. Love it. I cannot recommend highly enough #TheGuestList #NetGalley

Brilliant ! Just brilliant ! I really loved this book, it kept me right in the edge of my seat ! I really didn’t want to put it down. Her best yet !
10/10 !!

A rugged, windswept island off the west coast of Ireland is the setting for The Guest List, Lucy Foley’s follow-up to her 2019 smash it, The Hunting Party. As suitable murder mystery settings go, it doesn’t get more fitting than Cormorant Island, which is boggy, barren, and steeped in folklore of the very spooky kind. On the other hand, as venues for destination weddings go, Cormorant Island may not be an obvious choice, but it has an undiscovered off-the-beaten-track charm to it that appeals to online magazine publisher, Jules, who dares to be different, and her fiancé, handsome TV personality Will, who goes along with whatever Jules wants; the kind of guy who is guaranteed to adopt the cringeworthy mantra ‘Happy wife, happy life,’ once the rings have been exchanged.

The Guest List opens on an ominous note as a storm rages on Cormorant Island causing the lights go out. It soon becomes clear that despite the best efforts of wedding planner Aoife, and the meticulous attention-to-detail of bridezilla Jules, that something has gone seriously awry. The story unfolds through a series of flashbacks told via multiple narrators, including best man Johnno, an old school friend of Will’s, and bridesmaid Olivia, a broken, fragile girl, who is the younger sister of the bride. As with all good mysteries, nothing is what it first seems in The Guest List, and just about everybody in the wedding party is harbouring grudges and hiding more than a few dark secrets. As the alcohol flows, the secrets start to spill…

While The Guest List relies maybe a little too heavily on coincidence at times – the term ‘six degrees of separation’ springs to mind – it is nonetheless a highly entertaining mystery –featuring a whole host of ghastly characters - that kept me flipping the pages late into the night. Fans of The Hunting Party are sure to love this tale of madness, mayhem and the wedding from hell. One thing is for sure: Jules and Will will not be living happily ever after!


In short: A page-flipper of a mystery that will keep you entertained right till the end. If you liked The Hunting Party you will love The Guest List.

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Another fantastic book by Lucy Foley! The setting, this time on a remote Island, is in keeping with the dark foreboding that weaves its atmospheric way throughout. A bunch of characters who are mostly unlikeable, add to a very Agatha Christie type whodunnit. With twists and turns along the way, many of the suspects could be guilty of murder, but I for one never 'saw' the perpetrator until I was face to face with him/her!
I highly recommend this novel and would like to thank the Publishers and Netgalley for this ARC.

I loved the Hunting Party, so was very excited when I had the opportunity to review Lucy Foley’s latest novel.
The concept of getting a group of people together as in traditional Agatha Christie ‘whodunnits’ has always intrigued me- so this novel had me hooked from the start- a bunch of friends, a wedding, an isolated island, what on earth could go wrong…cue cynical laughter, everything of course.
I couldn’t put it down.
The dialogue is fast paced, the imagery is chilling and evocative. The PoV varies but all characters are easily identifiable from their very strong narrative voices.
The author writes in a style that I really enjoy, and I’m looking forward to book 3 already!

This book engaged me right from the start. I loved the remote setting, which was emphasized by the description of a queasy sea crossing, and the scenario of the perfect wedding gone wrong.
I had previously read and reviewed the hunting party which, although I enjoyed, found the both the characters and the ending to be rather weak. I'm pleased to say that Lucy Foley has come up trumps here. I was interested in the characters and their past histories and intrigued by the mystery. I was slightly worried when I was three quarters of my way through and still didn't know what had happened, let alone who had done it. I needn't have worried though as the all the threads of this tale come together beautifully. Have already recommended this to others.