Just to say I haven’t read ‘The Hunting Party’ as many readers have so haven’t got that to compare with

I read a few reviews/comments on this book earlier today and yes I would agree there are many characters to get to know and also agree that many are unlikeable BUT I actually really enjoyed that part of the book, the getting to know them all and hearing how they all became entwined as friends

Jules and Will are marrying, Jules demands the best of everything and has ‘rented out’ a desolate island for the special day, Will is a larger than life ‘survival’ TV personality

Amongst the guests are a very fragile Sister of Jules, a best man who feels he has ‘been let down’ and his wife ( my fav character ) who cant wait to be kid free for 2 whole days and whose comments on her life now to previous life are very funny, some Public School friends of Will’s and a host of other well healed folk
Of course each has a secret or 2
and the secrets are about to all unfurl into a very messy and dangerous few hours
The chapters are all told, imo very well, by each character from before the wedding and now, at the wedding and the big nasty event in the book is cleverly all brought together by each character ending their last chapter with the same sentence
Not unlike an Agatha Christie I guess
Easy to read and enjoyable although a bit unbelievable in the end still a good solid tale, well presented and written

8/10
4 Stars

A wedding is “..all about the moment.. all about the day..”

Just imagine all the things you can do with a group of people parked on an island, off the coast of Ireland. The wedding of Jules Keegan and Will Slater is due to take place on this remote little wind-blown lump of granite, jutting out of the water. The Folly, perched atop this unforgiving and rather eerie island, belongs to Aoife the wedding planner and her husband. She is anticipating juicy exposure of her wedding venue because Jules runs The Download, a lifestyle magazine and Will is a well known TV personality. Publicity like that is to die for! And indeed a body does turn up!

Will has assembled his group of friends from school. The Old Trevellyans are a febrile and bullying lot. There is also Charlie, who is Jules’ best friend from a surfing holiday (he was the instructor, she the classy tutee). He is there with his wife. Johnno, the best man and fellow Trevellyan, discovers that Will has a rather dirty secret which hardly even trumps the secret the two of them share from way back. Frankly, virtually everyone has a history, and secrets are ripening and festering amongst the congregation. Everything starts to unravel after the speeches. By now the weather is inclement with a high wind blowing a hooley across the marquee.

The seeds are sown early on in the book for discord, tension and upset. Jules discovers a little warning note suggesting that Will is not who he seems. And on the evening before the wedding there is a stinking sea creature buried deep at the bottom of the nuptial bed. There are echoes of the seaweed ritual that used to go on back at the public school. A jape, perhaps, but one in very poor taste and very upsetting. Aoife spots a cormorant on the church steeple, a sure premonition of bad luck.

Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective, headed by the name and, helpfully, further described by the role they have in the wedding. Thus it soon becomes quite easy to differentiate between the persona in this quasi Greek tragedy.

The author is tremendous at creating an all-encompassing and spooky setting, She certainly pulled off a grim and haunting backdrop in The Hunting Party (Scottish Highlands). In The Guest List, this little craggy outcrop, the fictional Inis An Amplóra (Cormorant Island) off the coast of Connemara, accessed only by boat, makes for a haunting setting, with its graveyard, pounding seas and mud that will soon suck you under.

The cast of characters harbours an incredible number of grudges and secrets and this aspect of the book in one way drives the narrative at a cracking pace but in an another ultimately makes it teeter on the edge of credibility. I guarantee, however, that this will a top and popular read in 2020. Enjoy!

After The Hunting Party I had high expectations for Lucy Foley's new book. The premise sounded intriguing: the identity of the victim not being revealed until the very end, with plenty of suspects each of who had their own gradually exposed secrets. Although the first few chapters were suspenseful, unfortunately, the story went downhill, slow and repetitive, with contrived, far fetched twists and disappointing, almost farcical ending.

Lucy Foley’s first book the Hunting Party was brilliant and I didn’t think she could top it but oh my gosh she really has with the Guest List.
Very much in the Agatha Christie mode we know from the start that one of the guest who are attending a Wedding on a remote island off the coast of Ireland has been found dead but we do not know how or who it is until the end of the book.
During our journey we become familiar with the main players and the secrets that they hold and how their relationships are interlocking.
There are a lot of surprises along the way and none so more as who the victim is.
Great read just could not put it down
Five stars all the way

I seem to be drawn to murder mysteries at the moment...maybe it's the weather!

There is nothing lighthearted about this wedding...this is a pretty dark story, and it gets darker and darker...actually - quite literally...

Our bride wanted a perfect wedding, she's been planning it all of her life, and after a whirlwind romance gets married to a hansome television star on a remote island. All of their friends and family are invited as expected, but it's not going to be the fairytale wedding she expected.

The grooms are old friends from a private school - up to high jinx and drinking as usual, but this friendly banter isn't all it seems, and the brides best friend and his wife reveal their own nasty secrets as well.

This is a truly gripping book and it continually surprised me right up until the end. I really recommend this book!

I read The Hunting Party last year, and wasn’t sure if Lucy Foley would be able to top it. I mean, once you’ve written a thriller set in the eerie surrounds of a hunting lodge cut off from the rest of the world by snow, where do you go next? The answer, an isolated island filled with its own dangers in the middle of a raging storm. I was instantly put in mind of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, and as I started reading, I was already on edge about what was to come.

The author’s style of writing, using multiple points of view, and not only keeping the killer’s identity a closely guarded secret, but also not revealing who the victim is, really builds tension. There is a simmering undercurrent of secrets and lies throughout, and as the storms grows in intensity so too do the revelations that slowly come to light. The storm feels like a character in its own right, making the whole situation feel increasingly ominous.

As the book progressed, I did have my suspicions about who the victim was going to be, although I did change my mind on a couple of occasions. Even as I became more sure about this though, it was still impossible to settle on who the killer might be. The interwoven lives and histories of each of the characters created a story full of unexpected developments, and every time I thought I was making progress in figuring everything out, something else happened to turn my thoughts on their head.

I read this book in one sitting, and I was a scrunched up ball of tension throughout! I love Lucy’s writing and can’t wait for her next book.

Oh my goodness, what a page Turner. From the word go, Lucy Foley sets the scene, and writes clear, characters, some of whom are deeply unpleasant. There are tangled stories of past misdemeanors, bad behaviour and lies, and a number of characters have a motive.
The drama,is set on a remote island and Foley's descriptive writing captures a sinister location.
I loved the Hunting Parry but this was even better!
Thank you to Netgalley for a digital advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Having enjoyed Lucy Foley’s previous crime novel, “The Hunting Party,” I was delighted to read her latest. Indeed, there are similarities between this, and her previous work. You have an isolated setting – in this case, Cormorant Island, off the coast of Ireland, which is the wedding venue for magazine publisher, Julia (Jules) Keegan and Will Slater, an upcoming television celebrity, known for the show, ‘Survival,’ where he is left in a dangerous environment and has to make his way back to civilisation, in the guise of a reality television studio.

This has much about it which is modern, but also harks back to the past. Will, his best man, and a group of unpleasant old school friends, tend to hark back to their time at Trevellyan, where initiation rituals for new boys have links to the present. Meanwhile, all of the guests, and indeed the wedding couple themselves, have secrets. There is the controlling Jules, barely keeping her temper under control for most of the time. Her best friend Charlie, and his wife, Hannah, who is very much on the outside of the group, as is Jules half-sister, Olivia, who is nursing her own trauma.

Overall, this is an interesting take on a closed setting, crime novel. It is nowhere near as frightening as, “And Then There Were None,” Christie’s truly tense masterpiece, but I think Foley had a small nod towards the Queen of Crime, with the setting. However, this is a different kind of crime novel, which takes the points of view of all the characters, and interweaves past and present, to create an interesting scenario with a, largely unsympathetic, cast of characters. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review. I would certainly read more by Lucy Foley and think she is a very accomplished writer.

If you enjoyed Lucy Foley's previous book, The Hunting Party, this one is similar in style. The setting is a wedding party on an island off the Irish coast and the story is told from different perspectives - the bride, the bridesmaid, the best man, the plus one, the wedding planner. It switches back and forth between "now" - the moment during the wedding party when one of the waitresses discovers a body - and the events of the previous day and earlier that day which lead up to that moment.
It is full of suspense as the identity of the corpse is not revealed until very late on in the book and as you get to know the various members of the wedding party, various possibilities emerge.
I found it gripping to read, and very well-plotted. It kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. An Agatha Christie-style mystery in a modern setting.

A wedding on an isolated island off the coast of Ireland. A body found – but who has the means, motive and opportunity?
II liked the way the tension was coiled using, the weather, the location and the group of people. Perhaps there was a little too much suspense and background information instead of action and this slowed the story down.
I don’t think I have read a book about a more selfish and corrupt group of people. I will not give away anything by saying that the ending left me with a sour taste. This book has a cast of selfish, arrogant and damaged characters and because of that I could not enjoy it.

Thank you to netgalley for my copy of this book.

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed her style of writing. The story is one of lies, deceit and ultimately murder. The wedding party arrive to witness the wedding of Jules and Will. The story jumps around from person to person where they give their version of the day and their memories.

When I first started this book I was unsure if I would be able to enjoy it, due to the style of writing, character and time changes. My concerns disappeared after the first 2 chapters and then I was instantly hooked. I thought the story was very well written and I felt it had an Agatha Christie feel to it.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Lucy Foley's second novel, like her first, is a crime thriller which takes its characters to a remote setting, this time on a wind-swept Irish island hosting the society wedding of Julia Keegan and Will Slater. With a similar style to her first novel, Foley moves the narrative back and forward in time, and skips from character to character for their perspective. We know something has happened, we suspect it's murder, but we don't know either the victim or the killer until right at the end. It is well done, and certainly grabs your attention.

Where this slightly didn't work for me was the lack of distinction between the narrative voices; with few exceptions, they all sounded the same. And whilst the delaying of the victim's identity ramped up the tension, it meant that it also, perhaps paradoxically, dragged a bit, especially with the chapters involving the 'hunt' for the body.

However, on the whole this was an enjoyable whodunnit, with a nod to Golden Age mysteries with a finite number of suspects. As the characters tell their stories, more and more of them come to have a motive - and all of them have dark secrets to hide. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the page-turning writing.

When an online magazine editor marries a TV personality known for his survival series, it’s always going to be a grand affair. Jules and Will’s wedding is no exception, a lavish affair taking place on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, But when a storm cuts off the power, and then a body is discovered, the idyllic wedding takes a darker turn,

The Guest List is a very enjoyable story, with mystery and intrigue right up to the end, Although the body is discovered at the beginning of the book, the identity of the deceased is not revealed until much later, which added an extra level of mystery. The story focuses on the build up to the wedding, told from the viewpoint of the various members of the party, so the characters’ personalities and feelings come through.

More a case of guess the victim than guess the murderer, this was a book I didn’t want to put down.

This is one party I am glad I was not invited too. A creepy, dark destination hosting a celebrity wedding. A death and a lot of potential murderers. So many secrets within these privileged and flawed characters. A truly gripping read set over the few days before and during the wedding of the year. Really atmospheric and truly unputdownable.

4.5 Stars
On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. The guests travel from the mainland in a boat to Cormorant Island and a select few will be staying at the refurbished Folly, which is run by couple Aoife and Freddie, the wedding planner and the caterer who want everything to be perfect as this is their first wedding in their new venture & hope Julia will leave a good review in her magazine Thirteen guests. One body.
The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped.
I really enjoyed The Hunting Party & was excited to be given an advanced copy to read. The story is told for the perspective of the guests & it was interesting to learn their histories & how they were connected to the bride & groom. Secrets abound, then a storm hits the island with power cuts, which all build to an engrossing murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. I loved it & found it very hard to put down.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

There had been no expense spared for the exclusive wedding of the year between the TV star and celebrity Will Slater and online magazine publisher Jules Keegan. A small island, just of the coast of Ireland had been chosen and everything had been shipped in, including the first wave of the elite bridal party. People would be talking about this wedding for years to come but unfortunately not in the way that the happy couple had planned.
The wedding planners had everything under control where they could but the weather was abysmal and the grooms' ushers and besties that he had been through public school with boisterous and childish. They had been the elite group at school that everyone wanted to be part of and they had a secret. The story had dropped back to the run-up to the wedding, to before something terrible had happened. The chapters bounce between all the main characters in the story and to the men's school days.
As a reader, you know that something dreadful has happened but you don't know what or to who. So the story feels edgy from the beginning and as the characters were not likeable it made pinning down who someone would want to harm even harder. The setting is quite perfect, with the weather cutting off the island from the mainland making it feel at times quite claustrophobic with no means of escape.
There are quite a few red herrings to who the likely victim is but like I said none of the group is likeable. It feels like the answers are at the tip of your tongue then swept away again before it quite comes to you. I loved how it all came together at the end, very smooth.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

Have you read The Hunting Party? Last year, I devoured it and, since then, I’ve been really looking forward to Lucy’s Foley next mystery. Her new novel, The Guest List, has many similarities to the previous one. The Hunting Party was set in a remote castle in Scotland, The Guest List is set in a remote island off the Irish coast. A storm that makes it nearly impossible for everyone on the outside to reach it. A group of friends who reunite to celebrate, but whose jeaulosies and resentments will have dangerous consequences. Different timelines, different perspectives, and different suspects. And revelations that you never see coming. I do love the way Lucy Foley writes.

The plot is gripping and the characters are not very likable, but they are complex and well-crafted. Jules, the bride, wants her wedding to be perfect, but is she really sure she wants to marry Will? Olivia, the bridesmaid, and Jules’s stepsister, is hiding something from her entire family. Jhonno, the best man, has always had Will’s back and he would do anything for him. Hannah, the plus one, looks at this wedding as a romantic getaway for her and her husband Charlie and a chance to reconnect. Aoife, the wedding planner, needs to make sure that the wedding goes smoothly.

The setting is dark, very atmospheric (and very Agatha Christie). It is isolated and, of course, bad weather, cuts off communications with the mainland. The fact that the locals think that the island is cursed is a really nice touch and gave me a few goosebumps.

Thrilling, slow-paced, and full of unexpected twists, The Guest List is another win for Lucy Foley. What will she do next?

I liked the sound of this from the premise, being an Agatha Christie fan, I thought I would give it a go, despite the fact I hadn’t really got on with this authors first book, I know lots of people loved it, but we all know reading is subjective and it just didn’t hook me. Unfortunately I have to say the same with this one. Maybe my biggest problem is that I like characters that I can root for. But to be honest I didn’t like any of the characters in this book, there was nothing to endear them to me.

The story jumps all over the place from before the wedding to after the wedding, being told by numerous characters, but they didn’t seem to have any great characteristics to separate them, except for all of them coming across as entitled spoilt, I did feel for Hannah a little early on.

The bride Jules is a publisher of an online magazine, she is going to marry Will who is a tv reality sort of star think Bear Grylls, they haven’t known each other long but are getting married. The wedding is being held on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. It’s a very expensive wedding, nothing but the best of everything, the drinks are flowing, but a storm is also coming in. As you read the early chapters you know that everyone seems to have secrets to be revealed. Who has sent the bride a note?

I found the story to be slow paced, I know I like a faster pace, so for anyone who likes it slower I am sure this will be the type of read you may enjoy, but for me the characters didn’t seem real, they were very one dimensional. The finale seemed to be rushed and just didn’t come across as believable, I know things can be stretched in fiction, but only so far. I’m sorry this just wasn’t for me, too slow, awful characters.

I realise others may love this, but it just wasn’t a good read for me. Sorry.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #HarperCollins for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

I read the Hunting Party and enjoyed it but I felt this was much much better. The writing was excellent, the characters superbly written and I could not stop reading. I spotted a couple of the twists but not all. Quite often I find it irritating when books jump around from present to past but this worked so well and although it jumped each chapter to another 1 of the ‘narrators ‘ I could not fault the style at all.

Excellent fast paced mystery thriller and I will definitely be recommending it to all my friends.
Thank you for allowing me to read a preview copy. The next book I read has its work cut out.

I've been so excited to read Foley's work since the buzz for The Hunting Party last year (which I still haven't read) and I was not disappointed by The Guest List!

We follow a few perspectives of people attending a glamorous, exclusive wedding on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. It soon becomes apparent that every guest has secrets, both their own and others', which are revealed slowly throughout. A story of deception is woven as proceedings build to a mysterious tragedy, as hinted at from the first chapter

The characters were all written so well. I thought, with the multi POVs, I'd have to keep note of who was who, but each perspective was written so uniquely to each character that I never got confused

The setting of this big manor on a remote island was so atmospheric from the very first page. I felt like I was with these characters on the windy cliffs and choppy seas

The twists and reveals were written expertly, and information we needed to piece things together was revealed at the perfect moments. This was truly an incredible mystery

TW: abortion, attempted suicide, revenge porn, murder