I loved the Hunting Party so I was thrilled to get my hands on The Guest List. It follows a simillar format - a group of old friends gathering somewhere remote for a celebration. But someone is after revenge - who is it and why?

This was an atmospheric and pacy tale, with well drawn characters that sprang off the page. It was a good read but a little bit predictable and not quite as satisfying at The Hunting Party. I still thoroughly enjoyed it though and you've got a treat in store if you've got this to read.

This was another interesting and well-ddesigned story by Lucy Foley. I liked the variety of characters that were in this and they all had distinctive voices so it was obvious who was talking. I think the topics explored were handled well and they added another layer to the story. I did think that towards the end some of the explanations were a little unbelievable and it did not seem grounded in reality unlike the ending of Foley's previous book.

I knew there was a reason I wanted to get my hands on this book. It's bloody amazing that's why.

Think about it. It's the perfect setting for a mystery. A deserted island, cut off from the mainland. A storm is lashing away causing huge waves. There's a cave in the cliffs for people to sneak off to. Around the island the guests need to watch out for peat bogs that they could accidentally sink into. This island is a dangerous place as it is without throwing in a load of people with deep dark secrets, revenge on their mind and lots and lots of motives.

Lucy Foley has written a masterpiece in drawing in the reader into a tangled web of mystery.

The story opens on a wedding night, the guests are in full swing. The cake has been cut. But, with the storm blowing a gale the lights go out, and a scream is heard. From that point it's our role as the reader to piece this mystery together. We are told the story from the viewpoint of different characters from the wedding party. Their stories start from the day before the wedding and works up to the main event.

I love this format as it builds up each character and we get to form an opinion of them through their interactions with each other. Lots of secrets are discovered along the way, and we uncover a few stories that could warrant revenge and murder!

What I enjoyed was that we didn't even know who had been murdered. So, it was a double mystery.

A fantastic story full of mystery, lies and secrets. Plus an island that was steeped in history and made for even more creepiness.

I was a big fan of The Hunting Party so delighted to have the opportunity to read this!

I enjoyed it such a lot. Almost all of the characters were dreadful (but well written!) so it was almost a who's the victim as well as whodunnit!

Would recommend!

The bride - The plus one - The best man - The wedding planner - The bridesmaid - The body.

Before I started reading The Guest List I saw a lot of people making references to Agatha Christie and classic whodunnits, so I was expecting more of a locked room style murder mystery with everyone being summoned for the big reveal at the end. For me, it was actually more comparable to Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies. The story flipped backwards and forwards in time to before and after the murder, giving hints at what had happened or what was about to happen and gradually brought out more of the back story of each of the characters. The most interesting thing for me was the fact that the identity of the murder victim wasn’t revealed until quite late in the book which meant that I was trying to guess who the killer was but at the same time, trying to guess who was killed!

Without giving away too much of the plot, towards the end of the book, I did start thinking that there were maybe too many coincidences, and that a some of the events were a bit far-fetched. Having said that, my favourite film of all time is ‘Clue’, (a black comedy murder mystery) and I realised that not all crime and mystery books have to be dark and disturbing. This was a really fun book to read, a different approach to the genre and as soon as I started to think of it like that I was hooked. Lucy Foley’s previous book - The Hunting Party will be going straight to the top of my TBR list!

The Guest List had an interesting premise, however it is poorly executed.

The novel is well written and my interest was piqued by the different perspectives of the characters and how they evolved throughout the book, despite them being rather tedious.

Unfortunately, it was very slow paced (besides the hastily cobbled together ending), extremely far fetched and a chore to finish. I expected far more suspense and mystery. Therefore, I can only recommend it as an easy holiday read.

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! I found the back and forth a bit confusing at first but once I got the jist., I did appreciate that each person had a small description (i.e. Plus one or Bridesmaid) when it was from their POV so you knew exactly who they were and how they related to the story. This is not the usual type of book I read but I will be looking out for this author in the future.
I absolutely loved the twist and turns in the book and found myself gasping out loud at certain points. The author kept you guessing until the end and it was so well written.

At times I found this confusing as it jumped around between people and different time periods. The characters were very well described and once it started to gather momentum I found that I was hooked and just had to abandon everything else to read. The story reminds me of the Hunting Party and is very much in the style of Agatha Christie. I loved the description of the Island as it was so easy to be there and experience the gruesome events both past and present. All the way through I felt sorry for Hannah and Olivia but with the conclusion having amazing explanations of past events, my pity increased to others as well. The story of boys will be boys coming from a very prestigious private school brought many unexpected twists.
A fantastic story that really grips at the heartstrings.

The Hunting Party was one of my stand out reads last year so I couldn't wait to read The Guest List! A lavish wedding on a remote Irish island where it seems everyone has a grudge to hold and secrets to hide - what's not to love!?

The story is told using the narrative of a few characters: The bride, the plus one, the best man, the wedding planner and the bridesmaid. I really enjoy this style of writing, getting a glimpse into everyone's mind leading up to the discovery of the body and the aftermath. The setting of The Guest List really helped to conjure up a feeling of tension and gloom; gorgeous weather soon gives way to storms and rough seas. This really adds to the tumultuous mood and sense of danger throughout, you're just waiting for something bad to happen...and then the lights go out!

There are so many suspects for both murderer and victim and neither are revealed until very close to the end. My nerves were on edge! I was desperate to know who had done what to who and why, this slow reveal was fantastically plotted and I personally think that the author is a master at this type of book.


Highly recommend.

Who doesn’t love a wedding?

Lucy Foley’s second novel is based on a remote island where Jules Keegan and Will Slater are holding the wedding of the year, but their day will have no happy ending.

What a wonderful guessing game Lucy takes the reader on, switching between the wedding day itself and the days leading up to it. As the guests gather on the island and take advantage of the flowing wine, tempers rise, and ugly truths begin to emerge.

Full marks to the author for throwing in a few red herrings and the wonderful descriptive scenes highlighting the highs and lows of each of the main characters, which made me question their motives more than once. Although I did figure out where the story was leading well before I reached the end, this in no way impacted on my enjoyment of the book.

I only have two words for this book ... bloody brilliant!

Will - gorgeous, charismatic, TV star,
Jules - self made, driven, ambitious owner of online magazine, The Download
It's the celebrity wedding of the year.
To be held on a remote island off the coast of Ireland.
The guest list is made up of 150 of their closest friends and family.
Most of them are entitled, snobby, elitist and utterly unlikeable.
But by the end of the evening, someone is dead and everyone attending has secrets... grudges.... motive.

The Guest List is told from 5 POV's, Jules (the bride), Aoife (the wedding planner), Johnno (the best man), Olivia (the bride's stepsister) and Hannah (the plus one).

This is a really well paced, exciting and gripping page turner. I devoured it. I loved the location and the feeling of the wildness of the terrain. It gave the book that feeling that anything could happen, and it did! With revelation after revelation, the shock factor revved up towards the end, resulting in a super climactic ending that I wasn't expecting at all. I thought it was fantastic.

Lucy Foley returns with her follow up to the stupendous hit THE HUNTING PARTY with another tale of entitled individuals having a great time but with dire consequences. Taking the same premise as many an English crime novelist - well to do people in a location of isolation, brought together for a happy occasion, then the lights go out.

Foley takes a wedding between Jules and Will - the perfect couple - getting married on a reclusive Irish island, hosted by new wedding planner Aoife on her first wedding. The guests arrive as the weather takes a turn, secrets start to come out and the truth will be sort.

The characters are well written, with little nods to class structures of friendships and family life, how we change when we are in certain people's company; yet Foley is keen to stress the context of toxic masculinity embodied in Will how he constructs an image of himself and projects on to people to get his own way, while the women are independent enough to figure things out for themselves yet still bitchy to each other when communication may be key to all problem solving.

Following on from the huge success of The Hunting Party, Foley has found this niche of murder mysteries for the 21st century, reminiscent of Agatha Christie at the height of her powers - plot points entwinned to the novel's neat clean conclusion. This again will sell by the bucket loads, this is one list you definitely want to be a part of.

An enjoyable Murder Mystery Thriller, Perfect for those who love a who done it?!

Jules and Will – the power couple! Invite all their friends and family to their wedding on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. They’ve not been together long, so it’s a bit of a whirlwind romance, how well do they really know each other?

The story is told from the POV of 5 different people. Aoife – the wedding planner and co-owner of the venue with her partner Freddy. Jules – the bride, Olivia – the bridesmaid, Johnno – the best man and Hannah – the plus one of Charlie who is best friends with the bride.

All the above named seem to have secrets, (as do others in the wedding party,) which are slowly revealed as the story progresses. You know early on that there has been a murder but what I quite liked was that not only did you not know the killer you also did not know who had been murdered!

I feel this was a slow-paced read, which I did struggle with, but I am also not opposed to as it helps tell the background story for each main character. From about 65% the story really got going with some good shocks and surprises that I wasn’t expecting. I was suspicious of everyone from the start and I think plenty of them had a motive! I did guess the outcome, but I don’t mind that at all, in fact I quite like being right!

I gave this book 3 stars just because I struggled with the pace and I did get confused with the number of narrators. It doesn’t mean that would be the same for everyone though. The plot is very clever and well thought out.

If you enjoy a good murder mystery, then definitely give this a read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Lucy Foley and HarperCollins UK for my advanced readers copy of this book.

The Guest List is set on a small island off the coast of Ireland where the guests of the title arrive for a wedding. What happens there changes many of their lives and one will not return. The writing is good and the characters are believable, the plot is good and the writing device of the late reveal is all very clever. I really enjoyed the sense of place and the power of the weather and its influence on the events that unfold. However, the book is so similar in style to the author's previous novel and the cast of characters feel like carbon copies that it feels a bit of a let down, don't get me wrong its is thoroughly enjoyable but I was hoping for something a little different. Now that Lucy has two crime thrillers under her belt hopefully she will branch out and try some new ideas and not stick to the same formula.
It is a good worthwhile read and it does keep you guessing, the pace gets really breathless towards the end as the narrative structure keeps you jogging along with it. For this reason I would still give it 4 stars, had I not read the previous book I wouldn't have known about the similarities of structure and been thoroughly pleased.

Review!
...and then the lights go out!

She’s done it again!
I didn’t think it was possible for Lucy foley to write something better than the hunting party (which was in my top 2 reads of last year) but the guest list is something else!
Enjoyed it straight from the start. Absolute page turner. Got to around 70/80% and it was twist after twist after twist. Just as you discovered one twist, another popped straight up after it in the next chapter.

Fantastic read. It didn’t disappoint at all!

Old friends, people with grudges, all at a wedding on a remote island. ‘All have a secret. All have a motive. One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . ‘ if that’s not enough to get you to pick this book up I don’t know what is!

No spoilers from me on this one. I can’t wait for everyone else to read it so I can discuss it!

How well do you know your friends and family?
A wedding on a remote island with 150 guests and many secrets come to light.
I really identified with lots of the characters and had no idea what the outcome of the revealed secrets would be.
My next read has to be The Hunting Party. No idea how I missed it first time around.

As someone who is getting married in five months this was a terrifying read for many, many reasons. I really loved the setting on the remote island, which gave everything a gloomy and eerie - and very, very cold atmosphere. I felt a constant chill while reading, though that could also be about the mystery that surrounds the murder. This is a wonderful and modern murder mystery that I feel will appeal to the masses in the same way its predecessor, the Hunting Party, did. The characters were very believable and the changing perspectives and back-and-forth between the past and the present, kept things very interesting. It was a fast paced and thrilling read and I can't wait to read more from this author.

A truly unexpected sequence of events surprised me. Very well paced. Gothic meets murder mystery. The descriptions of the atmosphere are resonant of The Masque of the Red Death, albeit at a wedding. The isolation of the setting and the characters each telling the story from their perspective work well.

The Guest List is incredible!

If you’re thinking of starting this book then clear your day because you will devour it! It took a few chapters before this gripped me but once it did it wouldn’t let me go. Absolutely breathtaking.

Oh wow! I enjoyed The Hunting Party but The Guest List just completely blew that out the water for me! I have been avoiding more pressing engagments for days whilst I devoured it.

Minor celebrities Will and Jules wedding takes place on a remote island and their close friends and family join them for what is set to be a spectacular event. It certainly is but not for all the reasons you'd think.

The characters are all so well developed that I felt like I knew these people (though I have to say I'm quite glad I don't!). What sets Lucy's books apart at the moment is not just the whodunnit aspect but the who is it? Whilst you know there is a body right from the very beginning, you don't know who it is until very close to the end. It feels like Lucy is going to be one of those authors who gets better and better with eery book. I already can't wait to see where she goes next. Highly recommend.