B.A Paris is one of my go to authors, I always look forward to reading her new one and this didn’t disappoint.
Returning from a holiday to try and fix their marriage, Iris and Gabriel find they have an uninvited house guest, their friend Laure. Laure has left her husband Pierre in France over his admission he has found out he has a daughter. At first Iris and Gabriel are concerned for their friends and their relationship but when Laure refuses to talk to Pierre and insists she is staying she starts to out stay her welcome. Will they ever get rid of her so that they can sort out their own marriage?

There were a few stories coming together in this book that worked well and kept me guessing till the end.

The Guest is a domestic thriller from the author of Behind Closed Doors B.A. Paris.
Although the chapters are so short (there is over 60 chapters in 368 pages), it is a very slow-paced writing style and there are several couples and moving parts to this story. Unfortunately for me, all of the characters were insufferable and I always find with thrillers, if the characters are dislikeable then I'm left not caring about their outcome in the book. There are a lot of deaths in this story but I never found myself surprised, it was just too predictable. The side plot with Gabriel with Charlie and Maggie I found didn't lead much anywhere, it just seemed too conveniently wrapped up.
I really think the epilogue is what let this book down for me. I don't know the exact page count but the epilogue is 10% of the book and I have estimated it to be 32 pages! This is way too long for me. Don't get me wrong, I love a last-minute twist in a thriller, but it essentially re-wrote a condensed version of the whole plot with in-detail explanations of the deaths. Nothing was left unanswered and I thought it was very unsatisfying to read, I don't personally love open endings but at least give the reader some credit to work things out themselves.
I really enjoyed Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris when I first read it back in 2021, but this book and The Therapist are just not as successful for me sadly.
⭐⭐ 2/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and B.A. Paris for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted to Goodreads.

The short, pacy chapters of The Guest really helped me to fly through it. It was an easy read on the whole with a lot of suspicion and you're not quite sure who to trust. It's an interesting bunch of characters although as others have said, Laure was very annoying and I did find myself getting frustrated at Iris and Gabriel for not just asking her to leave rather than chatting about it together all the time. On that note, there really is a lot of talk between characters going on in this book.

There's a few different plots going on throughout but these are interwoven well. I did feel that the deaths that occur in the book were handled quite strangely and they were almost skipped over, which felt a bit odd considering how monumental they were to the plot. I expected the reader to be there front and centre - not merely told about it afterwards.

The epilogue by itself was well worth reading the book for - I hadn't expected any of it and the twists were great.

3.5 overall rounded up to 4.

I'm a huge B.A Paris fan already, but this blew me away. It's gripping, thrilling and no one reading this will guess how it's going to go. It's a wild ride from the first chapter. The characters are so well written. Absolutely amazing

Gabriel & Iris, a married couple with a daughter, Beth. Gabriel is experiencing burnout from his job as a doctor in a hospital, so he's now on leave. On top of that, Gab also being haunted with the incident involving Charlie Ingram, a local boy, during one of his running session. Charlie was still alive when he found him but died before help arrived. And Charlie entrusted him with a message to his mother, but there is more on that message that makes Gab struggling.
Gab & Iris also have a friend coming for a stay, Laure, as she's having marital problem with her husband, Pierre. As a guest, Laure is definitely wearing out their welcome by being needy and staying too long.

This book hooked me from the beginning, and I enjoyed the "surprises" that the author revealed bit by bit throughout the book. Be ready with that epilogue, I can say it's one of the best and definitely gives an explosive ending.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I absolutely love this author and feel quite spoiled to be able to read this
They never disappoint

Recommended reading

I love B A Paris…
The twist was completely unpredictable. I really wasn’t sure which way the story was going until the near the end. There was so much going on, with so many different scenarios and people involved. Which all tied in together in one cleverly woven tale.
I loved all the ends being tied neatly at the end. But, the negative… I felt it a bit repetitive at times. Too many sentences about the same thing quite a few too many times. It’s worth a read but it is a slow burn. Some people love that, though. You’ll have to read it to know.

My first thriller of the years and I'm not disappointed!

It was fast paced with amazing character arcs which is often the weak element of thrillers. The twist at the end was something I wasn't expecting at all. It was shocking and unexpected.

The story begins when a couple, Gabriel and Iris return from a trip to find one of their friends living in their house, Laure. Laure is an unwelcomed guest but the couple can't really say anything because Laure is going through an extremely troubled marriage. Laure keeps overextending her stay which annoys both Iris and Gabriel. Gabriel is fighting with his own demons as he witnessed the death of a kid from their town. The trio ends up befriending another family in the town. Everyone is keeping secrets but who will go to what extend to keep them from coming out? Read to find out!

Oh my. What a story! I have loved previous books by this author but was a little bit concerned that this might be my first disappointment due to the slow start but then it kicked in and I couldn't put the book down. I should have known. B.A Paris has never let me down and this was just as fabulous as everything she has written.. Characters who kept me guessing as to their intentions and honesty, secrets, lies, unexplained deaths and a plot that had me doubting everything I thought I knew. The final twist capped it all, turning everything on its head and leaving me stunned! An absolutely gripping thriller. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a pre release copy In exchange for my honest review

Outstanding, compelling and deeply enjoyable as always. When Laure comes to stay with Gabriel and Iris, everyone's lives are thrown into complete disarray with murder, suspicion and betrayal abound.
BA Paris always knows how to write a great page-turner and this is up there with her best. Whether she keeps.you guessing to the last or whether you pick her twists up as you go along, this is just one of those books that has a hold from beginning to end.

A really intense and twisting story that leaves you wanting to read more and changing your mind. The story follows iris and Gabriel who return from a holiday to find their friend Laure has made herself at home in their house after splitting up from her husband.
Laure seems to be in no rush to leave or go back to her husband which leaves iris and Gabriel frustrated and what follows is a string of events that escalate not only involving them but their daughter Beth and their friends Esme and Hugh plus Joseph the gardener.
This is a story that keeps you guessing and on tenterhooks until the end.
Would highly recommend.

Another great read by BA Paris , this book had me turning the pages with a compelling storyline involving a couple Gabriel and Iris. Gabriel is an out of work doctor due to stress having come across a young boy dying in the quarry. Iris and Gabriel have a house guest , Laure who tells them she has left her husband Pierre due to revelation he has a secret love child. Laure soon wears out her welcome and When they try to intervene to reconcile the couple no one can get hold of Pierre. The storyline becomes further intriguing when their friend’s Hugh and Esme recommend a young man Joseph to help in the garden. Is he all he seems. A book to read this year and an author to follow for sure

Iris and Gabriel live in a beautiful house in an idyllic village in the countryside. Their daughter Beth is volunteering abroad before she returns home and starts Uni. Gabriel is currently on garden leave from his doctors practice, having suffered several recent losses, including finding a local youngster at the foot of a nearby quarry where he passes away, telling Gabriel his final words.

In a bid to reignite their marriage, the couple take a holiday to Scotland. On returning home they open their front door to find that one of their friends, Laure has arrived and been making herself at home whilst they were away, even wearing Iris’s clothes. Laure tells her friends that she has left her home and husband Pierre in Paris, as they have split up after he told her that he has a child by another woman.

Esme and Hugh are relatively new to the village and become friends with Gabriel and Iris. They also share a gardener, Joseph who becomes involved in a relationship with Laure, who by now has seriously outstayed her welcome. Meanwhile, Gabriel is frantically trying to contact their friend Pierre who doesn’t answer his phone or return his calls, whilst at the same time as battling his demons. As the secrets start to mount up, so do more bodies.
I wasn’t particularly fond of some of the characters as they were pretty annoying, but it was such a gripping read. You don’t get the full reveal at the end of this book and the ending was quite unsatisfactory, until I read the epilogue – then WOW!! A seriously compulsive read with some great twists and an amazing ending.

Oh goodness what an excellent mystery thriller and one that keeps you guessing all the way through. Iris and Gabriel live in Great Markham. He is a doctor off work after dealing with a teenager who cycled off a quarry edge killing himself, his last words are haunting Gabriel. Iris is a self employed interior designer. Life is strained between them as he knows he hasn’t told Iris what the boy said to him before dying and is feeling guilty. This is quite a slow paced read but strangely compelling.

Briefly, they receive a visit from friend Laure who lives in Paris who says she has split up with her husband Pierre as he has told her he has a child by another woman. They try to contact him without success. Meanwhile they become friendly with their new neighbours Esme and Hugh who introduce them to their gardener Joseph. Then daughter Beth returns from Greece but she is spending so much time at Esme and Hugh’s house!

I had so many questions which multiplied when a body was found; but with so many secrets it’s hard to know who is involved in what appears to be something other than an accident? With so many unreliable narrators it’s difficult to tell just who is telling the truth. I found it hard to gel with any of the characters, they certainly aren’t the nicest bunch of people. Laure in particular really annoyed me, wearing Iris’s clothes and long outstaying her welcome just for starters - she needed a few home truths. An excellent read with a cracking and very satisfying twist at the end. I enjoyed it.

4.5 ⭐️

B.A. Paris books are always a guaranteed good read and keep you gripped from beginning to end. While I found this book very slow to start, it did pick up pace about halfway through and kept doing so from there. The best bet about the book is definitely the epilogue which tied everything up neatly. I did not see the twists coming and may have gasped out loud! Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I loved reading this book.. a quick easy read that i couldn’t put it down, what a page turner. There’s plenty of twists and turns all the way through, with a great ending that you don’t see coming. The characters were intriguing, the story itself was very suspenseful and the style of writing was perfect. I have read many books by this author and i have enjoyed them all. Can’t wait for the next one to come out. I would highly recommend this book and this author to whoever likes reading psychological thrillers.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First of all I really enjoyed reading this book . I thought the story had a weird ending BUT WHEN I READ THE EPILOGUE. Oh gosh I have no words. It was sooo good and I didn’t saw that plottwist coming!

You know it must be incredibly difficult for an author to have a massive world best seller like ‘Behind Closed Doors’ and then to try and replicate that….also difficult for us readers not to read and judge anything new in comparison, I did my best not to

This is a book about a friend who comes to stay and outstays her welcome but not really in the ‘normal’ cuckoo way we have become accustomed to, there are much deeper roots here and things that have gone on in the past that makes the story, however we don’t find 99% of that out until the extended epilogue, when all becomes clear and peoples actions justifiable
It does take an awful lot of time to get to it and until you read the end you would be forgiven for thinking nothing much is happening here
The writing is good and more than easy to read although as say until you reach the epilogue it is at times difficult to get to grips with where the story is going, I did stick with it mainly through my enjoyment of the authors previous books and was glad did

The excitement levels always rise when reading a B.A Paris book and this one doesn’t disappoint. When Laure first comes to stay with her friends Iris and Gabriel, no one knew their worlds were about to implode. After hearing her husband, Pierre, has fathered a child years ago, Laure has come back to England for some rest bite Laure goes back to Paris to discuss their marriage, but Pierre is not there and Laure ‘s stay with Iris becomes long term. She starts a fling with the gardener. Soon all the secrets start overspilling and has dire consequences.
There are several characters with their own sub plot and secrets. Together they blend well into a great read. Full of suspense and intrigue, I found this psychological thriller hard to put down, especially towards the end when the secrets are exposed and the situation escalates out of control.

A gripping, tense read. This book builds on tension of when an unexpected houseguest stays with friends of both her and her husband. The characters are believable and convincing.
It would certainly put the reader off having a guest stay. It is a great tale of manipulation, friendship, loyalty and lies.
It is one of the best pieces of fiction I have read this year. A hard to put done work of fiction by a great author. Looking forward to reading more by B.A. Paris