Once all the introductions were over, The Guest List got really interesting and kept me guessing until the end.
The celebrity wedding is on a remote island off the coast of Ireland and it is a stormy night, the lights go out, and when they come back on a young waitress is screaming about something bloody outside. There are bogs that you can sink into and cliffs to fall off. And it's dark and very windy.
The atmosphere is perfect. Then we flashback and get introduced to all the characters as they arrive on the island when the weather is beautiful the day before the wedding. It takes a long time to get back to the "now" during the wedding. I tell myself that the book slogged during this part, and it did, but maybe the detailed introductions of each of the main characters (the bride, the groom, the wedding planner, the plus-one, the bridesmaid, and the best man) were necessary. But once the book added back the "now" perspective, things got a lot more interesting.
We don't know who ends up dead. And we don't know who killed that person. But as the story unfolds and secrets are revealed, we realize that a lot of people could want this person dead. I was guessing until the end, not that it mattered. This victim was pretty evil.
You will enjoy how the story is revealed. And the atmosphere is perhaps another character, as it is so well described you will feel the wind and rain on your face.
The audiobook is full-cast, which I normally don't like. But in this case, it worked. If you enjoy atmospheric, locked-room mysteries, I recommend The Guest List.
Published by William Morrow, 2020
Audiobook obtained from libro.fm
320 pages
Rating: 4/5
I haven't had a lot of luck with this author but, I still hope to try this one.
ReplyDeleteI thought this one was really well done, too. I have her new one, The Paris Apartment, about which I have read mixed reviews.
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