Thoughts on : The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Genre : Thriller
Stand alone
About the Book :
The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate a wedding. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
The Guest List has one of my favorite thriller tropes (a group of people trapped in a remote location), so of course I wanted to read it as soon as I heard about it. And since I’d liked the author’s previous novel, The Hunting Party, I felt confident I would enjoy this one too.
And I did, to an extent. First of all, I loved the setting. This isolated island was the perfect spot, both for an interesting wedding and a murder mystery. I had no problem imagining the island, the weather, the atmosphere, and that was probably my favorite part of the book.
Another aspect I enjoyed is the narrative device the author uses, which is the same as in The Hunting Party : the story goes back and forth between before the murder and after the murder, but you know neither who the murderer is nor the victim. It makes the story a little more confusing as you try to guess what’s to come. It also makes the pace a bit more interesting (which is good, because I thought overall it was a little slow).
I can’t say that I was surprised by the ending. Even with all the possible suspects and victims, I kinda saw the ending coming. It was okay, but because I didn’t really care about any of the characters, I can’t say it had any kind of effect on me.
And that was my main problem with this book, what kept me from enjoying it more : the characters. I don’t mind unlikable characters, but they have to have something special so that I care about them in some way, but here I didn’t. I felt most of the characters were a bit one-dimensional and none really grabbed me or had me rooting for them.
All in all, I enjoyed The Guest List but I can’t say it gave me the thrilling story I was hoping for. Though the setting was perfect, I wish I could have enjoyed the characters a little more, or been a little more surprised by how it all concluded. Still, if you’re looking for an easy thriller to sink your teeth into during the summer, you might enjoy this one!
I’ve read similar reviews for this one, Kay. I’ll keep the title in mind because the setting, etc. really appeals to me.