The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Well on its way to being one of my favorites of 2021

Lies.

Secrets.

Deceit.

Revenge.

Murder.

I’m pretty sure that this will be one of my favorite reads of 2021. From the very beginning, Foley creates a setting and characters that radiate a sense of trepidation and uncertainty.

The setting completely magnifies the impact of the plot as well as propels the storyline. The isolated Irish island with it’s bog and cemetery is clearly etched in my head. The word choice paints the visual that sends shivers down your spine and makes you wonder why anyone would go there. It does seem like a very unusual place to host a wedding. The cave, the cliffs, the storm...

It is of course the characters that I’m drawn to, and in this book, the characters are everything because they all have deep, dark secrets that come to a head on this dark little island. The changing point of views in each chapter allows the reader to slowly learn those secrets coming to light through the characters’ own interactions, experiences and realizations that occur over the 48 hours and 313 pages. This format adds twists and turns and creates the questions- Who has been murdered and who is the murderer?

Just from reading the back of the book, there is no secret who the five points of view will be, and that each one has a motive, but it takes the entire length of the book for all those motivations to be clearly revealed. The twists and revelations along the way were a little surprising. I admit that I didn’t see them all coming. Now, one could argue that there were just too many coincidences. That some of the histories between the characters seems a little far-fetched, but here’s the thing - it’s fiction. I don’t feel that it was so far-fetched that it took away from the power of the story. By the time those last few chapters rolled around, I was so invested in figuring out how it was all going to end that none of the other stuff mattered.

Not only do the chapter POVs change, but Foley also tells the story for alternating timelines. The “current” time is night of the wedding, but allowing the flashbacks, beginning the day before, to take the bulk of the story creates a buildup of tension to the final ten pages of the book. Then it’s over, and all you can say is “wow.” Literally, the last TEN pages. Most of the chapters themselves are not very long, as you are hopping from one character’s story to the next and exploring the interwoven nature of the entire thing. And when five short chapters in a row all end with “And then the lights went out,” you know that everything you have waited for is peaking. I didn’t really feel any suspense, but the anticipation was enough to make me not want to put the book down. 

Where is this book on my bookshelf?  I’m sure you figured it out. It is right there on my top shelf. Look at the picture! I took this book with me to my daughter’s dance competition so I could read it while I waited! This is a total 5 star book in my opinion, and I have seen some pretty negative reviews out there. I do like clean closure in books, and if this one is lacking anything, it is clear closure. I wanted to know what happened to Charlie and Hannah after everything. What about Olivia? Johnno? But, I guess those conclusions are for the reader to determine. 

If you haven’t read it yet, add it to your TBR list immediately! It was a hard-to-put-down read, and I loved it! It’s going to be a favorite of year for sure. I have already added Foley’s prior novel, The Hunting Party, to my own To Be Read list.