The Guest List - Lucy Foley

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 two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or 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 and will be expertly executed.

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?

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

*

I read Lucy Foley's previous novel The Hunting Party last year, and really enjoyed it. I loved the idea that you don't find out who the victim is until near the end of the story. It's an interesting spin on this kind of thriller. I really liked the book, but wasn't overly keen on the way the story was wrapped up.

However, I heard some really great things about Foley's next book, The Guest List, and so I was more than happy to give it a chance.

I started and finished it in just a couple of days! It was surprisingly easy to get my head around, despite how many characters' perspectives we follow. It also had so many plot twists that I didn't see coming! It was a really fantastic thriller that gripped me from start to finish.

Rating: ✫✫✫✫✫

The Story

The narrative is split, and we follow a number of different characters, as well as flashing back and forth between the present and the future. The flash-forward chapters were a little bit dull; giving too much away about what is to come would ruin the eventual surprise, and I was glad they were brief. I was far more interested in finding out more about the guests leading up to the death. It did make it fun, though, to try and guess who it was, as more and more characters are confirmed to be alive. 

The wedding was perfect for this kind of story. So many different people come together at one event, all of whom are in some way linked to each other. It's natural that secrets would come out. More than that, the isolated island is the perfect backdrop. It's like a traditional locked room mystery. You know the culprit has to be one of the people on the island - you just don't know who! It reminded me of an old TV series I used to love called Harper's Island, which had a similar concept! I thought the setting came together really well with the plot.

Even better, the book contains a really wide range of characters to follow, and this makes for some really interesting narratives. The bride, Jules, is hosting the wedding of the moment, but who is she trying to impress? The groom, Will, looks to have everything, but doesn't have it as together as it appears. The best man, Jonno, is barely keeping his head above water. Bridesmaid Olivia just wants the world to swallow her up, but who is she trying to avoid? Guests Charlie and Hannah are having a break away from their real life, but how strong is their relationship? And then we have Aoife and Freddy, who live on the island and are coordinating the wedding. Do they have something to hide as well?

The story has so many different characters that are remarkably easy to follow. These questions are posed almost immediately, and we can see all the different tensions that are underlying. They all have secrets, and it was fun to try and see underneath what they choose to portray. There were so many links that I just wasn't expecting! I normally pride myself on being able to work out any hidden connections and twists, and, although I did see a couple of them coming, there were so many in The Guest List that I just didn't spot at all! I'm not sure if that was because I was reading so fast that I didn't have time to spot them, but I think it's probably because they were so intricately put together. 

The guests gather on the island ready for the wedding, and we start to figure out that these people aren't necessarily as close as they seem. I thought the plot progressed steadily, and we got to know a lot about the different characters and what motivated them. One example is the boarding school bonding experience that brings the groom and ushers back together. It was very like a cult, and it's one of those elements to the plot that you know has to be relevant, but you can't quite figure out how. In such complex and delicate plots, it's so easy to disappoint the reader, but this story had just the right amount of suspense. And the ending was explosive! I didn't expect quite so many elements to come together, but it was done immaculately. It was all so fast, and suddenly the book had ended. I'd have liked just a little more description of the aftermath, as it did feel a little rushed right at the end, but it definitely had impact!

The Verdict

I had really high expectations for this book before I started it, and I'm so happy that it met them. The interesting way the narrative flits back and forth keeps us guessing who the victim is, and the variety of complex, well-rounded characters meant that it really could have been anybody! 

Lucy Foley knows how to write a thriller with a slow burn, which is my favourite kind. The Guest List kept me guessing, and I was so impressed with all the clever twists and turns. This was a really slick read that I really enjoyed.