Summary

Will and Jules seem to live perfect lives. He’s an up-and-coming actor, and she’s a swanky magazine publisher. Nothing but perfection will be good enough for their big day. Hence, their decision to host it on a secluded island off the coast of Ireland where no paparazzi – or anyone else, for that matter – would be able to find them.

But as the festivities begin, so does the drinking and truth-telling. Their ‘perfect’ plans are quick to be ruined by human nature, and terrible weather conditions. When the lights go out, one guest will meet their end. But who will it be, and most importantly, why?


Review

Dark, eerie, and atmospheric, The Guest List is a murder mystery that will have you itching to know all the gory details.

Firstly, I need to mention the themes in this book of self-harm, suicide, abortion, and murder. The reason for mentioning these before anything else is due to the fact that this book comes with no trigger warnings. I feel it important to be transparent about the fact these themes are in there. The self-harm/suicide side of it becomes very intense once you hit the last half of the book. Abortion is briefly mentioned in one chapter, but I imagine it could cause distress to some readers. The murder side of it, well it’s a murder mystery, so it’s unavoidable. Just err on the side of caution is any of these themes will be distressing for you to read about.

Personally, I usually hate books that have several P.O.V’s as I find them hard to keep up with and end up losing the point of their views. Ha, see what I did there – sorry, moving on. However, in this book, I thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace between each P.O.V and seeing how they all come together at the end. It gave the book an extra layer of mystery and brilliant insight into the importance of each character.

Since there were so many characters in this, I won’t be able to single any of them out. I just have to say that as the story unfolds, cracks begin to show in each of their minds and demeanors. The island seems to drag the characters down dark paths, especially mentally, to the point where it feels like none of them trust each other. There are other reasons for this, of course, but that would spoil the book to give those away! I didn’t necessarily like any of the characters, but there’s an argument to be had about whether any of them were meant to be likable or not.

The Guest List is a classic whodunnit on a spooky island with a dead body. It is a slow burner but I felt this time it added to the tension of the book and kept you reading to find out everything you needed to know about these characters. Yes, there were a few plot holes but they didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the book. It wasn’t incredible, but it was easy to read and I did enjoy it. That’s why I’d give this a 3.5/5 star rating.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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