I truly do not know how to review this book. On one hand, I was hooked. I read it in the span of three days. On the other hand, I don’t feel I can recommend it because it was so raunchy. But I shall try to share my thoughts, both good and bad.
The Guest List takes place on an island at the eve of a high profile wedding. We open the story by meeting the various members of the wedding party, learning about all their dysfunctional personalities and relationships, and setting the stage for the wedding to come. We then move to a pre-wedding night of debauchery, where everyone gets drunk and secrets start to come out.
The stage is now set for the questions to begin.
The wedding day dawns and everyone continues to fall apart (thank you, alcohol) and reveal more and more of the things that haunt them, the people that have hurt them, and the mistakes they want to keep hidden. More guests arrive, more alcohol flows, and someone shows up dead. More secrets are unearthed until it’s revealed everyone is linked to the murder victim. Now the question is: which person committed the killing?
I will start with what I liked: the actual plot. The mystery was good. I wanted to see what happened and how the characters connected with each other and with the victim. I felt pulled along by that single thread to keep reading. I didn’t figure out the murderer. It was a decent mystery story.
Sadly, that’s the only thing I liked.
This book is CHOCK FULL with unnecessary sex, language, and SO. MUCH. ALCOHOL. I felt stressed out just reading about this wedding. So many drunk people. So many unhappy people. Not a single character in this story was likeable or relatable in my opinion. They were all so dysfunctional it just made me tired. Everyone swore like a sailor, everyone was so horny, and have I mentioned the drinking? I am not a prude. I don’t mind language, substance, or sex in a book, but it has to enhance the narrative. In my opinion, it completely derailed this one.
Because of the general debauchery, I sadly cannot recommend this book. However, if you’re willing to look past all that, the mystery is quite gripping and well done!
Meredith
Copyright Lucy Foley and William Morrow Publishing. Image from Amazon.com.
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