Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley Narrator: Jot Davies, Chloe Massey, Olivia Dowd, Aoife McMahon, Sarah Ovens, Rich Keeble
Published by HarperAudio on June 2, 2020
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 9 hours, 54 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
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?
WOW! I have to say The Guest List was so engaging. There are so many different points of view, leading up to the wedding of Julia and Will. Each narrator voices a different point of view with their thoughts and feelings. It’s unclear why we get those points of view exactly. But they show a wide range of observations on the wedding event.
It’s titillating to be privy to all the dark secrets, intimate moments and the juiciest sort of gossip. So much of it comes up at a wedding with old friends and family on hand. Julia is so happy. Will is a great fit for her; they really complement each other perfectly. The bridesmaid, her sister, Olivia, is stunningly withdrawn and unhappy over a bad breakup over the last year.
The best man, Johnno, is a long-time friend of the groom, as well as the four ushers. They all went to the same boy’s school growing up. Their antics with partying and pranks all stir things up including uncomfortable childhood memories. They all felt a little too “Lord of the Flies” to me from the start.
The way the story comes together is unexpected and brilliant! I did not expect it as each thread was woven into the whole. I recommend this one very highly.
Narration:
There were several narrators, six of them, for the different points of view, and it was masterful. There was not a huge amount of dialogue, mostly you are in the person’s thoughts. I loved the different accents and voices. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
About Lucy Foley
I live in London, but love traveling – both in real life and on the page (hence the appearance of some far flung locations in my writing).
My debut novel, The Book of Lost & Found, published in early 2015.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
Friend or follow me at Goodreads.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
Wow! Fabulous review, Anne? You’ve got me excited to get to this one. Moving it up!
Thanks. It is so well executed. It’s all fun and like a gossip column and personal thoughts, passions and jealousies. I hope I didn’t say too much. I went into it sort of blind and that was perfect. I hope you love it!
Oh it looks good and now I want to try as well!
It is really good. I love the narration also.
This sounds amazing. And every review I’ve seen has been a glowing one, I need to get this! Thanks for sharing, Anne?
It’s incredible. A little out of your usual genre but it’s so well plotted, for what feels kind of like a frivilous gossip column at a wedding.
love that cover and it sounds really great.
I think you would enjoy it.
WOW ….what a review you have here. It definitely makes me want to grab this one up here. I love those engaging reads and I am intrigued by the various points of view that comes into play with this one.
Thanks I thought it was amazing, so well plotted while it feels like a fun vacation weekend with celebration and gossip, but also dark secrets and jealousy just beneath the surface.
I’ve just started this so I’ll be back to read your thoughts when I’ve finished. 🙂
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and if you enjoy it too.
I ended up loving this one, too! The different narrators really made the story come alive. The victim really had it coming, right?
I definitely enjoyed all the different narrators. Certainly there were many who had been hurt by the victim.
I hope I can read this at some point. It sounds so good!
This one was just so delicious. That’s not to say dark and bad things didn’t happen. But it was covered in a fluffy coating and all these whirling ribbons that weave together into something in the end.
I love the sound of this one. And the setting too. Thanks for such a wonderful review.
I think you would love this Laura. It’s like horror coated with high society trappings and fashion, but so well written.
I’m glad I saw your review of this one, Anne. I have the audio and keep trying to listen and end up getting lost. My concentration is not the best right now, so I need to table it and make sure to come back to it because it sounds like one I’d love too. Fab review!
It’s really amazing. But it does start with all these disparate people and there isn’t a feel of connection until you get into the story a bit. I sometimes have real trouble starting a new story, especially when so many character seem unconnected. The fantasy genre tends to be the most difficult for me though if I’m not focused at the start. I hope you’ll be able to listen to it soon.
I just finished this one a couple of days ago and really enjoyed it too. At first I thought “What is with all of these random POVs?” but then once the story started to come together, it became all too clear and very fitting as to why those were chosen.
I loved the way it all wove together once I got started, It can be hard to start it with all the POVs but I love the complexity and way it fits together in the end.