The Guest List is Lucy Foley’s most popular book but is it worth all the hype? Well…

I liked the setting - an almost uninhabited island off Ireland where Jules and Will decide to hold their wedding, guaranteeing exclusiveness and a unique experience for their guests. Foley takes advantage of this classic locked room trope and includes perils such as peat bogs, tidal caves, sheer cliffs, freezing water, high winds and stormy weather, a crumbling folly, lack of phone service and power outages.

The plot and twists were, unfortunately, very predictable. The book pretty much reads like a million others in the genre (and very very like Foley’s other two books). There’s nothing new or unique.

The characters were all awful. None of them were likeable at all. From memory, Foley’s other two books I’ve read had similar obnoxious characters. Some of the supporting characters were the worst. I would have to question if grown men in their 30s would really carry on as they did.

But my biggest issue was the editing. Or lack thereof. There were multiple errors which made me blink. I won’t go into them all, but if you want to check, most people have talked about them on the book’s questions on Goodreads.

Maybe 3 out of 5

Read this!

The Guest List is a great thriller. The characters are interesting, the atmosphere eerie, the mystery intriguing and the twists absolutely delightful. I've already made three other people read this and they all loved it. Lucy Foley has penned a fun and twisted thriller that will keep you on your toes.

4.5 stars

The wedding has been planned to perfection but no one could have predicted that one of the guests wouldn't make it to the last dance alive. But the identity of who "gets it" and who is responsible won't become apparent until the final moments of this show-stopping psychological thriller.
Lucy Foley follows up her bestselling novel The Hunting Party with another cracking whodunnit told from multiple point-of-view characters, all of whom have something to hide.
Successful magazine editor, Jules, is determined to have the perfect wedding with Will, a Bear-Grylls-style reality tv star. But underneath the veil of glitz and glamour lurks insecurities and jealousies. Wedding planner, Aoife, is hiding a personal tragedy behind her professional demeanour. Hannah is hoping for a fun weekend as the plus-one to husband, Charlie, Jules' BFF, but she doesn't want to find out just how close they really are. Jules' sister, Olivia, is the reluctant bridesmaid suffering post traumatic stress from an undisclosed incident, unable to reveal her terrible secret. And don't forget Johnno, the unlikely best man who can't seem to get his life together. Rounding out the cast are Will's best mates from boarding school who were involved in a dangerous initiation game called Survival, and in many ways who still behave like unruly school boys.
The isolated setting, last time a snowed-in house in the remote Scottish Highlands, this time is an island off the coast of Ireland which can only be accessed by traversing tumultuous waves: a beautiful but remote location where you can easily fall into a peat bog, where no one will find you if you go missing, and where you can easily slip off a cliff edge and disappear into the sea. Not to mention there's a wild storm brewing. With power outages, ominous notes and nasty pranks - this hostile environment only adds to the confusion of the guests as they try to make sense of what has happened.
The Guest List is plotted to perfection. Lucy Foley masterfully manages multiple POV characters with complex individual storylines, weaving them into a cohesive whole. Everyone has a motive to want the victim dead which slowly becomes apparent as the story progresses. The story alternates between the drunken revelry at the wedding reception (where it's clear something terrible has happened, but not yet clear what) and the lead-up to the wedding. All the clues are there and while it's easier to guess the probable victim, it's more of a challenge to figure out whodunit and why, making the reveal all the more chilling.
Lucy Foley has again modernised the classic whodunit of a locked-room mystery with a slew of shady suspects in a suspenseful tale of toxic relationships, grudges, narcissism, betrayal, and the impact of trauma.

Delivering all the flash and dash you’d expect, the alcohol-soaked pressure cooker environment of a glamorous location wedding sets the scene for grisly murder in Lucy Foley’s latest crime offering, The Guest List.

The marriage of a television celebrity and a trailblazing magazine publisher demands something extra special. Bride to be Jules Keegan finds the perfect solution in the beautiful Cormorant Island off the coast of Ireland, and in its super efficient wedding planner owner, Aoife. Jules has her best friend Charlie on board to MC the reception, and all of the groom’s ushers are old chums from his not-so-jolly boarding school days. The list of people invited to stay with the wedding party on the island is quite small, and the happy couple have made their choices carefully.

The old friends who have already spent a large amount of time nested in deep on the island with each other are unable to leave even if they want to. A vicious storm about to unleash on the meticulously planned reception sets the stage for scores of long suppressed grievances to erupt forth. As the lights flicker, there is a scream and a grisly discovery.

Structured very much like a play with the mandatory roles we’d expect to see filled at a wedding – Best Man, Ushers, Maid of Honour etc – The Guest List invites all to participate in the glory of the lavish occasion. If you’re one of these people who simply hates weddings, there is much in The Guest List to smirk about.
The Guest List is a hoot. A well written hoot at that, which invites all the contempt that over blown modern weddings deserve. A ‘closed room’ whodunit is always delicious and author Lucy Foley has cast a tightly knitted web with its many interactions of a small cast, and absolutely no opportunity to spin a little intrigue is wasted. Past insults, imagined slights, outright betrayals and knowledge of shared cruelty means that no one is really saying what they are really thinking.

The author does a brilliant job of keeping everyone’s storylines straight, alternating character perspectives so that our suspicious eyes simply don’t know where to rest. Every character has motive to harm and not knowing who the victim is for most of the novel adds another layer of mystery as we progress. The Guest List is absolutely the treat you need to bunker down and entertain yourself silly with for a few hours. Who knows a better way to travel than by reading books right now?

This is my first book by Lucy Foley and I am hungry for more. This book starts strong and keeps you guessing the whole way through. I thoroughly enjoyed it

One of my favourite tropes is the "locked-room" thriller. You know, the one where everyone is stuck on an island, or trapped in a spooky house (always during a storm!) and one of the characters dies. There is usually a small pool of suspects and it's fun for the reader to play detective and work out possible motives, means and methods.

In the case of The Guest List, a high profile wedding is held on a secluded island off the Irish coast. There is a storm (of course!) and a murder most foul! Who? Why? How? and most importantly who-dun-it?

I would say this is a mostly successful thriller. Its a page-turner for sure, filled with a cast of damaged and dangerous adults behaving badly (fun!) We hear from the perspective of five core characters - The Bride, The Best Man, The Bridesmaid, The Plus One and the Wedding Planner - as well as some secondary characters (including a cultish clan of ushers). It's a fun, gripping read that doesn't take itself too seriously. Perfect for a beach read, or to snuggle up with a glass of red.

My only gripe is that there are a few too many convenient coincidences and connections between the characters. But, if you are willing to suspend your disbelief and just allow Lucy Foley to take you on her sensational journey, I am sure you will enjoy the ride.

EXCERPT: NOW - The Wedding Night

The lights go out.

In an instant, everything is in darkness. The band stop their playing. Inside the marquee the wedding guests squeal and clutch at one another. The light from the candles on the tables only adds to the confusion, sends shadows racing up the canvas walls. It's impossible to see where anyone is or hear what anyone is saying: above the guests voices the wind rises in a frenzy.

Outside a storm is raging. It shrieks around them, it batters the marquee. At each assault the whole structure seems to flex and shudder with a loud groaning of metal; the guests cower in alarm. The doors have come free of their ties and flap at the entrance. The flames of the paraffin torches that illuminate the doorway snicker.

It feels personal, this storm. It feels as though it has saved all its fury for them.

This isn't the first time the electrics have shorted. But the last time the lights snapped back on again within minutes. The guests returned to their dancing, their drinking, their pill-popping, their screwing, their eating, their laughing...and forgot it ever happened.

How long has it been now? In the dark it's difficult to tell. A few minutes? Fifteen? Twenty?

They're beginning to feel afraid. This darkness feels somehow ominous, intense. As though anything could be happening beneath its cover.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater.

Old friends.
Past grudges.

Happy families.
Hidden jealousies.

Thirteen guests.
One body.

The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped.

All have a secret. All have a motive.
One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . .

MY THOUGHTS: The air of menace is palpable from the outset, but we don't find out at whom it is directed until almost the end. There is no shortage of possibilities. It seems that all the main characters bear a grudge against someone, and all have secrets to hide and protect.

Most of the characters aren't at all likeable, but the cast is an interesting one. The story is told from multiple points of view: Jules, the bride, a success in her own right, who is marrying Will, star of a TV 'survival' show;

Olivia, the bride's sister and only bridesmaid, fragile following her own failed romance;

Johno, best man, odd man out, serial failure, and friend of the groom from their boarding school days;

Hannah, the plus one, mother of two and wife of the bride's best friend, Charlie;

Aoife, wedding planner and venue owner with her partner Freddie.

Add to this mix the ushers, also Will's friends from boarding school, and the combination becomes even more volatile.

The story is told over two days, that of the wedding, and the preceding day as the wedding party arrives on the island.

Lucy Foley has created an incredibly atmospheric setting for her novel. There is a whispering cave, a graveyard, a crumbling castle edifice, and a wedding party trapped on an island during a violent storm.

The secrets are slowly revealed, the suspense teased out as we await the inevitable. But who will be the victim? And who is the killer?

A surprising and inventive novel.

🍾🍾🍾🍾.5

#TheGuestList #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Lucy Foley studied English Literature at Durham and UCL universities and worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry, before leaving to write full-time. The Hunting Party is her debut crime novel, inspired by a particularly remote spot in Scotland that fired her imagination.

Lucy is also the author of three historical novels, which have been translated into sixteen languages.


DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Guest List by Lucy Foley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage

Welcome to the lavish wedding of Will Slater and Julia Keegan on an island off the coast of Ireland.

The Guest List narrators are as follows:

Aoife: The Wedding Planner – Turned the island’s crumbling, dilapidated ‘folly’ (fifteenth century castle-like structure) into an elegant wedding venue. Lives there with her husband Freddie.

Hannah: The Plus One – Her husband, Charlie is the bride's best friend.

Jules: The Bride – Her relationship with Will has been a whirlwind romance.

Johnno: The Best Man – Mates with the groom since their boarding school days.

Olivia: The Bride's half-sister – the teenage bridesmaid.

Long buried secrets will come to light, and The Wedding Night will end in murder.

The Guest List had all the right gothic ingredients to satisfy me – the whispering cave, abandoned houses and outbuildings, a graveyard with Celtic crosses, a bog, superstition in the form of a cormorant perched atop a church steeple serving as a warning of bad luck to come, and a legend involving the first settlers and a massacre on the island. There were moments that were a little cliché and exaggerated, but the teasing and tantalising juicy secrets, and the climatic roller coaster last 20% more than made up for it.

Snippets from ‘Now – The Wedding Night', starting with a power cut followed by a scream echoing through the darkness were interwoven with ‘Then – The Day Before' introducing the various characters, their relationships to one another, and glimpses into what they were hiding. Just like her previous book, the identity of the victim remained unknown for most of the novel. I became pretty attached to certain characters so the closer I got to the end, the more anxious I became that one of my favourite’s was either going to die, or be a murderer. Of course, I'm not about to say whether that happened. I think Lucy Foley would do very well if she ever decided to write a family saga or contemporary drama.

Admittedly there were a lot of similarities between this one, and the author's debut mystery, The Hunting Party, which may annoy some readers, but because I loved this one so much more, it felt like I was receiving a do-over, so no complaints here. If you've never read a novel by Lucy Foley, The Guest List would be my recommendation.

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Harper Collins Publishers Australian, and Lucy Foley for the e-ARC.

2.5 stars.... I rounded up. This is purely because I only really enjoyed 50% of the book. Which is such a shame because I was really excited to get a copy of this book as I have heard nothing but great things about Lucy Foley.

A lot of people say that they feel this was very Agatha Christie... I don't think that is a fair comparison. Her mysteries although slow burns have mini twists/clues scattered throughout so the reader can find the true answer if they look hard enough and I feel this book was lacking that.

I don't know if it was the writing style or the story itself but it came across as the characters all being very whiny. This could very well have been due to the fact that they were reminiscing on something that happened in their childhood when they were 30+ year olds. I found myself not enjoying parts of the book due to them feeling irrelevant to the story. It was a quick read and the twist at the end wasn't one I guessed which was probably the only thing that saved it. But it was such a slow burn (which is something I don't really enjoy in a thriller)

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for my eARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

It took a little while to warm up to this book but after a couple of chapters I could not put it down.
Julia and Will are getting married on a small remote island off the coast of Ireland. A group of people are gathered for the occasion. It is considered a 'society' wedding as Julia is the editor of a high profile magazine and Will is the star of a 'Survival' style show somewhat like Bear Grylls.
It quickly becomes apparent that there are deep cracks running below the surface of this supposedly 'perfect couple' and that their family and friends are not quite so happy for them. More than one person has an axe to grind and there is a lot of tension present.
The story runs in two parallel time lines, from the outset it is apparent that a tragedy has occurred, but with the pre-wedding story interspersed it takes a while to find out exactly what that tragedy is. The story is also told from the perspectives of the bride, groom, bridesmaid (brides seemingly odd sister Olivia), best man Johnno (the loser), Hannah (the plus one whose husband is best friends with the bride) and Aoife the wedding planner.
The big event fast becomes a volatile powder keg just waiting to explode.
I can recommend this suspense/thriller. Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 (4.5)

The Guest List is exactly the type of mystery that I enjoy the most! It has many components that I love: A remote island ✅, two timelines ✅, multiple points of view ✅, what seems like murder but the identity of the victim and the perpetrator are unknown ✅, and dark secrets from many years ago that are about to be revealed ✅✅✅!

Jules, a successful journalist/entrepreneur, is getting married to the famous TV adventure star Will at a remote in Ireland, hosting 150 guests and among them, we have Will's private school mates, Jules' sister Olivia and her best friend, Charlie with his wife Hannah. All of them, with secrets and sorrows to hide. What is meant to be a nice weekend away celebrating love, ends up changing the life of the guests.

If I hadn't predicted the twist/s so early on, I would have given it 5 stars. But, nonetheless, I couldn't put it down until the end!

**If you enjoyed Big Little Lies from Liane Moriarty, you will enjoy this one **

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me an advance copy of the book!
#TheGuestList #NetGalley (less)

I was not the biggest fan of The Hunting Party last year but I was certainly in the minority. I wanted to give the author another go and I am happy to say that The Guest List exceeded my expectations and I read most it this afternoon. A great psychological thriller with a cast of truly despicable characters. It was clever and with its creepy setting great rainy Sunday afternoon read.

It is the first wedding to be held on this small island off the coast of Ireland, an island stepped in gothic history. The star couple of Will, a TV star and Julia, the publisher of an online magazine. It is to be a glamorous and lavish affair in a beautiful yet remote location. There is much drinking and secrets are spilled. Pieces of puzzles are put together and somebody ends up dead. And there are a number of people that wanted them dead.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

I've heard of Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party and assumed for a moment I'd read it. But it seems it was most likely a book I'd admired from afar, so The Guest List is my first book from the English author.

It's not out in Australia until later this month but I did notice it's been released elsewhere so decided to move it up my reading pile. Naturally it meant an extended bath (my reading location of choice) as once I started I had to keep reading until I'd turned the last page!

Foley puts us in the heads of several of the characters of this book so we get to learn who they are first-hand, as well as via the opinions of our other narrators. I actually liked most of them... even Bridezilla Jules wasn't actually that bad.

Foley gives us sympathetic insight into Hannah (whose husband Charlie is Jules' best friend), Olivia (Jules' half sister) and Aiofe, wedding planner and owner of the The Folly. We're also in the head of Johnno, a school friend of Will's - his exact opposite in many ways - the type of guy who perhaps lived his best life in high school and never entirely grew up.

Will seems too good to be true and we soon learn Hannah's had some anonymous notes suggesting it's the case. She's smitten though, and not a fool. They've not been together long, but Jules tells us she knows her mind and Will is everything she's ever wanted. 

But of course everyone has their secrets. Olivia's dropped out of university and self-harming. Hannah tells us she has bittersweet memories of the time of year. Aiofe visits a grave near the house and has ties to its past. And Will, Johnno and their mates seem to have quite a few skeletons in the closet, though most have righted themselves since school.

We briefly meet both sets of parents and there's obvious baggage on both sides. Will never lived up to his father's expectations. Jules' mother is somewhat self-absorbed and narcissistic while her wealthy father's latest wife is close to Jules' own age. 

This book unfolds in multiple timeframes over the period of just a day or so. Foley flicks back and forth... from the wedding reception itself; to the day before and the arrival of the inner-circle who are all staying at The Folly.

She takes some time to introduce us to the key players the day before the wedding, though kinda fast-forwards through the wedding day and the ceremony itself before we land at the reception (or wedding breakfast or whatever it's officially called).

She builds a sense of suspense via the storm battering the island.  The power switches off and on interrupting the revelry several times; heightening everyone's senses as a result. 

The format of the narrative reflects the tense setting. We flit back and forth in time and to several of our storytellers. Abruptly but deftly. 

Foley holds off on letting us in on a number of secrets until the very end, including the identity of the victim. It's twisty most certainly and happily there's a sense of closure which made me finish the book with a sense of contentment.

Unputdownable. Riveting.
Big Little Lies meets Bear Grylls.

Influencer Jules & TV star Will are having the elite wedding of the year on a remote island off the coast of Ireland.
The reader is taken through a rapid series of timelines from the point of view of the wedding planner, the bridesmaid, the best man's wife and Jules herself.

It soon becomes clear that not everything has gone to plan and someone has died during the celebrations. There s a lot of awful, horrible people in this novel and I'm so pleased that I predicted most of the story-lines correctly, and one of the characters was done for.

Predictable in parts but so satisfying at the end. I wasn't disappointed that I worked out some of the clues, which is a indicator of some great clever writing. I empathised a lot with Hannah and Olivia and their unfolding stories.

I'm getting pretty tired of the multiple POV novels with the big reveal on the last page, I don't know who did it first but it's a real trend right now. This one did it particularly well as the whole wedding becomes a train wreck you can't look away from, however I did dock one star from my review. I know everyone at a wedding knows each other, and one person has the ability to ruin many lives HOWEVER this relies on a HELL of a coincidence

Read if you enjoyed Big Little Lies, Robyn Harding, the Girl on the Train & similar

This was so good! It started out slow & gradually built up the suspense, and then it just took off. I didn't pick the victim or the villain - but, wow, I did not see that ending! A fantastic successor to The Hunting Party - I can't wait to read more by Lucy Foley.

The blurb of this book describes it as deliciously wicked....I’d add deliciously menacing and I loved it. I really enjoyed The Hunting Party but I feel this one surpassed that.
A celebrity wedding on an isolated Irish Island, a nasty storm, a few people with issues/grudges and then someone turns up dead. What more could you want?
Told in alternating chapters between certain characters, The Day of the Wedding and The Day Before, it may seem confusing but I found it easy to follow. The characters were interesting and I found the pack like mentality of the public school boys who were friends of the groom quite scary. The whole book was very atmospheric and oppressive.
One that I highly recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy to read.

A celebrity wedding between a magazine publisher and a popular TV action man, a best man who knows dark secrets about the groom’s past, a fragile bridesmaid, a group of odious ushers who went to private school with the groom who act as if they never left, all on a small windswept island off the Irish coast. What could possibly go wrong?

The Guest List is a suspenseful thriller, starting the day before the wedding as the various members of the wedding party arrive at a newly established resort. This is the first wedding for owner and wedding planner, Aoife and her husband Freddy and they are hoping for a successful spread in the bride Julia Keegan’s magazine if all goes well. The venue, the chapel, the flowers, the music and the catering are all perfect and the bride and groom make a glamorous couple. However, they didn’t count on the guest list. As the night goes on and a massive storm rolls in, long held resentments and tensions build until somebody is killed. Who will it be and who did it?

Told from various points of view of key members of the wedding party, Lucy Foley gradually and skilfully ramps up the tension as long held secrets are revealed. The characters are all well depicted with a number of possible suspects. The island is also a wonderful creation with it’s murderous bogs and deadly cliffs adding to it’s gothic charm, making it the perfect location for a wedding that was always going to end badly. All making for a deliciously dark thriller!

I loved "The Hunting Party" by @lucyfoleyauthor so when I was given the opportunity to read the pre-release of "The Guest List" I was very excited. And as I enjoyed the writing style of the other book, I was keen to see how his one unfolded in the same kind of format. I really enjoyed the movement between each character into first-character mode. I loved to see the story from every angle, and that each story was connected in more ways than one. or that each story led you a little astray thinking you knew where the connections were. Yes, they may seem a little coincidental that there were so many connections, but then again if you think about it - for a wedding, many old acquaintances can rear their heads, and given Will was a 'celebrity', connecting TO him made it all the more easier. I was hoping that Hannah had more of a role in the end, or there was some way there would be something to save Johnno just a little. But overall, I enjoyed this book. I found that the setting at the Folly matched the tone and imagery of the writing as well, sort of lost at sea, lost in time place haunted by ghosts of the past, the place and wedding guests alike.

Wowzers. I was hooked from the start. A wedding on a remote Irish island only accessible by boat. Random public schoolboy hazing rituals brought up by a group of the guests. Isolation, peat bogs and a lot of guests with a lot of secrets a to a gripping tale. Told from various viewpoints the story is delightfully revealed until the end.

Disclaimer: ARC provided via NetGalley in return for honest review

A multi-PoV murder mystery where the murder really only happens right at the end, and you're kept riveted by trying to figure out who will be victim and who will be perpetrator. The book relies heavily on backstory and character interactions to keep the audience invested, and does a great job of it. By the time the murder occurs you can't help but think "yeah that asshole deserved it."

The book is less murder mystery and more an exploration of the privilege of the rich and connected, and how those in power punch down. And sometimes, they get what's coming to them because of it.

The only reason this book didn't get a 4 star is that one character has a connection to the victim that felt too perfect. I realise it was to give them a motive, but there was too much of a coincidence in that circumstance.