A exclusive birthday party of successful Hollywood director’s Hollywood Hills mansion ends with director’s choking on his own vomit: in medical terms: he died because of asphyxiation! But could that narcissistic man who highly believes his perfectionist ways and his genius mind who fascinates to play dark games with people dare to take his own life so dramatically?
This is a moody, languid story, not so much a traditional locked room mystery (although it has all the required elements) - but more of a character study and an examination of a Hollywood marriage. Richard, a famous and demanding film director, has a party for his birthday, inviting only an odd and select group of guests, including his ex-wife, Elspeth. As a tragedy unfolds, we learn bit by bit about Elspeth’s marriage, Richards aggressive style of working, and the circle of suspects, all of whom were affected deeply by Richard both personally and professionally.

#TheLastGuest #NetGalley
A breathtaking novel with perfect psychological elements. A good read.
Elspeth Bell attends the fiftieth birthday party of her ex-husband, Richard Bryant, the Hollywood director who launched her acting career, all she wants is to pass unnoticed through the glamorous crowd in his sprawling Los Angeles mansion. Instead, there are only seven other guests—and Richard's pet octopus, Persephone, watching over them from her tank as the intimate party grows more surreal (and rowdy) by the hour. Come morning, Richard is dead—and all of the guests are suspects.
In the weeks that follow, each guest comes under suspicion: the school friend, the studio producer, the actress, the actor, the new partner, the manager, the cinematographer, and even Elspeth herself. What starts out as a locked-room mystery soon reveals itself to be much more complicated, as dark stories from Richard's past surface, colliding with memories of their marriage that Elspeth vowed never to revisit. She begins to wonder not just who killed Richard, but why these eight guests were invited—and what sort of man would desire to possess a creature as mysterious and unsettling as Persephone.
I finished it in a sitting and will definitely highly recommend this to everyone.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for giving me an advanced copy of this book.

The morning after a celebrity party, the host is dead. Everyone is a suspect- including the ex-wife.

The biggest issue I had with this book is I never got a full character run down of anyone but Elsbeth (ex-wife) and Richard (host). This would have been a perfect scenario to do different perspectives from each guest and leave the ending surprise.

The book was a good mystery, i enjoyed the Hollywood and locked room themes. it held my interest enough to want to find out how it ended however I was able to pick up and put down the book a lot. i recommend this to thriller readers to enjoy

This book describes the seamy side of Hollywood so well that I kept feeling grateful not to be a part of all that. I liked how the story unfolded a little at a time, with flashbacks interspersed, and it held my interest to the end. I did feel toward the end that the story got a little repetitive and hard to follow at times. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was interesting at times and too slow at many other times. The host of a birthday party dies and the guests all have motives for killing him. but did they, follow the twists and find out

This book was a slow burn that never really caught fire. The premise is great...there's a party, the host is found dead the next morning, the party guests are the main suspects. As the death is investigated we get small flashbacks as the ex-wife tries to piece together all that she didn't know about how her ex had spent the last few years of his life. This really has a great potential but it missed the mark in several ways for me. First, the characters are developed in a very choppy way since we're learning about them from alternating past and present narratives. Then, there's this octopus that seems to have a a supporting role in the story. I think it's meant to be in a dark and brooding way yet comes off more as weird and incomplete. It kept my interest enough to want to finish reading and find out the truth but the process of getting there felt I was just slowly trudging through details that didn't pertain.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Ballantine Books. This book is fill of twists and turns that will leave you guessing until the end! When a group of people you know or acquaintances get together the question you should as is why? Can you truly know someone. Does self perseveration really protect anyone? The mind can be a great and also dangerous. The one thing I will say I wish the present and past tense reading would have been more clearly defined. Can we forgive someone who is alive as well as dead? This book is for a mature reader. Can be read anytime and anywhere.

Special thanks to Random House Publishing, Balls time Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

At first I thought oh boy another locked room mystery whodunit! But, at least this one had a person, Richard Bryant, Hollywood giant, deserved it. I guess. Wait these are fictional characters I can say that openly. He is something else. Anyway, 8 dinner guests and the man chokes. And his ex-wife, Elspeth,, who did not want to come to this dinner (his 50th bday) anyway, but was tricked bc she thought her daughter was to be there. 7 other guests ranging from partner, to friend, actor, actress, and various others. Let the games begin. Each had different arrival times, different dinners that somehow related to their relationship with Richard, who was evil, evil, evil and into games. Maybe he committed suicide. Or his pet octopus, Persephone (see strange) killed him. Haha.

Anyway, this was interesting because the book goes back and tells what Richard has done to each dinner guest to deserve a killing, even Elspeth herself. I did enjoy this a lot better than all the who'dunits I've read because the level of games and mystery was better. 4 stars!

The writing is okay, but the pacing is slow and it all feels a bit dated to me. I think there's a bit of mis-marketing here, as I think it could find its niche amongst older female readers. My grandma would probably enjoy this closed-door mystery with its Hollywood bent and middle aged characters. However, for me, it doesn't hold up against other, more relevant and edgy fare in the contemporary mystery thriller space.

The Last Guest is one of the strangest books that I have read this year. A Hollywood Star decides to throw a party for his 50th birthday. Instead of having some overblown gala, he invites 9 people. Most of the guests have no idea why they were even invited. Strange things start happening right away. There is a Pacific octopus in attendance as well and the host tells of how the octopus escapes the aquarium at night and returns the same way he came out. There is alcohol served at the party and even though he has been "sober" for years he drinks along with most of his guests. The guests wonder why some of the others have been invited. Very twisted mystery.

Celebrities. A swanky invite-only dinner party. An unexpected suspicious death. When Elspeth accepts her ex-husband's invitation to his fiftieth birthday party, she isn't expecting to become embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation. Richard is dead, killed at his own party, and the suspects are limited to the intimate guest list. I enjoy Agatha Christie's books but this one didn't hit the mark. It was an okay read. Not knowing too much about the characters made the book a little too dull.

A exclusive birthday party of successful Hollywood director’s Hollywood Hills mansion ends with director’s choking on his own vomit: in medical terms: he died because of asphyxiation! But could that narcissistic man who highly believes his perfectionist ways and his genius mind who fascinates to play dark games with people dare to take his own life so dramatically?
This is a moody, languid story, not so much a traditional locked room mystery (although it has all the required elements) - but more of a character study and an examination of a Hollywood marriage. Richard, a famous and demanding film director, has a party for his birthday, inviting only an odd and select group of guests, including his ex-wife, Elspeth. As a tragedy unfolds, we learn bit by bit about Elspeth’s marriage, Richards aggressive style of working, and the circle of suspects, all of whom were affected deeply by Richard both personally and professionally.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56637946-the-last-guest" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Last Guest" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617816032l/56637946._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56637946-the-last-guest">The Last Guest</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19872662.Tess_Little">Tess Little</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4139348372">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I know this sounds odd but I didn't really notice how much I enjoyed this book till it was near the end because I had become so immersed in several of the characters and the who done it. It definately crept up on me! It was after I had systematically accused each person of the murder of Richard, including his new acquisition, Persephone, a red pacific octopus, that I really stated to think the author is really on to something here! I was bummer when it ended. I would definately read more from this author.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5483119-sherry">View all my reviews</a>

I have mixed reviews for this book. At times I found myself very invested in the story, I couldn't put it down trying to see what happened next at the dinner party. But then about 60% through it just started to drop off for me and become not good. The last 15%of the book was just rambling and trying to sew up loose ends in the past and present story lines, which bounced around something awful at that point. What was headed toward a 4 star read flattened out to a mediocre 3 star. I would not recommend.

Tess Little’s The Last Guest is a provocative mystery dripping with intrigue, perfect for armchair detectives.

The morning after an elite Hollywood director’s birthday party, he’s found dead by his own party guests. When the police rule his death a murder, all eight guests are under suspicion. Each has a motive and opportunity– who is responsible?


This novel is a slower paced mystery that lets the reader puzzle out the whodunnit. Clues are doled out with care, as the night slowly unspools. Though this thought provoking novel is a mystery, I didn’t find it suspenseful. I’m a great big scaredy cat, and found the mystery interesting without also finding myself jumpy or easily startled.

The novel opens on the morning of the body’s discovery, and the ensuing story is told is told in alternating timelines of the investigation after the party and the narrator’s memories of the event. Our narrator is Elspeth Bryant Bell, a former actress and the ex-wife of the deceased director. As her memories are picked apart by herself and the police, we see memories of other events in her life and how they intersect with that fateful night. She serves as an unreliable narrator, as uncertain in her memories as she is in her day to day life and decisions.

The Last Guest has a wide cast of characters, vividly described and easy to keep separate in the reader’s mind. The suave French actress and her young co-star– currently featured in the director’s last film– a likable crew member, a pair of schoolboy friends, an investor, the current love interest, and the ex-wife narrator are the party guests turned suspects. Each suspect is introduced to Elspeth at the party, and we get to see them gradually illuminated. And, of course, we can’t forget the Giant Pacific Octopus held captive in her tank, the most mysterious guest of all.

While this mystery has plenty of puzzles to piece together and clues to pick apart, it also tackles the difficulty of moving on from trauma and dealing with the lifelong effects of abuse. Other themes include familial relationships and grief, both of which are handled with the delicate care they deserve. Multifaceted and complicated people are just as difficult to mourn as they are to live with, a fact this mystery explores deeply.

Although the pacing was a bit slower than I typically prefer, I just had to know how this book ended. I found myself rehashing the clues, even when my nose wasn’t in the book at the moment, and I know I’ll continue processing this plot and picking apart these characters in my mind for weeks to come. This is the kind of book you want to read with a group so you have someone to talk about it with, and would make a great book club pick. I can definitely see it being chosen as a celebrity book club pick, and is sure to incite deep discussion by those who’ve read it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books/RandomHouse Publishing, and the author for this advanced copy such that I could write this review. All opinions are my own.

The Last Guest by Tess Little will be available October 5, 2021.

Thanks to Random House Publishing-Ballantine Books, author Tess Little and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. The Last Guest is told in first person, by character Elsbeth Bell. Elsbeth is invited to the 50th birthday celebration of her ex-husbamd Richard. Richard is a Hollywood Director and together they have a young adult daughter. With the belief that her daughter will be attending, Elsbeth accepts the invitation. .Only seven other guests, daughter absent and a strange and dark night of games and cruel manipulations, and even an octopus, Elsbeth wakes up to find her Ex dead. The Plot moves from the night of the party to revealing back stories about the Narsistic behaviors of Richard. As the police investigation continues, the suspense increases and it seems that each of the guests had motive for murder. I thoroughly enjoyed this dark and uniquely told mystery through Elsbeth's eyes. Her character is authentic and generated empathy and understanding. Not for those who want a quick and easy read.

A respectable debut novel. A Hollywood director throws himself a 50th birthday party. There are only eight guests, each has an important link with the director, past or present. The next morning the director is dead. Is the death accidental or murder?

The story is told in the past and the present. The jumps are abrupt and confusing in the beginning. The characters are interesting and well developed. Unexpected reveal regarding the death.

I received an advanced reader's copy from Ballantine Books through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#TheLastGuest #NetGalley

An homage to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, perhaps - A modern day update on the locked room mystery set in LA's Mulholland Dr - or an eerie fever dream and an extremely odd pet - all of these elements combine in Tess Little's The Last Guest.

Set in beautiful home in the Hollywood hills, this mystery strips away the narrative layers to reveal a surreal whodunit. If you enjoy a good update on a Dame Christie classic, this is a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.

A famous director throws himself a 50th birthday party. The following morning he is found dead, The story was hard to follow with the many flashbacks and the frequent use of the F word made for unpleasant reading.