I did not find this book as gripping as I had hoped. None of the characters are particularly likable and the narrative switches between the past and present with no warning. It did have a twisted ending but was too slow moving to be a page turner.

I was excited to read this book, but it didn't hit the mark for me and I found it to be a boring read. It centers on Elspeth, who travels to attend her egomaniac movie director ex-husband's 50th birthday party. The next morning, the ex-husband is dead and Elspeth, as well as the other guests at the party, are all suspects. There is a bit of a side story here as well regarding what happened in Elspeth's marriage as well as her relationship with her daughter.
I felt there were just too many characters for one book. Never got to invest in anyone.
Overall, this wasn't the book for me and I hope others have a better experience. I didn't really find it suspenseful and even when I found out what really happened, I just wasn't that invested. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Missed the mark for me.

An A-list birthday party in the Hollywood Hills, attended by eight guests and a resident octopus, ends in death, or is it murder? This book was a slow build to a surprising ending. The characters are well developed over the course of the book, with each act revealing a little bit more about each. The main character’s narrative has italicized words throughout, alluding to some kind of trauma, but it takes most of the book to finally reveal what happened and when,. In Hollywood, nothing is as it appears. How well can you trust what anyone says, when each person is reliant on another’s reputation?

I thought the mother daughter relationship between Elspeth and Lillie was realistic based on the family’s history. Elspeth’s struggle to not push Lillie too hard, but to try to keep her safe made me sympathize with her situation. The ugly truths about Richard were unsurprising and took some time to be revealed, but I did find myself reading on and getting sucked in, just to find out where it was all going. I appreciated that it led Elspeth to do what she did on the final pages.

The writing style was a bit difficult for me to follow, since the book is divided into three acts, but within those acts it bounced between past and present, and words in italics were ambiguous to me at the beginning as to whether they were thoughts in Elspeth’s head, memories, or overheard snippets of conversation. I think it ended up being all of these depending on the scene. These made it tough for me to figure out what I was supposed to be gaining from the words so it slowed me down but in the end, didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for allowing me to read this ARC.

I really wanted to like this book more. The blurb grabbed me, but in the end I saw the reveal coming way too fast (I think the Agatha Christie nod is an awkward spoiler). I also couldn't find myself really caring for the main character so when she would go off monologuing I would find myself bored.

A true page turner a book that kept me reading late into the night.Tense chilling well written will be recommending.#netgalley#randomhouse

The Last Guest by Tess Little is a superb book with an engrossing plot and well drawn characters. Well worth the read!

I recently was given the opportunity to read an ARC of Tess Little’s The Last Guest. The premise sounded perfect: a carefully planned party of 10 goes wrong, with one of its attendees dead by morning. With no other suspects possible, the question is - which one of them killed the victim, and why?

Unfortunately, the answer never lived up to the question. The pacing was snail slow; by 65% into the book, you still have no idea what’s going on. And there is little impetus to find out. There is zero suspension or propulsion of the plot. There is no one really to root for: a distant daughter, and a cast of characters who are never truly fully developed. Even the main character, Elspeth, the ex wife of a powerful director, Richard, is not particularly compelling. A failed actress on the heels of a failed marriage, desperate for her daughter’s love and affection, she is a reluctant attendant at the party. But she is not particularly interesting, or even very sympathetic. We don’t understand until the very end WHY she should be sympathetic, so instead Elspeth is just another mystery.

Many questions are introduced by the author, but never answered. So many loose strings dangle at the end, but are never wrapped up.

Ultimately, the biggest issue with The Last Guest was that it is not a thriller or mystery at all, despite the fact that a death or murder occurred. Rather, it is a story about an abused woman, the secrets we keep and the way they color our relationships, and about serial abusers who don’t change their patterns. Had I known that going in, I would have given this a pass.

If you go into this book knowing that it is not truly a mystery, perhaps you will not be disappointed by what you find within its pages. I hope the publishing house can reassess their marketing of this book.

So apparently I've read this before under the title of The Octopus! Once I was a little bit in I recognized it right away! So you can find my review under that title. Very interesting!

Elspeth is invited to her ex-husband's fiftieth birthday party and does not want to go, only agreeing because her daughter Lillie will also be there. Upon Elspeth's arrival, she finds seven other guests (none of them are her daughter). The next morning, her ex is dead and no one knows what happened.

I enjoyed the story this book tells, some characters you love, and some you love to hate. I definitely had to read to the end because I desperately needed to know who did it. And just when you think you know, there's a crazy twist!

As much as I enjoyed the story, I had a really hard time reading this book. The format was not traditional and it was difficult to keep the story straight. There were no chapters, only three parts, and with a dual-timeline, that made it very hard to follow.

Edge of your seat thriller. Will keep you guessing until the end.Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this this ARC.

I writing in this book was great, and the settling was very atmospheric, but I had difficulty connecting with the main character. I also found the suddenly jumps in the timeline, with no chapter headings or page breaks, to be jarring. It pulled me from the story each time as I had to stop and think about where in the story we had jumped to. That being said, the book read exactly like a film, and I think it would have worked fabulously on screen.

Despite the Agatha Christie influence, the too slow narrative bogged down pace and ultimately lost my interest. Grateful, still, to the author, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.

Pub Date 05 Oct 2021
#TheLastGuest #NetGalley

A good read! Rich, unlikeable characters drive a tale of secrets, abuse and…murder? I found the plot to be strong, but was not a fan of the present/past story telling. It wasn’t consistent among all characters and without chapter separation it was, as times confusing. Strong opening, but it dragged some in the middle. The ending was sound and saved my overall view of this book. A worthwhile read for fans of “who done it” thrillers!

Thank you for my copy of The Last Guest! A fancy dinner party that leads to the death of the host. Everyone has secrets, everyone tells lies, so the question is....who killed him? I did get a little lost on the storyline jumping around but overall great read! I can't wait to read more from this author!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley, I was chosen as an early reviewer!

******Coming out October 5, 2021******

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The book begins with a death occurring at an exclusive dinner party, where the host, a Hollywood Director, Richard, ends up dead. All guests become suspects! His ex-wife thinks his pet octopus might have killed him, since it is known to escape! She then precedes to research and watch videos about different aspects of Octopus to see if it matches the injuries of what the autopsy stated. At the focus of this investigation is his ex-wife Elspeth as she was at the party.

This book reminded me of the movie “Knives Out” with similar vibes of secrets, lies, drama surrounding the investigation, everyone having a different opinions on who did it, and police confusion with conflicting info. What will ultimately be determined as his cause of death? This book will having you turning the pages to find out! A great pick for book clubs!

DNF @ 50%, unfortunately! I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to force my way through this book, and honestly it’s just not for me. I enjoy mysteries, but I feel thoroughly uninvested in the story and characters. The pacing and storytelling felt pretty scattered to me. Usually i’m able to power through to the end, even if only to solve the whodunit, but in this case I really wasn’t feeling it & would have left it sooner had it not been an ARC. Thanks so much for the advance copy!

This book was in turn, confusing, misleading, and twisty amazing! I was so surprised for the ending and that everything eventually made sense. I’ve known Richards in my own life, it made it all the more eerie and unsettling. This book is a work of mystery art and I loved it! I can see this being worth multiple readings to pick out more of the nuances. Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc in exchange for my honest opinion! It was a helluva story!

Elspeth has no desire to attend her ex-husband’s fiftieth birthday party, but her daughter wants her there. After Richard’s antics and broken promises at his fortieth birthday party, she had left him and taken their daughter Lillie with her. However, Lillie had maintained a relationship with her father and had recently moved to LA to pursue an acting career, with a small part in a film her father directed. Only two things will make the party bearable— Lillie by her side and a large crowd in which Elspeth can basically hide. However, on the day of the party, Lillie says she has to meet someone beforehand and will arrive late. Therefore, Elspeth arrives alone. She also soon realizes that instead of the big party she expected, there are only eight guests (nine if you count Persephone, the giant Pacific octopus inhabiting the massive aquarium along one wall). In addition to his ex-wife, Richard has invited Honey (his boyfriend; Richard is bisexual); Tommo (childhood friend); Jerry (business manager); Miguel (financier of the latest film); Kei (cinematographer); and Charlie and Sabine (stars of the latest film, Dominus).

The party is strange and tense, with none of the guests quite sure what to make of it. The party is a combination orchestrated production and manipulative game; which is fitting for Richard. The next morning, Elspeth awakens first and finds Richard dead. The initial assumption is an overdose, as he had a history of substance abuse and he used heroin during the party. However, the coroner and police soon reveal his death was a homicide, which means one (or more) of the guests is the killer. (A Murder on the Orient Express scenario).

The story alternates between the present (the investigation, memorial, Elspeth interactions with Lillie, etc.), the details of the party, and how Elspeth and Richard met and their initial relationship. The story is largely told through Elspeth’s recollections and interactions. She initially fixates on the possibility that Persephone is responsible, as videos were shown of her escaping the aquarium, which was reportedly a nightly habit. The reader will learn a lot about the life and habits of the giant Pacific octopus, especially their skill at escaping.

Elspeth has done her best to avoid any knowledge of her ex-husband’s activities, including information related to his latest film. However, through the questions from the police, her foray into social media, and her recollections of that night, which involved strange and strained interactions and bits and pieces of overhead conversations, it becomes apparent that all of the guests had good reasons for wanting Richard dead.

The author has created an interesting and diverse group of characters, none of whom is quite whom they seem. She does a good job of keeping up the suspense and leaving the reader wondering what secrets will be revealed next. Even when the explanation for what happened that night is revealed, there are still unanswered questions. "The Last Guest" is well worth reading.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

What happens when a wealthy, powerful Hollywood director invites seven of his closest friends to his fiftieth birthday party? Mayhem, death, and an octopus on the loose, that’s all. The Last Guest is a provocative and nuanced novel that describes the party’s bizarre details and relationships Richard had with his guests.

From the present moment to a series of flashbacks, the reader learns about each guest’s motive and experiences with the murdered director, Richard Bryant. The story is told through Elspeth, a former actress, and ex-wife of Richard, a man she hasn’t seen in ten years. As we delve deeper into the story, the reasons behind his death and the motives become more apparent.

Although disjointed at first, I raced through to the end, anxious to discover the murderer. There is an exciting rhythm and flow the reader must adjust to in reading The Last Guest, but it does not disappoint. The characters and relationships with Richard are complicated and confusing, only to be slowly revealed. I enjoyed this whodunit, and I thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to review it. #NetGalley #TheLast Guest #murdermystery,

The Last Guest was a slow moving book, with to many characters.
Each character was well developed, but I, personally, did not find pleasure in the reading of it.
Too many Hollywood egos. That turned me completely off.
#TheLastGuest