The Guest by B.A. Paris 4⭐

Wow. What a wild ride this book turned out to be, and I loved every minute of it! I was intrigued from the very beginning, trying to put the pieces together that always seemed to allude me. Some books from the beginning you already know where it is going but you still enjoy watching it play out. And then there are others that leave you always one step behind until the final reveal that blows your socks off. This is that book.

Iris and Gabriel have everything going for them, a beautiful home, a grown daughter, and great friends. But while out for a run in the quarry, Gabriel stumbles on a young man. With the young man's final breathes he burdens Gabriel with his secret. Gabriel struggles not knowing what to do with these final words, eventually he decides to keep them to himself rather than destroy the young man's family.

When his burden becomes too much to bear, it leaves his wife struggling to understand his spiral. As if that doesn't put enough strain on their marriage, their friend Laure comes unexpectedly to stay after the revelation that her husband had a child with another woman.

Laure and Iris are good friends, but when Laure overstays her welcome. begins wearing Iris's clothes, and asking questions about the young man's death, Iris reaches her breaking point. Secret's, deception, and lies put Iris and Gabriel's marriage to the test, and when bodies start dropping they are left to wonder who can they trust?

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Gabriel and Iris come home from vacation to find Laura in their house, in their bedroom, wearing her clothes. They are good friends who have shared their home with each other so are surprise but yet not surprise until they hear she has left her husband. She says she has left him because he had an affair and had a child. Who would he have had an affair with? Who is the child? When did this happen?
After three weeks and she still hasn’t left things become tense and they wonder if she will ever leave..
And when she finally decides to meet him- he doesn’t show. Later it is said he has been murdered. Who?
Are secrets of the past coming to light?

The Guest is about a couple that come home from their vacation to find an uninvited houseguest. This was a quick read, on the shorter side with fast pacing. The characters were interesting and kept me engaged. I will honestly say that the ending was a bit of a surprise, I'm not sure if there were many clues dropped in the story that I just missed or if the author was going for that last-minute shock value. Overall, this was a good read, I enjoyed it a lot more than her last book, but not as much as some of her others. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers. I am giving this book 3.5 stars. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for allowing me an ARC of this book for my honest review.

3.5*
BA Paris typically does a really great job with her twists, but it just didn’t hit in The Guest. While I didn’t guess what happened in the end, I just didn’t find it all that compelling.

Thank you St Martin’s press and Netgalley for an ARC of The Guest in exchange for an honest review.

I love B.A. Paris books. I expect to find a twist at the end of her books, proving all of my guesses completely wrong. And boy did I find a wicked twist at the end of this one. I was mind blown. Throughout the entire book, she gave you bits and pieces of information which were not expected. I was fully engrossed the whole time.

Iris and Gabriel are living completely normal lives until Gabriel finds the body of a young man in a quarry. He’s there with him as the boy whispers his last word, which Gabriel keeps to himself as it slowly destroys him. Their best friends, Laure and Pierre are having marital issues. Laure invites herself into Iris and Gabriel’s house indefinitely. Everyone comes to realize that they really don’t know the people they are closest to.

The first half of the book was pretty slow for me. I feel like there was a lot details about Laure being at Iris and Gabriel’s house that could have been left out. I do see how some of the details led to the plot at the end but it seemed to drag on. I liked the characters and felt I could relate to them and also could relate to a friend going on and on about the same thing for what seems like forever and how daunting that can be. I feel like things really started to pick up at about 70% in. Once I hit that point I couldn’t put the book down! I finished it in one sitting. I did not see the plot coming at all. Fantastic end to the story!! Overall, was a great read.

BA Paris is one of my favorite authors. When her books come out, I immediately add them to my TBR, usually without even checking the description. The Guest did not disappoint. Paris' newest novel has a little family drama, a lot of suspense, and ends with a massive twist. There are a lot of characters in The Guest and many plot lines to follow. The result was a tangled web of possibilities, which made the Epilogue that much more shocking. I got so caught up in the story I read until 2 AM just to find out how it ended!

The story follows the couple, Iris and Gabriel, struggling to keep their marriage afloat. After witnessing a traumatic accident, Gabriel becomes withdrawn and distant. When family friend Laure shows up at their doorstep unexpectedly, the estranged couple becomes entangled in Laure's own relationship drama. After learning of an old affair, Laure leaves her husband and comes to live with Gabriel and Iris indefinitely. But Laure quickly overstays her welcome, and when a new couple and their handsome gardener move in down the street, darker secrets come to light, posing the age-old question: How much can you really know about a person?

A huge thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of The Guest!

BA Paris does it again! This thriller had me on edge the entire book trying to figure out the who and the why. I instantly connected to Gabriel and Iris, and went along them with their journey. Gabriel had endured so much loss and just as he was getting through it all, that happens?! And his wife was no support at the time. I instantly loved Esme, but at times was even second guessing her. Who could be so diabolical? Or were they all just a coincidence? This book was such a page turner and had me guessing until the very end! You will not regret picking up this thriller and trying to figure this mystery out for yourself!!

I usually love this author but this book didnt do anything for me. I couldnt get into the story and it was just all over the place.

B.A. Paris does it again! I could not stop reading as I frantically searched for the villian and just when I thought I knew, I was proved wrong.

The book had a slow start for me, but it sip on picked up and got good! Laure has a problem in her marriage and goes to her friend Iris and her husband's home to stay for a while and reflect.
So much happens during this time, deaths, explosions, and lies and secrets are revealed. I thought I had things figured out, but I was wrong. I won't give to much away, but this was a good thriller and I gave it a solid 4 stars.

Thank you # Netgalley for the ARC of this book

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. Unfortunately this was very slow for me and did not hold my attention. 😞

B.A. Paris is hit or miss for me, and unfortunately this one was a miss. I was pulled in pretty quickly and was tearing through it until about 2/3 of the way in. After that it just lost me. There wasn’t enough going on plot or character-wise after that point.

However, the biggest reason for my low rating is the ending. Without giving anything away, I will just say that I hate feeling lied to or tricked when reading a book. As I think most people would. The ending and resolution didn’t feel shocking or well-earned, it just felt like the wool had been pulled over my eyes. That said, I somehow still saw the “twist” coming.

This was my first B.A. Paris book and I’m not sure how to feel about it. I liked the married characters Esme and Hugh. I feel like they brought a lightness to the story. I wish the pacing of the story was a little faster. I like a book with twists dropped throughout the book. I think this book had a slow burn feel. I feel like this book saved the twists for the last chapter and stuffed them all in. I was able to guess one of the twists but that doesn’t take away from the story for me personally. Overall I enjoyed the story and am glad I was able to read The Guest by B.A. Paris.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the arc copy of this book in return for my honest review

I’m a huge fan of BA Paris and was very excited to be approved for this ARC. I have mixed feelings about this book. The entire twist was revealed in the epilogue and I didn’t see it coming at all. That’s both good and bad in my opinion. I would have loved to have been guessing about who had done it throughout but no one really stood out as suspicious enough. It also was hard for me to correctly picture all these people. It seemed like the setting was not 2023 but the 1990’s. That said, I read this in one sitting; unable to put it down so that says something I guess?

This was a fast paced book, but in the middle it lagged a little. Didn’t know where it was going. I found it a little long, but did enjoy the ending and the secrets that people held and how it all unraveled.

Thanks to Netgalley and St.Martin’s Press for my electronic advanced readers copy.

Publish date: February 20, 2024

The Guest by B.A. Paris 🌿
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Release date: Feb 20, 2024

Another psych thriller from Paris that will have you reading late into the night. What a disappointing ending until you read the epilogue and woo 😅 Lots to unpack from that. Definitely not as captivating as BCD but totally worth the read. I didn’t really love any of the characters but the story still had me invested.

Thank you to Netgalley, St Martins Press, and B.A Paris for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Received this as an ARC - Thank you! Being a long time B. A. Paris fan and must say this is one of her better books. Most everyone in this book has a secret, big ones! When friend of 20 years Laure comes to stay with Iris and Gabriel after she leaves her husband Pierre in France, the visit keeps extending. There’s enough on Iris’s plate with Gabriel and now piling on Laure’s problems and constant boo-hooing she is grateful for her friendship with new neighbors Esme and Hugh and noting the odd Joseph living with them. There’s enough twists and turns in this book that the epilogue totally threw me for a loop (in a wowza kind a way), was not expecting that! Solid 4.5 on this one. Would be a 5 if Laure’s whining was reigned back a bit

I really appreciate this author’s commitment to thrillers. This one definitely kept me guessing up to a certain point when I figured it out, but what a wild ride.

Iris and Gabriel are returning from holiday and their friend has taken up in their home while they were gone. Their friend’s husband has just told her he has a child, and she is devastated. She ends up overstaying her welcome, while Iris and Gabriel are walking on eggshells around each other after Gabriel came upon a young man he knew dying.

Loved how this one was told in third person, opened with an explosion, and went back in time. The epilogue being in first person was a nice touch!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bit of a slow burner, but nonetheless still a good read by BA Paris. There were quite a lot of characters so it took a bit to keep track of everyone, but the last chapter was a good twist. A who dunnit that keeps you guessing to the end.