Gabriel and Iris are just returning home, only to be surprised by the presence of their friend Laure, who tells them she's separating from her husband Pierre. Apparently, Pierre has just revealed he has a daughter with another woman, but that's all he's telling her at the moment.

Severely distressed, Laure decides to stay for a few weeks until she sorts things out, which is ok at first. But eventually, her presence starts being a bother because she is permanently there, always crying, and always talking about that single tiresome subject.

Since Gabriel hasn't been ok either, Iris is happy when she meets a new friend, Esme, who's about to give birth to her first child.

So what happens? Well, someone dies, of course.

____

My take: Three stars!! The first half of the book was quite fast paced and interesting, but then it starts to stall and at some point I stopped caring until the last few chapters, where everything starts getting super interesting again.

I love this author, so I will always read and recommend her books, so I'm very glad I read this one!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Secrets, secrets, secrets, this book has lots! I am never disappointed by Ms Paris. This book was brilliantly twisty! Iris and Gabriel have a great life in the countryside. They have one daughter who is taking a gap year before college. They have great friends and a new couple has just moved in near them. Circumstances occur which lead us to know there are lots of secrets here. I thought I had it worked out but then the end was so twisty and unexpected. It was great!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

B A Paris does not disappoint. Story starts slowly when a French friend comes to stay., or should I say out stays her welcome.. Two couples on either side of the English channel have been friends for some twenty years, when one couple experiences a crises. One thing this story brings out is how fast it is nowdays to get from London to Paris, a day trip. The tension builds after several deaths, that seem to be connected. Be sure to read the epilogue which is full of surprises that I did not see coming. I would question why Esme, who is pregnant and on bed rest, went out to dinner!

I absolutely love any and all of this author's novels! She is an outstanding novel and knows exactly how to write a good thriller. I am intrigued the whole time reading this novel. The suspense kept me wanting to read all night long! Absolute must read.

I am a HUGE B.A. Paris fan. This book did NOT disappoint. I couldn’t put it down and read it in less than 24 hours. The characters, the setting, the plot were all amazing and kept me hooked.

B A Paris has done it again! This book was really good—-suspenseful, character-driven, and with enough twists to really surprise me! I wasn’t expecting all the reveals on the epilogue—-the author fooled me all the way through!

Iris and Gabriel have an unexpected guest that shows up in their home while they’re away—-but that really is the least of their problems!

My thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

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