I have to admit, Paris got me. For most of the book I swallowed the lines she fed me about who the real culprit was and why certain people died.
But then she pulled the rug out from underneath me with a big reveal! Well played, well,played.
I thought Iris and Gabriel,should have kicked Laure to the curb after a few days. I didn’t understand Gabriel’s inability to move on after a death and I thought that part of the story was shallow.
There was one character who had a hidden thread to all the other characters and the way Paris wove them together was quite creative.
9t was a wowsa read.

I love B.A. Paris! This book had a lot of twists and turns, yet the plot reminded me of a lot of other books that are already published. I enjoyed the connections of all the characters. Wish we got got some more information on some of the deaths. Overall, it is worth a read, yet not my favorite book of theirs.

Iris and Gabe have cut their vacation short by a day do to Gabes mental health he recently found a local boy dying in the quarry where he runs right before the boy died he left Gabe with some final words for his mother and although Gabe told everyone he said to tell his mother he loved him we soon find out that isn’t at all what the boy says and it plagues Gabe. He also recently lost his father and to make matters worse when they arrive home ready to relax and go to bed they open the door to see their longtime friend Lore. She is not only in her home but she is making herself at home even sleeping in the couples bed and wearing irises clothing. They soon learned she left her husband Pierre and when they find out why the couple or floored. She is definitely making herself the main character in the couples lives so when Iris makes a new friend with the new residence down the street she couldn’t be happier that is until Lore starts getting cozy with Jonathan the new couples landscape designer. It doesn’t stop the two couples from becoming close however but when more deaths happen in secrets come to light Gabe and Iris really have to ask themselves how well do we know our friends there’s way too much happening in this book for me to give a really good summary just know we have a predator in the book a murderer and they’re not the same person. I really liked the way Iris and the new neighbor whose name I don’t know how to spell had a good positive relationship as well as Iris did with her husband Gabe I found this book to be twisty it is my first book by be a Paris but it will not be my last I have been hearing about this author and finally decided to give it a go with the Kindle and audio version of The Guest. I can honestly say I was not disappointed this book has multi plot lines minor and major and they all come together cohesively in the end and that is not easy to do Miss Paris truly is a talented author as is the narrator who did the audiobook her name is Emily Joyce and she has awesome character distinction as well as bringing a great dysfunctional tone to the book bravo to her and the author I’d rather the audiobook but that is just me for those who enjoy the Kindle I’m sure it’s just as good I read both 50-50 and enjoyed each experience. I want to thank Saint martins press Minotaur books McMillan audio and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I liked the way the story was unfolding but I just didn’t feel like the end was satisfying. Some of the connections seemed like a stretch. I didn’t see the twist coming and it was surprising. I would probably recommend if this sounds interesting!

I have read several books by this author. This one just wasn't my favorite. I felt like the pacing was pretty slow. Also I was pretty bored through the whole book. I didn't really feel like it was a thriller but more a mystery. Like I said I was pretty bored because of all the mundane tasks that went on. I still love this authors writing so will be picking up more from this author for sure.

I have read other B.A. Paris books and looked forward to reading The Guest. I placed it under Mystery/Thriller but it read more like contemporary fiction for most of the book.

Main characters, husband and wife, Gabriel and Iris come home from holiday to find a woman staying at their home. The guest, Laure, said she had to get away from her husband Pierre who told her that he recently found out he had a daughter from a one night stand and needed to decide if he wanted to be in her life. Laure ended up staying with Gabriel and Iris because they had been friends for 20 years and they wanted to help her. Unfortunately, Laure was not an ideal guest and they tired of having her around.

There is also a new couple in town who Gabriel and Iris become fast friends with. Hugh and Esme also end up with their own guest, a family friend who does landscape work. There's a lot going on with all the characters; secrets, affairs, deceits. I wasn't really sure where the story was going other than being annoyed with many of the characters. Then, we are on the epilogue.....Everything came together and Paris tied all the knots together but it seemed so out of left field that I had a hard time buying the whole ending.

I still enjoy this author but it was not my favorite. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Ohhhh man... 1 star feels harsh. It really does. But I'm struggling to think of ANYTHING that I enjoyed about this book. I'll start by admitting that I'm hard to please when it comes to domestic thrillers - I really struggle reading something I feel that I've read before and that I don't think has anything new to offer. I unfortunately don't think this book delivers ANYTHING unique or new in comparison to other domestic thrillers but especially compared to B.A. Paris's previous few books. I found myself with the same critiques as The Dilemma, which is that all of these characters are keeping strange secrets from each other for NO REASON and doing absolutely nothing to resolve their own issues or make themselves or anyone around them happy. None of the conversations or decisions feel realistic to how humans would behave, nor were they entertaining because of how repetitive they were. The big reveal/twist was unsurprising and I think a lot of readers are going to be disappointed with how it's communicated in the epilogue and delivered as a villainous monologue - not usually something I have a problem with, but again it was unsurprising and unsatisfying in this book in particular. I'm sad to say I think I'm done reading B.A. Paris until I hear a lot of positive reviews about any of her future books!

Unfortunately I tired both the audiobook version and the digital arc and after giving it a good 20% in I had to DNF this book.

This book was great! The only downside to me is the very end! It seemed so out of left field and not expected. But aside from the that, it was so interesting the whole time. I was interested and loved the character development with each one of the main characters.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it felt long and a tad slow. I also felt like the blurb was misleading.

⭐️⭐️
This one missed the mark for me. The pacing was slow, the characters were flat and not at all relatable and the first 50% of the book was filled with overly wordy descriptions of the characters mundane lives. I pushed through but ultimately I wasn’t invested enough to be surprised by the “big reveal”. I love B. A. Paris books but unfortunately this one isn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin Press and B. A. Paris for an ARC of The Guest in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up.

The Gust by B.A. Paris was a great domestic thriller. The chapters were on the shorter side which made reading this fast. There was a lot of character development, sometimes I felt like too much. There was a lot of mundane daily life throughout the book. I was sucked in from the beginning and typical B.A. Paris style there are red herrings throughout. I didn't guess the plot twist which was a nice change from always figuring out the truth.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for an advanced copy of B.A. Paris for an honest review.

Another fast paced, addictive thriller by one of my favorite authors BA Paris. A house guest over stays her welcome and has a 'secret" but every character in this book has a "secret" of their own and they all collide. A killer twist caps off a surprise ending. You will not regret reading this thriller and trying to figure out the "mystery" for your self. I can't wait to hand sell and suggest to many of our customers as a great book club choice! Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!

2.5 stars!
Iris and Gabriel return from their holiday to find their close friend, Laure, living in their home. Laure has fled Paris, after discovering that her long time partner, Pierre, (also good friends with Iris and Gabriel) had a secret child he had been hiding from her. Iris and Gabriel open their home to her, but become frustrated when she keeps extending her stay. Laure seems too comfortable, and no one can get a hold of Gabriel. How long are they supposed to let Laure stay, especially when she begins overstepping?

Thank you to @stmartispress, @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for my review copies. I normally love the twisty turny thrillers B.A. Paris writes, but in this case, I wasn’t a fan. There was almost no action, until the epilogue chapter. There was a twist in it, but it was literally at the very end. It took too long to get there, the build up was too slow! I did sympathize with Iris and Gabriel and how they were feeling about Laure, but it just wasn’t enough for me to feel super connected to the story.

I wasn't able to read this book because life has been extremely busy, so I will rate this 5 stars to compensate. The blurb looked very promising though, and I will read this when I get the chance and I will edit my review

Another twisty domestic drama from Paris, who has a way of keeping you reading even when you don't find the characters especially likable or the situation plausible! This time out, there are three couples (so you're keeping trek of six people) in the English countryside, marital issues, long held secrets and, of course, lies. I look forward to each offering from Paris because she's got a good storytelling style and let's face it- she's a guilty pleasure read. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers.

This book was so close to being /there/ the whole way through, but ultimately ended up slightly missing the mark. I felt as though the pacing was slow and awkwardly staggered, with too much time spent on things that ultimately had no real bearing on the plot, like most of Gabriel’s storyline. But one thing in the pacing that I did appreciate was how Laure’s overstay was accompanied by the pacing feeling like it was just dragging on and on. As a reader, I felt as annoyed and inconvenienced by this as Iris and Gabriel felt towards their guest. So that was really cool, in retrospect. But the POV switch from third to first was extremely jarring and way too convenient. There needed to be more hints of the truth woven into the rest of the story for it to be believable, otherwise it could’ve been wrapped up in any which way. There needed to be a lot more suspense in the entire story, and in reality, the suspense was only felt a few times when it came to Esme and Joseph. Overall, I didn’t hate the book, but I think it could’ve been so much more.

Nail
Bitter !!
Never disappoints!
Fast paced & hooked from the start! B.A Paris is always a favorite and I always fly through his reads cover to cover! This one is just the same!

The Guest is a thriller about a couple that takes in their friend as their house guest following some relationship troubles. As time goes on, a series of tragedies surround the couple and their friends, leaving everyone with a lot of questions. I was entertained by The Guest--it kept me hooked while trying to figure out how the 3 sets of couple were intertwined throughout the book. I did think that the Epilogue could have been better incorporated into the ending of the book; I felt like it was a bit of a jarring twist and information overload. I was definitely invested in the book and it was a quick read so I'm not disappointed that I read it.

I really enjoyed this one! The descriptions made me feel like I was right there, the characters felt well developed, and every time I thought I figured it out, the story twisted in another direction. I’ve already recommended this to friends who love fast paced thrillers.