This story really kept me guessing and wanting to read more. I thought the suspense was built up very nicely. There are a lot of characters, but I found it easy to follow each character, and was never confused about what was going on. However, I just did not like how it all wrapped up in the end. But I still think this is a very suspenseful book, and I know our patrons will really enjoy it. I think this book would be better to listen to rather than read.

The Breakdown was one of my favorites when it came out, so I was really excited to get this arc. Unfortunately, The Guest didn't work as well for me. It's a slow burn domestic drama with lots of secrets, but the pacing was a bit too slow and not intriguing enough. The characters were all a little odd and unlikeable, but the relationships between them (and their deterioration) were well done. A lot of the mysteries seem resolved along the way until the final twist. I'm not sure how I feel about the reveal, or epilogue confession style reveals in general. Overall, an okay read but a bit slow.

CW: murder, suicide, infidelity, alcoholism

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advance review copy of this book.

what a great book and i loved reading this author. . loved the romance and how the couple came to be. Loved that they worked through their issues and found love. Loved this mystery

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I've read several books by this author and overall I feel like this fell a bit short of my expectations. I was irritated with Lauren for taking over Iris's life and the way Iris and Gabriel put up with it. There were too many conversations between Gabriel and Iris about their feelings towards Lauren, however, they just tolerated her. Lots of questions as to why Pierre, Lauren's husband. Why isn't he working to patch things up with Lauren? Their new friends that moved nearby and their guest added some much needed mystery. Overall I really enjoyed this book I'd have liked to have seen a bit more conflict with Iris having to deal with Lauren.

I was looking forward to reading this book and preordered it about a year ago. B.A Paris has sucked me in since Behind Closed Doors, and I have read all of her books. This book however was slow to start, and didn't pick up much in the middle. Iris and Gabriel have a troubled marriage after Gabriel witnesses a boys death and when return from vacation, their friend Laure is in their house. Laure is unlikeable from the beginning and overstays her welcome. Laure's husband Pierre has cheated on her and has fathered a daughter. Pierre has mysteriously not been answering Gabriel or Laure's phone calls and isn't confessing to his wrong doings. Gabriel and Iris find comfort in their new neighbors and form a quick friendship. The book was slow and took forever to get to the epilogue. The epilogue was fantastic and worth finishing the book for. It was true BA Paris writing and kept me wanting more! All in all it was an ok book but the ending will have me preordering her next book.

I’m not really sure that I would categorize this book as a thriller. It was certainly mysterious, and I didn’t know how all of the storylines would come together, but I didn’t find it particularly “thrilling”. I was very surprised by the twist, however I found the ending very abrupt and almost confusing compared to the rest of the book. The pacing felt a little off. It was still an enjoyable read, and I look forward to more by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book.

I could not put The Guest down! B.A. Paris is one of my favorite mystery/thriller authors, and I was hooked from the get-go with this one. And there was a major twist that totally blind-sided me. (I just love when that happens in books!) Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for this arc. I'm a huge fan of B.A. Paris, but this one is not a favorite.

Maybe I've read too many psychological thrillers but there were so many "fillers" that were irrelevant and only meant to confuse the reader, so they couldn't guess the twist.

There were a few times, I felt conversations wouldn't have taken place in the manner they did, felt too jaded, or the person would never have brushed the comment away. It's only after reading the epilogue, which is the longest chapter, that you learn everything, but the foreshadowing didn't sure well with me. I feel that if the secrets were revealed throughout the story it would have read better and actions of characters would have made more sense.

I'm a fan of B.A. Paris and was excited over receiving the arc of The Guest. It was a good read but lacked some of the suspense as her other works. It was a little too slow to get to the exciting stuff. I kept asking myself "where's the mystery here?". But then that ending tho! Mind blowing! I just wish it had been that way throughout the book.

I received this text as an advanced copy by NetGalley.

The Guest is Laure, who unexpectedly is at Iris and Gabriel's house when they get back from their vacation. She showed up unannounced and with news. She has left her husband, Pierre, after finding out that he has a daughter. This turns out to be a HUGE deals since the two couples are close friends. As Iris and Gabriel attempt to console Laure and assure her that despite appearances, her marriage is not necessarily over - Pierre's silence over the passing weeks begins to worry them all.

After Laure attempts a visit to talk and Gabriel does the same, it appears that Pierre just wants to be left alone to figure it out on his own. So, Laure decides to move on with her life and quickly finds somebody new to occupy her time. This upsets her friends, who believe she may be moving too quick, despite what Pierre may have done to cause their marriage to end.

Iris and Gabriel become increasingly suspicious about the whereabouts of Pierre as time continues to pass and they still haven't heard from him. But now Laure has fallen for somebody whom also has a questionable past. Is it a coincidence that Laure and Joseph crossed paths at their house? Or was it planned all along?

This was a pretty good read, lots of twists and turns. However, I wasn’t as invested in this one as some of her others. It was still enjoyable and comes with a shocking ending.

This story has a lot of surprises and shocks that I did not figure out. Iris and Gabriel live in England and good friends Laure and Pierre live in Paris. Iris and Gabriel return from a brief vacation to find Laure in their home, angry at Pierre and settling in for a long stay. By the end there are multiple deaths and mysterious behaviors that lead to quite an earth-shattering epilogue that explains everything. I did get a bit impatient towards the end, trying to fit together all the pieces, but overall, I enjoyed the suspense. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC.

Thank you Netgalley, St-Martin’s Press and B.A. Paris.
This mystery was slightly too long for me, but I enjoyed the beginning and the end.
Secrets over secrets.
Laure drama was more than I could take.
Overall rating 3 stars

The Guest is a domestic drama about a house guest who won't leave and secrets between spouses. It took a while for the tension to build. Up until about the 60% mark, the drama between Gabriel, Iris, and Laure seemed repetitive and drawn out. The ending was satisfying but the delivery style of the reveal wasn’t my favorite. I love B.A. Paris, I’m sad this one didn’t work for me!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was exactly what I’ve come to expect from BA Paris: a quick read full of twists! I read The Guest in a day and really enjoyed the pacing as well as the characters. There were lots of secrets that were revealed that I wasn’t expecting!

Very good book! I was not expecting the ending! BA Paris never disappoints! I am happy with everything she has written! It would indeed be very frustrating to have your friend stay with you for weeks and not leave!

Thank you @macmillan.audio @netgalley for a copy of this book. This is a story about Iris and Gabe who lives in England and their long time friend, Laure, stays with them because she has a fight with her husband, Pierre. I found the story's pacing a bit slow and was wondering where the story was leading to. I thought Paris did a great job and making you wonder what Laure was doing and what she was up to and question her motives. I don't know how I feel about story where the villan tells you what happens rather then revealed in the story.

B. A. Paris does it again! Secrets have a way of always coming out. In typical Paris fashion, the twist will leave you shocked.

🔑THE GUEST🔑
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝙳𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛
𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙵𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝟸𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
𝙼𝚢 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝟹.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...Laure has walked out on her husband after a confession of an affair & secret child. She goes to stay with Iris & Gabriel(mutual friends), but her unpredictable-ness is starting to take its toll on her hosts.

𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜...Domestic thrillers are so my jam so I was excited about this one. While it started slow, I still wanted to know more. Then the slow burn just got to be a bit too slow & I didn’t like the characters at all! This usually doesn’t matter in thrillers, but I needed to root for somebody, ya know?!?! I also could not figure out why they let this guest stay for this long for a strange reason(no spoilers) …With all that said, the ending was pretty friggin great with a unique delivery and for that it upped my rating. I had the advanced copy in both audio & kindle & thought the narrator was superb on the audio. 🎧Her accent & voices was 👌.

B.A. Paris is so good at writing a domestic thriller.

We follow Gabriel and his wife iris. They are going through a hard time, as Gabriel’s dog and father have recently died, and he stumped upon a teenager who was minutes away from death, being with him as he died and hearing his last words. He hasn’t been the same since.

Upon returning from vacation, the couple find their friend Laure in their home. She has left her husband Pierre, because he states he had a one night stand years ago and fathered a child. She has brought her troubles to Iris and Gabriel.

As life continues, Iris meets a new couple down the street, pregnant Esme and her husband Hugh and their live in gardener/friend Joseph.

There is mystery woven throughout the story and many unanswered questions. Paris sets a great tense feeling throughout the book making us want to read on to see what would be revealed.

Leaving it at that, or I can also say SPOILER ALERT. This is a story that completely turns on its head and becomes something totally different in the epilogue. Everything is thoroughly explained with the full truth, not just the truths we learn about in the story, and it gives us an entirely different outlook. Definitely a fun twist tying everything together.

Thank you B.A.!