BA has been an automatic read for me since Behind Closed Doors, and she always delivers. Addictive and gripping and with an ending that will catch you off guard in the best possible way! Catch BA talking about The Guest -- and giving away copies -- on the Killer Author Club: February 20th at a special time, 4 pm ET. For how to watch, surf to killerauthorclub.com.

The Guest is a typical B.A Paris domestic thriller.. I felt like I had read this book before and had trouble getting into it.

I have been on a B.A Paris kick lately and I usually love their books. The Guest felt like it was all over the place. There were a lot of different plots in the book that either did not feel necessary or they were extremely rushed. Laure is definitely the character you love to hate, that character met that role quite well. Gabriel's character felt like he was lacking a lot. Overall, the book was okay and the ending plot was a bit unexpected, but I felt extremely let down that that was all that happened.

Iris and Gabriel’s marriage is on the rocks, and after they return home from a make-or-break holiday they have a have a surprise house guest, Laure. The atmosphere quickly becomes tense as she oversteps again and again: sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris' clothes, even rearranging the furniture.

Iris and Gabriel's only respite comes in the form of a couple new to town. But with them comes their gardener, who has a checkered past. Soon, secrets from all their pasts will unravel, some more dangerous than they could have known.

My thoughts:
Oh man. I was so freaking excited for this one after loving Behind Closed Doors. I was enjoying it until the last 10% where the book starts to get wrapped up. I don’t like how this book ended. It was like reading two different books, and the whiplash I got from that plot twist was just too jarring for me to jump on board with it.

B.A. Paris has some of my favorite books, especially the Breakdown. She is a queen of domestic thrillers. This one fell a little flat for me just because it was one of the tropes I do not enjoy.


Gabriel and Iris are a couple that seem to have it all. Until one day Gabriel finds a local boy dying at the bottom of a quarry. Working through the trauma of that and the lies he told, it all begins to come to a head when their friend, Laure, shows up unannounced stating her husband has a child with another woman. Who is the other woman? Why can no one get ahold of Laure’s husband, Pierre? And who exactly are the new pregnant couple down the street? As always, B.A. Paris sets the perfect atmosphere for this domestic thriller.


*****SPOILER WARNING*****





The twist was the reader being lied to by the MC, and I don’t enjoy books written like this. I still enjoyed the story overall, just wish it would have ended a little differently. B.A. Paris is still an auto read author for me.

3.5/5

The Guest is about a friend who has overstayed her welcome, for the characters and myself. The pacing was slow and kind of boring at times. The twist was great but I was actually disappointed with how the ending was delivered. It was more of “well let me tell you what happened” instead of reader unfolding the story for themselves.

Definitely hooked from the beginning! Can’t wait to get the physical copy. Amazing read. Definitely will be reading more from this author..

The Guest by B. A. Paris is a slow burn mystery that is set in beautiful England! I struggled to get into this book and felt like it did not pick up until the last 25%. I will say I did not expect the twist and was surprised how things turned out!

When Gabriel finds a young man suffering from a tragic accident and stays with him until his last breath, he is left with a guilty burden and steps away from practicing as a doctor. His beloved wife Iris tries to help him cope and get back to his old self. They unexpectedly have a visit from their long time friend Laure. They open their arms and doors for her but things begin to seem suspicious with Laure’s actions and words. Iris and Gabriel become quick friends with a magnetic couple down the street who are expecting their first child. Iris and Gabriel hire their gardener to help with Gabriel’s project but have they made a mistake in hiring this stranger and bringing him into their home? While Laure’s marriage is on the rocks, can Gabriel and Iris’ marriage survive as well?

Thank you NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this ARC of The Guest! Publish date is February 20, 2024 🖤

Another great book by B. A. Paris! I have read many books by this author and I can say this one does not disappoint. The idea of having your best friend staying with you for weeks and not being able to get ahold of her husband kept me guessing what in the world was going on? The beginning captured my attention immediately and the ending was a surprise I didn’t see coming. A great book by a great author!

Iris and Gabriel have been married for 20 years. They have a grown daughter who is enjoying her gap year. Things are great until Gabriel experiences a traumatic event that he has a hard time sharing details of with anyone and it begins to eat at him. To add to the stress, their best friends Laure and Pierre are having issues and Laure shows up to stay with them while they sort through their mess. Enter Esme and Hugh, new neighbors with a hot gardener and you have the perfect storm for some drama as secrets start to emerge and destroy.

I was on the verge of really being disappointed with one of BA Paris’ books, but then near the end there came total redemption. Things all came together to make perfect sense and I had no clue how that would be possible. Well done!

The Guest-family, friend and neighbor drama. This ended up coming together in the epilogue. Lots of build up that still left questions in the “Esme, Hugh’s and Joesph’s “ relationship. The charter development was a miss for me. A quick struggle of a read.

I want to start off by saying B.A. Paris is an auto buy author for me. That said this wasn’t one of my favorites. I love a domestic thriller but this just didn’t hit the mark for me. It was a slow start for me and took me awhile to become invested and all the drama with Laure was a bit much. I found all the characters unlikable and while that’s sometimes a plus in a thriller, it just left me a little annoyed. It was also somewhat hard to keep track of all the subplots which left me struggling to try to piece together how they could all be connected. I did love the ending and didn’t see it coming. Thankfully the epilogue brought everything together and tied up all the loose ends.

This book was for sure a quick read/listen! I did become so tired of Laure, and I wanted her to go back home! She was annoying me, lol. However, the end of the book SHOCKED me! This wasn't my favorite work by BA Paris, but I still really enjoyed it. I kept wanting to listen to find out how everything actually played out. Thank you, Netgalley for this audio-book ARC!

Iris and Gabriel return home from a vacation to find that their close friend, Laure, has moved in unannounced after discovering that her partner, Pierre, was keeping a big secret. Iris and Gabriel feel too guilty to ask her to leave at such a difficult time in her life, and what was supposed to be a few weeks of living with them turns into several months. It doesn't take long for things to get uncomfortable between the group as more drama and secrets unfold, and Laure long overstays her welcome.

The pacing of this book was really slow. It wasn't until halfway through that things started to pick up and the plot became more interesting. The short chapters helped me stick with it. I had a harder time connecting with the characters and grew tired of them having the same conversations over and over again. I was able to predict parts of the ending, but I could see it catching others off guard. B.A. Paris is always an automatic read for me, but I felt like this one missed the mark. It was still a good read, and I recommend it to others; it just differed from the thriller I expected. Overall, I give it 3.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Gabriel and Iris are doing well in their life and marriage. They have a daughter currently working in Greece. However, there is something greatly bothering Gabriel. Arriving home from the trip, they discover that their good friend Laure is staying in their home. As they are good friends with Laure and her husband Pierre, the couple each has keys to one another's homes.

Laure tells Iris that she will be there for an indefinite period of time, and that she has found out something about her husband that makes her unsure if she wants to stay married to Pierre. Laure soon becomes the guest who never leaves.

Meanwhile, Iris wants Gabriel to get back to his jovial self. She knows what is bothering him, but not to the full extent. As Iris and Gabriel are navigating their lives, Laure's life is topsy turvy and what happens to her affects Iris and Gabriel.

While I have enjoyed many of B. A. Paris's books, this one didn't Wow me. I was interested in the drama, but that is what it was, drama. Iris and Gabriel's relationship. Lore and Pierre's fractured relationship. Other relationships. Nonetheless, Paris is a must-read for me and I look forward to her next book.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Parish has yet again left my jaw on the floor! I love the writing style, the "who done it" suspense and those twists keep coming. Faced paced page turner I could NOT put down! Well done!

The Guest is a riveting domestic thriller where marriages and friendships are intertwined with toxicity, secrets and lies. The story revolves around the shaky marriage of Iris and Gabriel, who return from a trip to find an unexpected guest, close friend Laure. Laure has left her husband Pierre back home in Paris because he has revealed a past affair that resulted in a child. The longer Laure overstays her welcome, the more tension filled the household becomes, and her motives quickly become questionable when Pierre is no where to be found and won’t answer his calls. The only saving grace is the newly formed friendship of Esme and Hugh, a new couple in town and their gardener Joseph who has a troubling past. This is a slow burn that takes the reader in many directions, and is a great exploration of trauma, and fractured relationships. I loved the English countryside setting, and the affluent lives of the characters. B.A Paris did an excellent job creating complex, unlikeable characters whose choices result in dire consequences. I enjoyed the various twists in the book especially the satisfying ending.

My rating 4 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC that will be released February 20 2024.

I’ve seen B.A. Paris books around quite a bit but this is the first I’ve read, so I was excited to dive into a new author (for me)!

The story kept me guessing throughout and I did not figure out the ending until I was reading it, which I LOVE because I’m constantly trying to figure out what’s going on the entire time. It was a little slow at times, but I still flew through the book.

Laure’s character made me physically angry which is always a testament to how well a character is written. I enjoyed the writing style a lot, it was easy to read and the chapters were short (hallelujah!!).

Though I enjoyed the story and it kept me guessing, it just seemed like we read a semi-slow story and then the explanation was at the end in a large clump. Still, I was NOT expecting that ending which is hard for me because I’m constantly trying to figure things out before they happen and I pretty much guessed everyone and everything except for what actually happened! Kudos!

I definitely plan to read more BA Paris books in the future because I flew through this one!

B.A. Paris is one of my favorite authors. I love the complexity of the characters. The storyline was multilayered and kept me guessing until the end.

This is the first book from B.A. Paris and I can tell you right now that I am a fan for life. I was intrigued from the first chapter.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and sympathized with Iris throughout the book. I was just as annoyed and frustrated with Laure.

I was lost with the ending of the book. Then came the Epilogue... I never saw that coming. Say what? The conclusion of the story was great!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy.