This is a story of an idyllic happy home and just how quickly things can go to pot. Iris and Gabriel have built a solid and happy home with their daughter, Beth, who is in Greece volunteering at a dog shelter.
Gabriel is on an early morning run and discovers a former student, 18-year-old Charlie, who has fallen into an old limestone quarry. He’s seriously injured, but can mutter a few words before death. Words that are filled with anger and blame. It crushed Gabriel with guilt. He’s presented with a moral dilemma he’s not prepared for. We’ll label this scene the foreshadowing because everything after this point goes downhill quickly.
Laure, a long-time friend, suddenly shows up, angry and distraught. She’s just learned that her husband Pierre has a child out of wedlock. She overstays her welcome quickly, wearing Iris’s clothes, bemoaning her marriage, then worst of all, flirting with the gardener, a man of a very questionable past.
Through all of this, Iris tries to maintain some level of normalcy. She meets their new neighbors, who are a breath of fresh air and a break for everyone’s tension. But Pierre is ignoring his wife, refusing to meet with Gabriel, and Charlie’s mother is asking to meet with Gabriel to discuss Charlie’s last few minutes of life.
What was once idyllic has now become a house of doom and gloom. And through it all, Iris does what is needed to maintain a sense of normalcy. Ignoring all the surrounding calamities, she’s determined to keep her home safe and happy for her family. But at what costs?
Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is February 20, 2024.

The houseguest who never leaves can really be a nightmare and that’s what B.. A. Paris presents in The Guest. Everyone has a secret. Everyone lies. The reader knows some of the truth, but not until The Epilogue is all revealed. I’m not a fan of a wrap up ending, but in this case it was essential.

Pages 293

Curiosity Killed the Cat !!🐈‍⬛

This Book has :

* Drama
* Cringe
* Unlikeable Characters
* Murder
* Strange Friendships
* Surprise Ending

This story centres around Iris & Gabriel navigating through a difficult time when Gabriel is the last one to see a young boy Charlie alive and hears his last dying words .

These words haunt Gabriel heading in to a sort of depression which is affecting their marriage.
When they arrive home after being away for two weeks , they find they have a “ House Guest “ who over welcomes their stay .

Their friend Laure states she is having marital problems with a bomb her husband Pierre just dropped on her .

As the saga continues I found myself as a reader yelling at the pages to tell the characters quite assuming and speculating just come out and ASK the questions!!!

There was so many weak moments from these characters and found them to be hypocrites at times and the story dragged on for me ….but I am glad I stuck around because the ending totally caught me off guard and was a nice surprise 😮

I really think fans of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife , Behind Closed Doors and All the Girls are So Nice Here will enjoy this read .

Not my favorite read but this is just my opinion so don’t let my opinion from stop you from reading this novel from a great author !!

Thank you 🙏 to NetGalley & St.Martins Press for my first advanced digital readers copy to share with me in exchange for my review !!

3.5/5 for this one rounded up for goodreads

So the trouble with reading books by authors, who happened to hold the spot for one of my favorite books (Behind Closed Doors) is that they set the bar so very high. So while this is a 3.5 for me trust me that’s not a bad thing.

This book was packed with unlikable characters, which worked well as I don’t think they were supposed to be very likable.

For a good part of the book I was like OK let’s see where this is going. It was a bit repetitive at times, but came together nicely in the end.

I liked how the author set the scene for the big reveal towards the end. It was atmospheric and you could really get that vibe of why things went the way they did and how people got caught up.

I was surprised that the epilogue was so long. I almost feel like the epilogue could’ve been included into the main text of the story.

For me epilogues, add extra something to the story to tie everything up nicely or to leave you with that extra satisfied feeling. The epilogue here was just so long I think that a lot of that could’ve been included in the bulk of the book rather than the epilogue…and the and the main part of the book could’ve been condensed a bit.

One thing, I think we can all agree on is that Laure was probably the most annoying character of all.

Looking forward to her next book.

B.A. Paris is one of my auto-buy authors. She knows how to write a domestic thriller! I was so excited to get my hands on her upcoming release. The Guest didn’t end up being my favorite thriller from Paris because it is an extremely slow burn. You literally don’t get answers until the very final pages, but if you can be patient, the ending is explosive. I think thriller fans of the unreliable narrator trope will enjoy this one.

I'm not going to lie, I didn't see the point of this book. I felt it lacked a plot, had too many characters, and wasn't what I was expecting from this author. I love B.A. Paris. I love the thrilling twisters, but this just felt like TV drama.
I never felt like I got in the book.
Maybe this is someone else's cup of tea, but it isn't mine.
I hope this review helps. Thank you for the opportunity. Happy Reading and Blessed Be.
Lily Ashtree

Strangely addicting.
Iris and Gabriel may be living in the idyllic countryside, but their lives are about to take a tumultuous turn.
Opening their front door, the couple are shocked to find a woman who appears to have made herself quite at home while Iris and Gabriel were away. As it turns out, it's their long-time friend Laure from France. Recently having left her husband, she was desperate and needed a warm, inviting home to hideaway. Now weeks have turned into months and it seems Laure has no intention of moving on anytime soon.
I can't say that I liked any of the characters involved. They all became mildly annoying.
But at the same time I couldn't step away from this book, picking it up any time I had a spare moment.
Loved the twist at the end!

This was a bit slow burning to start, but it did pick up. It is a true psychological thriller involving a couple and their married friends. Not sure that I am happy with this book as it is my first read by B.A. Paris and everyone raves about how good the books are; I am just hoping this is an outlier to her novels. I plan to read more because I did enjoy the plot twists with this one and think that a lot of thriller readers will enjoy it also!

The story itself is a solid thriller. There were bits that were predictable but of course the ending was a treat but expected.

I'm a big B.A. Paris fan but this one wasn't my favorite. The pacing was a bit slow for me and I didn't find myself sucked into the mystery of it all like I normally am with her prior books. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much NetGalley and St.Martin Press for letting me read this ARC.

This is the second book that I have read by B.A. Paris and again, I’m extremely disappointed! I just don’t see the direction she is trying to go in with her books.

None of the characters were likable, everything was super repetitive and the pacing was just off. Also not a fan of the super long epilogue, like what was the point of that!!

While I may not have enjoyed this one, I’m sure that there will be others that will feel differently and that’s okay! Sorry B.A. Paris but I will not attempt to read anything by you again.

This was another great story by B.A. Paris. While I guessed the "culprit" and motive pretty early on, I was intrigued with how the story would play out. Paris can definitely weave a tale, and the characters are always fully developed and not one-note. Nothing knock your socks off; but this was a worthy read.

this book was so slow. it felt like nothing ws happening and when it did it was so predictable. I had really high hopes because I heard close door was amazing, but I don't think im even going to waste my time unfortunately.

OOO another B.A. Paris book under my "read" list hehe. Sooo, the guest. How would you react to your best friend of multiple years staying at your place without an invite? Although she has a valid reason, she is going through marriage problems with her husband and needs time to herself. BUT she starts to overextend her stay without even asking... and of course while this is all going on, you're dealing with your husband who recently found a body while on a bike ride. So yeah easy to say your marriage isn't going too well considering the grief, guilt, and now your best friend overstaying her welcome in the middle of all this.

I was really wanting some sort of twist or surprise, but I found I was becoming bored as the story continued. I didn't really care to finish it because it felt bleh. There was the whodunit type of questions in my head throughout the book, but even after finding out I was kinda like "oh okay" well then.

Characters were okay in this book, I can't say I really related to any of them and found some obnoxious (mostly the best friend oop). The plotline was too simple for my liking, with extra details added that wasn't exactly adding anything for me.


okay, sadly I've come to realize that I think most of her books are more so domestic thrillers and I'm starting to notice that I don't necessarily like that. I don't know, this one just fell short of really providing me much oofph

This book had taken me by surprise. Although I felt the beginning had a slow start the several murders that happened without really grappled my attention and kept me hooked till the last word.

When Iris and Gabriel return from their holiday, they're surprised to find their friend Laure living in their house. She has left her husband for fathering another child and would like to stay with them until it is sorted out. But even the best of friends can outstay their welcome.
After several "accidental" deaths and a murder come to light, Iris and Gabriel realize that they've found themselves in entangled in a spiderweb of lies, only no one is quite sure whose doing the spinning.
This story starts off pretty ordinary. Iris and Esme are just your average couple living in a quiet and mundane small town until a terrible tragedy occurs. But then there's another....and another. With no real link between these deaths, this couple is stunned at how bad their luck must be to be surrounded by this all.
Of course the reader knows that there aren't any coincidences. Someone has a secret they don't want coming out. A secret to kill for.
B.A. Paris is once again the queen of domestic thrillers with titles such as The Therapist and Behind Closed Doors. She will again throw you through a loop and you'll have no idea what's hit you until the very end.

I am usually a big BA Paris fan and will always pick up the latest. BA Paris books are usually the perfect mix of pacing, suspense, and twists.

This one wasn't my favorite. I felt like the book dragged and the pacing was off for me. I found myself bored through the first 65%. Also, I guessed the twists too early. I would skip this one and go to some of the back list books.

Thank you to Netgally & St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy.

I gave this book two tries. The first I couldn't make it through the prologue without getting bored so I decided to re-shelve it and try again in a few weeks.

I wish I hadn't.

The book was boring and redundant. We know Beth is taking a gap year. We know Joseph was fired from his jobs due to drinking. We know Gabriel feels guilty about Charlie's last words. You don't have to repeat it in every chapter.

None of the characters had any redeemable qualities, and I forgot about them as soon as I finished the book.

And this may be personal opinion, but I am not a fan of books that have long epilogues explaining the twists. I dunno.

This book was not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this early read. Well..how do you give feedback for this this one??? I liked it and I loved how it and I liked how it was written. The book has the everyday mundane life parts in it and it also had the shocking parts in. It as well. This is a. Book that I feel if you give too much it will pull people away from reading it. It is worth the read, go and give it a read.

The epilogue was really satisfying and I loved the major twist! I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the pacing was a little off for me. I appreciate the opportunity to review the advance copy of this book.