I was lucky enough to receive an ebook AND audio for this advanced copy. I loved having the option for both because I almost never had to set the story down.

I’m not sure how to go about this review without leaving little spoiler bread crumbs everywhere but I shall try! The blurb made this one seem like a complex and fast paced thriller. However, I found this to be a very easy to read slowwww burn. Luckily, I am coming off of back-to-back holiday romcoms so my “thrills” standards were set low. Speaking of romance, we’ve all become acquainted with the term “closed door” on here, yeah? Well this was a “closed door” thriller. Chapters would end and the next chapter would pick up during the aftermath of a huge plot point. It did keep me hooked for answers though! It’s not until the epilogue that the “door” is kicked opened and you get all the details.

This was a wild ride. This was a highly anticipated book that I could not wait. There were twists that I did not see coming. It is a bit slow to start, but keep pushing though. This is not my favorite by B.A. Paris, but still a good read. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a copy of this book. 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of B.A. Paris’ latest, The Guest.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This book fell flat for me. It dragged on and on, there was no “thrill” in it for me. I couldn’t stand any of the characters, none of them were likable or possessed any redeeming qualities. The “twist” wasn’t really that surprising. This made me sad, because I’ve liked several of the last BA Paris novels. If you’re new to this author, maybe skip this one and go with a previous one.

One of Iris and Gabriel’s friends (Laure) show up at their house while they are on vacation. She plans to stay 3 weeks while she is in a rift with her husband, Pierre. 3 weeks turn into more and things get more complicated between Gabriel experiencing depreciation, the gardener (Joseph) moving into the village and the new neighbors (Hugh and Esme).

I felt like the storyline was slow, and I had trouble deducing what the plot was. The end helped to tie it all up. My mind was blown.

Thank you to B.A. Paris, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC copy.

Another clever twisty turny domestic thriller from B.A. Paris. I read this one in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down, I needed to know who dunnit!!

The Guest by B.A. Paris
Pub date: February 20, 2024
Read by: Emily Joyce
Duration: 8H 14M

I both read and listened to The Guest by B.A. Paris, one of my favorite psychological thriller writers, and while this was more of a slow burn domestic suspense, I enjoyed it immensely.

Iris and Gabriel are close friends with Pierre and Laure; Iris & Gabriel living a quiet life in the British countryside while Iris and Gabriel reside in Paris. This hasn’t stopped them from vacationing together and swapping keys, and Pierre and Laure are God Parents to Iris & Gabriel’s college aged daughter, Beth.

When Iris and Gabriel return home after a getaway to help Gabriel cope after finding an acquaintance dead from an accident near their home, they’re surprised to find Laure staying at their home. She is distraught and without Pierre, stating that he’s told her he has just found out that he has a child from a previous one night stand, refusing to give her any more information. Needing to get away from his betrayal, she decides to leave Paris, and Pierre, and spend some time with her good friends.

Things begin to get a bit awkward as Laure extends her stay, making herself completely at home, wearing Iris’s clothing and rearranging her cupboards, just to begin with her level of Iris implied transgressions. When Pierre barely responds to any of their attempts to reach him, things seem even odder to Iris and Gabriel. They’re able to take their mind off some of the weirdness, though, with the addition of new neighbors, Esme and Hugh, and their lodger, gardener, Joseph.

There are so many secrets and this entire story is a tangled web of deceit and lies but from who and why? This is the beauty of getting to the heart of this slow-burn complex story.

This is read impeccably by Emily Joyce, who did a spectacular job with all the characters, moving the story forward. Well done, Emily!

My thanks to @MacMillan.Audio & @StMartinsPress for these gifted copies to review

I am writing a review based on an ARC provided by the publisher. This review is based on the unpublished version and the final product may vary. Let me premise this by saying that I have read all but one of BA Paris' books, so I have a fair sample size for comparison. I generally enjoy her books, but this one fell short for me. While the premise of the story is interesting, the sequence of events that make up the book require the suspension of disbelief. Nearly every scene, relationship and interaction is "too" convenient. Additionally, there are story lines that seem to make no sense and have no place in the book. Some of these are tied up in pretty little bows with an over-complicated epilogue, but the shocking end wasn't shocking enough to compensate for the tedium beforehand.

The guest mostly follows two couples who met on vacation twenty years prior, and have remained fast friends ever since.

Iris and Gabriel return home early from vacation to find their friend Laure inviting herself to stay at their home after a big falling out with her husband Pierre.

I feel sorry for Iris, her husband is in the midst of a mental breakdown and her friend Laure is sucking all the oxygen out of the room with her never ending discussions about Pierre. Not only that but a new mysterious neighbour who’s inserted herself into their lives is harbouring secrets.

Although the book starts off relatively slow as we are getting back story from all the chatacters, once everything clicks into place around the 40% mark, the momentum picks up and we are thrusted into a world of endless lies, deceipts and twists. Everything is connected but we don’t see it until it is all revealed to us. I would recommend sticking with this one as it is worth it in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a copy of this book.

3.5 stars. I am a big fan of B.A. Paris so I was excited to get an early copy of The Guest. This book was a page turner, but not in the way that I expected it to be. I often felt like the plot was slow moving and dragged out. Luckily, the ending made up for it. Definitely not my favorite of hers, but still recommend.

It was a little slow at the start for me but the rest of the book made up for it well. I really enjoyed this. BA Paris is awesome at easy yet suspenseful writing.

I really enjoy reading B.A. Paris books. This book was a slow burn. There is some fantastic plot twists I was completely blindsided by. I thoroughly enjoyed the perspective of each character throughout the book which gives insight to who they are and how they develop in the book. Thank you netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read The Guest!

Iris and Gabriel have just come home from holiday to find their friend Laure staying in there home. Laure has been sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris's clothes, even rearranging items in their home. Laure has left her huband, Pierre, who is Gabriel's best friend.
Iris and Gabriel meet a couple new to the area. Esme and Hugh. but they also brought a land scaper, Joseph. Joseph is hired by Iris and Gabriel to work on their garden. Laure likes Joseph even thou she trying to work things out with Pierre.
Suddenlly Laure is found died, everyone is trying to reach Pierre, only to find him dead, shortly after Laure. Whats going on, and why are Iris and Gabriel in the middle of it. thanks netgalley

B.A. Paris has long been an auto read author for me. This book, definitely emphasized that decision.

Iris and Gabriel are struggling in their marriage. The cracks have grown and they just keep multiplying. When arriving home from a trip, they find their friend Laure in their home. She's distraught with marriage problems of her own. Laure being there sets off a chain of events that grows by the second. All the cracks are now craters. The people around them are falling apart. Where will it end?

This book was fantastic. Fast pacing, page turning, and thrilling. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Let me start by saying that B.A. Paris is one of my favorite authors. After discovering Behind Closed Doors, I preceded to binge her entire backlist within a long weekend. While this one had me hooked from the start, and kept me highly entertained throughout, the ending fell flat for me.

Paris does a fantastic job of developing each of these characters and creating a well layered and complex plot line. At times I felt as though I knew these characters, that they could be my neighbors. I was glued to the pages, flipping (or in my case tapping) as quickly as I could, so eager to know what exactly had happened. This entertainment factor is the strongest aspect of The Guest.

While the story itself is engaging, my issue is in the detail. I really appreciate when authors take the time to lay the breadcrumbs throughout the story, and whether or not you are able to see them in real time, you can find them when you go back and look. Unfortunately, there were a few big twists here, all that came at the end of the story, and none of which seemed to have been plotted or hinted previously in the story.

And yet with all of that said, I still think this is a fun, bingeable thriller that will keep your attention until the final page.

Read if you like:
•domestic suspense
•psychological thriller
•dual timeline
•single POV
•bingeable books
•Katherine Faulkner

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies.

#StMartins #TheGuest #BAParis



Laure is the guest who won't leave. She leaves her husband to stay with Iris and Gabriel. So many secrets and lies in this book.

This was a quick read. A domestic thriller mystery that kept me flipping Kindle pages until the end.

The reader will want to find out the mystery and secrets. None of the characters were likeable. The story itself was enjoyable and thrilling.

I would recommend this to readers who like the author s other books or domestic thrillers.

I will be selling this at the store.

Highly recommended

Thank you :Net Galley the publisher and author

The Guest 🚪

This book was spinechilling, in the best of ways! It was filled with twisted and turns that will definitely keep the reader engaged while trying to figure out who they can trust. Both of the narrators seem a little bit suspicious, but the most suspicious is the friend Laure who just shows up in their house and almost seems like she’s trying to act as Gabriel’s wife. I was honestly expecting that she would try and murder Iris to take her place as his wife because of her husband having an affair and a secret child. The twist at the end was completely unexpected and the author did an amazing job, making the narrator seem reliable, even though she turned out to not be!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

OK wow this book started with a literal bang and the secrets kept rolling.
Everyone's lives were so intertwined. As more and more connections were revealed the ride just kept getting wilder.
There was so much going on with all the various plot points that I almost forgot about a lot of major moments until they resurfaced later. Example: Pierre's secret child and Laurel's fate. Just completely slipped my mind, which is strange for me. At the same time this is what I really loved about this book. With all of the craziness happening my mind didn't have time to dwell on every little thing and figure out what the twists would be.
A wild ride for sure.

This book was a fairly easy read because of the short chapters. I feel like these shorter chaptered books are usually page turners but this was more of a slow burn. The characters were all quite obnoxious, and while I don’t mind a cast of villains, these characters seemed to be insufferable and unrelatable for no real reason. The twists at the end were unexpected and I would have loved more of that fast-paced unexpectedness from the rest of the book.

How about that ending!?! Wowza, I did not see that coming!

Suddenly Iris and Gabriel suddenly have a lot occurring in their lives. Gabriel finds a young man who has had a terrible accident and hears the young man's last words, leaving Gabriel with a terrible burden. This burden affects him greatly. Then their friend Laure, from Paris, arrives and moves in after telling them that Pierre, her husband informed her that he had fathered a child with another woman. They tell Laure that she can stay as long as she needs, but she soon becomes a tad bit annoying. Laur begins wearing Iris' clothing, following her around and asking questions about the young man's death. Then there are the new young neighbors and a handsome gardener thrown into the mix.

The characters in this book deal with all kinds of issues: depression, distance in a marriage, learning a partner has a secret child, loneliness, and lack of boundaries to name a few. Iris and Gabriel want to help Laure, but she soon outstays her welcome. She makes herself a little too much at home. Iris and Gabriel want to help but they also want her out but feel bad so don't ask her to leave. It sucks when one feels uncomfortable in their own home. I thought the author did a great job showing their annoyance and discomfort with their guest.

I thought the book was done at one point and was shocked to see there was more to go. Well hold on to your hats because the ending was a shocker! I did not see that coming at all! I wish that the book was that way the entire book through. This was an enjoyable book, but I wasn't completely wowed until the ending I mentioned. There is a lot of "talk" and scenes that didn't feel necessary. Plus, parts were slow and slow, and I do not get along.

Plus, the characters were not likeable or engaging. I found myself feeling meh about some of them. Having said that, I was invested enough to want to know how the book was going to end and for me, the final reveal stole the show and saved the book.

Although this was not my favorite book by B.A. Paris, I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.


Dramatic and well written.

3/5

I usually love B.A. Paris’s books but this one was just okay. The ending is great and makes me glad I stuck with the book. It’s a little twisted and a great ending to the strong. Iris and Gabriel are great characters and I didn’t see some of the twists coming.

I feel like it lagged at some parts but I’m glad I kept with it for the ending!