First I'd like to thank NetGalley for lending The Guest to me. I am a big fan of B.A. Paris and have read Behind Closed Doors, The Therapist and Bring Me Back. I really enjoyed this book and did not see the plot twist at the end.

A twisty psychological thriller that will hold you in suspense from the beginning.
When Laure, a family friend, comes to stay with Iris and her husband then extended stay begins to add more turmoil to their marriage. Secrets and lies from the past and present will draw you in keeping you on the edge of your seat. The ending alone is such a shock for that alone you need to read this asap.

This book is incredibly slow. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but not much happens for the first 50 to 60%. Even with some twists at the end, I found myself dissatisfied. It was well written, and even though many dramatic things happen, the way it is told makes it seem rather doll. I also did not like most of the characters.

This was a slow burn but once it picked up, it did not disappoint. If you're a fan of her other works then you should enjoy this one. When I first started reading this book, I will admit that I did have trouble keeping up with all the different names/characters. There aren’t that many characters, but there are three main couples that are dealt with. Two of the couples, Iris & Gabriel, and Laure & Pierre are our two main couples of focus. Then we have the new neighbors who moved into the village, Esme & Hugh (okay- got it?). Once I had everybody situated, this book was smooth sailing…

This story starts off with Laure being an uninvited houseguest at Iris and Gabriel’s home. Laure and her husband Pierre are taking some time away from each other, and Laure is very distraught and needy. What should have only been a three week stay turns into much longer (Umm- that’s when I would have put my foot down and told her to go, but whatever).

Also, during Laure’s stay with Iris and Gabriel, we find that Gabriel is going through some personal crisis of his own. There have been some deaths in his family and in the community, and he has had to take some time off to grieve.

This was a good book. An interesting concept. Friendships, secrets and lies.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book, which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: February 20, 2024.

A surprise visit from a friend turns a couples life upside down. A lovers spat has Laure staying with Gabriel and Iris indefinitely. A twist at the end that genuinely shocked me. I found this to be a slow read and very hard to get into.

I have read every book by B.A. Paris and was so excited to read this new one. She hooked me from her very first novel, Behind Closed Doors. If you haven’t read that one yet, I highly recommend!

This one was a great suspense/drama/mystery about a friend coming to stay with them. Loved how the last chapter wrapped it all up and explained the details. I definitely enjoyed the book even though I didn’t really connect with any of the main characters. Will always look forward to a good book by this author.! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this fantastic ARC.

Iris and Gabriel are a couple who have been friends for 20 years with another married couple named Pierre and Laure. Secrets, betrayals, and lies are abundant in this story. I wasn’t expecting the ending at all. I tried to guess through the whole book who was behind all of the drama, and I was completely wrong. I really enjoyed this book and as always, I will be reading all the other BA Paris books that come out in the future!

I’ve been a fan of B. A. Paris since reading my first book of hers, Behind Closed Doors. I was anxiously awaiting her newest, The Guest, and when I was approved for an ARC, I dove right in. The storyline was interesting…exploring the relationship of the main characters, Iris & Gabriel with their new friends, Esme and Hugh, and also their longtime friends, Laure & Pierre, and watching as one of the couples’ relationship crumbles.

The story gets going after the first chapter, 6 months earlier. Iris & Gabriel come home from holiday to find their good friend, Laure in their home. Laure explains that she has left Pierre, as he has confessed to her that he has fathered a child with someone else. Iris & Gabriel provide support for her while also trying to sort out what happened. Repeated attempts to reach Pierre have failed, and Laure’s stay with her friends seems to be with no real plan to leave anytime soon.

Enter new friends, Esme & Hugh. Hugh is 20 years older than Esme, and they are expecting their first child together. When Iris first meets Esme, she also learns they employ a gardener, Joseph, and knowing they need some work done at their cottage, asks if he can work for them as well. Gabriel has promised their 20 yr old daughter, Beth, that he would bring the dilapidated walled garden behind their cottage back to life for her, and employs Joseph to help.

Without giving spoilers, Joseph seems to have a closer relationship with Esme than appropriate. He also appears to be interested in Laure. After an unexpected death, suspicions abound, and at times, some of them seem quite ludicrous. Unfortunately, the story really dragged after this, but still left me intrigued, hoping for a shocking revelation along the way. When more tragedy strikes, I started piecing together who was going to be next, still hoping for a gangbuster reveal in the end.

I felt like there were so many missed opportunities to weave this into a shocking ending, but it just went off the rails for me. I found myself wanting to give up about 3/4 of the way through, but kept going as I was still hoping for a good twist in the end. I’m sad that it never came. It wasn’t until the epilogue that everything was laid out in such a way that it felt rushed and very confusing. Almost like the entire book was recapped and every little scene explained. And the characters were all so flat that I just couldn’t form any desire to care about any of them.

I’m still a fan of B. A. Paris, but this was not her best, in my humble opinion. It had great potential, but just never delivered.

Some of BA Paris’s books are on my list of favorite thrillers, but this one fell flat for me. The characters don’t actually do anything except talk about the hard times they’re going through. Then the final chapter was supposed to reveal a shocking twist, but it was just a long winded explanation of what that character was actually doing throughout the whole book. I think I might have liked it more if I didn’t have such high expectations based on the author’s other books.

An intriguing domestic thriller for sure. The pacing and writing were a bit clunky, however it did keep me honed in pretty much the entire time. And definitely harbored a twist I did not see coming! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the ARC! A solid 3.5 stars rounded up.

This was more of a 3.5 star read for me. I really liked the quick pacing of the book. While there were a few different things going on here, I found the plot a bit predictable. Things are never as easy as they seem!

This one is absolutely worth the read!

This review was also published on Goodreads.

The Guest is another captivating thriller by B.A. Paris. A bicycle accident occurs in a nearby quarry and Gabriel finds the tragic event and stays with the young man while he passes away. This haunts him and makes it so that he is unable to work, and takes a leave. This event not only affects him, but also, his wife, Iris, who is trying to be understanding and assist Gabriel with his trauma of witnessing this event. In the midst of all of this, they are strapped with an unexpected houseguest, Laure. Laure unexpectedly inhabits the home of Iris and Gabriel as they are away. Upon their return, Laure shares the dismaying information of the fracture of her relationship with Pierre. Welcoming hosts, Gabriel and Iris invite Laure to stay as long as necessary, however, unbeknownst to them, is how long her stay actually will end up being. As Laure becomes more intwined in the household, unsettling events occur. Will Gabriel be able to overcome his trauma observing the death of a young man? What did happen between Laure and Pierre? Why has Laure taken up residence for such a long time in her friends’ home and why is she so interested in the death of the bicyclist? There are so many questions circling and twists that will occur. The story was captivating, thrilling, and concise. I would expect nothing less from B.A. Paris. The character development was just right, and I really got to “know” the main characters. As I have with her other books, I highly recommend this novel by B.A. Paris. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Guest is like a really bad soap opera. Nothing happens, but also a lot happens and most of the time I wasn’t even sure what the story was or where it was going.

In all honesty it would have been 2 stars except for the fact I did not see the last chapter coming at all. Sorry BA Paris, this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Let me start by saying that I love B.A. Paris books. Whenever anyone asks me for a list of psychological thriller authors I recommend, B.A. Paris is always on the list. Her books are smart, unique, thrilling page-turners. Except for this book which I found tedious, boring, and uninspired. The characters were all terrible. Most of the book is people lying around whining about the "rough time" they've had recently. Then that character will go recap the same whining to another character, and we get to hear the same complaints again.

No one in this book works other than the gardener, Joseph. Everyone else is either on leave or apparently has a job they don't do, again "because of all they have been through recently." The daughter is annoying, the houseguest is annoying, the three main characters - you guessed it, annoying. Even the title of the book is uninspired and boring.

I will say that the last 15% of the book was pretty good, and the twist did get me, and for that I increased the rating by 1 star. The first 60% of this book is so painfully boring, I found myself not wanting to read. I would skip this one, but highly recommend The Breakdown if you are looking for a great B.A. Paris read.

Special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Guest went so far off base what I expected it to be and in this case it’s very unfortunate. This wasn’t it for me. I was so confused even up to the end reveal which fell flat. Paris’ is a fantastic author but this didn’t work for me.

I think I've given up on Paris' books. I've tried this newest and didn't get far - I always hope to like her thrillers but they fall flat for me. This one started off confusing in parts so I gave up.

This book was a wild ride. Not my favorite of hers (that will always be Behind Closed Doors) but very entertaining nonetheless. Worth picking up for sure!

I honestly had high hopes for this book since I've read a couple others from this author and devoured them! However, this one left me feeling irritated that I spent the amount of time I did reading it. It was very slow until about halfway through the book and I thought I was going to give up. Nothing was happening, the plot was slow and not gripping and the characters were blah. The conversations were forced and up until about 50% I was forcing myself to get through the chapters. I read a few other reviews that said it picked up after about 50% so I'm like okay, I'll give it a chance maybe the twist will be mind blowing and this will all be worth it. It wasn't. The twist was mediocre, and the epilogue spent page after page after page explaining how everything I just read was possible. I've never read such a long epilogue that just told me everything I just read so moral of the story save yourself time by just reading the epilogue.

Gabriel and Iris have gone through some tough times. So have Pierre and Laure. Oh, Hugh and Esme, as well.

This story by BA Paris has wonderful characters, a great pace, and a nice little twist at the end that I did not necessarily see coming!

There is murder, betrayal, obsession, and all the good qualities of a suspenseful read! Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy! Release date is February 2024!

I’ve enjoyed all of B.A. Paris’s books in the past and this one didn’t disappoint, though it probably isn’t my very favorite. This was slower moving and less suspenseful than I was expecting and more of a family drama than I thought. But the twist was on point and it was a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.