Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am huge BA Paris fan and of course The Guest does not disappoint. A twisted psychological thriller where Gabriel, who is out for his morning run, watches as a young man, Charlie, takes his last breath at the bottom of a limestone quarry. Charlie whispered a haunting message to Gabriel which changed him and affected the relationship with people around him, including his wife, Iris. The problem is, Gabriel lied about Charlie’s final words.
Gabriel and Iris take a much needed holiday only to return home and find that someone is living in their house. Their friend Laurie and left her husband and needs a place to stay. abriel and Iris seem to have been living a very simple life but people keep showing up in their lives - like new friends Joseph, Esme and Hugh.
Reader beware (insert smile here) there are red herrings all through this book to misdirect the reader and you may think you know what happened, but keep turning the pages to the jaw dropping conclusion that you will not see coming

This was my first B.A. Paris book that I've read. Though I plan on checking out some of her other books (I have Behind Locked Doors and The Therapist on my bookshelf), I was left wanting more from The Guest.

I found the story and the writing to be rather slow paced and repetitive, especially with the dialogue. Once something happened between two characters, in the following pages one of those characters would pass along the conversation to another person (hope that made sense).

Though it was an interesting twist at the end that I didn't expect, it felt like I was reading a completely different book during the Epilogue.

All in all, not my favorite but planning to read some of her other books.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with ARC of The Guest!

Overall, I feel the book was well written. It was face paced and kept me interested throughout. However, I felt there were too many different scenarios going on. Although the ending did a great job of wrapping everything up nicely I felt it a little too convenient. I would have loved to see more twists sprinkled throughout instead of all thrown together at the end.

Iris and Gabriel live in the British countryside. They have an old friend come stay with them shortly after Gabriel witnessed a tragedy. He is reeling from the trauma of a young boys accident. This book is a slow burn mystery. The plot takes off about halfway through and there a few secrets that you don’t see coming. For me the pacing was too slow and it took too long for everything to come together. I do think for people that like slow burns they will enjoy this book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a total B.A. Paris novel. The intricately woven lives of the characters was well written. Sometimes I did become confused, but that could have just been me. I do get a little tired of rooting for the main character throughout the book and then finding out key moments in their life were purposely left out. Gives me author trust issues. That being said, I was still surprised at the ending.

The Guest is B.A. Paris’ newest psychological thriller that tells the story of couple Iris and Gabriel, a seemingly perfect couple who were enjoying life. Until Gabriel, while out for a run in the quarry, stumbles upon his young 18-year-old neighbor dying after accidentally falling. Gabriel is the only one who receives the neighbor’s last words, and they haunt him.
Upon returning from a getaway that was supposed to help the now troubled couple due to Gabriel's trauma, they come home to good friend Laure staying in their home, reeling from her husband’s recent revelation that he fathered a child outside of their marriage. Laure has made herself quite comfortable with no signs of leaving.
Then enters a new couple in town, who brings with them their gardener with his own secrets.
All of these incidents seem to intertwine with each other throughout this slow burning mystery. There were lots of characters involved in the twisty conclusion.
This was a 3.5*read. Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the E-Arc and the chance to review it!

If you like a book with a lot going on, THIS IS IT!

B.A. Paris has done it again! This story is full of twist and turns, that will have you hooked from page one. I did not see the ending coming and usually I can guess the outcome. But not on this one.

Full of chills and thrills, don't sit on this one!

First I would like to start by saying thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for this ARC I received in exchange for my honest review. I love a few books by this author and was excited to recover this copy early. Sadly this was not for me and it was so unbelievable, that even being fiction I could hardly finish it. The first half is so incredibly slow and not in a slow burn kind of way. It just did not engage me or even just set the story up for something good later to come. I honestly just didn’t care what happened to the characters as I was not able to form any kind of connection with them and the sheer number of dead bodies was eye rolling. I hope someone else enjoys this novel but it did not thrill me.

I will say this book genuinely surprised me - I'm usually pretty good at sniffing out a guilty party early. Well done, B.A. Paris. The beginning of this book also stressed me out, ha! Why do unwanted/uninvited guests hit that stress point so well? The book draws out the suspense. I'm not usually a fan of the post addendum "who done it" but I do think it works well here. An enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW I devoured this book. I was hooked from the very first chapter. I needed to know what was happening ASAP.
The characters in this book were very well thought out. I knew enough about them to care about them and understand their intentions. The secrets each character was hiding made sense for their personalities, which I appreciated.
The last sentence of this book gave me chills. And I actually enjoyed the epilogue! Usually I don't enjoy epilogues that explain word for word what happened, but it worked for this story. Whew, that was a wild ride.
If you're looking for an entertaining domestic thriller, this one is one to check out!

The Guest by B.A. Paris presents a very captivating story about a houseguest who overstays her welcome. Throughout the story I was constantly trying to guess what was happening and I was shocked with the final reveal at the end! The pacing felt a little different than most thrillers, as there weren’t many cliffhangers throughout. Some plot points seemed like they could have been explored further, while others eventually fell flat, but I presume the author did this as a red herring, to keep you guessing. Overall, interesting read! Keep an eye out for this release February 2024! Thank you to Net Galley & St. Martin’s Press for the early copy!

I was super excited to check this one out after reading Behind Closed Doors and this one definitely met my standards! I thought the pacing in this book was super interesting. The beginning gave a lot of background and laid a solid foundation to get me fully invested. I read this one in a day and was very caught of guard by the twist. Would definitely check this out if you like domestic thrillers.

A twisty BA Paris novel. It was not one that you are holding your breath as you read like Behind Closed Doors. This was one that was more like a puzzle where you are given one piece at a time to try to figure out and then you still did not fully see the big picture! It took me a little bit in the beginning to get all of the names straight after the prologue but once it started it was hard to put down. This is one review I feel like I am writing in code because you can't say too much without giving parts of the story or characters away.

Oooh! This was a good one. It absolutely didn't go where I thought it was headed. This one threw me for several loops. And I love an unreliable narrator , and with several viewpoints going it’s even better. At the beginning of the book I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it but a few chapters in I was hooked!

Oh my gosh! This was such a great read! I thought I had figured it out but you are left with a lot of questions so you are never really sure! If you are a fan of B.A. Paris, her new book will not disappoint!

I... oh god. How can I say this in a nice way...

Honestly, the only BA Paris that really ever worked for me was Behind Closed Doors.
yes, I read all her other works.

When I was given a chance to read this (thanks NetGalley), I was ready to dive in to her new work and thought hey maybe this one will be better than the last.

Though this was better than her last book published... this still lack the "edge of my seat" grasp on me.

Any book by B. A. Paris is a no-brainer for me! Though this took me a little while to get into, the plot twist at the end had my jaw on the floor! I was hooked and needed to know what was happening! Definitely a must read!

I love a good twisty plot and B.A. Paris

The book started a little slow for me {with a few characters to keep up with!} but the twists really started in the middle of the book and then I couldn't put it down.

Everyone has secrets - whose is the biggest?

I really liked the idea for this book. You get to know the characters and their secrets. It started off at a good clip but then I felt like it dragged. The only saving grace was the ending.

I am a huge fan of B.A. Paris and I was so excited to dive into this upcoming novel of theirs!

I enjoyed the story but it was not my favorite from
this author. I gave this story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars! I found myself thinking about the characters in this book throughout the day and wishing I was home reading rather than at work!

I am usually pretty good at predicting the ending to thrillers but this one surprised me! I don’t want to spoil the ending but I will say, if you think you figured this one out…I’m guessing you didn’t!

Congrats B.A. Paris and thank you for the opportunity to read this advanced Reader Copy!