The Guest List

I’m sure you’ve heard of The Guest List by Lucy Foley or at least seen another review for it elsewhere. It was a highly anticipated fifth book by the British author that came out a few months ago. Maybe I’m late to the bandwagon, but it was talked about so much and advertised so excessively that I waited to read this. I didn’t want the experience of reading Foley’s work to be overshadowed by the hype on social media. Personally, I have not read her other books yet. I only discovered this novel because I am an avid Book of the Month member, and this book piqued my interest. 

One thing that will always draw me in is reading a book by an author who is native to another country. I love learning phrases that are commonplace in other places, little things that make you think just a little more. Another thing that drew me in was the setting of the island, so far away from the mainland with quite the list of important people, all of whom know each other in some way or other. It just exuded such an Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None vibe. 

Foley successfully creates several different personalities and maintains their distinct voices throughout. This is an impressive feat, not only because of the multiple voices but because it’s particularly hard to write as both genders. Typically, authors will stick to only female voices or only male voices. Foley manages to write both gender voices, and it’s entirely believable. 

Foley masterfully writes the island from multiple sets of eyes, those familiar with the setting and those who have never set foot on the island before. They seem quite the mismatched group of people to be on a small island together amidst a raging storm. Any mystery or thriller reader can easily say that the worst thing in any novel is a predictable ending. Although pieces of Foley’s story are a little expected, there is just enough of an unforeseeable twist at the end that it really was just the perfect buttercream frosting on the wedding cake.