Ahh return of the book club!
You would think that lockdown after lockdown would provide the perfect excuse to indulge in more time for reading, but somehow it did the opposite. Between studying, working and babies, myself and Vanille pretty much put book club on hiatus. However, we are rolling into 2022 ready for more reading and our book club catch ups!
The latest book club read chosen was ‘The Guest list’. We thought kicking things off with a little mystery would be a great way to start. The guest list written by Lucy Foley is a murder mystery that takes place on a remote island off the Irish coast. The setting? A wedding. The victim? We have no idea…
As the story begins, we flit between numerous characters as they introduce us to the role they play in the wedding, how they know the bride or the groom and begin to see the story unfold from each of their perspectives in the run up to the big day, as well as seeing perspectives in real time on the day of the wedding and murder. Usually I’m not the biggest fan of switching between too many characters, but it really worked for this book. Each character has their own story that we learn more about with each passing chapter. Foley creates equal importance for each character as an individual as well as how they progress the main story of the wedding and the murder.
I read this book fairly quickly as I was dying to find out who the victim was, as well as how each characters story evolved. I was certainly more invested in the story of Olivia and Hannah than others, however each character has a secret of their own that kept me engaged throughout. Foley is able to continually build tension as we inch closer and closer to finding out who the murder victim is. So much so that I could not put the book down by the final few chapters.
I will say that whilst I enjoyed the interlinked stories, there came a point that certain aspects of the story and who ultimately is the victim became a little on the cheesy side, ever so slightly. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Guest list’. I found this book to be interesting, surprising and really enjoyable. It keeps you in suspense and definitely shocked me at times too.
Book rating – 6/10
Recommend – Yes
Read again– Once the mystery is revealed, I’m not sure a second read is needed.
Love
