The Guest List

A high-profile wedding is set to take place on a remote Irish island, bringing together magazine editor Jules Keegan, reality TV star Will Slater, and their closest friends and family. When a storm causes a power outage during the reception, someone ends up dead. The story alternates between multiple characters' perspectives and timeframes, revealing the tensions and dynamics between the wedding party. The guests include the bride's best friend and his wife, the groom's boarding school friends who serve as groomsmen, and the island's wedding venue owners. The island setting serves as its own character - isolated, wild, and atmospheric - while the format follows the classic locked-room mystery structure. Each guest harbors private motivations and hidden connections that emerge as the events of the wedding weekend progress. This murder mystery explores themes of privilege, loyalty, and the facades people maintain in their closest relationships. The dark undertones of elite social circles and long-buried secrets drive the narrative's examination of how well we truly know those around us.

Readers found this murder mystery entertaining but predictable. Many compared it to Agatha Christie's works and called it a solid "locked room" thriller with atmospheric Irish island setting. Liked: - Multiple viewpoint structure creates suspense - Dark atmosphere and weather descriptions - Short chapters maintain fast pacing - Character development, especially female leads - Audio version with multiple narrators Disliked: - Too many characters to track - Slow first half - Predictable twist ending - All characters portrayed as unlikeable - Flashback timeline structure feels confusing One reader noted: "The wedding drama overshadowed the actual mystery." Another said: "Great setup but the reveal fell flat." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (1M+ ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (49K ratings) Book of the Month Club: 4.3/5 LibraryThing: 3.8/5 The book hit #1 on NYT bestseller list and won Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery/Thriller 2020.

One by One by Ruth Ware A group of tech startup employees become trapped in a luxury ski chalet during an avalanche when one of them disappears and deaths begin to occur.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie A detective must solve a murder that occurs on a snowbound train where all the passengers have connections to the victim.

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena Guests at a remote inn become stranded during a blizzard, and one by one they start dying under mysterious circumstances.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley A group of old university friends travel to an isolated Scottish Highland estate for New Year's Eve, where past rivalries surface before someone turns up dead.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware A woman attends a funeral at a gothic mansion after receiving a mysterious inheritance letter, only to become entangled in family secrets and mounting danger.

★ The book hit #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2020 and won the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller that same year. ★ Author Lucy Foley originally pursued a career in publishing, working as a fiction editor before becoming a full-time writer. ★ The story's setting was inspired by Irish islands like Connemara and Achill Island, where ancient ruins and dramatic landscapes create naturally gothic atmospheres. ★ The novel utilizes a "locked room" mystery format - a classic murder mystery technique popularized by Agatha Christie, where all suspects are confined to one location. ★ Each chapter is written from a different character's perspective, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator remaining unknown until the final pages - a technique that earned the book comparisons to Liane Moriarty's "Big Little Lies."