The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Today is my stop on the tour for this brilliant new book from  Lucy Foley. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the opportunity and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb:

Guests are called to a remote island off the Irish coast to celebrate the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules and Will. Everything has been meticulously planned, the scene is set, old friends are back together. 

It should be the perfect day. 

Until the discovery of a body signals the perfect murder. 

A groom with a secret.
A bridesmaid with a grudge.
A plus one with motive.
A best man with a past. 

It could be any, it could be all . . . But one guest won’t make it out alive.

The Guest List was published on yesterday by Harper Collins and is available from all usual retailers. Why not visit your local independent bookshop? Or online you could try Bert's Books, The Big Green Bookshop, or Hive (which will link to the nearest participating indie bookshop).

My Review:

Can I just open by saying how much I like the cover? Simple, sleek and eye-catching. Foley's previous novel, The Hunting Party, had a similarly attention-grabbing cover - both great designs.

Online magazine editor Jules is marrying action man and TV celebrity Will. The perfect couple. It's a huge coup for wedding planner Aoiffe that they've picked the folly she and  husband Freddy have restored as their venue. Especially as the folly is on an otherwise deserted island off the coast of Ireland.

The main wedding party arrive on the island by boat the day before the wedding with the remainder of the guests arriving on the morning of the big day itself. But the weather is fair closing in.

For about two thirds of the book we don't actually know the details of what has happened or who the victim is. The tension is built up as we hear from the points of view of most of the key players throughout the evening before and the day itself. Truths are unearthed and old resentments surface.  There are several OMG moments, huge devastating ones, as character flaws are revealed.

It was really interesting, and effective, to see the story unfold from several points of view. It was like seeing photographs of the same scene taken from various angles, so it looks different in each one. It enabled me to form a full picture of the unfolding drama. From the fairly unlikeable cast of characters, Hannah and Olivia stood out for me. Both carry burdens, neither particularly wants to be at the wedding and they bond as a result. Olivia's vulnerability particularly is beautifully described. But I also found Johnno unexpectedly affecting.

We learn so much about this unhappy group of people as the story progresses, and so many have motives for one reason or another. There is so much anger and hatred that has been bubbling under the surface...until now.

The island itself plays a huge part, as does the weather. The wedding party, guests and staff are the only people on the island, and the folly the only intact building. Craggy, unwelcoming, exposed to the elements and steeped in history and folklore, the island is a character in itself. And the approaching storm just makes it scarier. The darkness and rising threat of the storm mirror the rising tension and ugly mood amongst the wedding guests.

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. Cleverly plotted, weaving stories of individual characters across two days, tension builds throughout. There are some real shocks and whilst I worked out (well, suspected anyway) part of it, I didn't expect the reveal. And despite not liking most of the characters, I found myself caring about what happened to them, and that's down to good writing. A great read.


The Author:

Lucy Foley studied English Literature at Durham and UCL universities and worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry, before leaving to write full-time. The Hunting Party, an instant Sunday Times and Irish Times no.1 bestseller, was Lucy’s debut crime novel, inspired by a particularly remote spot in Scotland that fired her imagination. Lucy is also the author of three historical novels, which have been translated into sixteen languages. Her journalism has appeared in ES Magazine, Sunday Times Style, Grazia and more.