In a culture concerned with finding the next big thing, going back to basics is sometimes the best way to stand out. Lucy Foley, a British author, has built a reputation for herself with two thriller novels that accomplish just that. The Guest List is an appealing mix of Agatha Christie-inspired thriller and contemporary psychological suspense.
The book is a "locked room mystery" written for readers of 2020: a narrative about secrets—between spouses, lovers, and siblings—and their lethal collision. The Guest List is a novel set on an isolated island off the coast of Ireland that provides readers with a unique invitation to one of the year's most anticipated parties: the wedding of a powerful digital magazine editor and a TV golden boy. The wedding has been meticulously arranged; the only unknown factor is the guest list.
Foley's brand of suspense writing, which she pioneered in her outstanding crime debut The Hunting Party and solidified in The Guest List, is a delectable blend of conventional crime setup and wicked, sometimes downright cruel characters with a theatrical bent. Imagine reading a cross between an Agatha Christie mystery and a gossip magazine: that is the closest way I can think of to define Foley's tone.
It's always better to get it out in the open - even if it seems shameful, even if you feel like people won't understand.
While there are two characters who are definitely crucial to this story (our bride and groom), our story is not limited to them. The Guest List features a slew of ominous characters, and Foley does an excellent job of fleshing out the backstories of a number of wedding guests through the use of alternate narrators. The bride, the bridesmaid, the wedding planner, a plus-one, and the groom's best man (well, the bride also has her own Best Man so we need to clarify between them) all take turns narrating The Guest List, bringing readers closer to the stunning facts at the heart of the story with their ever-shifting perspectives. If not handled well, alternating narrators may be clumsy and confusing, but Foley is at her best here: the narrators she chooses, as well as the way their lives intertwine, make for compelling reading. However, I may also find some of the narrators' personal life details to be irrelevant to the story (doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading them). There was too much information to take it, not all of them are crucial and it may confuse lots of people since there are way too many POVs to catch up with also.
If I could cry it might all be better, but I can’t. It’s like an ability I’ve lost, like a language I’ve forgotten,
Foley has planted all the clues they need to solve our story's "whodunnit" in the varied perspectives of her book's narrators, as keen readers will notice. This part I do like. I also praise the smooth and realistic way Foley describes the internal world of her characters, very flawed and human. They aren't likable but they are real, thus, it makes the book worth diving into because people like to relate themselves to fictional characters.
The ending, yes, maybe to me it's a bit rush though predictable. I like the way Foley planted doubts and suspicion into other narrators then at the end, turned to the most normal and harmless one. Maybe it's too fast of a drift that I still have carsick? I still don't know how to wrap my feeling around this ending even though I saw it coming.
Lucy Foley's latest thriller is a page-turning thriller that's ideal for a sunny beach day or just a lazy, rainy afternoon at home. If you are an Agatha Christie's die-hard fan, then you shouldn't skip this distant grand-cousin of her, born to brilliant Lucy Foley, for a contemporary popcorn-reading.
SCORE: 4/5
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