The Guest List: A Novel

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 109,880 ratings

Price: 24.29

Last update: 02-02-2025


About this item

A Reese's Book Club Pick

“I loved this book. It gave me the same waves of happiness I get from curling up with a classic Christie.... The alternating points of view keep you guessing, and guessing wrong.” (Alex Michaelides, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Silent Patient)

"Evok[es] the great Agatha Christie classics.... Pay close attention to seemingly throwaway details about the characters’ pasts. They are all clues.” (New York Times Book Review)

A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times best-selling author of The Hunting Party.

The bride - the plus one - the best man - the wedding planner - the bridesmaid - the body.

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?


Top reviews from the United States

  • California Girl
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. What a ride
    Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2025
    If you like psychological thrillers you will love this book. Easy to read even as it moves between time frames. It Begins by introducing each character and their relationship with each other. It centers on a destination wedding on a remote island. The tension increases and becomes hard to put down. Loved the ending. Definitely recommend it.
  • Mini
    4.0 out of 5 stars Simple concept with a great execution!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2021
    One beautiful and trendy couple, a wedding, an eerie destination, dysfunctional guests — and a murder.

    Jules and Will are the ultimate It Couple. She's a successful magazine entrepreneur and he's on a hit TV show. They're both young and attractive, everything about them looks perfect. After a wedding planner approaches them and offers her unique beachfront locale as their wedding destination in exchange for a mention at Jules's magazine, the couple agree to get married in Ireland. Things appear to go smoothly, but the guest list could — and does — cause trouble. Jules's best friend, Charlie, will be there with his wife, Hannah. Rumor has it that they had a thing for each other, and who knows what could happen. Then there's the shady best man, Johnno. No one feels comfortable in his presence, and for good reason! Then there's Jules's younger sister, Olivia. She's been acting strange lately — stranger than usual. Jules and Olivia have always had a strained relationship, and Jules fears that Olivia might cause problems. Then on the wedding day, things go well, until dark secrets are exposed, and a blood bath ensues.

    THE GUEST LIST is an atmospheric mystery with a twist ending — REBECCA meets BIG LITTLE LIES. The plot is engrossing and the characters are enigmatic and engaging. I couldn't stop reading. Foley's writing kept me turning my Kindle pages! The characters made this book awesome to read. As flawed as they were, you still wanted to know what would become of them. Narcissism is the main theme in this novel, and the atmospheric Irish setting was the icing on the wedding cake. Downsides? The execution could've been better. The last 3/4 of the book felt extremely rushed. it felt more like a "this is what happened," and before you knew it, you'd reached the final page. Disappointing, especially given the premise. Still, I give this four out of five green and apple smoothies, with delicious oat milk for that extra creaminess!
  • RSW Kindle Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 Chillingly Creepy Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020
    This atmospheric thriller earned <b>3.5 Stars</b> from me!

    <b>SUMMARY</b>
    An elaborate wedding is being planned on a foggy, beautiful but possibly haunted Irish island. The story is told in turns from the bride, best man, brides maid, a <i>plus one</i> wedding guest and wedding planner. The island setting plays a huge part in the story, it has been mostly abandoned aside from the wedding planner and her husband who live at the venue. It is said to have been haunted, it kind of gives off a creepy vibe and it is known for tumultuous storms which knock out the electricity. Early on we learn that something has gone awry. There is a huge storm which turns the electricity off. When the lights go back on, blood is discovered. Several of the ushers go out to try to find the source of the blood.

    In the 48 hours that the wedding party is on the island, secrets are discovered, relationships come into question and peoples wills are tested.

    <b>WHAT I LOVED</b>
    I loved the multiple narrator's points of view. Probably my favorite one was the <i>plus one</i> wedding guest. She didn't know any of the other guests well so I felt like her point of view was the most reel and the least biased.

    I loved the way the setting was so much a part of the story. Replace the mental hospital with a castle wedding venue and it had kind of a <i>Shelter Island</i> feel to it. Very dark and foreboding with potential danger around every corner.

    The bride and groom were both well known, minor celebrities. It was interesting watching a celeb wedding from the inside.

    <b>WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE</b>
    I really didn't find any of the characters likeable. As the story progressed, I began to find some sympathy for a couple of them, but I still couldn't find any love and it was almost hard to care who was bleeding.

    There was one twists toward the end that was waaaayyyyy too much of a coincidence. I could easily believe the first few twists but the one that one was too much of a stretch for me. I knocked it down a half star for the lack of believability.

    <b>OVERALL</b>
    Definitely worth reading if you like a good Brit-Lit thriller set on a remote island. It kind of had a vibe that was sort of a mix between an <i>I Know What You Did Last Summer</i> and <i>Shelter Island</i>. It would make a fantastic movie or limited series.
  • Teresa fronek
    5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly perfect who-dun-it!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2024
    Upon first beginning The Guest List I found it difficult to get in to and as I was trying to sort out the characters and their relationships to each other, this intense excitement began to happen; I was caught up in a terrific murder mystery, only the actual murder didn't occur until close to the end! We, as readers, anticipate it before it happens but we know it will happen, so we delve into the backgrounds of the various suspects with anticipation, attempting to solve the crime and the victim long before the crime has occurred! Lucy Foley writes with such expertise that we're completely caught up in the intertwined characters and how what's about to happen will work itself out! This is one of the best who-dun-its I've read in some time and I read a book every couple of days! So, believe me when I highly recommend this excellent book for your enjoyment!
  • christine townes
    4.0 out of 5 stars Who done it
    Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2025
    I really enjoyed it. The author did a great job giving each character their own identity. It kept me guessing the whole way through. It's a really good book !
  • tennille.lesnar
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Guest List
    Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2024
    Such a great book! Reading this specific book made me want to read the rest of this author's books. The ending is so unexpected and this book kept me interested the entire time!

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