“The Guest List” by Lucy Foley is a traditional whodunit murder mystery in the writing style of Agatha Christie. Recently, the Joseph & Elizabeth Shaw Public Library reviewed this book as their monthly selection for book club. The author is a fan favorite of the club having read a previous book by her titled “The Hunting Party.”
“The Guest List” is filled with plot twists and surprise endings. The author allows you to be the sleuth in that the murder victim and culprit are not released until the very end. The story takes place on an isolated island off of West Ireland believed to be haunted. The guests arrive a few days before the wedding of Will Slater and Jules Keegan. Will is the celebrity host of a survival reality show and Jules is the editor of an online magazine. They seem to have it all, but do they really?
The author weaves intrigue with the introduction of the characters by jumping back and forth through time. The author is known for including a lengthy list of characters that has you keeping notes on each of them. The reader is introduced to the wedding party which consists of Will’s best man and four groomsmen who attended boarding school with the groom. Then there’s Olivia, Jules’s half-sister. She reveals secrets to Hannah, the wife of Jules’s best friend Charlie. Is there more than meets the eye? What other secrets will be revealed?
Jules received an ominous warning three weeks before the wedding that Will is not the man she thinks he is. She refuses to let this affect the wedding and is determined to enjoy the festivities. The island, known as “The Folly,” is owned by a couple who wish to make it a popular wedding destination. They hope the high-profile wedding will promote the island, which has a haunted past. Aoife serves as the wedding planner and Freddy is the chef.
The night before the wedding a terrible storm has knocked out the power. When the power returns, a waitress screams that she has found a dead body. As most of the guests are drunk, who is the victim? And who is the killer? You be the detective. Can you figure out who committed the crime and why?
