What a multi-faceted web this mystery/thriller was?! Turns out Reese Witherspoon knows a thing or two about suspense novels. In Lucy Foley’s The Guest List, a group of people arrive at a very small Irish island in the middle of nowhere for, you guessed it, a wedding. Now of course there are rumors that this abandoned island is haunted, but most of the wedding party is just being haunted by their past. However, the past is both sad and violent
All throughout the novel, we get alternating chapters between a handful of characters. First up is tightly wound, Jules, the creator of a very successful magazine, who is getting married to the extremely good-looking television personality, Will. Next is Jules’ half sister, Olivia, who seems to be in a deep depression. Then there is Will’s old friend and best man, Johnno, who’s had a tough go at life post boarding school and is someone a lot of people feel the need to keep an eye on. There is also Hannah, the wife of Jules’ best friend, Charlie. And finally, there is the wedding planner and owner of the wedding facility, Aoife. As the story progresses, there are some interactions between these characters that reveal more about their lives, while some just reveal that information all on their own.
While Will has had great success in television, Johnno can’t help but be a little stung that the idea for the show was basically all his idea from back in the day. Hannah naturally has her doubts about Charlie and Jules’ relationship, and she ends up getting closer with Olivia. They share a bond in that Hannah’s sister’s life was destroyed by a man back in college, while Olivia is going through the exact same thing. Olivia’s inner turmoil is palpable and I cannot imagine what this scenario feels like for people in real life. Aoife probably comes as the biggest surprise, as most of her time spent in the novel is dedicated to the smooth rollout of the wedding.
On top of all that drama, we’re also introduced to a past murder, and then a present murder interspliced through the various viewpoints of the story. What keeps this story even more suspenseful is that, yes, the island is very isolated, but the wedding is also coming up against a huge incoming storm. That seems to put the main chaos of events on edge. I really enjoyed how this story progressed, and not everything was saved for the last twenty pages. Some twists and turns I was able to guess a little bit before they were revealed, but that just made me excited that I figured them out! There were a few others that had my jaw drop and exclaim “whaaaat?” so it was a job well done! If you like suspense, this is a great murder-mystery to get your hands on! Also maybe check out the old show Harper’s Island if you’d rather watch something similar in nature instead.