The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 

In a nutshell: A surplus of self entitled rich people, the setting a remote and eerie Irish island (the destination wedding for handsome Will and beautiful Julia) plus a plethora of stereotyped school bullies now in their late 30's. What's not to like? Well, there's a bit not to engage you at first but...it grows on you. There are a few characters I liked very much and wish their stories had continued.

This book is very similar to her previous novel The Hunting Party.  There are quite a few characters in this novel and multiple points of view; I found myself intrigued by the back stories and wondered who would end up murdered.  I hoped for one of the shallow creeps but no spoilers from me here.

In addition to the remote location, one which requires a boat to access, there is an old ghostly cemetery and peat bogs which can (and do) pull a person in just as quicksand would. Lots of danger, secrets and suspects. 

The setting is very well described and you can picture the crashing waves against the shore, feel the cold winds and imagine the insidious bogs which nearly claimed one wedding guest.

I will read more by Lucy Foley but I have to say that The Hunting Party was a better book, in my opinion.  Again, it's a similar template to her previous book but by the end of The Guest List, it was hard to have empathy for many of the characters. For what it's worth, I liked Hannah and Olivia very much so if you read this one, let me know your thoughts on the major players.

Also, last but not least, I personally did not figure out the murderer's identity until it was revealed.  I saw a few reviews where the reader stated they did but I was not one of those :-)

Sharing with Joy for British Isles Friday.

 

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

Seven friends arrive at a lodge in Scotland to celebrate New Years Eve.  They are old friends from Oxford and get together for a well planned party.  The vacations are planned by a different member of the group, rotating the making of arrangements over the last ten years.

This year it's Emma who plans the get together, having them gather at a very isolated estate in beautiful Scotland.  The intent is to catch up with each other's lives and ring in the new year together.  All of them have little secrets.  Eventually, one is missing then found murdered. Of the seven friends, one is probably a killer. 

After university people tend to drift apart, get other interests and just move on.  It seems this gathering isn't as easy as years prior - the laughter is too loud, the comments are barbed but delivered with a smile so it's not serious, that sort of thing. 

I purposely didn't read any reviews because I love being surprised and while there was one character I hoped it might be our author kept us guessing.  You knew the missing guest and their body had been found but lack of a pronoun didn't narrow it down for us readers.  Was it one of the men or a woman? 

The story is told by alternating points of views.  Heather is the manager and arranges for the guests' comforts and provides information, such as a ships purser may do.  She holds a secret as to why she lives in this stark wilderness.  Doug is the gamekeeper and has his own secrets about a violent past.  Him I like - well, Heather also as these are the only genuine characters in this narrative.

There are many characters in this book and I had thought I may be confused by all of them when I started reading, but then it's actually easy to know them apart. There are the seven guests comprised of three couples and the single woman Katie.

The locale and weather play a signficant part, almost a character of it's own right.  The snow storm was heavy enough to block access in or out of the estate. Descriptions of the cold were frequent, so vivid you could feel it.
 Everyone was staying put whether they liked it or not.  Not a comforting thought with one person dead and killer evidently among them.

In my opinion this is a good mystery which kept me turning the pages. 
Would I read more by this author?  Oh, absolutely. I'm on the list at the library for The Guest List by Lucy Foley.