A review by a_picara
The Guest List by Lucy Foley

emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The tagline did not match the contents of this book. The beginning sets up as if there is a murder spree, or something a la And Then There Were None. Unfortunately it ties itself with a neat bow that undermines some of the themes the narrative tries to explore. The plot twists and reveals were very obvious, and when given the choice of two different reveals for the same character, the author chose both every time.

the end reveals that the same guy was the only evil man in all of the UK, and completely undermines any exploration of how sexism perpetuates cultures of toxic masculinity.

overall, this book was underwhelming. It followed all the standard tropes of the genre without offering anything new and was about 30% longer than it needed to be