#22. A Plot Similar to Another Book – The Guest List by Lucy Foley (Paperback)

This was originally going to be my “#7. At Least Four Different POV” read, however, whilst on holiday my friend finished reading “Murder on Lake Garda” and then handed it over to me.

As she told me the premise of the book, I couldn’t help but think it sounded like a very familiar story…in fact very similar to the previous book I’d just read! Now a murder on an island is not a new idea, indeed Agatha Christie did just that in great style with “And Then There Were None.” The first book I read for this challenge, “Daisy Darker” also features people stranded on an island where a murder takes place, however, both ‘The Guest List’ and ‘Murder on Lake Garda’ feature a WEDDING and MURDER on an island where there is a mystery to be solved!

"Each has a secret

Each has a motive

Off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year 

Old friends

Past grudges

Happy families

Hidden jealousies

Thirteen guests

One body

One guest won’t leave this wedding alive..."

The book starts in the middle of the story, where the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater has just taken place. This seems rather apt seeing as the focus of events takes place on an island in the middle of the sea!

The wedding guests are celebrating in a marquee as a storm starts raging across the island, the intensity of the tempestuous wind causes the electrics to short circuit and for a moment the guests are left in darkness. When the generator begins to operate and the lights come back on, the guests hear a terrified scream emanating from the darkness outside…

What I enjoyed about this book was the clever construction to deceive and confuse the reader. I’ve read numerous novels where I’ve worked out who killed who and why before I’ve reached the halfway point and it’s been a case of reading on to check that I’m right!

With each chapter, the novel switches timelines from “now” events at the wedding, to events that happened in the run up to the big day, and to events that happened many years ago. If this chopping and changing of narrative wasn’t enough to confuse and throw the reader, the chapters are written from the viewpoint of different characters, and just as soon as you start to get involved in their narrative, the chapter abruptly ends and then a new scene is sketched out. This way of telling the story allows Foley to weave numerous red herrings into the tale to keep the reader in the dark.

The list of characters who actually tell their story is interesting, because it is only when we revisit them narrating “their” chapter and they start to let their secrets slip, that we slowly understand who they are and why they have been allowed a voice; so it is only towards the latter part of the novel that we can begin to think about who is most likely to have committed murder and why.

The day before the wedding introduces us to Aoife and Freddy, the new owners of the island called the Folly. Aoife is the wedding planner and Freddy the chef; not only is this the first wedding to be held on the island, but it is a celebrity wedding. If this wedding goes to plan, it could put their business on the map and kick start their new enterprise. Throughout the book we discern Aoife’s thoughts and fears as she grapples with keeping the wedding and the guests on track for the big day.

Julia (Jules) and Will, the bride and groom, are the glitz and glam of the story. We mainly hear the narrative from Jules. Haunted by her past of being a “chubby swot” at school and now the creator and owner of an online magazine “The Download” she is about to marry a TV star. Everything must be picture perfect, from her elegant dress to the golden crown adorning her head. It doesn’t matter that she isn’t close to her family; neglected by her parents for so long, they must be here…for appearances sake, obviously.

Hannah, the plus one, is looking forward to this weekend break away from the kids, even if it is at the wedding of her husband’s closest friend. Her and Jules could not be anymore different; Jules, tidy, efficient, attentive to the smallest detail, whilst she was chaotic, messy and prone to disappointing her husband Charlie. She can’t even handle the short boat trip to the island without arriving ill and dishevelled.

Olivia, the bridesmaid. Julias’s sister does not want to be at the wedding, but how do you say no to your sister? She couldn’t even say no the enforced manicure booked for her, so at least she’s wearing the correct colour nail polish. She hasn’t even tried on the bridesmaid dress yet, so hopefully it will fit…although she has lost weight, a lot of weight.

Johnno, the best man, but not the first choice. Johnno invited himself for the role; one of Wills oldest mates from school he should have been first choice, but now that Will has a TV career, perhaps Johnno should be left in the past. Doesn’t matter, the wedding is an opportunity for all the old school mates to be back together again, maybe it’s an opportunity to reminisce, maybe a chance to find out why their lives have forked onto such different paths.

Another enjoyable element of the book is the setting. Whilst everyone visiting the island has their own secrets and stories to tell, so does the island. The island becomes a major character; it straddles events from the past including myths and legends attributed to the bogs which circle the restored 15^th Century building. Now a hotel, those old stories start to take on a significant meaning. The historic church and graveyard give a darker, ambient sense to the place, which give the reader a feeling of foreboding. This is not a safe place to be stuck on.

This is a classic, atmospheric thriller with an ending which makes perfect sense. Each character has been given a strong back story and a well written motive. As a reader, you’re kept on your toes, you don’t know which guest has the strongest motive for murder and so you just want to keep on reading. When I purchased the book, the lady at the payment desk told me I wouldn’t be able to put it down “so set a quiet weekend aside to read it.” She was right. It is the perfect escape for a wet and windy weekend.

 

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Crime 

Release Date: 5^th September 2020

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 375

 

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