It’s a gimmick used way too often in modern mystery/thrillers and only the most astute writer will be able to keep from becoming hackneyed and predictable. The set-up of the novel not only flips back and forth in time, with the wedding night being the ‘present time’, but also lets each of the primary characters narrate the many chapters right through to the eye-opening finale. With her latest release, The Guest List, Lucy Foley goes the distance in character creation as she drills down in-depth on all the major players so that the reader will have enough information to try and figure out whodunit when a dead body eventually turns up. Sounds like the perfect place to kill someone! There is a select group of friends and family invited for the weekend and the weather forecast is, of course, calling for serious storms and a ton of rain. The occasion is the wedding of Will and Julia (who goes by Jules). The wife, Aoife is a wedding/party planner and her husband, Freddy is the cook. A remote island just off the coast of Ireland at a Mansion run by a young couple for special occasions. Author Lucy Foley does everything possible to not only channel Dame Agatha Christie but to also create a setting for a psychological thriller/murder mystery that is simply ideal.
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