The Guest List by Lucy FoleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
THE GUEST LIST shares a lot with Lucy Foley's last novel THE HUNTING PARTY. As in the previous novel we have an event in a remote location attended by a frankly, fairly unlikeable bunch of characters and presumed crime, the details of which are revealed slowly through judicious use of timelines. The wedding of a successful web-magazine editor and a handsome Bear Grylls-type adventure TV personality is held on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The story is told in the first person by several viewpoint characters - the bride, the best man, the bridesmaid, the wife of the bride's best friend 'the plus one' and the wedding planner - most of them flawed and damaged; and a third person narrative set after some calamitous event, the nature of which is not immediately revealed.
It is all very Agatha Christie and the plot occasionally relies a little too much on coincidence, but it is incredibly well done. Foley has a real talent for making the reader care what happens to people with few redeeming qualities. With a few exceptions, the characters are a nasty bunch with murky backstories - deliciously so. For me the conclusion, although satisfying, was a little too neat but getting there was great fun.
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