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The Guest List

by Lucy Foley — 30 Jun 2024

A celebrity destination wedding is happening on a remote island off Ireland. Following a blackout, a body is discovered, but every guest has a secret to hide...

A plot that is very reminiscent of Dame Agatha Christie’s “And then there were none” and, towards the latter half, “Murder on the Orient Express”.

Friends and family have been invited to the wedding of Julia “Jules” Keegan, a magazine editor, and Will Slater, host of a popular TV survival reality show. It’s a destination wedding, and happens on a remote island called “The Folly” off the Irish coast, accessible only by a boat, much like in “And then there were none”.

As is slowly revealed over the course of the novel, every guest has a gripe with Will, some more than others. The novel keeps the reader guessing, often incorrectly. Initially the mystery is the identity of the murdered, and later, the identity of the murderer.

The bridesmaid, the childhood best friend’s plus one, the wedding planner, the best man and the bride herself are the narrators. Each have problematic relationships with the victim, much like in Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express”. While there is no “detective”, the reader is left to solve the mystery through the perspectives of each of the back story narrators.

The ending, though a little unhappy, was great too. On the whole, a fantastic read.