Lucy Foley (The Invitation; The Book of Lost and Found) has created a delightfully suspenseful thriller in The Guest List. Atmospheric and subtle, it explores the unraveling of a group of acquaintances who have all traveled to a remote Irish island for a wedding.
The bride, Jules, is the editor of a thriving online magazine. The groom, Will, is on reality TV, and their guest list is star-studded. As the novel opens, the lights go out in the tent where everyone is dancing, and suddenly someone screams. Then the book flashes back 24 hours, to the arrival of the wedding party. Told from a number of perspectives--that of the best man, the bridesmaid, the wedding planner, the plus one--the story weaves together many disparate perceptions.
Ratcheting up the tension is the terrible weather on the island, which is already rumored to be haunted. Jules is determined to still have her perfect fairy tale wedding, although she's beginning to have some doubts about her possibly-too-handsome groom. Meanwhile, Jules's half-sister is falling apart, the best man is stoned out of his mind, and the wife of Jules's best friend Charlie is wondering if Jules and Charlie are more than just friends.
Set in such an isolated location, with a fairly small cast of characters, The Guest List feels a bit like a modern Agatha Christie novel. It is a fast-paced, intriguing mystery. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.