The Guest List by Lucy Foley is a gothic mystery thriller. The setting is a character in this story. It's an Irish island off the coast of Ireland, with a dark history. The little island is full of bogs where people have disappeared. Of course, it's a dark and stormy night. Every single chapter ends with foreboding suspicion.
There's about to be a wedding between two beautiful celebrities. The groom is drop dead gorgeous; everyone says so. However, as you go deeper into the story, the groom isn't a nice guy. In fact, the bride received a letter saying that the groom is not who you think he is. That note does give her pause, but she dismisses it. After all, what celebrity hasn't been harassed by nutty characters?
The bride is the editor and founder of a popular magazine. She didn't get where she is by being a people pleaser, either. They make a beautiful couple.
The wedding planner is an important character and she holds the whole event together. The maid of honor is the bride's sister and she is very needy. Anyone would find her annoying. Then there are the best man and groom's men. What a bunch of macho bullies! They're always drunk and talking about their glory days, which weren't so glorious to the kids they'd bullied.
I can't forget the bride's best friend, who is male and he has her back. He also brought along his wife who feels left out because she doesn't know anyone except her husband and he's busy being the master of ceremonies.
The chapters are short points of view from each of these characters. The timing is confusing. The chapters aren't in order: "Day of the Wedding," "Morning of the Wedding," "The Day before," with some of the characters and soon you are disorientated. This may be the author's purpose. The reader will be confused about who will be murdered. The island almost claims a couple of the guests. And "who done it" will be a surprise. Everything will be explained, in the end.
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