Reviews

The Guest follows Iris and Gabriel, a couple whose marriage is a bit on the rocks due to a devastating situation Gabriel faced and has not been handling well. The couple arrives home from vacation to find a friend at their house with plans to stay while she sorts out her relationship that has just taken a considerable blow. Weirdly enough, the couple is completely fine with this invasion and lets their friend, Laure, stay with no questions asked. I really thought this story was going to go in a different direction. I expected it to be about the unwanted guest, hence the name, and her becoming unhinged and causing mysterious things to happen in their lives. That's not what happened at all. I have read several books by B.A. Paris and I enjoy her thrillers. This was not a thriller, in my opinion. The Guest is more of a domestic drama with a touch of mystery because you have no answers for anything for most of the story. I'm sad to say that this was not my favorite book of hers. The story drags on with many mundane activities, miscommunication, unnecessary dialogue, and too-detailed explanations of the same things over and over. The most exciting part of the book was the epilogue, where the killer pretty much walks us back through every event from their POV and explains precisely what they did and how it worked out. I was happy to have answers that tied some things together. But, overall, I am very unsatisfied with the book. Maybe it wasn't for me, but I hope to see B.A. Paris come out with more thrillers in the future! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and B.A. Paris for this ARC and the opportunity to read it early in exchange for an honest review!