Mysterious, isolated island? Check. List of victims…er, guests? Check. Atmospheric setting? Check. Victim? Uh…victim? Hello?
The Guest List is a mystery without a victim through most of its story, and therein lies the genius. Lucy Foley has concocted a story where the reader has to make it through most of the novel to figure out who-gets-it before they can guess who-did-it. The gimmick is double the fun—as long as you don’t peek at the ending—of trying to determine who murders who.
I won’t spoil how this is achieved other than to say it works. If readers don’t mind the author playing with chronology, they should enjoy making their way through the narrative.
The basic premise of the plot has been done hundreds of times but is always good for a thrill. A number of guests are invited to an island, in this case, for a wedding. Most of the guests are unimportant, but a handful are central to the out-of-sequence plot. Surrounded by a cast of supporting characters, the main suspects (or victims) go about their business, alluding to future events and past secrets.
The island and weather are described in exciting detail—one of the strengths of the book. Like great mystery novels, the veil between the living and dead is as thin as plastic wrap. The setting is an island rumored to have ghosts, complete with an eerie castle, an echoing cave, and a hungry bog. And while this could have been handled superficially, the author squeezed a modern scene into each, juxtaposing past and present in an enjoyable manner.
As you’d expect, the wedding centers on the bride and groom, but also on a number of other important roles. In addition to the mystery, the author pokes fun at the concept of an extravagant wedding, and in some cases, marriage. Weddings are supposed to be romantic events with a party who supports the bride and groom. This wedding couldn’t be further from that ideal. On the outside, the affair appears to be a fairytale wedding, but underneath lie corpses from the past, their hands clutching to be released from their coffins.
Though The Guest List is an entertaining read, it may leave some wanting more. Top of the list is the amount of coincidences that occur in the novel. At one point, I wondered if one of the characters was so bad that he started a war among his other misdeeds. The novel stretches the realm of disbelief nearly to a breaking point. That said, in its favor, The Guest List plays more than fair with the main mystery—the one that ultimately counts.
The second is an interesting commentary on modern society. It’s hard to care about anyone at the beginning, but as it progresses, some characters are more victimized than others. By the end, though, some receive their comeuppance and some don’t. Because of who gets away and who doesn’t, it’s difficult to like anyone at the end of the novel.
Despite these issues, The Guest List still has a lot to offer. It’s a top-notch thriller, a decent mystery, and fast-paced read. Lucy Foley is a master of settings and motivations. Hopefully, she will use similar techniques in a future novel.