The Guest
The Guest
By: B.A. Paris
[On my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2024]
[Fulfilled ‘Two books with similar titles’ prompt as part of Shelf Reflection’s 2024 Reading Challenge]
This is my fifth B.A. Paris book now, so I’ve kinda got her style of books figured out now. They are slow burn domestic-type thrillers.
With the exception of The Prisoner (which is probably my favorite and has more action than the others), most of her books make you start to wonder if the book is worth finishing.
There is usually some mundane daily routine stuff where it feels like nothing is really happening. You don’t really connect all that much to the characters because you’re kinda in this limbo where you’re not really sure what you’re trying to figure out or where the story is even going to go.
But then Paris usually throws in some twists/revelations at the end that draw all the threads together and turn all the mundane into meaningful details. Turns out most of it matters.
The Guest followed this pattern to a T. But unfortunately, I’m not entirely sure if the ending was worth it like it was for The Therapist or The Breakdown.
The main premise is that a long-time friend from Paris (Laure) shows up at Gabriel and Iris’s house in the London area citing marital problems and asking if she can stay there for a bit…. the guest.
She overstays her welcome— like so hard… even I wanted to punch her in the face— and Pierre (her husband and also their friend) isn’t communicating with them. They have no idea what is going on other than Pierre has admitted to having a child with someone else and now wanting to be in that child’s life. Laure has given him an ultimatum- me or the kid.
Things only get weirder when Laure seems to have developed some sort of crush or relationship with the (young) landscaper friend who has been working for Gabriel and their neighbor.
Then a body is found. And another one.
This one is quite the tangled up domestic mess.
When the ‘bomb’ was dropped in the epilogue (not the other bomb), I was like ‘Oh that’s pretty crazy, but also, that actually is crazy.’
I didn’t see it coming but at the same time it felt quite out of left field. While there is pointing back to ‘clues’ we had read about, I wouldn’t really say it’s one that the reader can really figure out. You may guess the right person, but there’s no way to know exactly what happened until it’s all laid out.
The upside is that the book is a really quick read as hers tend to be. So if you’re on the fence about reading it, it is at least a low time commitment book. I wouldn’t call it a must read, but if you tend to like B.A. Paris’s books normally, you’ll probably feel at home with this one.
I’m not sure if I will read her future books or not. Maybe if I’m in the mood for a slow-burn with a twist reveal, but I may have had my fill. Although, I might go back and read Behind Closed Doors because I’ve heard that one is really good.
If you have never read Paris before, maybe start with The Prisoner or The Therapist.
She is not an author I can universally recommend because her books are hit and miss for me, but at least they’re pretty clean!
[Content Advisory: 0 f-words and 2 s-words]
Now for a few MAJOR SPOILER COMMENTS, stop scrolling if you don’t want to know!!
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Okay, so what the ‘big reveal’ tells us is that Iris is the person Pierre had a child with. Beth is Pierre’s, not Gabriel’s. And what makes it so messed up is that Pierre was on his honeymoon and Iris was on their first anniversary trip when they had sex! And they had already met as friends!
Who decides to go for a naked swim?! By themselves?! On their honeymoon/anniversary?! Nobody. That’s who. And even if they did, who would see someone else and then immediately have a sexual desire for them and act on it?!
Furthermore, how could it have zero impact on their friendship as a couple? It makes no sense. Unless both of them are sociopaths.
And beyond that… there’s no way she would have any idea that she was actually pregnant that night. She didn’t even have a pregnancy test. She just ‘knew’ she was pregnant and told Gabriel she took a test before they left. And then they told Pierre and Laure that they were a month pregnant. Without actually knowing FOR SURE that she was! There is no way to know you are pregnant at conception. That’s crazy pants.
And ALSO how could she really keep Beth away from them for 20 years? They were such good friends they had keys to each other’s houses, but Pierre never sees pictures or videos of Beth? Ever? He never wondered before now?
And all of this is just the ‘source’ of the conflict. It’s like two paragraphs in the whole book. But all the killing Iris does as a result of such a crazy/stupid encounter is just… out there.
To be honest, I’ve never really been a fan of the unreliable narrator trope. Sure, it makes for a big surprise, but I don’t like the bait and switch of how you perceive and relate to the main character being turned on its head. The first one of these I read was Gone Girl and when that was revealed, I was like sick to my stomach.
I guess I just don’t like being lied to, especially by someone I’m supposed to be empathetic towards.
Besides, when I’m reading a whodunnit, it feels like cheating to just be like- oh and I’ve been misleading you this whole time so you were never going to figure out the clues because you trusted that when I said I took a bath and when I said I went to lunch with my friend Jade, you would have no reason to question it. Gotcha!
That’s not the kind of twist I get excited about. Especially for the reason that it was in this book.
I didn’t like it in Gone Girl, and I didn’t like it here.
And ANOTHER thing. Gabriel’s secret. How could he keep that even from Iris? It’s not even about her OR him. It’s about other people’s lives. I would immediately tell my spouse and have them help me figure out what to do. It’s clearly causing major issues in their marriage.
I think it’s stupid that he didn’t just tell her. There was nothing to be afraid of. There were worse things that could (and did) happen by keeping it in. Speculation is usually worse than the truth. If you can’t tell your spouse every thing, there is a problem.
And ANOTHER thing. When Gabriel and Iris get home and Beth asks them what happened, clearly distressed by the sound of the explosion, Gabriel says- “It’s Joseph. He blew himself up.”
Just like that. I get Gabriel is in shock… but it felt very random to just say that someone blew themselves up. ‘Sorry Beth, I know you became really close friends with him and all, but he’s like totally blown up right now, so your friendship is over. Want some dinner?’
So. Yeah. I had a few issues with this one. I don’t like mysteries as much when it all just boils down to domestic dysfunction. For some reason a serial killer is more appealing to read about than a fornicator.
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SPOILERS OVER
[Content Advisory: 0 f-words and 2 s-words]
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
This book just released February 20, 2024. You can order a copy of this book using my affiliate link below.
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