The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Good morning everyone.  Hope your day is off to a good start.  I have to tell you about something I did a few years ago that still bothers me.  Frankly, I'm ashamed.  Hubby and I went to upstate New York for his birthday. We went to visit my grandmother. All my sisters were in town.  So, I stopped at a party place and got little kids toys, like squirt guns and get the bb through the maze, and made little silly party favors.  When there, I didn't want my grandmother to cook, we were already invading her house, so I brought take out chicken. We had this cute little birthday lunch for my husband and got to spend time with my siblings and beloved grandmother all at the same time.  All the rest of family from the area had either passed away or moved away.  Well, except one person, my mother's cousin, Joe.  He was my grandmother's, brother's son, hence my mother's first cousin.

Joe was so good to us. His family came to our house every Christmas and he would always be the one to grab the new toy we wanted to play the most, read the instructions, set it up, and teach us how to play.  Then Joe and my mom would play games as long as we wanted.  Every year he played, and yes, he was an adult he just did it because he was so kind.  At our wedding he took over five hundred pictures and gave them to us, so we would have plenty of candid shots that the photographer would undoubtedly miss.  He knew it was a day I couldn't get back. He even came to my parents house the morning of the wedding to make sure we didn't need anything.

So, back to my grandmothers house for hubby's  birthday party.  Joe somehow found out we were in town and came over, seeing the empty plates with food scraps and eaten cake. He had a gift for my husband's birthday.  Hubby is a train nut, Joe brought him an antique pocket watch that belonged to a conductor on a train. It is beautiful.  Oh my gosh, I forgot to invite Joe.  He must have had his feelings hurt knowing he had not been included.  I wanted to crawl into a hole.  He died shortly after and I have regretting my letting him down every day since. What does this tear-jerker have to do with books?  I made a rotten guest list, some people have very interesting lists.

I recently read The Guest List by Lucy Foley. This was my first book by this author but definitely not my last.  This is the story of an elaborate wedding taking place on a private island off the coast of Ireland.  We follow several members of the wedding party and guests, each seeming to have their own secrets.  When someone ends up dead, everyone appears to have a motive, some tied together.  But how can that be, for many of the guests this is their first time meeting.  This book is full of atmosphere, from ancient ruins, to peat bogs that swallow bodies, to a creepy old graveyard, a storm blowing in and, of course, no cell service. The story is a fairly quick read.  While I wouldn't call it a page turner like many thrillers, I would agree that this is an excellent mystery.  It kind of reminded me a bit of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, only The Guest List is set in reality and much easier to follow with far fewer characters.  Many people are comparing it to Agatha Christie's books.  I read The Guest List immediately after the thriller Home Before Dark by Riley Sager.  I admittedly had my doubts it would hold my interest, especially after a haunted estate thriller.  There is something about The Guest List that makes you come back to read more. I don't know exactly what it is, the different voices from the wedding party, or the shortish chapters., I can't figure it out.  The book is remarkable how everything becomes together at the end, it is masterful.  You'll find yourself nodding your head, saying "aaaah" out loud, as the pieces fall into place.  A very enjoyable mystery.

By the way, Joe MADE me a beautiful vanity complete with mirror, when I was eight years old. Yes, I feel terrible. Don't worry, I won't be in charge of your birthday party guest list.