THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley ⭐⭐⭐⭐

There’s nothing like the easy escape of an approachable, accessible, ready-to-roll-out-the-gate thriller. A palate cleanser to burn off the yearning for a mystery, to remember the quick punch of a page-turner before diving back into a slow burn fantasy epic or an insightful and dense nonfiction tale.

This was recommended by my wife, the murder mystery connoisseur, and I’d recommend it right back to anyone else. I loved the setting, a dreary, isolated Irish isle, perfect for the equally murky pasts each character seems to have. While some of this dodginess becomes a little heavy-handed (this is a masterclass in ending every chapter on a cliffhangery sentence), the twists are worth it in the end. And as I told my wife, “I guessed some, but not all!”, with the last twist hammering out a full-circle satisfying bang.