The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Blurb

"A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the author of The Hunting Party.

The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?"

Kindle Edition, 400 pages
Published March 19th 2020 by HarperCollins
With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

It's difficult to do justice to just how brilliant this book really is; I was gripped from the start. As we move between the different points of view, the connections, histories and past grievances begin to come to light. Moving back and forth between the characters first arriving on the island for the wedding and a point leading up to the body being found, Lucy Foley creates a tense atmosphere which kept me on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down. Her descriptions of the island evoke an eerie sense of isolation from the outside world and from any form of help as a storm begins to rage in both a literal sense and amongst the characters.

Who's the victim and who's the murderer? The author kept me guessing to the very end!

This book gets 5 out of 5 from me.

The Author - in her own words

I live in London, but love traveling - both in real life and on the page (hence the appearance of some far flung locations in my writing).

My latest novel is The Invitation - set in the film world of the 1950s, along the Italian Riviera.

My debut novel, The Book of Lost & Found, published in early 2015.

You can find my Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/LucyFoleyAuthor

and follow me on Twitter as:

@lucyfoleytweets

The Cancer Ladies' Running Club by Josie Lloyd

Blurb

"When Keira receives her breast cancer diagnosis she doesn’t want to have to tell her children or her husband Tom, and she doesn’t want to step back from work. She doesn’t want to sit in a hospital and stare mortality in the face, nor be part of a group of fellow cancer sufferers. Cancer is not her club.

But, as she is forced to accept everything must change and her health becomes something she can’t rely on, Keira finds herself embracing running. Hot, sweaty running in the company of a group of brilliant, funny women each going through treatment.

One step at a time Keira is going to reclaim something. Her family, her business, her life.

Moving and uplifting, this is a novel about love, family and the power of finding your tribe."

Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: June 25th 2020 by HQ
Received with thanks from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

In her introduction, the author Josie Lloyd explained how this book was inspired by her own breast cancer story and the inspiring people she met along the way. The book is really well written and it was good to read a book that honestly tells the struggles of going through cancer treatment, seemingly without sugar-coating it while still telling a story of strength and hope in the face of adversity.

I was drawn in from page one to Keira's world, from the introduction to her family and friends and then receiving the shattering news of her breast cancer diagnosis. I felt every step of her journey and the challenges, heartbreaks and uplifting moments along the way. I felt the reality of what a cancer diagnosis can mean, including the wide variety of reactions from different people and how it affects the family around the person as much as the person themselves.

The Cancer Ladies' Running Club is an inspiring story and I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters, especially the ladies themselves, Keira, Tamsyn, Amma and Sian. The love and support they show each other is really uplifting and show the importance of friendship and understanding in difficult times.

I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5.

The Author

Josie Lloyd has written a lot of books, many of them with her husband Emlyn Rees.