The Guest - B.A Paris || Netgalley Review

 

Iris and Gabriel have just got home from a make-or-break holiday. But a shock awaits them. One of their dearest friends, Laure, is in their house - sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris' clothes, even rearranging the furniture. She has walked out on her husband - and their good friend - Pierre over his confession of an affair.

Iris and Gabriel want to be supportive. But as Laure's mood becomes more unpredictable, her presence begins to unravel secrets in all their pasts - until things reach breaking point ...

As i mentioned in my previous blog post, I am really focusing on sorting my netgalley ratio as much as i can for the rest of the year, so this is the second netgalley book i have read recently. I have been a big fan of B.A. Paris for a long time now so I was super excited to remember I had this on my shelf.

The opening introduced a handful of characters, and i remember feeling daunted - i am not good with lots of characters to remember who is who but within pages i managed to get my head round them and it really wasn't complicated that's just a reader trait of mine.

This book by the end was phenomenal to me, all the characters felt very untrustworthy from the start, and i wasn't really sure of anyones intention, who i could trust and everyone's motive for things. I guessed a few plot points quite early on in the narrative but without motive it obviously kept me reading. I remember looking at the % and i was 70% and i still really didn't have much of a clue. I was hooked.

All the thoughts i had initially were all twisted and turned. So onto the story itself - Iris and Gabriel are returning home from holiday, a much needed break after life had got tough for them.  When they arrive home, exhausted and ready to clamber into bed they are met with the shock of their best friend Laure in their house, making herself right at home. The couple had always had an open invite to stay with each other if they were in the area but this time Laure was alone and has separated from her husband after he had an affair. 

However, what starts of as a place to stay whilst Laure plans her next moves turns into something longer and looking like she has no intention to move on, tensions start to rise and emotions get tense. Things eventually start to boil over and the friendship is really tested. Like i said, i really found this a great read - yes slow at first but that was laying the ground for what was to come. As a reader i think we really needed to spend time living our characters lives as it all played out and it really was written that way for us to enjoy. 

Thrilling, shocking with lots of unreliable characters - a real page turner because you really do have to work to get answers. A brilliant read.

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B.A. Paris is the New York Times and Sunday Times Number 1 bestselling author of seven novels including the word-of-mouth hit, Behind Closed Doors.

Over 7 million editions of her work have been sold worldwide and her books have been translated into 41 languages. Her novels have been optioned for major screen adaptations with a film of The Breakdown, titled Blackwater Lane, in post production.

Before becoming an author, B.A. Paris worked as a bank trader and teacher in France. Today, she writes from her cottage in Hampshire, England, where she lives with her husband with visits from her five grown-up daughters. She has a newsletter baparis.com and is on social media @baparisauthor