The Guest List - Lucy Foley [Review]

The debate about whether first person or third person perspective is superior is an interesting one. I generally do prefer reading from the first-person perspective of a character, particularly the realism and immediacy that comes with it. I don’t always want to know what everyone is thinking or doing, but I do appreciate that some books lend themselves to the third person, allowing the narration to be external to the story, omniscient, and objective.

I think Foley manages the benefits of both very well here. The story of the wedding of Jules Keegan and Will Slater, hosted on a small island off the coast of Ireland, is told from the first-person perspective of several individuals in attendance, from the bride and groom, to the best man and bridesmaid, to the old school friend and the wedding planner.

It is very interestingly written; we go forward and back in time, and interactions between characters are repeated from their respective perspectives. The language is colloquial, very real, almost like they are being interviewed. I was surprised that it never became convoluted or difficult to follow, despite the number of perspectives we are exposed to.

It is a modern take on the classic whodunnit, and toward the climax it becomes apparent that almost every character could have had the means and motive to murder. The foreshadowing is quite effective, and Foley really picks up the pace toward the end with shorter and shorter chapters, all culminating to a single flashpoint. 

All the way through this I couldn’t help but picture how perfect this would be as a television show. I have no idea if this was the intention, nor if there is any plan for it, but i think a 3 or 4 episode mini-series would make for excellent viewing. 

Also, I couldn’t write about this without saying how much better the US cover is.