Synopsis from Penguin Random House:
The twisty new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in the House
A weekend retreat at a cozy mountain lodge is supposed to be the perfect getaway . . . but when the storm hits, no one is getting away
It’s winter in the Catskills and Mitchell’s Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing–maybe even romantic–weekend away. It boasts spacious old rooms with huge woodburning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a good murder mystery.
So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity–and all contact with the outside world–the guests settle in and try to make the best of it.
Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead–it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic.
Within the snowed-in paradise, something–or someone–is picking off the guests one by one. And there’s nothing they can do but hunker down and hope they can survive the storm. . . and one another.
About: An Unwanted Guest is a thriller written by Shari Lapena. It was published on 8/7/2018 by Pamela Dorman Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 304 pages. The genres are mystery, thriller, and fiction. According to the publisher’s twitter page, “Pamela Dorman Books publishes upmarket fiction as well as selected non-fiction.” Please see below for more information about the author and publisher.
My Experience: I started reading An Unwanted Guest on 11/3/18 and finished it on 11/17/18 at 3:36am. This book is an excellent read! I love how the story slowly reveals each person having a secret they want to keep hidden but at the same time very much wanting to unravel their peers’ secrets. I enjoy reading each character’s personal thoughts a lot. Lauren likes to size up other guests and right away decide who she likes and dislikes. Candace pays close attention to people’s demeanor and Beverly notices body language when others don’t realize. Many characters seems to be very observant, like David saying he can tell when someone lies.
This book is told in the third person point of view following Gwen Delaney as she maneuvers the country road to the hotel for an uninterrupted getaway with her friend. Another view is Riley Shuter, a friend of Gwen where they went to journalism school together who just came back from Afghanistan. The third view is David Paley, top criminal defense attorney who arrives at the hotel to try to relax for the weekend, a rare downtime. The fourth view is Lauren Day driving with Ian Beeton when they spot a car on the side of the road and stopping to help. They see there are two women inside the car. The fifth view is Beverly Sullivan who is here with her husband to work on their marriage. The sixth view is Henry Sullivan who recognizes that he no longer loves his wife and doesn’t know what to do about it. The seventh view is Dana Hart, beautiful, who is recently engaged and is on this trip with him. The eighth view is Mathew Hutchinson, Dana’s fiancé and heir to a large fortune. The ninth view is Candace White and she’s writing a book. The tenth view is James, hotel owner and the eleventh view is Bradley, hotel owner’s son. They all are staying at Mitchell’s Inn, family owned hotel, in the middle of a winter storm for a weekend getaway to forget about work and unhappiness in their lives. The twelfth view is Sergeant Sorensen, investigating the crimes. The multiple point of views are switching off within the chapter. This book is organized by a time line for the weekend starting Friday night.
An Unwanted Guest is very well written and a fast paced read! The story started out similar to Agatha Christi’s And Then There Were None with many characters to keep up. Not very original in my opinion, but I still enjoyed the read nonetheless. Each character has the potential to be the killer and I like that I couldn’t guess who it was. I love that twist at the end. This is my first read from the author but it won’t be the last. I highly recommend everyone to read this book!
Pro: fast paced, page turner, multiple point of views, hotel, observant characters
Con: not an original start to the story
I rate it 5 stars!
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Glad to hear you enjoyed even though it wasn’t very unique. I’ll keep an eye on this author! Thanks!
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You haven’t read any books by this author? I think An Unwanted Guest is her third book and here I thought I’m behind 🙂
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You know it’s a good book when you’re finishing at 3am!
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Haha yeah 😊
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Great review 💜💕 Jasmine …
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Thanks Priyasha 🙂
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