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A Novel

By: Lucy Foley

Narrated by: Jot Davies, Chloe Massey, Olivia Dowd, Aoife McMahon, Sarah Ovens, Rich Keeble

A Reese's Book Club Pick

“I loved this book. It gave me the same waves of happiness I get from curling up with a classic Christie.... The alternating points of view keep you guessing, and guessing wrong.” (Alex Michaelides, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Silent Patient)

"Evok[es] the great Agatha Christie classics.... Pay close attention to seemingly throwaway details about the characters’ pasts. They are all clues.” (New York Times Book Review)

A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times best-selling 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?

©2020 Lucy Foley (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

Entertaining

I was really excited for this book, Pre-ordered it. I felt like the narration was done perfectly. I finished this in a day, I couldn’t put it down. It was so enticing and it was full of drama. There isn’t one like-able character, but i can’t help but feel drawn in. As the story goes on, I feel like it wasn’t that much of a mystery or a thriller. I feel like the past and the present had a different tones, with the present claiming to be “scary” which i couldn’t understand. The story was good and well let’s just say, karma ? I also feel like it was fairly easy to follow, with all the arrows pointing directly to all the answers. With all that being said, it was good and entertaining. The best thing about this book, it paints a clear picture.

I also feel that it has some trigger warning, it’s not explicit but dabbles in unwanted sexual acts, depression, suicide, post natal depression, cheating, toxic relationships, bullying, drugs.

Entertaining, slightly shallow storyline

This book was entertaining, but slightly shallow in the character development and plot line. Nice nod to Christie, but don’t go in expecting a new And Then There Were None.

It's not a mystery

Not knowing in advance everything that is going to happen is not the same as being in the 'mystery' genre. The book basically ends with the occurrence of the crime one would ostensibly solve in a mystery novel, at the same time that we find out who the culprit is. There is some jumping back and forth in time in the book, but there is no part of the book where the crime is being investigated or solved. No gathering of clues after the fact...or before the fact, as it would have to be in this case. Let me put it another way -- the reader can't properly solve the crime at any point. This is not a case where you are given all the information you need to come to a conclusion, if only you were clever enough. This is not anything like a Christie mystery, and those comparisons need to stop.

And I did guess who did it in advance.

Good story but disappointed in crude language

I love a mystery & found the story very interesting. However the overuse in every chapter & every character of the F-word was ridiculous. I would not read this author again.

good but...

I liked the arious readers, the suspense and plot BUT the use of the F__k word was offensive and unnecessary. it didn't enhance the plot whatsoever. As a result I won't buy another of her books.

Ending?

Left you hanging. Not my best read. Would not waste the credit. The ending left you wondering, but not enough to ponder later. Easily forgettable book.

Entertaining in a dark room

I selected this title for my last work trip, an 11 hour round trip drive.

The book feels like a blend of an Agatha Christy story and The Girl on the Train or Gone Girl. The latter two were based on the writing style, not the plot. I think there was potential here for it to be a great story, but to me it was a bit boring.

The book jumps back and fourth between 2-3 different days with 5-6 different characters. For example, the author starts the chapter with "Hugh 2 days before the wedding" (made up name) and unless you have memorized each character's name and their specific role in the story, you dont know who "Hugh" is. Since the name draws a blank and it jumped to a different time, its easy for the mind to wander. "Gee, that looks like a good price on gas right there, I wonder if they have a Subway inside? Why is that truck driver in the left lane....construction now, really?" Then you hear the book transition to "Cindy the day of the wedding" and inside I am thinking "who they heck is Cindy?" After 5 minutes you kind of piece who she is together then the story jumps to a different time with a different character and you start all over. Its easy to lose concentration on this story, its just not that engaging.

If you were in a dark room with no distractions listening to this, the story may work. Even so, it was not like the ending was a shock. Did I figure it out? No, but did I care when the full story came to light at the end? No. Its not a bad book by any means, its not a great book either.

Started well, but lost its momentum .

Characters are not developed well, one-dimentional. Vivid performances somewhat compensated for short-comings. Overall I do recommend.

Slow start

Almost returned because the start is so blah. As things begin to be revealed, it was just blah also.

Predictable

This is good.....Kind of predictable. The back and forth between characters and the tidbits about the wedding night scattered throughout was a bit frustrating. It was still enjoyable.