The Invitation

An Absolutely Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Killer Twist

By: Rachel Abbott

Narrated by: Olivia Vinall

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

That’s the thing about old friends...they never let you forget.

The first time Jemma and Matt were invited to Polskirrin - the imposing ocean-view home belonging to Matt’s childhood friend Lucas Jarrett - it was for an intimate wedding that ended in tragedy. Jemma will never forget the sight of the girl’s pale body floating listlessly towards the rocky shore.

Now, exactly one year later, Jemma and her husband have reluctantly returned at Lucas’s request to honor the anniversary of an event they would do anything to forget.

But what Lucas has in store for his guests is nothing like a candlelight vigil. Someone who was there that night remembers more than they’ll admit to, and Lucas has devised a little game to make them tell the truth.

Jemma believes she and Matt know nothing about what happened to that woman...but what if she’s wrong? Before you play a deadly game, make sure you can pay the price....

From the four-million-copy best-selling author of Sleep Tight comes a psychological thriller that will have you gripped until the last word. Perfect for fans of Something in the Water, The Woman in the Window, and The Silent Patient.

©2020 Rachel Abbott (P)2020 Headline

Critic Reviews

"Unbearably tense, with a killer twist." (Good Housekeeping)

"A properly addictive, leave-the-light-on thriller." (Red Magazine)

A Who Done It Again???

I don't often write negative or even moderately negative book reviews because I don't feel qualified. I certainly lack both the talent and the creativity to write any sort of novel. However, I am an avid reader of mysteries and thrillers and I am finally ready to admit they are almost all the same. This book was not bad but it wasn't anything new either. It had all the elements of any other book of this genre.

There have only been a handful of really creative, original and even outstanding thrillers I've read over the years and if it is okay with Audible, I would like to list them:

"Baby Teeth" by Zoje Stage
"The Last Mrs. Parrish" by Liv Constantine
"The Escape Room" by Megan Goldin
"Behind Closed Doors" by Sadie Ryan

There are others such as 'The Girl on the Train" and "Gone Girl" but most of us have read those and/or seen the films.

No offense to Ms. Abbott but "The Invitation" was just an average read with nothing new or special to add to the genre. Having written this, I am still in hot pursuit of a good thriller as it is my favorite genre.

Disappointing

Having listened to seven Rachel Abbott audios in last several weeks, was looking forward to release of The Invitation. I didn’t listen to Only the Innocent due to negative reviews, especially narrator which is a deal breaker for me. Just finished The Invitation and, with exception of outstanding performance of narrator, kept waiting to care about these characters and be truly curious why slight hysteria surrounding everyone’s behavior and emotional state. That never happened. Entire storyline and plot development is too contrived. I so enjoyed getting to know DCI Tom Douglas in earlier Rachel Abbott books, but the inspectors in current release have no personality so I didn’t care about them either! I listen to probably 2-3 audios per week and perhaps even more during current challenge of sheltering at home. Certainly would read another Rachel Abbott book, but perhaps will not jump on a new release. Will wait until some credible reviews are available.

Good idea, awful execution

So many good reviews for this book I was really looking to something interesting. It was just so dull and never got to the point. A lot of meandering around with no action. Good narrator and that’s about all I can say positive about this book.

GET! TO! THE! POINT!!!

My god! This book started pretty good and interesting! I was so invested. Then it just dragged and dragged and dragged. This book could've been so so good! Returning!

Excellent Suspense Thriller

I loved The Invitation by Rachel Abbott. I enjoy all of her books but this one probably lands in the top three. I listened to it straight through and my attention was captured from the first five minutes. I loved the variety of characters. Very enjoyable listen and I highly recommend!

Enjoying a book should not be this hard!

I’m not one to write reviews, especially 1 star, for the simple reason everyone has their own taste.
But this book was one of the toughest books to follow and finish.
The characters had no depth..and hard to relate too.
The book jumped from characters that I had no idea it wasn’t the same person. The voices all sounded a like.
The plot sounded so good...but the poor execution plus storyline was just not good.

Lots of Characters, Lots of Twists and Turns

A group of friends gathers for a wedding but the groom's sister drowns in an accident so the wedding ceremonies were cancelled. A year later all of the same group of friends are invited back to the wedding venue to stay at their wealthy friends home, much to their chagrin. What they thought would be a weekend of bonding and reminiscing because a creepy recreation of the events of the year before. The host now believes his sister is dead and needs his friends to recreate the scene so he can figure out which one was the murderer.

There are many characters, sometimes a little hard to keep up with, in 'The Invitation.' However, the story takes on a lot of twists and turns and it's nothing but unpredictable. I enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing until the end.

4 stars overall

-Wendi

good concept, but ultimately failed to deliver.

this started out so well,and I was excited where it would go. but it was much too long and seemed to struggle towards the last half to keep all the pieces in place.

The Invitation

I am a fan of R. Abbott...Quite the ride..So many twists and turns. I am still a bit confused about the ending! Pay attention to this read carefully..

Not impressed.

This story was far too easy to figure out. It dragged on and on with very little forward movement of the story.

Mis-Sold !!!

Like the other reviewer says, audible have got these two books mixed up. (The Invitation and The Murder game.)

"The Invitation" was going OK up to chapter 17. We were hearing about Jemma & Matt, and their friend Lucas about to get married to Nina... Then chapter 18 suddenly switches to Stephanie King who is out of breath and has lost Jason!!! That is from the other book!!

Update: I now think both books are exactly the same. I THINK Audible have published the same book twice - under two different names. One claims to be a stand-alone "absolutely gripping" psychological thriller, one claims to Stephanie King book 2. They are both 10 hrs 11min long. Audible probably thought this was a cunning way to double the number of customers! VERY CONFUSING. Audible Customer Services are closed at the moment, I'll persevere with the listening...but I feel I've been mis-sold part 2 of a detective book pretending to be a stand-alone psychological thriller.

Final Update: The last third of the book was indeed just a police investigation, DS Stephanie King questioning the 8 suspects trying to figure out who was lying. Plus we get a twist at the end of course.

What?!

This appears to be “The Murder game”! I ordered both on pre order, both released on the same day! Details and start are the same.

once again Rachel has nailed it!

loved this book, listened to it in 2 days just HAD to know what was going to happen next! can't wait to see if there is a follow up!