Hey, it’s Diego.

Apologies for the late issue. I had a family emergency and had to drop everything for about 10 days. But I’m back!

Two weeks ago, I read The Guest List by Lucy Foley.

In it, we follow multiple characters with conflicting agendas and shared dark pasts that explode into murder.

I’ve read this trope before, so here are my Top Multiple Points of View Thrillers.

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Top Multiple POVs Thrillers

The Club by Ellery Lloyd

The Club by Ellery Lloyd is the closest you’ll find to The Guest List. It tells the story of the launch of a new exclusive celebrity club located on an island off the coast of England. One that is only accessible during 12 hours a day, when the tide allows. And it’s in this location that we follow multiple characters, each with their own agenda, who are unable to leave, as dead bodies start to surface.

The Business Trip

In The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia, two women disappear after boarding an airplane, and their loved ones and acquaintances scramble to figure out what happened. During the story, we end up reading from the point of view of 10 (!) characters in multiple timelines. It starts as an investigative thriller: trying to figure out the mystery. Once we reach the middle point, the story becomes more active, and we embody a proactive main character as they drive the plot in more tense situations.

Keep It In The Family by John Marrs

Keep It in the Family by John Marrs introduces us to Mia and Finn, a couple who buy a fixer-upper to create their dream home. But their plans take a sinister turn when they find something in the attic that unravels a horrifying legacy connected to the house. We follow four characters in a single timeline, as well as an ominous, unnamed narrator in flashbacks. Each character has their own motivations and reacts differently to the gruesome discovery.

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica takes us to a peaceful suburb near Chicago, where the disappearance of a woman sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community. Not long after, another local woman and her young daughter vanish without a trace. The town is thrown into chaos, and neighbors start to wonder if these cases are connected. The story is told from multiple points of view in multiple timelines, including the missing girl, her missing mum, her brother, and a neighbor. And each one holds a piece of the puzzle of what happened to them.

And the newest addition to the list:

The Guest List by Lucy Foley (A Review)

Jules, the bride, has planned the perfect wedding to marry Will, the perfect groom, on an island off the coast of Ireland. Hannah, the plus one, is looking forward to a weekend away from the kids to party like in the good old days. And if Olivia, the bride’s half-sister, doesn’t ruin the wedding with her uncontrollable mood swings, you can be sure that Johnno, the best man, who likes to drown himself in alcohol and drugs, will make a scene. Aoife, the wedding planner, will do her best to control the situation, but there is so much one can do when a storm hits the island and they stumble upon a body.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley is a domestic thriller set on an isolated island.

We follow five point-of-view characters in a single timeline: the bride, the plus one, the best man, the wedding planner, and the bridesmaid, each with their own agendas and shared pasts.

Foley’s writing is utilitarian during the point-of-view chapters, which I appreciate. There are in-between chapters where the story is described from an omniscient point of view, where her writing takes a more flourished tone.

The story starts slowly. We are introduced to five characters after all, and each has their past shared with at least one other character. For the better part of the story, the only thrills come from the in-between chapters. If it were not for these in-between chapters, you’d forget that this is a thriller story, and you’d think this was a drama instead.

We discover who the dead person is towards the end, very close to who actually did the killing, so it’s not a whodunnit or detective story. In this book, you are the one trying to figure out who the victim is going to be and who would want to kill them.

There is no romance, little swearing, and no scenes of graphic violence.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers, obviously)

The ending, although concluding the story in the way you’d want, felt poor in comparison to the build-up. Also, the denouement was so short, I’m not sure it would count as such.

I enjoyed the book. It dipped its toes into some heavy themes without going into details, and kept me entertained until the reveal. Would recommend for fans of claustrophobic thrillers.

This Week’s Update

• The trailer for The Housemaid by Freida McFadden adaptation dropped this week, and it’s gathered 5 million views in three days.

• The Girlfriend, a psychological thriller adapted from Michelle Frances’ bestselling novel, dropped last week on Prime Video.

• After watching The Thursday Murder Club, I’ve been watching old thrillers on Netflix, and they hold up pretty well. Along Came a Spider, Murder by Numbers, and Copycat could be released today in book or movie format and be successful.

That’s all for this week. See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

P.S. Let me know how I did today by replying to this email.

P.P.S. I would love to hear your recommendations for thrillers you loved. Reply to this email and I’ll add them to my TBR list. Thanks!