“Nowhere on earth could possibly live up to those halcyon days. But that’s nostalgia for you, the tyranny of those memories of childhood that feel so golden, so perfect” Aoife, The Wedding Planner.

The Guest List

A Review by Jim Romano

Hello 1000 Bookies! This week we land in a murder mystery, The Guest List by Lucy Foley. I love a good mystery and this book delivers one. The story takes place at a wedding on an island off the coast of Ireland—Inis an Amplora or its other name Cormorant. What an awesome place to go for a wedding, Right? Social influencers and minor celebrities Julia and Will are having their big day but not everyone is happy about it. What makes this book very interesting to me is the reader does not know who is murdered and who is the murderer till the end. At about 330 pages the story is a lot of fun and a quick read. I read it in one weekend because I could not put it down. I always judge a mystery by the criteria of solving the mystery myself, knowing Who Done It, before the big reveal. I did not solve this mystery. I wholeheartedly recommend this for you, if you are in search of a beach read and or a mystery fan. I am sending this to family members for their summer reading.

The story setting is an island off the coast of Galway, Ireland. Being half Irish, I was excited and intrigued by the destination. What could go wrong at a wedding on an island, LOL! The island of Inis an Amplora or Cormorant is fictional however there are islands off the coast of Galway—Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer. Are there fancy inns on the island? I hope so. Irish is still predominantly spoken on these islands. I would love to travel someday to see them. Our bride, Julia, wants to host the wedding in Ireland because her long absent father is of Irish heritage and she desperately wants him to approve of her. Julia also hopes he will pay for the wedding. On the island lives the local wildlife, the cormorant, a bird which serves as an ill omen which clouds the festivities. The restored Inn is called The Folly which is owned and run by Aoife and Freddy. It sounds beautiful. I see myself sitting by the fire at the Folly Inn, reading a great book (maybe a murder mystery), sipping some Irish whiskey with two ice cubes.

I noticed a trend in popular fiction and mysteries recently—there are no good guys anymore, the characters are all flawed. Three of my recent favorites, The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Passengers are all examples of that theme. Likewise, the characters in The Guest List are all incredibly flawed and really not likeable. There are no real good guys. However, does that mirror real life in today’s world—most of us are flawed human beings who are frequently unsympathetic if caught at the right moment. The story revolves around the characters of Julia and Will, the bride and groom. Both are fairly selfish, self-absorbed people who care how things look. A great quote in the story sums them up. “But it’s all about the moment, a wedding. All about the day. It’s not really about the marriage at all, in spite of what everyone says."

Both have interesting and ultimately tough relationships with their respective families. Julia is the product of the failed first marriage of her parents. Each parent has wanted little to do with her: her father marrying other women, her mother blaming the loss of her acting career on a baby Julia. Both parents remarried (her father 5 times). Julia is resentful and she must have outbursts and tantrums for attention. Julia even surmises at one point in the story, “I definitely wouldn’t want Will to see this side of me. But around my family I find myself regressing, letting all the old pettiness and envy and hurt come rushing back until I am teenage Jules, plotting to get away.”

Will is a reality TV star, up and coming. Will attended a prestigious all boys private boarding school called Trevallyan. His father was the headmaster. He and his friends (Johno, Femi, Angus, Duncan and Peter) are very frat boy esq with their antics. They did not seem to have grown up. "The rituals, the male bonding. When we get together there’s this kind of pack mentality. We get carried away". The reader comes to find out that there was a hazing ritual at the school (because heck there always is). A younger student would be kidnapped by the older boys and dropped in the woods, bound and gagged. The student would have to get out of the trap and find their way back to school. It was widely known at the school, everyone discussing their war stories of it. Will has turned the game into his reality TV show. However, there are more sinister aspects to this game.

I spent two school years at an all-boys Catholic school (7th and 8th grade). It was a great education, but boys will be boys. I understand the relationships that form. We did funny things together such as smoke cigarettes at Fenway Park in 1990 (I was 14), purchase pocket knives in Quincy Market, or fill our cologne bottles with our parent’s whiskey and in my case drinking the wrong one (cologne, yuck). I have always witnessed how things can go awry quickly. I watched in horror when a more popular guy hunted and then ultimately grabbed a nerdy kid and threw him over a wall, eventually breaking his arm in two places. I was farther away but I remember the terror and the pain, the look on the boy’s face. I also had the relief in my mind that it was not me. I sympathized with what the best man went through in his mind. The group of friends reminded of the guys who walked behind the bully almost egging him on. I understood what I was reading in The Guest List, all too well.

During the story we also meet Charlie and Hannah, a married couple. Charlie and Julia met growing up and became best friends. Charlie was a boating instructor when he was young, handsome and athletic. He seems to have spurned Julia in the love department when they were young—probably because of his insecurity on Julia’s popularity and perceived money. Hannah seems to have been jealous of the friendship and she is suspicious that they had a sexual relationship sometime in the past. Hannah knows two things, that her husband puts on “airs” around wealthy people, he is disappointed with his job and salary as a geography teacher, and he is mean when he is drunk. So, this weekend might end up a problem. Hannah also senses something happened on the bachelor weekend trip that Charlie attended and seems to have left a scar. Both are less than thrilled for this destination wedding.

I am not going to give away the ending which I was totally surprised about. The Guest List is a well written story and I enjoy it very much. The story line is easy to follow. The characters are memorable but unsympathetic. The setting is great. So Grab a copy today and enjoy.

Keep Reading My Friends!!!