Trashy book review !!!

 Yes, we all pretend to read "good" books, ones with thought, substance, intelligence.  But often I read trashy novels because they are entertaining and we all need some entertainment now and then.  Or all the time. I read a lot of reviews, in the New York Times, Washington Post, Goodreads, yada yada.  I have no idea where I read the review of this book and it doesn't matter but it ended up on my library list and curb-side pick up at libraries is now a thing, so there it was, in my hands.

"The Guest List" by Lucy Foley isn't too trashy but just trashy enough. It's well written and well paced. The twists and turns in the plot are enough to make your head spin around like Regan's in "The Exorcist."  But rest assured, there is no devil possession in this book.  All the evil comes from the characters.

Six different characters narrate interlocking chapters.  We know from the outset there's going to be a murder, we just don't know who dies and who does the killing. Each of the six have motives and means. It's a crap-shoot until the last couple of pages. And therein lies the entire skeleton of this novel. 

The location is a remote, creepy, dark and gloomy small island off of the mainland of Ireland. The event is a very well-produced and very expensive wedding. The cast of characters includes bride, groom, best man, maid of honor, caterer, a plus-one and lots of other random people who could be killers or just hangers on. 

A storm comes in unexpectedly, wind and rain and loss of power !!!!  A body is found !!!  Bloody clothes !!!

You can read this book in two days, that's how unsubstantial it is.  But I am not saying it's a crappy book, it's just a trashy novel that you can leave on the bus or on the beach and not miss it.  Pretty close to the end a wise reader can almost figure out the last of the twisty plot devices but since the person who gets killed isn't very likable, it's a bit poetic finding out the who, why, where and when of the killing.

Don't buy this book.  Get it from the library or a used book store. But for a beach read, or a book to get you through a couple of Covid days of going nowhere, it's fine.

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