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Who did it?…I think it was the girl.…It HAS to be this guy, no one else could have done it….Why would HE do it?…WHO DID IT?!

My 7th and 8th graders just began reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and class time recently is consumed with conversations of who did it? They’re having loads of fun guessing who the murderer is. Speculating. Always finding out they’re wrong in the next chapter. Ms. Mash, I’m pretty sure I figured it out already. I smile, knowing their theory will be in little pieces by chapter 6.

My students didn’t buy into my enthusiasm for mysteries when we spent two days taking notes on the elements of mystery. But the conversation turned to the characters they’d encounter. The events they’d witness as readers. And slowly, their skepticism turned to interest. And after chapter 1, their interest turned into excitement.

For many, this their first time diving into the depths of mystery and their excitement reminds me why I love mysteries, thrillers, true crime. The suspense, for one thing. It’s insane how much that little feeling grips you, practically grabs your scared, shaking hand and forces you to flip the pages until you know everything thats happened. Mystery novels, the really good ones, at least, target the part of our brains in charge of curiosity and place one driving question at the center: Who did it? The really good mystery novels keep you asking that up until the very last page.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley invokes the best of the mystery elements. The suspense, the stormy island and gray mood, the whodunnit question, the guessing until the end. As I read And Then There Were None, I couldn’t help but see so many ways that The Guest List was influenced by the queen of mystery. In talking to people, I find this novel has mixed reviews. For me, this is one of my tops reads of 2021 thus far.

What I Liked:

I have a major obsession with all things Ireland. So I knew I’d like this book already. Foley created the perfect atmosphere. I felt like I was on the jaded rocks among the rough sea and thunderclouds. I felt the same unease as the guests as the weather worsened and the island became progressively more ominous.

The story is told from the perspectives of 5 different characters and the present, finding-the-body events are intertwined throughout. The use of character flashbacks creates a suspense that is almost unbearable. The characters aren’t necessarily always likable, but the more their stories and histories are revealed, well, the jaw drop can’t be helped. By the end, everything is connected. I love how Foley intertwines the characters and slowly reveals the big picture.

The chapters are short, but the pacing is slow. Short chapters are what I live for because I can’t stop reading. I’m able to justify one more chapter for hours, and then, oops, I finished the book in a day. Because of the short chapters, the information needed to create the big picture is sprinkled out slowly, creating a slow-paced page-turner.

I think the individual story lines each character has are interesting as well. For most of the characters, I was left guessing until almost the end of the novel.

What I Didn’t Like:

The one thing that I didn’t love: I felt I put the big picture together too soon. Agatha Christie does a really good job of keeping you guessing until the literal last page, and I would’ve liked to see that here. I figured it out with maybe 50 pages to go still. The ending was still interesting, but I like not knowing until the very last page.

There also could have been more red herrings. Each chapter left you on a cliff, but the story lines were mostly solid. I didn’t feel misled at all, I didn’t feel there were huge plot twists. It was just moving from little and scattered information into the big picture.

My Rating:

I rated this one 5/5. While the novel could’ve kept the guessing game going longer and more plot twists could have been incorporated, I feel it lived up to all of my expectations. I read this in roughly two days because it is a straight page-turner. The character story lines and the end result are engaging enough even without plot twists and red herrings. Put this on your shelf for the next rainy day! You can grab it on Amazon or Bookshop — thanks for supporting me and allowing me to continue providing book reviews and recommendations!