The Guest List Readalong: Week 1 Discussion

[Elizabeth]

Hello to everyone who is reading this book for March Mystery Madness, or to anyone who has read it already and wants to chat about it or, to anyone who may choose to read it later and stumble across this chat!

My personal reading goal for this book is to read approximately 75 pages per week and come here to discuss what I read before moving on to the next section. You are free to read at your own speed. These discussion threads will contain spoilers for the designated sections. If you read ahead before discussing this section. Please try not to spoil anything from later in the book. That is why I find it better to stop and chat about the book when I get to the end of each section.

For week one I am reading from page one through page 76, which is a chapter named (The Day Before) Hannah (The Plus-One).

[Kristin]

I have read the first 76 pages now. These characters are not very lovable. All of them seem very superficial. They all need psychiatrists! The author does a good job of making me feel that any member of the wedding party is capable of committing murder or being a victim.

So far, this book is quite a bit like The Hunting Party which I read in January. Unreliable narrators, "Locked room" plot, etc.

I thought the beginning would be more atmospheric than it was. The description of the cave wasn't as creepy as I felt it could have been. I wanted to hear about the slimy walls and the murky water. Also the house has to have some secret areas that weren't described. I really wanted a better description of the layout of the house, so I could picture in my mind who was staying next to each other in what rooms. I don't really get a vibe of impending doom.

[Elizabeth]

Kristin,
I totally agree with you! I can already tell that this is going to be a book that I'm probably not going to enjoy. I'm hard pressed to find a character that I can get behind. If I had to pick one that I sympathize with at this point I would probably pick Hannah.
I did get a little bit of foreboding from the prologue, but after that there wasn't much.
I'm only mildly curious about the secret that the half sister is hiding. I think I can guess it at this point.
It looks like the time line is going to jump around a bit. I hope I can keep up and not get too confused. I'm listening on audio, but I'll have to follow along in the book too I think.