An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena is a Sunday Times bestselling novel, published in 2018.
I’ve read a couple of Shari Lapena thrillers and while they always seem to be really popular, I’ve always been slightly disappointed in them. The Couple Next Door was one that I was looking forward to reading after hearing great things about it, and whilst I did enjoy it, I didn’t really understand the hype.
However, I loved the premise of An Unwanted Guest so I thought I’d give it a go.
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Plot
As the guests arrive at a remote, secluded inn deep in the forest, they’re all looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Miles from anywhere, they’re hoping it will be the perfect spot to destress and unwind.
However when a violent rages, the guests find themselves completely cut off from the outside world. They can’t contact anybody and nobody can get in, or get out. When the first body is found, the guests realise a horrifying truth.
There’s a killer amongst them, and they’re trapped.
An Unwanted Guest Book Review
An Unwanted Guest had such a promising start and it felt Agatha Christie-esque with its locked-room whodunnit premise. I also loved the claustrophobic tension as the guests realised they were trapped with a killer.
However, I felt the story fizzled out and I found myself caring less about the characters. There are a lot of them and the author shows us so many different points of view. This enables us to see the characters from the perspectives of the other guests but there were just too many of them for a relatively short book. Each viewpoint was quite short and due to the large cast of characters, they were all quite one dimensional.
I finished the book not really caring who the culprit was and not really caring about who the next victim would be.
Other readers seem to love Shari Lapena’s books but I think it’s time for me to admit that her books just aren’t for me. It would be boring if we all enjoyed the same things!
What should I read after An Unwanted Guest?
If you enjoyed An Unwanted Guest , I would suggest reading more Shari Lapena novels, such as A Stranger in the House.
You may also like The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan and The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse as they both have a similar “trapped with a killer” feel to them.
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