Leanne Olson

by B.A. Paris

releasing February 20, 2024 from St. Martin’s Press

The Guest is my first read from B.A. Paris, and I really enjoyed it.

Iris and Gabriel return home from a vacation to find their friend, Laure, has moved into their house. She says her husband, Pierre, has a secret child and she needs to stay with them until she figures out what to do.

The weeks go on, and Laure still won’t leave. Iris and Gabriel start to doubt her story.

This book gave me so much anxiety.  I’m an introvert and the idea of having someone in my house who won’t leave is my personal nightmare. 

I’ve been bored lately with domestic thrillers that all feel the same, but I had no idea where The Guest was headed.  There are three major plot lines (in addition to Laure’s marriage, one involves creepy new neighbours, and one is about the death of a teen boy that Gabriel witnessed). I buddy read it with a friend and it was a blast trying to figure out how the stories all related.  

I’m not sure how I feel about the epilogue and how the mystery resolved — in places, it seemed a bit implausible — but I really enjoyed the novel overall, and will be checking out more of Paris’s writing in the future.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my review copy of this book.