As the winter temperatures finally descend on us this weekend, if you are looking for something to do…and you are tired of watching television, check out An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena.
This novel is the perfect balance between suspense and fun. Set in a picturesque mountain boutique hotel…all seems well until a winter storm traps all of the guests inside and cuts them off from the outside world. Under normal circumstances, this might not be such a bad thing. Surrounded by cozy fireplaces with good food, a stocked wine cellar, no telephone or internet connection, and seemingly good company, the guests decide to make the best of it. All is perfectly fine, until the next morning when one of the guests is found dead at the bottom of the stairs…and then another…and another.
As you fly through the pages, you will feel like you are playing a game of Clue…guessing who the murderer is…only to be surprised when said “murderer” ends up dead. This novel is fast-paced, exciting, and the characters are complex. Each individual is not what they seem, although it does seem as if everyone has a secret to protect.
And I won’t spoil the ending, but as she always does, Shari Lapena achieves perfectly what I call the “double twist” finale!
So who did it…the housewife, the heir to a fortune, the lawyer, the war correspondent, the inn keeper, the adulterer husband, the troubled son, the girl next door, or the writer? Guess you will have to crack open the spine (and maybe a good bottle of wine)…settle in, and find out for yourself!
Happy Friday and Happy Reading!
My Best, and As Always…