Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Noah can’t believe he’s been talked into spending Christmas on a remote island with his ex-girlfriend’s family. He hasn’t seen her—or her brothers—since college, and now her father has asked him to do the one thing Noah hates most: lie. Lies may come easily to the Wentworth clan, but Noah is different. Then Mr. Wentworth gives him one more impossible task: uncover who killed the family matriarch before the holiday is over. Murder has always seemed to circle this family, and it’s time to put the rumors to rest. Will Noah solve the mystery, or will he become the killer’s next target?
The king of psychological thrillers is back with a daring new book. B.P. Walter delivers his signature mix of suspense and danger while building characters readers will hate to love in The Christmas Guest. With a plot that twists and turns as sharply as the weather, the setting becomes one of the story’s greatest strengths: a sprawling estate on a remote island, cut off from the rest of the world when the tides rise. Walter taps into readers’ innate fear of helplessness—and of trusting the wrong people—to create a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere. The dangerous interpersonal dynamics keep the pages turning and will have readers silently begging the characters not to do exactly what Walter makes them do next. This is a book that will keep you up late at night: first because you need to know what happens next, and then because sleep may not come easily.
I give The Christmas Guest 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed this book, though it was a slow start for me. At times, I felt as if I were missing pieces of backstory that would have helped me better understand why the characters made certain choices. That may have been intentional, but it was distracting early in the novel. I did appreciate the way Walter brings the setting and weather to life through vivid descriptions, using both as catalysts for several key story points. However, a few elements stretched believability just enough to pull me out of the beautifully built suspense and break my focus while reading.
Because the story includes death and discussions of murder, it may not be suitable for all audiences. I would recommend it to readers who enjoyed other recent thrillers we’ve read, such as Mother Daughter Sister Stranger or The Prodigal Daughter, both of which also featured sibling drama and murder. I would also recommend it for suspense and thriller book clubs, which would have plenty to discuss while unpacking the plot’s twists, family secrets, and moral gray areas.
The Christmas Guest hits shelves this Tuesday, September 18. You can preorder your copy in our Bookshop.org store.
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Beignets and Big Feelings, Leslie Gay Streeter
- Current audio book: Ex En Provence, Portia MacIntosh
- Book I’m most looking forward to: The Magic of Chamomile Cottage, Heather Webber
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