The Guest List

The Guest List is a 2020 mystery novel by British author Lucy Foley. The story takes place at the wedding of Jules Keegan and Will Slater, which is being held on an island off the coast of Ireland. The plot has been compared to the works of Agatha Christie, as a murder occurs with limited suspects and each guest has a secret which will be revealed.

Set on a remote, windswept island off the coast of Ireland, the novel centres around the glamorous yet tension-filled wedding of Jules Keegan, a successful London magazine publisher, and Will Slater, a handsome and charming television personality. The couple has chosen to hold their wedding at “The Folly,” an isolated venue owned by the wedding planner Aoife and her husband Freddy. As guests begin to arrive by boat, a storm rolls in, cutting off all communication with the mainland and heightening the island's ominous atmosphere.

The story unfolds through the alternating perspectives of several key characters: Jules; Olivia, her fragile and troubled half-sister and bridesmaid; Hannah, a guest and the wife of Jules's longtime friend Charlie; Johnno, Will's best man and childhood friend; and Aoife, the wedding planner. As the narrative shifts between the wedding day and flashbacks to the preceding events, long-buried secrets begin to surface among the group of friends and family gathered on the island.