The Guest by B.A. Paris
B.A. Paris is pure brilliance when it comes to thrillers that start off with seemingly common, average people going about their daily lives. But it’s the snowball effect that can take the most innocent of circumstances and turn them into tightly woven webs of secrets, deceit and lies.
In her newest book, The Guest, Iris and Gabriel have just returned home from a vacation. It wasn’t the best vacation. Gabriel is trying to move on from a traumatic experience that has forced him to take some time off as a doctor in a medical practice. He still has things weighing heavily on his mind and still can’t bear to share them with his wife, Iris.
Enter: Laure. Laure is a dear friend. She knows where their house key is hidden and has used it before, always giving them a head’s up. But this time, much to their surprise, when Iris and Gabe return home from their vacation, Laure has unexpectedly made herself quite comfortable in their home.
For years, Laure and her husband, Pierre, have been tight friends with Iris and Gabriel. But now Laure has walked out on Pierre upon his confession that he cheated on her and has a secret child. She needs time to think. She wants to stay just for a while to get her thoughts together – she has decisions to make.
And that’s where it all begins. Iris and Gabriel are understanding. They rush to her aid. Of course she is welcome to stay with them until she sorts things out. But after just a few days, Laure becomes clingy. She constantly oversteps her bounds. She smothers their life-style. She’s unpredictable. Apparently Pierre is, too. He’s not returning any phone calls. He’s taken a leave of absence from his job. The friendly and outgoing Pierre is now coming off as uncaring and even arrogant.
Laure’s stay goes from days to weeks – to months! If you’re thinking this is a stalker thriller, I can assure you it’s not. It’s a hotbed of secrets – some shallow, some so deep and twisted, you’ll have a hard time wrapping your mind around them.
It isn’t just Laure who becomes a questionmark in your mind. Joseph is Iris and Gabriel’s new landscaper/gardener. He enters quite casually into the picture, but you’re still going to raise your eyebrows. He’s too handsome, too charming and frankly, too perfect! And Iris and Gabriel’s neighbors are becoming extremely tight with Laure. From Iris’ viewpoint something’s up and something’s really “off.”
Iris is silently driving herself crazy with suspicions: Is Joseph having an affair? Or could Joseph be interested in her? She catches him in a lie – should she confront him? Why does Laure meet Pierre to try to patch things up, but yet comes back to stay with her and Gabriel? Why is her good friend and neighbor, Esme, suddenly becoming evasive – what is she covering up? And why won’t her own husband come clean with the dark secret that’s changed him into a brooding and distant former lover?
This powerful thriller gives readers a good dose of what happens when you get “too involved” in someone else’s romantic problems. In this case, not only is it inconvenient and challenging, but fatal. The Guest will make you stop and think: How well do you really know anyone?
What starts out as an interesting story about a relationship gone wrong and a husband hiding secrets, feels like a thermostat slowly climbing one degree hotter with every turn – until it bursts. This brand new thriller (due out Feb. 20th) from New York Times Bestselling author, B.A. Paris, is sure to give you quiet goosebumps – and that’s exactly what a good thriller is supposed to do!
A copy of this book and photo were provided by the St. Martin’s Press.