REVIEW: An Unwanted Guest

An Unwanted Guest
Author: Shari Lapena

Upstate New York. Wintertime. A remote inn. No cell service. No wi-fi. Blizzard conditions.

Murders.

What might have been a relaxing get-away for several guests at the Mitchell's Inn in the Catskills quickly turns to a nightmare when the guests start dying. Someone is picking them off one at a time. But who? And why? Separated from the rest of civilization by snowfall and a power outage, the guests scramble to protect themselves and find out which one of them is a murderer.

I listened to an audio book version of this novel. Narrated by Hillary Huber, the audio from Peguin Random House Audio is just under 8.5 hours long. I liked Huber's narration for the most part, although at times she did get a bit monotone. I have partial hearing loss but was easily able to hear and understand Huber's voice. All in all, a nice listening experience.

I expected a much different ending. And was surprised by the seemingly lackluster solution at the end of the story. 75% of the story was incredibly suspenseful....and I was waiting for the twisty slam of an ending....but it never came. The story just sort of conveniently wrapped itself up...with a bit of a twisty gouge at the very end. I think I liked the more dramatic ending I envisioned better.....lol.   But -- despite the fact the ending seemed a bit abrupt -- this was a very entertaining and suspenseful story. I have read two other books by Lapena -- The Stranger in the House and The Couple Next Door -- and I love her writing. Putting those two earlier books in perspective gives me more understanding of the ending of this book. What wowed me about her two earlier books was the "This Could Actually Happen'' feeling her suspense stories have -- that realistic feeling that the shit-show unfolding in print could really actually happen to someone. The ending of An Unwanted Guest is that sort of horror as well. How well do you really know those around you? Are they really who and what they say they are? Everyone has secrets. Everyone has things in their past they want to keep in the shadows. And those shadows might be pulled away at any time. What might someone do to protect their secrets? While I did like my ideas about how the story would end.....Lapena's ending is better because......It could happen. Normal people. Normal lives. Abnormal secrets. And just the right push in the wrong direction.

It. Could. Happen.

Great suspense story. I'm definitely going to be looking forward to Lapena's next book! Haven't been disappointed yet! :)

.....and I'm not going to be renting a remote cabin or staying at a backwoods inn anytime soon. Nope. No way.