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A dead body is discovered in the pool at the resort, Laila thinks she knows the truth about what has happened. she realises that everyone is under suspicion. However, it becomes clear to Laila and James that they are not the only ones who have secrets. But, secrets have a way of coming out......and they will come out in the end.
I have to say I was pretty excited for this book and was reading it in pretty much the perfect setting but it just missed something for me hence why I’ve gone for the 4 rather than 5 stars. A great storyline and characters that intrigue you but I think I was expecting a bit more of a busier book if that makes sense. It’s set in an ultra luxury hotel but it was as if the characters mentioned and the staff were the only people staying at the resort whereas my nosy nature wanted to know more about more people and maybe have more potential suspects… The story line was executed with perfection, the characters were fascinating and multi dimensional. I was completely and totally obsessed with this book from start to finish and I am unable to stop raving about it!! Another hard-to-put-down book from [Heidi Perks]. With so many layers and complex characters, the suspense will keep you gripped throughout' Woman's Weekly In this captivating slow-burner, dark secrets lurk beneath a luxurious lakeside resort in Italy with mysterious connections to a handsome bartender in England. Helen Cooper deftly navigates between what seems like two completely separate narratives bundled in The Other Guest: One involves a murder hushed up by the victim’s own family, and the other involves a blossoming romance. You’ll be hooked on trying to solve this puzzle!”– Reader’s Digest When days later one of the boys ends up dead. Laila thinks she knows who did it and explains it to the Police detective that comes to investigate.Laila thinks she knows the truth of what happened. But in telling Em what she's seen, she stands to lose everything she holds dear.
This is a book that requires constant attention as the plot wavers, hides and changes in a neat and fascinating way. There is a touch of Agatha Christie in the way the characters and the plot swerves, steadies and takes another route, which is fascinating to read and is extremely addictive once begun. Laila has been taken away on a luxurious holiday by her husband James. After many failed attempts at IVF, James has told Laila he no longer wants to try for a baby and hopes this holiday will be exactly what they both need.
Multibuys
With its keep-you-guessing story line and holiday setting, fans of domestic thrillers will devour' Heat magazine Leah is finally feeling like she is able to visit her family's resort a year after her niece, Amy, died there. She's not liking what she sees when she gets there and starts an investigation of her own to try to find out what really happened to Amy. I liked this part of the story. This book is not bad but it’s not good. It’s alright. It’s not shouting out of the roof tops how much a banger this is but it’s not a book to avoid. It’s bog standard. Laila and her husband James have arrived in Greece at a luxury resort for a make or break holiday. After several years of failed IVF treatment, James has said that he can no longer go through the painful process, leaving Laila’s dreams of motherhood in tatters. Both of them know that they have spent the last five years drifting apart, so this break from reality is desperately needed. Pure, thrilling escapism. Whip-smart twists make this summer sizzler impossible to put down. The Other Guest is unforgettable' Chris Whitaker
After Leah’s twenty-one year old niece drowns in a lake near their family Italian resort she is devastated. One year later her loss still feels fresh. She decides to return to her family’s resort and is dumbfounded when her family seems to have removed all traces of her niece. Leah suspects something is fishy and is determined to figure out they are covering up. The synopsis describes this book as a cat and mouse game. I didn't get that vibe at all from reading this, mostly because it was such a slow burn. While I tend to enjoy a slow burn, this was so slow it became tedious. The main star of the show, though, was Il Mandrino itself. The luxury resort, the employees, the family running it-It all had a creepy Stepford Wives vibe to it that I really enjoyed. I wish that aspect had been fleshed out more and made to be even more ominous. I ended up liking this book, though I had trouble getting into it for the first quarter or so. The story is told from 3 POVs: Amy (in past tense), who we know has died in a suspicious drowning accident; Leah, Amy’s aunt who is grieving and looking for answers; and Joanna, a young woman who initially is seemingly unrelated to the other storylines and is reeling from a surprise breakup with her long term boyfriend. The storylines eventually converge in a satisfying way. The book cleverly highlights the extreme heat of Italy among the glory of the palatial hotel, and the rich and elegant visitors who frequent the place. That in itself is fascinating to read as the hotel has elevated itself to such a degree that only the very rich and prestigious will visit it. Leah, however, has feelings similar to Amy, and does not like the place or the people, but is unsure of the reason why she feels this way.Unfortunately, I felt a little bit let down by this book. The cover and the title really caught my eye, but I didn't really get how they tie in with the book itself. A large part of The Other Guest revolves around an aunt of Amy, who was a particular friend of hers, Leah, as she travels to the luxury hotel to be with her family after Amy’s death. Things are not quite right within the family. They are behaving strangely, and Leah becomes enmeshed in something that she does not understand, but feels is very dangerous, and so the mystery of what actually happened to Amy begins. Some strange connections start to materialise at a pace which is slow and tantalising, and which makes the book very hard to put down. When they arrive at the 5* hotel they meet a couple who has two teenage sons. Laila likes people watching and spends most of her time watching the couple and their two sons. Her husband thinks she is jealous as they have two kids, and she has none. But instead of them both rekindling their relationship and what else as she got to do when her husband James goes off on trips on his own leaving his wife behind.
Em has no idea who Laila is, or that she has been watching her and her teenage sons and husband so intently.The Other Guest by Helen Cooper is a slow-burn mystery. Till about 70% into the story, I felt like reading two stories in parallel. Joanna is a student counselor working at the university and recovering from a broken relationship and then there is Leah whose niece died in a tragic accident a year ago and she is recovering from the trauma of that loss. So there we go, following the lives of these two women who do not seem to have anything in common, Joanna is forming a friendship with a new guy in her life, and Leah is hell-bent on tracing the final moments of her niece’s life at the family-owned resort regardless of the danger and warning signs being thrown at her. I also didn't feel the characters had much depth to them. Therefore, I was unable to connect with them. I loved the premise of two women who don't seem to be connected, but ultimately get entangled in some dangerous situations that reveal their connection. It’s a book that speaks to us about why judgement of others can often be incredibly wrong. Who can you trust? What if you get a person all wrong? The characters are all really interesting and there was a great amount of reveals and twists right to the end. I did not guess the final reveal but I was close if that counts! Somehow, our main perp knows Aunt Leah is going to Italy and will want to look into Amy’s death? The same perp somehow know’s Amy’s friend and her family’s private housekeeper even though, he (a foreigner on a week long biz trip) was holed up in his private villa and by his own admission was “never there.” The dude sells watches for hell’s sake yet, somehow he is making things happen like the mafia.
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