Pages: 291
Published: 26th July 2018
Trigger warning: PTSD
A remote lodge in upstate New York is the perfect getaway. . . until the bodies start piling up.It’s winter in the Catskills and the weather outside is frightful. But Mitchell’s Inn is so delightful!
The cosy lodge nestled deep in the woods is perfect for a relaxing–maybe even romantic–weekend away. The Inn boasts spacious old rooms with huge wood-burning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a book and someone you love.
So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity–and all contact with the outside world–the guests settle in for the long haul. The power’s down but they’ve got candles, blankets, and wood–a genuine rustic experience!
Soon, though, a body turns up–surely an accident. When a second body appears, they start to panic. Then they find a third body. Within the snowed-in paradise, something–or someone–is picking off the guests one by one.
They can’t leave, and with no cell service, there’s no prospect of getting the police in until the weather loosens its icy grip. The weekend getaway has turned deadly. For some couples, it’s their first time away. For others, it will be their last. And there’s nothing they can do about it but huddle down and hope they can survive the storm.
I have really liked Shari Lapena’s previous two books. They were both memorable for their sharp, fast-paced writing and multi-layered characters, so I was highly intrigued to discover her take on a classic murder mystery. Having read it, I can say that it was immersive and atmospheric, if at times a little underwhelming.
The mystery itself was fun to try and solve, and I spent a lot of time weighing up all the details of the case as each death occurred. It helped that the story was told in great detail and that at various points there are reasons to suspect any one of the characters, so it kept me guessing and speculating until the identity of the killer became pretty clear. When the revelation came, it was not a great surprise.
This book has been frequently likened to Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None, the most famous example of this genre. It certainly has some similar aspects, such as the creepy setting, the mysterious deaths that provide only subtle clues, and a large group of potential suspects.
It is a likeness that is definitely not lost on Shari Lapena, for Christie and her protagonist Hercule Poirot are both mentioned in the book. There are a couple of other ironic lines, too. For example, one character says ‘I love a good murder mystery, don’t you?’, before the first death even takes place!
Rather than the actual murders, the thing the contributes the most to the book’s simmering tension is the setting. Mitchell’s Inn is eerie and confined, bringing a great sense of atmosphere to the story. The fact that there is no chance of escape, due to the icy weather, raises the stakes even higher.
Most of the characters that appear in Shari Lapena’s other two books are complex and flawed, often hiding something dark from their pasts which is gradually revealed and casts doubt on their credibility. It is exactly the same here.
More or less all of the characters in An Unwanted Guest have something to hide, which makes them all the more interesting, and indeed suspicious. Some were slightly more likeable than others, while it was quite easy to rule some of them out from being the killer as each death took place.
There were a lot of characters in this book, but it felt easy to familiarise myself with all of them from the beginning. The book starts by gradually introducing the characters, and then switches perspective very regularly, so they are all given a lot of depth.
Overall, this book is definitely a page-turner and I liked its engaging, yet sinister tone. I would have preferred the mystery to be a bit more compelling, and for the revelation of the killer to have been more difficult to predict, but Shari Lapena’s books are always enjoyable to read and this was another fun, all-consuming ride.
A very atmospheric and detailed novel, with a decent mystery plot. A fairly good, absorbing read by one of my favourite contemporary crime authors.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Stephen Reads Books 