Get the best books like The Guest List by Lucy Foley, for more “locked room mysteries” that will have you guessing “whodunnit” amongst the cast of characters in a secluded setting, like a remote island or snowed-in cabin.
The Guest List is a Reese’s book club pick that quickly became a New York Times bestseller, as well as a New York Times thriller of the year.
The Guest List involves a seemingly happy, posh wedding on a remote, secluded island off the coast of Ireland, but when the bash of the year has officially begun, the power goes out, and a body is discovered. What follows is a classic “whodunit” amongst the wedding party, staff, and guests.
Related Post: Book Club Questions for The Guest List
This style of book, a “locked room mystery,” just hooks you in as a reader and has you playing a Clue-like game of figuring out who in one particular group of people did it, where, why, and how, as you compulsively turn the pages. I couldn’t put it down!
A “locked room mystery” is a fictional type of thriller novel that involves a crime or crimes (usually, murder) that occurs amongst a small group of people that are shut off from the outside world, in a setting like a remote island or snowed-in cabin. Based on the secluded setting, the criminal(s) necessarily must be amongst the small group of people.
In other words, it’s as if a room were locked with all the people in it prior to the occurrence of a crime taking place amongst them inside the room.
Popular authors who often write this type of mystery include Agatha Christie, Ruth Ware, and Lucy Foley — all of whose books you will find below.
Top 3 Books Like The Guest List
What should I read if I like The Guest List?
If you’re extra curious or in a rush, my top picks are:
- The most classic: And Then There Were None
- The most shocking: Daisy Darker
- The most beloved by modern readers: The Woman in Cabin 10
Details on All the Best Books Like The Guest List
While there are many elements of The Guest List for which you can find related books, the most prevalent is that of the “locked room mystery,” so the books like The Guest List that you will find in this post are all based on the “locked room mystery” theme — a genre I know well and love, particularly as a fan of The Guest List!
Below is a quick list of books like The Guest List followed by more details about each one to help you choose the one or ones perfect for you to read right now.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
And Then There Were None was named a Great American Read by PBS, and it is the most similar to The Guest List (in my opinion) on this list.
After ten people, each of whom is hiding and fearing something, are invited to an isolated mansion on the isolated Indian Island, their host never arrives. They have only each other for the duration of their stay, but, one by one, these guests share their darkest secrets…and die.
It’s up to the reader to follow the breadcrumbs to try to determine who did it and whether anyone will survive. It keeps you guessing until the very end!
Related Post: Free Agatha Christie Books
The Club by Ellery Lloyd
- Instant New York Times bestseller
- Reese’s book club pick
The Club uniquely takes place at a super guarded and luxurious club for celebrities on an island off the English coast. When I heard about this setting, I just HAD to read it!
It starts with what appears to be a death, then recaps the days leading up to the launch party, filled with behind-the-scenes tensions amongst the owners, staff, and even the celebrities.
As the body count piles up, it’s clear this is one club in which the members may not be able to get out.
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
Instant New York Times bestseller
I almost didn’t pick up Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney because it sounded TOO much like The Guest List and And Then There Were None to me, but it’s VERY different, and VERY shocking — a true masterpiece of a modern thriller!
Daisy is a woman with a heart condition who claims to have died several times in her life, and her beloved grandmother, Nana, is an author who loved and wrote about her. Nana has now gathered the family at her tiny island estate in Cornwall for her 80th birthday, where she reads her will.
Cut off from the world, a storm rages, and the dysfunctional Darker family ominously discusses how they would each murder someone. Then, at the stroke of midnight, Nana is found dead and, each hour, the death toll increases.
This may sound like a familiar plot, but the mystery includes riddles and old home movies that show the secrets of the Darker family are truly unlike any others.
And the ending provides the kind of unexpected shock that makes you want to go back and re-read everything. It’s a five-star read in my opinion, with a unique plot that’s really exquisitely executed and a truly satisfying conclusion you won’t see coming.
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
The Escape Room is literally a “locked room mystery” as four competitive Wall Street colleagues participate in a teambuilding exercise in an escape room they can only hope to get out of alive.
Trapped in the dark with only each other, their darkest deeds are revealed, and they will learn which one of them is willing to kill in order to survive.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
In The Fury, narrator and playwright Elliot Chase tells, in five acts, a story of murder and love, which he himself lived to tell. It all began when his friend and former movie star, Lana Farrar, and her other famous friends and family took a spontaneous trip to her private Greek island.
Chase promises a story unlike any you’ve heard before, and tension builds as he delivers just that in this spellbinding tale of psychological suspense. This locked room mystery defies everything you thought you thought you knew about the genre. With as many twists and turns as the wind for which it’s named, this book forces you to delay questioning “whodunnit,” as you won’t even be able to figure out who’s dead first.
Beyond who’s dead and who committed murder, what also comes to light is a maze of dark secrets and hidden motives of this eerily interconnected group. It’s brilliantly clever both in its plot and how it’s told, and it’s one utterly satisfying read.
Related Post: Alex Michaelides Books in Order
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
New York Times bestseller
The Hunting Party is the book Lucy Foley wrote before The Guest List.
In the December days that follow Christmas, a group of thirtysomething college friends meets up to celebrate the New Year at an isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands.
But, as they reminisce about the past decade in this wintery thriller, the weight of their secrets presses upon them.
And when a historic blizzard cuts them off from the outside world, one will end up dead and another will be the cause of this death, all by New Year’s Day.
There are a lot of characters, but they aren’t too hard to keep track of. Overall, remote setting, hunting activities, and points-of-view of both insiders and outsiders give this book a really creepy and ominous feel, very similar to The Guest List.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The most widely read mystery of all time
Similar to And Then There Were None is Christie’s other bestselling “locked room mystery” — Murder on the Orient Express. The Orient Express is the famed European luxury train on which a slew of memorable guests boarded one snowy evening.
But, just after midnight, a snowdrift halts the train to a stop. And by morning, an American tycoon is found stabbed to death in his compartment. What’s more is that his door was locked…from the inside.
Renowned fictional detective Hercule Poirot must sleuth the (unexpected) truth from the range of various characters, all full of their own secrets that he reveals in one of the most original endings to a mystery book.
Related Post: Free Agatha Christie Books
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
- New York Times bestseller
- Now a Hulu original series
From the author of Big Little Lies comes Nine Perfect Strangers, in which nine different people travel to a remote health resort called Tranquillum House in order to better themselves for a variety of reasons, including grief, addiction, relationship trouble, and of course, secrets.
But, it becomes more challenging than they ever could have anticipated. The strange, yet charismatic, owner and director will make them question whether she can actually solve their problems, especially as the owner receives threats and it’s learned that a prior retreat participant died.
No Exit by Taylor Adams
Now a Hulu movie
No Exit is a suspenseful thriller in which four strangers are trapped at a remote Colorado rest stop in a blizzard.
When Darby, who was on her way to visit her dying mother, uncovers a kidnapped child in the car next to hers, she must determine who the kidnapper is and how to save the rest of them.
It becomes a really suspenseful fight for her life, with twists you won’t see coming as your heart races.
One by One by Ruth Ware
Reminiscent of Agatha Christie, One by One is a “locked room mystery” Winter-themed book in which eight colleagues at a London tech start-up become snowed in at a ski chalet in the French Alps. (I just loved this atmosphere.)
When an avalanche cuts the co-workers completely off from the outside world, the group begins to shrink, as four characters die “one by one” and fear overtakes the survivors.
As the tension builds, ulterior motives and dark secrets are slowly revealed in this satisfying thriller. It’s one of my favorite Ruth Ware books!
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
#1 New York Times bestseller
The Paris Apartment is the book Lucy Foley published after The Guest List.
Jess has just left her job and is broke and alone, desperate for a fresh start. Her half-brother Ben agrees to let her stay with him at his Parisian apartment, but, when she arrives, he’s missing.
As Jess encounters Ben’s eclectic and unfriendly neighbors, she begins to question his disappearance more and more, and they all become suspects.
Personally, I had a hard time getting into this book, but most readers loved it!
The Retreat by Sarah Pearse
Like The Guest List, The Retreat takes place on a remote island — this time at a wellness resort in England rumored to be cursed by a serial killer.
First, a woman seemingly falls to her death. But, when a second person drowns it begins to seem like the past is repeating itself, and the truth must be uncovered before anyone else dies.
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
Instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller
Reckless Girls is a quick and propulsive thriller involving one island, six visitors, and countless secrets. It’s super quick — the kind of book you can definitely read in one sitting.
Deep in the Pacific Ocean, Meroe Island has an eerie history of shipwrecks, murder, and even cannibalism. And when six twentysomethings head out on a leisurely trip there, the island’s history haunts them as one goes missing and another one turns up dead.
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
- Instant New York Times bestseller
- Reese’s book club pick
The Sanatorium is another atmospheric book. At an isolated hotel (formerly a sanatorium), high up in the Swiss Alps, Elin is taking a break from her detective job, as she continues to process her brother’s death years prior, and visits with her estranged brother and his new fiance.
When a snowstorm hits and access to the hotel is cut off, her soon-to-be sister-in-law goes missing. Panic ensues as the characters embark on a journey of twists, and turns, more missing persons, and even deaths unfold.
Like it or not, Elin must return to her detective roots if there’s any hope to uncover the truth about this creepy hotel.
They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall
They All Fall Down is another “vacation gone wrong” trope. Miriam receives a surprise invitation to sail to a luxurious Mexican island and, while it sounds like a dream, it turns into a nightmare when she learns her travel companions have been brought to the island under false pretenses and are hiding secrets.
In the expansive mansion deep in the forest, one by one, they all fall down.
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Instant New York Times bestseller
The Turn of the Key is a popular Ruth Ware book in which Rowan finds a live-in nanny job at a remote home in the Scottish Highlands with a picturesque family.
But, her dream job becomes a nightmare when a child dies and she finds herself in prison awaiting her murder trial. She writes to her lawyer, trying to explain the odd events in the home that led to her incarceration and prove her innocence.
It wasn’t my personal favorite Ruth Ware book, but there are definitely surprising twists, and I think most Ruth Ware fans will enjoy this spooky mystery.
An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
Instant New York Times bestseller
An Unwanted Guest takes place deep in the woods of the Catskills at a seemingly relaxing inn. But when a blizzard cuts off the electricity, one of the guests ends up dead.
It looks like an accident…until another guest dies, and the survivors must struggle to survive while forced to hunker down with each other at the same time.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
- Instant New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller
- An Entertainment Weekly “Summer Must List” pick
- A New York Post “Summer Must-Read” pick
- Included in Summer Book Guides from Bustle, Oprah.com, PureWow, and USA TODAY
The Woman in Cabin 10 is one of the most popular and beloved thrillers by novelist Ruth Ware. Travel journalist Lo is reeling from a home burglary, and she believes she has received the assignment of a lifetime when she steps aboard a small, luxury cruise in the North Sea for a week.
But something more ominous is on the horizon, as a drunk and anxious Lo believes she witnessed a woman thrown overboard. Yet, all of the passengers remain accounted for and her concerns are generally dismissed.
As the ship continues to sail, a wave of twists builds up in this intense “locked room” setting. I adored the premise of this book, and how it weaved in other “missing women” plotlines.
It’s one of those mega-bestselling, unputdownable thrillers everyone should read, but at the same time, you need to let go of your logic with this one, as there are many plot points that don’t totally add up.
Conclusion
Those are the best books like The Guest List by Lucy Foley. To recap and help you decide what to read first or next, my top three picks are:
- The most classic: And Then There Were None
- The most shocking: Daisy Darker
- The most beloved by modern readers: The Woman in Cabin 10
